Free Republic

Companies developing multibillion-dollar Gulf Coast plants to export cheap domestic natural gas or make things with it are encountering a harsh reality: There aren’t enough skilled hands to do all that building. “It causes a big concern about what’s going to actually happen when it comes to fulfilling these jobs,” says Michael Bergen, executive vice president of Industrial Info Resources, a Sugar Land-based market research firm. It projects that companies ?will invest more than $64 billion to build at least seven liquefied natural gas facilities along the Gulf Coast in the coming years. And if demand for labor drives up...

Natural gas has become the fuel of choice for several large companies with vehicle fleets. Now, smaller firms are beginning to catch on to the trend, too. With a little nudging, companies that don’t have their own refueling stations are finding ways to start moving their goods and workers on natural gas. “The fact that it’s $2 a gallon cheaper makes it a no-brainer,” said Mike Little, director of transportation for Bryan-based Mid South Baking, which delivers buns and other products to quick-serve restaurants across the South. On an energy equivalent bases, diesel costs around $3.65 per gallon in Houston...

The diesel-burning locomotive, the workhorse of American railroads since World War II, will soon begin burning natural gas — a potentially historic shift that could cut fuel costs, reduce pollution and strengthen the advantage railroads hold over trucks in long-haul shipping. Rail companies want to take advantage of booming natural gas production that has cut the price of the fuel by as much as 50 percent. So they are preparing to experiment with redesigned engines capable of burning both diesel and liquefied natural gas. Natural gas "may revolutionize the industry much like the transition from steam to diesel," said Jessica...

If you want to know just how bad an idea it is for America to ship “fracked” natural gas to overseas markets, travel the 65 miles from the White House to a place called Cove Point in southern Maryland. Sound good yet? There’s more: The Cove Point plant in Maryland is just one of more than 20 such “liquefaction” plants now proposed—but not yet built—for coastal areas nationwide. They are intended, as an emerging facet of U.S. energy policy, to double down on the highly controversial hydraulic fracturing drilling boom across the country. But like the Keystone XL pipeline for...

Half of Encana Corp.’s drilling rigs are running on natural gas, which will save the company $200,000 to $1.5 million in annual fuel costs, the company’s CEO said during a Houston conference Tuesday. Speaking at World LNG Fuels 2014, Encana CEO Doug Suttles touted the Canadian oil and gas producer as a leader in using natural gas to power drilling rigs, hydraulic fracturing equipment, and even pickup trucks. About 30 percent of Encana’s pickup truck fleet run on natural gas, he said. Encana can save between $1 million and $1.5 million in annual fuel costs by using natural gas tapped...

Abundant, low-cost energy courtesy of the shale revolution incentivizes chemical producers and manufacturers to shorten their respective supply chains and return production facilities to the United States. As a result, railroads, trucking companies, marine shippers and even airlines are well-positioned to enjoy new growth opportunities. So says PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which recently released a study outlining how transportation and logistics companies should benefit from oil and gas production from shale plays. Key conclusions of the report, "Shale energy: A potential game-changer," include: In addition to moving greater volumes of crude oil from shale plays, railroads provide a flexible and cost-effective option...

Alaska has signed an agreement with major oil and gas firms to build an 800-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from the state's North Slope to a proposed export plant and on to Asia. The project, expected to cost between $45 billion and $65 billion, would be one of the largest projects of its kind in the world and would free gas stranded for decades without a market. The project, which would liquefy the gas for shipment in tankers overseas, is expected to take ten years to build, according to the state. Asian nations like Japan and South Korea are...

FERRY company Brittany Ferries has just placed an order for a new vessel that will be its largest, cleanest and most environmentally-friendly ship to date. The €270million cruise-ferry will be powered by Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) which emits 25% less carbon dioxide than traditional oil engines – and, as it burns with a clean flame and no smoke, emits no dust, soot or sulphur and is low in nitrogen oxide emissions.

The price of oil is basically the same the world over. This is because fleets of ships and miles of pipelines transport oil from where it is plentiful to where it is needed (although a Carter era law bans the export of US oil). The only difference in oil price is due to its varying quality and the cost to transport it. Not so for natural gas. In the US, gas costs around $4 per MMBtu (million BTU, about a million cubic feet). In England, the price is $8, and in Japan, the price is $16. Why wouldn't someone liquefy...

Trucking fleet operators in the Northwest are showing growing interest in filling up with natural gas instead of diesel. Two reasons: natural gas is cheaper and burns cleaner than the gasoline or diesel that goes into most vehicles. The problem is there are very few filling stations for natural gas. Cleaner air, lower costs, limited infrastructure Take delivery truck driver Corey Schaller. He has one last stop before he can call it a day. He has to refill the gas tank of the beer truck he drives for Kent, Washington-based Click Wholesale Distributing. But there are just a few places...

<p>Royal Dutch Shell PLC says it has completed building the hull of the world's largest floating facility, which has been constructed to process natural gas off the coast of western Australia.</p> <p>Shell said Tuesday that the 488-meter (1,600 foot) hull of the structure, known as "Prelude," was floated out of the dry dock in Geoje, South Korea where it is being built.</p>

One thing that makes the energy sector so intriguing is the constant overlap between markets and politics. In many ways, energy security is synonymous with national security, and the supply and demand needs of the oil market can make the most unlikely bedfellows. One country that has been at the center of energy and politics for decades has been Israel. For years the country has been dependent upon foreign energy sources, but a major discovery by Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL ) and its partners has turned this situation on its head. Let's look how this massive natural gas find could...

The trucking industry is responsible for more than 68% of total freight moved in America, according to a report by the American Trucking Association. In 2012, 9.4 billion tons were transported by truck. Industry-wide total revenue generated was in excess of $642 billion. In other words, a lot of economic trade is carried on the back of an 18-wheeler. The problem is figuring out how to fuel the engines capable of hauling all that freight, while still ending up with a positive bottom line. Profit margins for trucking companies average less than 5%, with fuel costs taking up more than...

GE Capital’s Transportation Finance business and Clean Energy Fuels Corp.[NASDAQ: CLNE], the largest provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America, have entered into a strategic alliance to accelerate the conversion of heavy-duty trucking fleets from diesel to cleaner-burning, less-expensive natural gas. To take advantage of this opportunity, truck fleet operators will first work with Clean Energy to develop natural gas fueling contracts, and will then apply for loans and leases, including fair market value leases, from GE Capital to acquire trucks from manufacturers that produce commercial natural gas vehicles (NGVs). Clean Energy will then help offset the...

There are believed to be as many as 1,000 armed opposition groups in Syria, commanding an estimated 100,000 fighters. Many of the groups are small and operate on a local level, but a number have emerged as powerful forces with affiliates across the country or formed alliances with other groups that share a similar agenda. The BBC News website looks at the most prominent. Big snip

Editor’s note: This is the first in a 10-part series produced by the Alaska Support Industry Alliance to educate the public about liquefied natural gas. Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is natural gas converted to its liquid form. When natural gas is cooled to minus-259 degrees Fahrenheit, it becomes a clear, colorless, odorless liquid. LNG is produced by taking natural gas from a production field, processing it to remove impurities, and then liquefying the processed gas. LNG isn’t corrosive or toxic. It doesn’t explode or burn as a liquid. Natural gas is primarily methane, with low levels of other hydrocarbons,...

DAEGU, South Korea — Asia’s large-scale gas importers, long saddled with premium prices, say a cheaper alternative lies several thousand feet below North American soil, where companies are unlocking enormous gas reserves from shale rock. The shale boom has already revolutionized the gas market in the United States and Canada, giving both countries not only a reliable domestic supply but also the ability to sell overseas. Asian utility and gas company executives, speaking this week at a global energy forum here, have said that North America’s gas wealth could prove nearly as transformative across the world, leading to the first...

Soon old-school diesel locomotives could be replaced by ones powered mainly by liquified natural gas. GE Transportation presented retrofit technology that enables locomotives to use both diesel and liquid natural gas at Railway Interchange 2013, the North American rail industry’s largest trade show and technical conference, the International Railway Journal reported. The system allows up to 80 percent natural gas substitution. The LNG is cryogenically stored in a tender and enables trains to travel further without refueling. New LNG powered locomotives will allow many industry players to meet stringent Tier 4 locomotive emissions standards set to take effect Jan. 1,...

The companies seeking to advance a multibillion dollar natural gas pipeline project in Alaska have a leading contender for the terminal site where gas would be liquefied and shipped to Asia, signaling that a decades-old dream could still become a reality. Exxon Mobil, BP, ConocoPhillips and TransCanada Corp. announced Monday that the Kenai Peninsula town of Nikiski is the leading contender. Senior project manager Steve Butt said there are three or four other sites are still being considered — he declined to identify those — but said Nikiski has the land needed for the plant and the companies know they...

A California liquefied natural gas producer is set to build a production plant in North Texas that could initially produce 86,000 gallons of fuel per day. Applied Natural Gas Fuels said Wednesday the plant in Midlothian, about 30 miles south of Dallas in Ellis County, would fire up in 2015 seeking to attract buyers in high-horsepower, trucking, oil and gas and similar industries that normally consume diesel fuel. A boom in U.S. natural gas production has made LNG competitive with diesel for such uses. The Midlothian plant will be the company’s first in Texas. It is also doubling production at...