BP, ConocoPhillips leave climate coalition

A lobby group focused on climate-change legislation is seeing its corporate membership numbers drop, which some analysts are calling another indication that Congress appears increasing unlikely to pass a climate change bill this year.

BP PLC and ConocoPhillips decided against renewing membership in the US Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of environmental groups and corporations targeted on building support for a national cap-and-trade program. BP and ConocoPhillips were among USCAP’s founding members in 2007.

Other large companies, including Royal Dutch Shell, remain in the coalition.

USCAP spokesman Tad Segar says there’s still momentum to get a climate change bill done. Some energy analysts are not so sure of that.

Raymond James & Associates Inc. said in a Feb. 17 industry brief that there is no realistic prospect of passing cap-and-trade in 2010, adding that attitudes in Washington are shifting “in the wake of the Climategate scandal and news that the UN climate panel made bogus claims about glacier melting, and perhaps also out of recognition that cap-and-trade is DOA in the US Senate.”

Gas flaring reduction efforts progressing

The World Bank-led Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership (GGFR) reports the global estimate for gas flaring has declined for a third consecutive year.

GGFR helps countries and companies to both implement gas-flaring reduction projects and seize opportunities to increase the utilization of associated gas.

“Our work in different countries, from Russia to Azerbaijan and from Nigeria to Mexico, illustrate this common effort of preparing for potential opportunities to improve energy efficiency, expand access to energy, and contribute to climate change mitigation hence promoting sustainable development,” GGFR said in a newsletter posted on its web site.

In December 2008, the GGFR held a Global Forum on Flaring and Venting Reduction in Amsterdam. Some 175 delegates from over 100 different organizations and 38 countries attended the Amsterdam event.

Numerous oil companies helped sponsor or sent delegates and speakers to the conference; They included Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Total SA, Chevron, ExxonMobil Corp., BP PLC, StatoilHydro ASA, and Petrobras.

Conference examines state of the ethanol industry

Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, expects the US ethanol industry will survive the world's financial crunch, coming out as a stronger, more competitive, and more sustainable industry.

Speaking to the National Ethanol Conference in San Antonio, Tex., on Feb. 24, he reported the US has 171 ethanol plants in operation and 21 more under construction.

“While I also see the 23 [ethanol plants] that are currently idled and know that more may well follow, I firmly believe that is a temporary misfortune that will be corrected when the economy turns around and the market rebounds,” Dinneen said.

Several companies are racing to be the first to produce commercial volumes of cellulosic ethanol in the US. Currently, nearly all the ethanol produced in the US comes from corn.

Dinneen noted a few pilot plants in the US produce cellulosic ethanol along with at least one demonstration plant in Canada. The ones of most interest to Oil & Gas Journal are companies having joint ventures with oil companies.

Verenium Corp. is producing ethanol from bagasse and sugar waste at a demonstration plant in Jennings, La., that can produce 1.4 million gal/year. Verenium and BP PLC formed a joint venture to commercialize cellulosic ethanol from nonfood stocks.

Iogen Corp. is producing ethanol from wheat straw at an Ottawa plant and has plans to build commercial scale facilities in the US and Canada. Iogen and Royal Dutch Shell PLC have a cellulosic ethanol alliance.

Meanwhile on the international front, three of the world’s largest ethanol trade associations have formed a global biofuels organization called the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA). Its 29 member countries represent 60% of the world’s renewable fuels production.

Dinneen’s RFA, the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, and the European Bioethanol Fuel Association cooperatively formed the GRFA. Brazil is not yet a member but Dinneen said GRFA is in talks with Brazil’s sugar cane ethanol industry.

Missing H in HSE

Most of industry's health, safety, and environment initiatives focus on the safety aspect or the environmental aspect, reported speakers at the International Association of Drilling Contractors HSE conference in Houston this week.

But the health aspect of HSE either is sometimes overlooked or is sometimes the last element to be addressed by HSE managers and top executives.

Doyle R. Galloway, Shell International Exploration and Production Inc. operational HSE manager, noted that companies talk about occupational health and about the well being of their workers. But individuals need to be motivated to take care of themselves and to exercise, he said.

Although many corporations offer wellness programs, Galloway suggests that these companies question themselves about whether their existing wellness programs work long-term in encouraging employees to stay fit and healthy.

Statistics from Partnership for Prevention show a $5.93 to $1 savings-to-cost ratio for companies that provide voluntary wellness at work programs. Once a sedentary employee becomes fit, statistics indicate an average 28% decrease in sick leave, which translates into corporate cost benefits.

Can nanosensors boost oil production?

Oil companies and service companies are helping finance a research consortium promoting nanotechnology. The consortium hopes that subsurface nanosensors can coax more oil and gas out of conventional reservoirs.

The Advanced Energy Consortium says it “seeks to build a vital and economical hydrocarbon bridge while renewable energy resources are being developed.” AEC seeks to use nanosensors to characterize reservoir rock formations.

The medical industry already uses nanotechnology—engineering on the level of atoms and molecules. Paul Ching, AEC executive director, said most major oil companies are researching nanotechnology.

AEC members include BP America Inc., Baker Hughes Inc., ConocoPhillips, Halliburton Energy Services Inc., Marathon Oil Corp., Occidental Oil & Gas Corp., Schlumberger Ltd., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, and Total SA. The Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas manages AEC. Rice University is a collaborating technical partner.

Separate from AEC, ConocoPhillips announced a 3-year nanotechnology program with the University of Kansas to research and test new technologies for enhanced oil recovery.

Stephen Brand, ConocoPhillips senior vice-president of technology, said the inclusion of nanoparticles might yield more efficient, environmentally sensitive EOR technologies.