U.S. Military Launches Alternative-Fuel Push - half-synthetic and half-conventional petroleum

WSJonline ^ | May 21, 2008 | YOCHI J. DREAZEN

[Fred]

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. -- With fuel prices soaring, the U.S. military, the country's largest single consumer of oil, is turning into an alternative-fuels pioneer.

In March, Air Force Capt. Rick Fournier flew a B-1 stealth bomber code-named Dark 33 across this sprawling proving ground, to confirm for the first time that a plane could break the sound barrier using synthetic jet fuel. A similar formula -- a blend of half-synthetic and half-conventional petroleum -- has been used in some South African commercial airliners for years, but never in a jet going so fast. [Major Expense]

"The hope is that the plane will be blind to the gas," Capt. Fournier said as he gripped the handle controlling the plane's thrusters during the test flight. "But you won't know unless you try."

With oil's multiyear ascent showing no signs of stopping -- crude futures set another record Tuesday, closing at $129.07 a barrel in New York trading -- energy security has emerged as a major concern for the Pentagon.

The U.S. military consumes 340,000 barrels of oil a day, or 1.5% of all of the oil used in the country. The Defense Department's overall energy bill was $13.6 billion in 2006, the latest figure available -- almost 25% higher than the year before. The Air Force's bill for jet fuel alone has tripled in the past four years. When the White House submitted its latest budget request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it tacked on a $2 billion surcharge for rising fuel costs.

Synthetic fuel, which can be made from coal or natural gas, is expensive now, but could cost far less than the current price of oil if it's mass-produced.

Just as important, the military is increasingly concerned that its dependence on oil represents a strategic

[Fred]

Yes....We Can....Conquer the Energy Problem....

[Fred]

"Some Pentagon officers have embraced planning around the "peak oil" theory, which holds that the world's oil production is about to plateau due to shrinking resources and limited investment in many of the most oil-rich regions of the Middle East. Earlier this year, they brought Houston investment banker Matthew Simmons to the Pentagon for a presentation on peak oil; he warned that under the theory, "energy security becomes an oxymoron." House Democrats have proposed creating a new Defense Department position to manage the military's overall energy needs."

Could be a stealth way of funding the costly R&D required for viable synthetic fuel alternatives...

[Fred]

a ping and further input appreciated from one in the know.

[festus]

I’d subscribe to peak oil if I thought it would help get us off of arab oil.

Moving the single largest consumer of oil to even 50% synthetic has got to make a dent in a sheiks wallet.

[Reaganesque]

Imagine that. The price of fuel goes up and the market responds with alternatives. Ain't free market capitalism grand?

Keep it up OPEC! You are literally killing the goose that laid the golden egg and I couldn't be happier about it!

[Doctor Don]

The USA has unlimited coal resources. Let’s do it!

[editor-surveyor]

Bring back Hitler’s Ersatz Gas?

[Fred]

that is exactly it.... freepers rock ping...

[Thunder90]

Typical oil exporters, such as Russia and Venezuela, are hoarding oil at record paces. China is also hoarding it.

[Reeses]

The pure synthetic fuel Syntroleum sold the Air Force for the B-52 test flight in 2006 cost almost $20 a gallon. Its price since has come down sharply, but the synthetic product used in the B-1 supersonic test in March still cost $4.62 a gallon. It was mixed with petroleum fuel costing $3.04 a gallon, according to government officials.

That is in within striking distance. The military should go all coal for just a little more money initially. That would effectively be a military strike on OPEC and despotic dictator-run socialist nations, blowing these cartels to bits. That is cheaper than a conventional attack.