ISSUE #2
SEPT/OCT 2018
CARIBBEAN ENERGY UPDATE A Publication of the Caribbean Energy Information System on Petroleum and Renewable Energy ©CEIS 2018 SCAN ME To access CEIS website
+1-876-927-1779 ceis@src-jamaica.org www.src.gov.jm www.ceis-caribenergy.org
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The Caribbean Energy Update
PETROLEUM Energy
PETROLEUM SEEPS:
Nature’s Oil Springs
Petroleum seeps are naturally occurring springs where oil leaks out of the ground. These seeps occur when cracks in the earth allow the oil to escape, and pool above the surface.
The oil that makes it to the surface to form a seep will eventually convert from a clear-like fluid into a tar-like substance called asphaltum. This is because the lighter elements of the oil evaporate, leaving the heavier oil Petroleum seeps are typically found where oil drilling compounds which then oxidise. This oxidised substance and excavation activities are being carried out. This is is also attacked by bacteria and in its final stage becomes thought to be due to the nature of excavation which sticky and black. disturbs the surrounding areas, and can cause fissures in the ground. Are petroleum seeps toxic or dangerous? Whenever there is a news report on an oil spill, the Seeps can also occur where the land has moved over concern is always focused towards the environment time. In this scenario, the folds of sedimentary rock shift, which allows the oil to leak out to form a natural and damaging effects on wildlife. So shouldn’t we be as seep on the surface. These seeps tend to occur in clus- worried about petroleum seeps? The answer is no. This ters around the world, and many can be found in the is because seeps are typically very old, and take a long Gulf of Mexico and off the southern coast of California. time to emerge at the surface.
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The oil that finally emerges is not pure crude oil, as it has already been heavily biodegraded by bacteria, deep beneath the surface of the earth. The substance that does come out is still toxic. However, because seeps have been around for a very long time, organisms and wildlife have managed to build up their defences. Most who live in the area of seeps have adapted well to these toxic compounds. Even more surprising is that some unique species of wildlife actually use the chemicals and hydrocarbons released in a seep for metabolic energy. The toxicity level of a crude oil indicates the potential harm the oil may cause to the natural environment as well as humans and living organisms. Due to a history of oil spills and accidents, crude oils have been classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reflect the characteristics of the oil and how it may behave in the aftermath of a spill. This is as follows: Class A: Highly fluid, strong-smelling, and usually flammable, Class A oils are clear and volatile, and spread quickly across water and impervious surfaces. These oils evaporate quickly, emitting volatiles (chemical elements with low boiling points such as nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide). Class A oils are known for penetrating porous surfaces such as sands and earths, and will often remain within these surfaces. These oils are harmful to humans and any living organisms that come into contact with them.
Class B: A less toxic oil than Class A, these oils are less viscous but have a waxy or oily feel. As Class B oil heats up, it is more likely to soak into surfaces and is often extremely difficult to remove. When volatiles evaporate from these medium to heavy oils, the resulting residue can be a Class C or D substance Class C: While the heavy, tarry oils in Class C are not highly toxic, they can be extremely difficult to dispose of once they have penetrated porous surfaces and can drown or smother wildlife. However, these brown or black medium to heavy oils do not readily penetrate surfaces and often take a long time to do so.Class D: Relatively non-toxic, these thick, heavy crude oils (including bitumen) do not tend to penetrate porous surfaces. When heated, Class D oils can melt and may coat surfaces which makes clean-up operations following a spill or leak a challenge. In contrast to petroleum seeps, the extraction and transportation of crude oil typically produces high-volume quantities in a short period of time. It also takes place in areas that have not had a long exposure to these types of chemical compounds. This means that seeps are generally looked upon by scientists as a rare chance to study how natural processes affect oil, and how species adapt over time to toxic chemicals. It is hoped that these studies may provide better techniques in the future for dealing with actual oil spills, and a greater understanding on how they affect wildlife and the environment.
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The Caribbean Energy Update
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CARIBBEAN
Petroleum Energy Highlights September/October 2018
• • • •
New board appointed at NPC...[ ] Read More Melbana Energy to lock in• farm-in partner No gas tax rollback ahead of ...[ ]Read More SOL St Lucia wins multi-million dollar fuel…[ ] Read More Energy chamber recommends adjustments to the Supplemental Petroleum Tax...[ ] Read More
• Guyana paying close attention to technical ...[ ] Read More • Barbados looking to new suppliers following …[ ] Read More • Make use of Trinidad’s Oil and Gas...[ ] Read More • Guyana puts oil auctions on hold to better oversee...[ ] Read More • Trinidad Petroleum Holding Ltd to replace Petrotrin...[ ] Read More • Kosmos Energy abandons well offshore Suriname…[ ] Read More • Noble Tom Madden arrives in Guyana...[ [...[ ] Read More • CDB to fund energy project in Dominica...[ ] Read More
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The Caribbean Energy Update
Regular Unleaded Gasoline Average Retail Price (US$/Litre) September/October 2018 SEPT $1.96
Barbados
OCT $1.95
$1.44
Belize
$1.45
$1.25
Cayman Islands
$1.26
$1.31
Grenada
$1.30
$1.09
Guyana
$1.08
$1.19
Jamaica
$1.25
$1.14
St.Lucia
$1.15
$0.59
Trinidad&Tobago
$0.74
At the end of October 2018, retail prices for Regular Unleaded Gasoline increased in Belize, Cayman Islands and Jamaica between 0.7% and 5%. Trinidad and Tobago also experienced a 25% increase in prices due to adjustments to the fuel subsidy. Prices decreased marginally in Barbados, Grenada and Guyana between 0.3% and 0.5% where as, prices remained stable in St.Lucia and St.Vincent/Grenadines.
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The Caribbean Energy Update
PRICES
International Crude Oil Prices from August to October 2018 showed an average price of US$71.44/bbl . This average price was 5.2% higher than the average price seen in August 2018 and 1.8% higher than the average price in September 2018. The lowest price recorded for the commodity over the three month period was US$66.15/bbl-reflected in week three of August 2018. The highest price for recorded was US$75.13 /bbl recorded in week one of October 2018.
US$/Bbl
Average Weekly Oil Prices August - October 2018 76.00 75.13 74.00 72.00 70.00 68.00 66.00 64.00 62.00 60.00 Period WK1
71.44 70.15 66.15
WK2
67.90
WK3
Aug-18
Sep-18
WK4
MTH AVG
Oct-18
Average Monthly Crude Oil Prices 2015-2017 60 50
US$/Bbl
57.44
59.91
50.87
45.86
40
37.41
30 20 10
30.19
2015
2016
2017
0
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CARIBBEAN
The Caribbean Energy Update
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ENERGY MINISTERS’
Bulletin
Renewable Resources
Breakthrough Technology
Zero-Carbon Natural Gas The world is probably stuck with natural gas as one of our primary sources of electricity for the foreseeable future. Cheap and readily available, it no accounts for more than thirty percent of US electricity and twenty two percent of the world’s electricity. And although it is cleaner than coal, it is still a massive source of carbon emissions. A pilot power plant just outside Houston, in the heart of the US petroleum and refining industry, is testing a technology that could make clean energy from natural gas a reality.
least as cheaply as standard natural-gas plants and capture essentially all the carbon dioxide released in the process. If so, it would mean the world has a way to produce carbon-free energy from a fossil fuel at a reasonable cost. Such naturalgas plants could be cranked up and down on demand, avoiding the high capital costs of nuclear power and sidestepping the unsteady supply that renewables generally provide. Net Power is a collaboThe company behind the 50-megawatt project, ration between technology development firm 8 Net Power, believes it can generate power at Rivers Capital, Exelon Generation, and energy C A R I B B E A N E N E R G Y I N F O R M AT I O N S Y S T E M ( C E I S ) | 2 0 1 8
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construction firm CB&I. The company is in the process of commissioning the plant and has begun initial testing. that drives a specially built turbine. Much of the carbon dioxide can be continuously recycled; the rest can be captured cheaply. A key part of pushing down the costs depends on selling that carbon dioxide. Today the main use is in
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helping to extract oil from petroleum wells. That’s a limited market, and not a particularly green one. Eventually, however, Net Power hopes to see growing demand for carbon dioxide in cement manufacturing and in making plastics and other carbonbased materials.
It begins with how we live our lives every moment of every day. On Monday, October 8, 2018 the world’s leading climate scientists are expected to release a report on how to protect civilization by limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degree Fahrenheit. Given the rise already in the global temperature average, this critical goal is 50 percent more stringent than the current target of 2 degrees Celsius, which many scientists were already skeptical we could meet. So we’re going to have to really want it, and even then it will be tough. The world would need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions faster than has ever been achieved, and do it everywhere, for 50 years. Northern European countries reduced emissions about 4 to 5 percent per year in the 1970s. We’d need
reductions of 6 to 9 percent every year, in every country, for half a century. We would need to spread the world’s best climate practices globally — like electric cars in Norway, energy efficiency in California, land protection in Costa Rica, solar and wind power in China, vegetarianism in India, bicycle use in the Netherlands. We would face opposition the whole way. To have a prayer of 1.5 degrees Celsius, we would need to leave most of the remaining coal, oil and gas underground, compelling the Exxon Mobils and Saudi Aramcos to forgo anticipated revenues of over $33 trillion over the next 25 years.
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The Caribbean Energy Update
Country Happenings ANTIGUA/BARBUDA Agreement reached to pursue green Antigua and Barbuda goal ST JOHN’S, Antigua — The clean energy provider PV Energy Limited will, jointly with the state-owned utility APUA, resume the finalisation of their joint Green Antigua and Barbuda project to bring solar renewable energy and grid-stabilising energy storage facilities for the benefit of the people of Antigua..[ ]..
BARBADOS The Green Economy Push: The government of Barbados is injecting millions into its quest to turn the country into a green economy, to save energy cost and contribute to a reduction in toxic emissions. While speaking during the Site Visit and Commissioning of the Barbados Public Sector Smart Energy Program(PSSEP) Retrofit Public Buildings with Photo-voltaic Systems, at the Forensic Science Centre, Culloden Road, St Michael, and the Frank Walcott Building, situated close to the Forensics Centre, ..[ ]...
CAYMAN ISLANDS Government plans switch to Electric Vehicles Government plans to convert at least 10 percent of its fleet to • Renewable Energy World Conference & Expo electric vehicles over the next December 4-6, 2018 five years, according to InfraOrange County Convention structure Minister Joey Hew. Centre This announcement echoes the Concourse, Orlando, Florida, growth of electric vehicles on USA other Caribbean islands. • World Congress on Mr. Hew, speaking at the Oil, Gas and Petroleum ReCaribbean Transitional Energy finery Conference in Grand Cayman December 17-18, 2018 last week, said the government AbuDhabi, UAE was doing its part to meet commitments outlined in a 2017 • Solar Wind Earth Energy Tradeshow National Energy Policy..[ ]..
2018-2019 Events
March 13 -15, 2019 Gwangju, South Korea
• International Recycling, Environmental Technologies and Waste Management March 21 - 24, 2019 BÜYÜKCEKMECE, Turkey • 4th World Congress on Petroleum and Refinery May 20-21 2019 Osaka Japan • International Conference on Sustainability, Energy and the Environment June 3-5, 2019 Hawaii Convention Centre, Honolulu, USA
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