Triple Diamond Energy Info

Triple Diamond Energy Corp Announces Plans For Two Well Program In Garvin County Oklahoma

2008-10-28T12:39:00.002-07:00

Triple Diamond Energy Corp (TDEC) has announced plans for a two-well controlled step out oil and natural gas program in south central Oklahoma.

ADDISON, TX -- The Texas-based oil and gas production and exploration company, Triple Diamond Energy Corporation, has announced they are planning a program for Garvin County located in south central Oklahoma.

The plans involve a two well, controlled step out oil and natural gas program. These wells will be drilled one or more spacing units away from existing production already in the targeted formations.

"Garvin County is the fifth largest producer of oil in the entire state of Oklahoma and other wells currently located in the area are showing promise. Several wells located adjacent to the area we will be working in are producing one million or more barrels of oil," said Chris Jent, Officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. (http://www.triplediamondenergy.com/)

The Golden Trend region of south central Oklahoma is on the Anadarko Basin's Southeastern embayment between the Arbuckle Mountains and the Nemaha-Pauls Valley. The oil produced in McClain and Garvin Counties comes from one of three main formations made from Deese sandstones, Hunton limestone, and Viola limestone as well as several pools located in the Simpson group. These formations shifted and created stratigraphic traps where the oil now sits.

Triple Diamond Energy Corp. has just completed the first two wells of its four well Sportsman Lake Program located in Seminole County, Oklahoma. Drilling for this program commenced in August and TDEC expects to complete them at the end of October.

Triple Diamond Energy Corp Completes Drilling And Begins Logging Of Two Wells In Oklahoma Project

2008-10-28T12:39:00.001-07:00

Triple Diamond Energy Corp. (TDEC) announces the drilling of two wells in Seminole County, Oklahoma is complete and logging is set to start.

ADDISON, TX -- Triple Diamond Energy Corp. (TDEC) reported the drilling of two wells in Seminole County, Oklahoma is complete. Oil production will commence once the completing and equipping process has concluded.

The Texas oil and gas exploration company started the drilling process for the Seminole County portion of the project in August on the previously undrilled geologic structure of the Sportsman Lake Field. The pair of wells will pull oil from the Proven Undeveloped Producible Reserves located in the high formation.

With drilling complete, an e-log will use electrical measurements to map out the structure and locate the tops of the geological formations. This will allow TDEC to determine the best possible hydrocarbon bearing zones to target. Triple Diamond Energy Corp. can then install the production casing and perforate the zone.

"Once the completion and equipping processes are complete, the two wells can begin extracting oil. From there, it will be processed and refined into various fuel and petroleum products," says Chris Jent, Chief Marketing Officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. (http://www.triplediamondenergy.com/)

Reports have shown the area to contain a minimum of 100 000 barrel of attic oil. Oklahoma is presently in fifth place in crude oil production in the country producing 8.8 percent of the natural gas and 3.3 percent of the crude produced in the US.

Superior Quality Jet Fuel Needed for Aviation

2008-01-20T23:10:00.000-08:00

At the refinery crude oil is turned into jet fuel and aviation gasoline. Only superior-quality fuels can be used for aviation. Jet fuels and aviation gasoline used in commercial aviation must meet or exceed stringent requirements for worldwide fuel handling and products standards set by industry and government groups, including The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), The Coordinating Research Council and the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense.

The superior-quality jet fuels and aviation gasoline supplied to general aviation must also meet stringent worldwide fuel handling and products standards set by Fixed Based Operators and Distributors. They also are in compliance with industry and government groups, including The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), The Coordinating Research Council and the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence.

The quality control starts at the refinery. The chemical formulation for aviation gasoline continues to be relatively unchanged for the past 50 years. It must satisfy these basic requirements: 1) Vaporization must occur easily at low temperatures but yet not so easy that it will cause vapor lock; 2) It must have a high energy content per unit weight (BTU), and permit high compression engine operation without detonation; 3) It must be relatively free of gum-forming compounds; 4) It must have a low sulfur content to reduce corrosive action; 5) It must be stored and delivered free of contaminants.

Other considerations in the processing of aviation gasoline are volatility and vaporization. Volatility has an important effect on carburetor icing and “vapor lock.” Vaporization of fuel in the carburetor venturi cannot take place without heat being extracted. If too much heat is taken out during the vaporization process there is danger of carburetor ice forming with float-type carburetors. Highly volatile fuel extracts more heat from its surroundings than does a less volatile fuel and tends to allow vapor (bubbles) to form in the fuel lines. Bubbles in the fuel delivery system cause an interruption or reduction in fuel flow (vapor lock) and complete or partial engine failure due to improper fuel-air mixture.

Octane ratings for aviation gasoline have been rated differently than automotive gasoline. Leaded aviation fuels use tetraethyl lead in small quantities, primarily to improve antiknock qualities, and is a necessary additive to aviation fuel to produce 100-octane or greater fuel.

Superior-quality products are the result of operational excellence. Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation ensure maintaining quality control from the refinery to the airplanes producing and delivering their fuel products in a safe, secure, environmentally sound, reliable and efficient manner.

One Trillion Barrels of Oil

2008-01-20T15:36:00.000-08:00

To date, the world has produced 1 trillion barrels of oil. It is expected that approximately 2 trillion barrels more will be produced over the next century or so. It will come from conventional proved reserves, unconventional resources and as-yet-undiscovered conventional oil. Some of the unconventional oil resources are the extra-heavy oil in Alberta and Venezuela, the bitumen in Alberta, and the shale oil in the United States.

As we progress, oil will continue to provide energy for the future. Oil and petroleum products have powered the world in the form of motor fuels for more than a century, and the demand is only growing. Between now and 2030, global energy consumption is projected to jump more than 50 percent, with oil and gas continuing to meet the largest part of that demand.

Oil is also a key ingredient in making thousands of products that make our lives easier. Here too oil will continue to make our life progress for the better. At the oil refineries chemical processing turns the crude oil into mixtures that produce products such as plastics found in our everyday objects, synthetic rubber used to make things more pliable and stretchy, synthetic fibers found our clothing to make them more comfortable, drugs to help us fight diseases, and detergents to make our cleaning process easier. A liquid obtained from refining crude oil called naphtha is one of the basic feedstocks.

Basically, there are three major categories for petroleum-based products: fuels such as gasoline and diesel fuel,non-fuel products such as solvents and lubricating oils, and feedstocks such as naphtha. Petroleum-based products, especially motor gasoline, distillate (diesel) fuel, and jet fuel, provide virtually all of the energy consumed in the transportation sector. Transportation remains the greatest single use of petroleum. The industrial sector is the second largest petroleum consumption, and the residential/commercial including the electric utility sectors account for the remaining petroleum consumption.

The value of oil is enormous. The world depends on it greatly. Without oil, the world would not move. The oil companies in the United States, like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation, keep their operations running smoothly, efficiently, and safely to provide the products that supply the ever-increasing demand. They seek out further discoveries and keep up with the future explorations worldwide. Cutting-edge technology advances enable them to progress in innovative and cost-conscious ways to bring new volumes of oil to the marketplace. Again, it is expected that approximately 2 trillion barrels more will be produced over the next century or so.

The Clean, Efficient and Economical Energy Source

2008-01-20T15:31:00.000-08:00

Natural gas now provides 23 percent of all energy consumed in the world. Before the second half of the 20th century it was just dismissed as a useless byproduct of oil production. It is the only fossil fuel that is clean-burning, composed of various hydrocarbon gases, mostly methane. Actually, the main products of the combustion of natural gas are carbon dioxide and water vapor which are the same compounds we exhale when we breathe. Virtually, no ash or particulate matter are released. Natural gas is non-toxic, not poisonous or harmful to humans. It fuels electric power generators and heats homes and offices more efficiently than oil. It also can be used as a raw material in many consumer products, one being the increasingly popular plastics.

Because it is the cleanest-burning conventional fuel, it is environmentally friendly producing lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions than the heavier hydrocarbon fuels, coal and oil. Since it is so efficient, natural gas has historically been one of the most economical energy sources.

The International Energy Agency predicts that natural gas demand will grow by more than 67 percent through 2030. The range of applications include: industrial power, heating for both commercial buildings and residential homes, and transportation vehicles. Because of the relatively simple makeup of natural gas, there are fewer toxic and carcinogenic emissions from vehicles running on natural gas. Substantial reserves exist to meet the growing demand of natural gas. World natural gas reserves are estimated to exceed 6,000 trillion cubic feet, and significant natural gas volumes are yet to be discovered.

In its gaseous state, natural gas can be delivered to customers through pipeline systems. Natural gas is reliable in that the pipeline systems are not easily damaged or affected by changing weather conditions. Natural gas can also be turned into a liquid (LNG) so it can be shipped safely in specialized tankers to growing markets. Technology advances are developing gas-to-liquids stations as another alternative for commercializing gas resources. There also has been research done to create from natural gas, synthetic diesel fuel, lubricant base oils, and naphtha. GTL diesel is distinguished by its higher performance and lower environmental impacts as compared with traditional diesel fuels.

Numerous pipeline projects are necessary to link natural gas with growing markets. There are still portions of the nation that do not have pipelines reaching them yet. Energy companies like Triple Diamond Energy will continue to find, develop and deliver natural gas to meet rising energy demand.

Heating Oil is America’s Main Heating Fuel

2008-01-14T22:00:00.000-08:00

Heating oil is a petroleum product used by many Americans to heat their homes. Generally, because the demand is higher, heating oil prices are higher during the winter months. Historically, the price of heating oil has fluctuated from year to year and month to month.

Making the demand high, 107 million households in the United States (approximately 8.1 million) depend on heating oil as their main heating fuel. Residential space heating is the primary use for heating oil which makes the demand highly seasonal. And the area of the country most reliant on heating oil is the northeast with most of the heating oil used during October through March. When the prices are likely to be lower, some customers try filling their storage tanks in the summer or early fall to beat rising winter prices. However, most homeowners do not have enough room in their storage tanks to store the full amount needed to meet winter demands. Because homeowners may have to refill their tanks as often as four or five times during the heating season, the possibility of rising or spiking prices is a concern.

Domestic refineries and imports from foreign countries are the basic sources of heating oil in the United States. Refineries produce heating oil as a part of the distillate fuel oil products, which includes heating oils, diesel fuel and jet fuel. Distillate products are shipped throughout the United States by pipelines, barges, tankers, trucks and rail cars. Most imports of distillate fuel oil currently come from Canada and Venezuela. Oil refineries limit the amount of heating oil they make to meet the demands of the winter heating season. Some winter heating oil produced by the refineries in the summer and fall months is stored for winter use. During the coldest winter months, the inventories that are built in the summer and fall are used to help meet the high demand. Refiners can increase heating oil production in the winter to a modest degree, but they quickly reach a point where, to produce more heating oil, they would also have to produce more of other petroleum products which could not be sold in sufficient quantities during the winter months. However, if consumer demand is high for a seasonal product, such as gasoline, refiners may delay producing heating oil for the winter, which may lower inventories at the start of the heating season. This may cause prices to fluctuate. Such was the case in the summer of 2002, when more gasoline was produced to supply the high gasoline demand. As a result, the 2002-2003 heating oil season started with low
inventories.

Heating oil may be delivered to a central distribution area, such as New York Harbor, where it is then redistributed by barge to other consuming areas, such as New England. Once heating oil is in the consuming area, it is redistributed by truck to smaller storage tanks closer to a retail dealer’s customers, or it may be transported directly to the residential customers. Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation make certain all distribution areas are sufficiently supplied with enough heating oil to handle the consumer demand.

The World's Most Liquid Forum for Crude Oil Trading

2008-01-14T20:42:00.000-08:00

Crude oil began futures trading on the NYMEX in 1983 and presently is the world's most actively traded commodity. As well as being the world's largest-volume futures contract trading on a physical commodity, NYMEX Division light, sweet crude oil futures contract is the world's most liquid forum for crude oil trading. Used as a principal international pricing benchmark, the light, sweet crude oil futures contract has excellent liquidity and price transparency. Light, sweet crude oils are preferred by refiners because of their low sulfur content and relatively high yields of high-value products including gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, and jet fuel.

Risk management and trading opportunities can be obtained through options on the futures contract. Additional risk management is offered with calendar spread options. Crack spread options make available the pricing differential of heating oil futures, crude oil futures, gasoline futures and crude oil futures, plus average price options. The contract trades in units of 1,000 barrels. The delivery point is Cushing, Oklahoma, which is also accessible to the international spot markets via pipelines. Serving the diverse needs of the physical market, the contract provides for delivery of several grades of domestic and internationally traded foreign crudes. A penultimate, financially settled crude oil (WS) contract is available for trading on the CME Globex® platform. The contract is listed for 72 months.

Designed for investment portfolios, the NYMEX miNY™ crude oil futures contract, is the equivalent of 500 barrels of crude, 50% of the size of a standard futures contract. The contract is available for trading on the CME Globex® electronic trading platform and clears through the New York Mercantile Exchange clearinghouse.

The New York Mercantile Exchange also lists for trading electronically a financially settled futures contract for Dubai crude oil; a futures contract on the differential between the light, sweet crude oil futures contract and Canadian Bow River crude at Hardisty, Alberta; and futures contracts on the differentials of the light, sweet crude oil futures contract and four domestic grades of crude oil: Light Louisiana Sweet, West Texas Intermediate-Midland, West Texas Sour, and Mars Blend.

The Brent blend futures contract is based on a light, sweet North Sea crude oil that serves as a benchmark grade and widely trades as a differential to the NYMEX Division's bellwether light, sweet crude oil futures contract. Most of the crude oil is refined in Northwest Europe, but significant volumes move to the U.S. Gulf and East Coasts. Complementing the Brent crude oil futures contract are an options contract, calendar spread options contracts, and an options contract on the Brent/West Texas Intermediate crude oil spread.

Oil Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation involved in the extracting, refining, and distribution of crude oil and its valuable by-products here in the United States are driven by the demand and investments made on the commodity.

Fuel Oil Trucks Get Design Improvements

2008-01-14T16:26:00.000-08:00

When fuel oil distributors talk about their truck needs, the most frequently mentioned among these needs are durability and maneuverability. Practical design enhancements can make fuel oil trucks better tools to provide greater productivity for the oil industry.

Fuel oil distributors engaged in the task of selecting new delivery truck enhancements typically have a list of ‘must-have’ features and a list of ‘like-to-have’ features. Ideally, the truck that finally gets purchased has all of the ‘must-have’ features and at least a couple of the ‘like-to-haves.’

Truck manufacturers have both of the lists and have been working to provide these and additional features after learning from the fuel oil distributors what actually is expected in performance. Bob Bees, marketing product manager for Volvo Trucks North America in Greensboro, N.C. said that while Volvo might not be an obvious or common choice for fuel oil delivery, “it’s got a great wheel cut” – a primary consideration for operators who require maneuverability in negotiating driveways and other tight spots in the course of making deliveries.   
Home heating oil tankers typically have a capacity of approximately 2,000 – 3,000 gallons. These are typically single-axle vehicles. The front axle often ranges from 14,000 to 16,000 pounds, with a rear axle typically ranging from 23,000 to 26,000 pounds. “They might go all the way up to a 30,000-pound rear axle,” Bees said. “We can do this making a very, very good home fuel oil truck, but it’s on the high end of the cost spectrum.”

Other original equipment manufacturers (OEM) that make trucks that can be designed for fuel oil delivery to the priority of maneuverability have listened to the fuel oil distributors’ needs. Freightliner, for example, said its Business Class M2 106 features up to a 55-degree wheel cut, achieved through a combination of a setback front axle and a swept-back bumper. They also offer to complement the wheel-cut, a 2,500-square-inch windshield, low-profile dash and an aerodynamic sloped hood – features that combine for visibility, which are crucial in the negotiating of tight spots. Wide door openings, low step-in heights and interior and exterior grab handles on the M2 are designed to help reduce fatigue, and offer easy entry and exit for drivers who make numerous fuel oil deliveries daily.   
Hino Motors Sales USA in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan offers a Hino Model 338 Class 7 straight truck with a 260 HP engine, optional in-cab controlled rear locking differentials and optional vertical exhaust. This truck also has an air suspension. The straight truck features an exceptional turning radius because of its 55-degree wheel cut and wide visibility for ease of movement during fuel oil deliveries, even to homes where access is cramped. The truck’s dashboard includes a ‘Driver Information Display’ capable of presenting a range of information, including trip fuel economy, service, and interval maintenance check ups.

Some other design features, integral parts of the specs requested by the oil truck distributors, that different dealers are now offering are: automatic five-speed transmission because many fuel oil distributors find that the automatic transmission helps save several minutes off each stop; new halogen projector low beam headlamps which offer three times longer life than sealed beam headlamps; a new hood assist device and 90-degree hood tilt opening providing easy access to the engine compartment for mechanical repairs; air or hydraulic brakes; and the option of a combination of diesel and electric modes of operation automatically switching between the two seamlessly.

Oil Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation are always looking into improvements in each of the systems of operation in their business to make it run as efficiently as possible.

The Oil Industry in Venezuela

2008-01-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

Among the world’s top oil exporters (in the order of how much is currently being exported) are Saudi Arabia, Norway, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. Let’s look at Venezuela. Venezuela’s oil is exceptionally important to their country and, for that matter, to the rest of the world.
Because of its importance, Venezuela has their army regularly enlisted to protect the output by defending their installations, oil tankers and oil refineries. The oil industry in Venezuela has become a target for attacks. Protesters know when they really want to make a point and get their message heard, they target the oil industry.

Last April's coup which temporarily ousted president Hugo Chavez from power, was the result of a controversy over the state-owned oil firm that acted as the catalyst for the temporary termination. Chavez was left with no doubt about the source of his political and economic power. Chavez said about the attempts to disrupt the supply, “It's as if the doctor, who's supposed to be looking after your heart, suddenly tries to stop it.”

Accounting for about half of total government revenues, there is no question that oil is the lifeblood of Venezuela’s economy. With Venezuela producing about three million barrels a day of crude oil, which is about one third of the total gross domestic product. And about 75% of that is exported. Of the country's $3bn-4bn in annual foreign investment, almost all of it is channeled into the energy industry. Now, it is easy to understand why they protect their oil industry with armed guards.

With Venezuela being the fifth largest oil exporter in the world, it supplies about 13% of daily oil imports into the United States. The ability of Venezuela to continue pumping oil is a concern for the United States and for oil markets around the world. The removal of any such significant oil producer (whether it be Venezuela or another country) from the supply chain is certain to squeeze prices for oil even higher. The US, in particular, is left scrabbling around for alternative cargoes of not just crude oil, but also refined products such as petrol, jet fuel and diesel.

Given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the supply from the Middle East in the case of a US-led war against Iraq, secure supply is especially important at present.

It was 1921 when black gold (oil) was first discovered in Venezuela. Production surged quickly, and by the start of the World War II, Venezuela had become second only to the US in total output. In 1960, it was a founding member of the OPEC oil cartel, which still controls prices by regulating the amount of oil pumped onto the markets by member countries.

In recent years, Venezuela's oil output has begun to decrease, largely because of difficulties at the state-owned firm. This year, Rodriguez has been brought in from his position as secretary-general of OPEC in order to try to turn around the troubled firm. Most experts say Rodriguez will struggle to introduce any real change while Hugo Chavez remains in power. Oil companies in the United States like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation are always keeping aware of the world’s exporting dealings within the ever-changing energy industry.

The Processing of Natural Gas

2008-01-14T11:23:00.000-08:00

The natural gas used by consumers is much different from the natural gas that is brought up to the wellhead from underground. The processing of natural gas is in many respects less complicated than the processing and refining of crude oil, but it is equally as necessary before the end users receive it. The natural gas used by consumers is composed almost entirely of methane. Although still composed primarily of methane, the natural gas found at the wellhead is by no means as pure.

Raw natural gas comes from three types of wells: oil wells, gas wells, and condensate wells. Natural gas termed ‘associated gas’ is that which comes from oil wells. This gas can exist separate from oil in the formation (free gas), or dissolved in the crude oil (dissolved gas). Natural gas from gas and condensate wells, in which there is little or no crude oil, is termed ‘nonassociated gas’. Gas wells typically produce raw natural gas by itself. Condensate wells produce free natural gas along with a semi-liquid hydrocarbon condensate. Once separated from crude oil (if present), whatever the source of the natural gas, it commonly exists in mixtures with other hydrocarbons. The other hydrocarbons are principally ethane, propane, butane, and pentanes. Raw natural gas also contains water vapor, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbon dioxide, helium, nitrogen, and other compounds.

Pipeline-quality dry natural gas is the result of processing consisting of separating all of the various hydrocarbons and fluids from the natural gas. Before the natural gas can be transported in the pipelines, it must be purified. The ethane, propane, butane, and pentanes must be removed from natural gas. The actual practice of processing natural gas to pipeline dry gas quality levels usually involves four main processes to remove the various impurities: oil and condensate removal, water removal, separation of natural gas liquids, and lastly, sulfur and carbon dioxide removal. In addition to these, heaters and scrubbers installed near wellheads remove sand and other large-particle impurities such as the formation of hydrates resembling ice like crystals.

The associated hydrocarbons that are removed, known as Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) can be very valuable by-products of natural gas processing. Ethane, propane, butane, iso-butane, and natural gasoline are among these.

The complete processing of natural gas takes place at a processing plant, usually located in a natural gas producing region. Some of the needed processing can be accomplished at or near the wellhead.
In addition to processing done at the wellhead and at centralized processing plants, some final processing is also sometimes accomplished at straddle extraction plants which are located on major pipeline systems.

The processing system ensures that the natural gas intended for consumer use is as clean and pure as possible. Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation make sure that processing removes all impurities and separates out the associated hydrocarbons before the natural gas goes through the pipelines to reach the consumer.

The Transportation and Storage of Natural Gas

2008-01-14T11:22:00.000-08:00

The transportation system for natural gas consists of a complex network of pipelines, designed to quickly and efficiently transport natural gas from its origin to areas of high natural gas demand. To do this efficiently and effectively requires an extensive and elaborate transportation system. In many instances, natural gas produced from a particular well will have to travel a great distance to reach its point of use. Transportation of natural gas is closely linked to its storage. If the natural gas being transported is not be required at that time, it can be put into storage facilities for when it is needed.

The gathering system, the interstate pipeline, and the distribution system essentially make up the three major types of pipelines along the transportation route. The gathering system consists of low pressure, low diameter pipelines that transport raw natural gas right from the wellhead to the processing plant. If the natural gas from a particular well has high sulfur and carbon dioxide contents (sour gas), a specialized sour gas gathering pipe must be installed. Because sour gas is extremely corrosive and dangerous, its transportation must be done carefully from the wellhead to a sweetening plant.

Pipelines are either interstate or intrastate. Interstate pipelines carry natural gas across state boundaries, and in some cases, clear across the country. Intrastate pipelines transport natural gas within a particular state. The technical and operational systems are essentially the same for both interstate or intrastate pipelines. Natural gas pipelines are subject to regulatory oversight, which in many ways determines the manner in which pipeline companies must operate.

The exploration, production, and transportation of natural gas takes time. Natural gas, like most other commodities, can be stored for an indefinite period of time. Because the natural gas that reaches its destination is not always needed right away, it can be injected into underground storage facilities. These storage facilities are usually located near market centers that do not have a ready supply of locally produced natural gas.

The supply of natural gas has been traditionally regulated by the season. That is, partly because it is used for heat in both residential and commercial settings, the demand for natural gas is usually higher during the winter. Stored natural gas ensures that any excess supply delivered during the summer months is available to meet the increased demand of the winter months. Due to the demand for electricity to power air conditioners, recent trends toward natural gas fired electric generation has altered the demand for natural gas to increase during the summer months, however. Another vital role natural gas in storage serves is as insurance against any unforeseen accidents, natural disasters, or other occurrences that may affect the production or delivery of natural gas.

In the past, when natural gas was a regulated commodity, storage was part of the bundled product sold by the pipelines to distribution utilities. It is now available to anyone seeking storage for commercial purposes or operational requirements. Storage used to serve only as a buffer between transportation and distribution, to ensure adequate supplies of natural gas were in place for seasonal demand shifts, and unexpected demand surges. Now, in addition to serving those purposes, natural gas storage is also used by industry participants for commercial reasons; storing gas when prices are low, and withdrawing and selling it when prices are high, for instance. The purpose and use of storage has been closely linked to the regulatory environment of the time. Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation consider all of the changes in both the nation’s available pipeline transportation systems and storage facilities when investing in the future of energy acquisitions.

Advances in the Oil and Natural Gas Exploration

2008-01-13T14:42:00.000-08:00

The oil and natural gas industry has transformed into one of the most technologically advanced industries in the United States. Over the past thirty years, new innovations have reshaped the industry into a technology leader. Because of the technological innovation in the exploration and production, the industry has been able to keep up with the rising demand. The production of natural gas is constantly becoming more efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly. Natural gas deposits are being found deeper in the ground in more remote and sometimes inhospitable areas. New technological advances have provided the equipment necessary to produce natural gas in challenging environments in order to keep up with the industry production pace.
Some highlights of technological development in exploration and production include: 22,000 fewer wells needed annually to develop the same amount of reserves as were developed in 1985; drilling wastes have decreased by as much as 148 million barrels due to increased well productivity and fewer wells which is useful for drilling in sensitive areas; the use of modular drilling rigs and slimhole drilling reducing the size of drilling rigs, in turn, reducing surface impact; less reliance on explosives needed, reducing the impact on the environment.

Some major recent technological innovations in exploration and production are included here. 3-D and 4-D Seismic Imaging is the technology advance using traditional seismic imaging techniques, combined with powerful computers and processors, to create a 3-D model of the subsurface layers. The 4-D seismology allows exploration teams to observe subsurface changes over time. Because of 3-D and 4-D seismic imaging, teams can now identify natural gas prospects more easily, place wells more effectively, reduce the number of dry holes drilled, reduce drilling costs, and cut exploration time. CO2-Sand Fracturing Techniques have been used since the 1970s to help increase the flow rate of natural gas and oil from underground formations. CO2-Sand fracturing involves using a mixture of sand propants and liquid CO2 to fracture formations, creating and enlarging cracks through which oil and natural gas may flow more freely. After the CO2 vaporizes, only sand is left in the formation, holding the newly enlarged cracks open. Coiled Tubing technologies replace the traditional rigid, jointed drill pipe with a long, flexible coiled pipe string. Measurement While Drilling (MWD) systems allow for the collection of data from the bottom of a well as it is being drilled. This improves drilling efficiency and accuracy in the drilling process, allows better formation evaluation as the drill bit encounters the underground formation, and reduces the chance of formation damage and blowouts. Slimhole Drilling is exactly as it sounds, drilling a slimmer hole in the ground to get to natural gas and oil deposits. This technological advance can significantly improve the efficiency of drilling operations, as well as decrease its environmental impact. Natural gas and oil deposits are being found at locations that are deeper and deeper underwater. Whereas Offshore Drilling Operations can be among the most risky and dangerous undertakings, new technology, including improved offshore drilling rigs, dynamic positioning devices and sophisticated navigation systems are allowing safe, efficient offshore drilling in waters more than 10,000 feet deep.

The above technological advancements provide only a snapshot of the increasingly sophisticated technology being developed. New technologies and applications are being developed constantly, and serve to improve the economics of producing natural gas, allow for the production of deposits formerly considered too unconventional or uneconomic to develop, and ensure that the supply of natural gas keeps up with steadily increasing demand. Sufficient domestic natural gas resources exist to help companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation to fuel the U.S. for a significant period of time, and advancements in technology play a huge role in providing low-cost, environmentally sound methods of extracting these resources.

Processing Natural Gas to be Clean and Pure

2008-01-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

Before natural gas goes into the pipelines, it needs to be removed of all impurities. Processing natural gas to pipeline dry gas quality involves four main removal processes: oil and condensate removal, water removal, separation of natural gas liquids, and lastly, sulfur and carbon dioxide removal. In addition to these, heaters and scrubbers are installed, usually at or near the wellhead. The scrubbers serve primarily to remove sand and other large-particle impurities. With natural gas that contains even low quantities of water, natural gas hydrates have a tendency to form when temperatures drop. To reduce the occurrence of hydrates (resembling ice like crystals), small natural gas-fired heating units are typically installed along the gathering pipe wherever it is likely that these hydrates may form.

First the natural gas needs to be separated from the oil in which it is dissolved. This separation of natural gas from oil is most often done using equipment installed at or near the wellhead. Although dry pipeline quality natural gas is virtually identical across different geographic areas, raw natural gas from different regions may have different compositions and separation requirements. Natural gas is dissolved in oil underground primarily due to the pressure that the formation is under. The most basic type of separator is known as a conventional separator. Simply, it consists of a closed tank where the force of gravity serves to separate the heavier liquids like oil, and the lighter gases, like natural gas. Sometimes specialized equipment is necessary to separate oil and natural gas. An example of this type of equipment is the Low-Temperature Separator (LTX). This is most often used for wells producing high pressure gas along with light crude oil or condensate. Using pressure differentials to cool the wet natural gas and separate the oil and condensate, wet gas enters the separator, being cooled slightly by a heat exchanger. The process allows the gas to expand lowering of the temperature in the separator. By varying the pressure of the gas in various sections of the separator, it is possible to vary the temperature, which causes the oil and some water to be condensed out of the wet gas stream. This basic pressure-temperature relationship can work in reverse as well, to extract gas from a liquid oil stream.

Next, it is necessary to remove most of the associated water from the wet gas stream. Most of the liquid, free water associated with extracted natural gas is removed by simple separation methods at or near the wellhead. The treatment for 'dehydrating' the natural gas involves one of two processes: either absorption, or adsorption.
Absorption occurs when the water vapor is taken out by a dehydrating agent. An example of absorption dehydration is known as Glycol Dehydration. In this process, a liquid desiccant dehydrator serves to absorb water vapor from the gas stream. Glycol, the principal agent in this process, has a chemical affinity for water.
The primary form of dehydrating natural gas using adsorption is solid-desiccant dehydration. It usually consists of two or more adsorption towers, which are filled with a solid desiccant. Solid-desiccant dehydrators are more effective than glycol dehydrators, and are usually installed as a type of straddle system along natural gas pipelines.

The third step in the process of removing the impurities is the separation of the natural gas liquids (NGLs). In most instances, natural gas liquids have a higher value as separate products, and it is thus economical to remove them from the gas stream. The removal of natural gas liquids usually takes place in a relatively centralized processing plant, and uses techniques similar to those used to dehydrate natural gas.

In addition to water, oil, and NGL removal, one of the most important parts of gas processing involves the removal of sulfur and carbon dioxide. Natural gas from some wells contains significant amounts of sulfur and carbon dioxide. Because of the rotten smell provided by its sulfur content, this natural gas is commonly called 'sour gas'. Sour gas is extremely harmful, even lethal, to breathe. Sour gas can also be extremely corrosive. The sulfur that exists in the natural gas stream is extracted and marketed on its own.

Gas processing ensures that the natural gas intended for use is as clean and pure as possible, making it the clean burning and environmentally sound energy choice. Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation make sure that processing removes all impurities so only clean and pure natural gas goes in the pipeline network across the nation.

Natural Gas Vehicles

2007-12-31T16:47:00.000-08:00

Cars, trucks, and buses are the greatest contributors to air pollution in the United States. Emissions from these vehicles contribute to smog around metropolitan areas, low visibility, and various greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), about half of all air pollution and more than 80 percent of air pollution in cities are produced by cars, trucks, and buses in the United States.

The oil and natural gas industry has transformed into one of the most technologically advanced industries in the United States over the past thirty years. New innovations have reshaped the industry into a technology leader. Select innovations have had a profound effect on the potential for natural gas. Because of the air pollution problem coming from gasoline and diesel powered cars, trucks, and buses, vehicles operating on compressed natural gas are being considered as a wise alternative fuel solution.

Using natural gas to fuel our vehicles will cut down on the high levels of pollution caused from gasoline and diesel engines. In fact, according to the EPA, compared to traditional vehicles, vehicles operating on compressed natural gas have reductions in carbon monoxide emissions of 90 to 97 percent, and reductions in carbon dioxide emissions of up to 25 percent. Nitrogen oxide emissions can be reduced by 35 to 60 percent, and other non-methane hydrocarbon emissions could be reduced by as much as 50 to 75 percent. These numbers would clean up the air tremendously. Because of the relatively simple makeup of natural gas in comparison to traditional vehicle fuels, there are fewer toxic and carcinogenic emissions from natural gas vehicles, and virtually no particulate emissions. There will be no soot or dirt flying in the air. The environmentally friendly attributes of natural gas are over-whelming. More natural gas vehicles will definitely contribute to reducing air pollution. New, stringent federal and state emissions laws require an improvement in vehicle emissions over the foreseeable future.

Fuel intensive vehicle fleets, such as taxicabs and public buses are the main vehicles fueled by natural gas today. However, virtually all types of natural gas vehicles are either in production today for sale to the public or in development, from passenger cars, trucks, buses, vans, and even heavy-duty utility vehicles. Despite the advances, a number of disadvantages of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) prevent their mass-production. Higher initial cost, limited driving range, trunk space, and lack of refueling infrastructure pose impediments to the future spread of natural gas vehicles.

However, it is expected that with improved technology, research, and fueling infrastructure, the use of NGVs in non-fleet settings will increase in the future. Natural gas vehicles present an exciting opportunity to reduce the damage of one of our most polluting sectors. Companies like
Triple Diamond Energy Corporation, interested in changing the future for the better are keeping knowledgeable of the advancements being made.

The Henry Hub in Louisiana

2007-12-31T11:01:00.000-08:00

Accounting for almost a quarter of United States energy consumption, natural gas futures contract determined at the NYMEX Division is widely used as a national benchmark price. The price is based on delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana which the nexus of 16 intra- and interstate natural gas pipeline systems that draw supplies from the region's prolific gas deposits. The Henry Hub is where pipelines meet that are carrying the natural gas to supply the United States. These pipelines serve markets throughout the U.S. East Coast, the Gulf Coast, the Midwest, and also up to the Canadian border. The natural gas futures contract trades in units of 10,000 million British thermal units (mmBtu). An options contract and calendar spread options contracts provide additional risk management opportunities.

Also available are two financially-settled natural gas contracts for trading on the CME Globex® system – Henry Hub (HH) and Henry Power (HP). The HH contract settles on the same date as the physically-delivered natural gas contract and HP is a penultimate contract. Both contracts are listed for 72 months. The spread between natural gas futures and electricity futures known as the spark spread, can be used to manage price risk in the power markets.

Because of the volatility of natural gas prices, a vigorous basis market has developed in the pricing relationships between Henry Hub and other important natural gas market centers in the continental United States and Canada. The New York Mercantile Exchange makes available for trading a series of basis swap futures contracts that are quoted as price differentials between approximately 30 natural gas pricing points and Henry Hub. The basis contracts trade in units of 2,500 mmBtu on the NYMEX ClearPort® trading platform. Typically, transactions can also be consummated off-Exchange and then submitted to the Exchange for clearing via the NYMEX ClearPort® clearing website. This can be as an exchange of futures for physicals or an exchange of futures for swaps transaction.

The NYMEX miNY™ natural gas futures contract, designed for investment portfolios, is the equivalent of 2,500 mmBtu of natural gas, 25% of the size of a standard futures contract. The contract is available for trading on the CME Globex® electronic trading platform and clears through the New York Mercantile Exchange clearinghouse.

Investments can also be considered through the companies among which produce, refine, and distribute the nation’s energy products like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation which specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties.

Half of the National Oil Consumption is Gasoline

2007-12-30T14:31:00.000-08:00

Accounting for almost half of national oil consumption, gasoline is the largest single volume refined product sold in the United States. It is a highly diverse market, with hundreds of wholesale distributors and thousands of retail outlets. Because of this, it is subject to intense competition and price volatility.   The NYMEX Division New York harbor unleaded gasoline futures contract and reformulated gasoline blend stock for oxygen blending (RBOB) futures contract trade in units of 42,000 gallons or 1,000 barrels. They are based on delivery at petroleum products terminals in New York harbor, the major east coast trading center for imports and domestic shipments from refineries in the New York harbor area or from the Gulf Coast refining centers.   The industry is shifting towards ethanol with the ongoing phase out of the oxygenate methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). Now required in many areas for controlling emissions that can adversely affect air quality, the unleaded gasoline contract specifications conform to those for oxygenated gasoline. RBOB conforms to industry standards for reformulated regular gasoline blend stock. As listed by the Colonial Pipeline for fungible F grade for sales in New York and New Jersey, RBOB is blended with 10% denatured fuel ethanol (92% purity). Ready for the addition of 10% ethanol at the truck rack, RBOB is a wholesale non-oxygentated blend stock traded in the New York Harbor barge market.   The New York Mercantile Exchange maintains close contact with federal and state officials and continues to evaluate changes in the regulations to ensure that the terms and conditions of the gasoline futures contract continue to mirror the cash market. Contracts provide a slate of flexible, liquid financial instruments including futures contracts, options contracts, calendar spread options contracts, crack spread options contracts, and average price options. Exotic options contracts are offered as well.

The No. 2 fuel oil is heating oil, and accounts for about 25% of the yield of a barrel of crude, the second largest "cut" after gasoline. The heating oil futures contract also trades in units of 42,000 gallons or 1,000 barrels. and is based on delivery in New York harbor, the principal cash market trading center. Options on futures, calendar spread options contracts, crack spread options contracts, and average price options contracts give market participants even greater flexibility in managing price risk.

The heating oil futures contract is also used to hedge diesel fuel and jet fuel, both of which trade in the cash market at an often stable premium to NYMEX Division New York harbor heating oil futures.
The Exchange also lists for trading on the NYMEX ClearPort® trading platform a series of both gasoline and heating oil swap futures contracts based on crack spreads and location differentials, including European and average price options. Transactions in these contracts can also be consummated off-exchange and submitted to the Exchange for clearing through the NYMEX ClearPort® clearing website.

Investing in oil and energy products can be done through the oil and energy producers. Triple Diamond Energy Corporation specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and natural gas properties.

Smog and Acid Rain

2007-12-29T21:53:00.000-08:00

Particularly for large metropolitan cities, smog and poor air quality is a pressing environmental problem. Smog primarily consists of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds chemically interacting with heat from sunlight forming ground level ozone. Smog is that familiar haze most commonly found surrounding large cities, particularly in the summer time. Smog and ground level ozone contribute to all kinds of respiratory problems ranging from temporary discomfort, asthma, to long-lasting, permanent lung damage. The pollutants in smog come from vehicle emissions, smokestack emissions, paints, and solvents – most of which started out as crude oil.

Much of the eastern United States is affected by another environmental problem known as acid rain. Acid rain can damage crops, forests, wildlife populations, and cause respiratory and other illnesses in humans. When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with water vapor and other chemicals in the presence of sunlight, various acidic compounds form in the air and come to the earth as acid rain. The pollutants of acid rain are derived from coal fired power plants. Natural gas emits virtually no sulfur dioxide and up to 80 percent less nitrogen oxides than the combustion of coal. So the increased use of natural gas would provide for fewer acid rain causing emissions.

The source of energy to use for reducing pollution and maintaining a clean and healthy environment is natural gas. Natural gas is also domestically abundant making it a secure source of energy. The environmental benefits of using natural gas over other sources of energy, particularly other fossil fuels are numerous.

Since the use of natural gas emits only low levels of nitrogen oxides and virtually no particulate matter, it can be used to help combat smog formation in those areas where ground level air quality is poor. Electric utilities, motor vehicles, and industrial plants make up the main sources of nitrogen oxides. To combat smog production, especially in urban centers where it is needed the most, increased natural gas use in the electric generation sector, a shift to cleaner natural gas vehicles, and increased industrial natural gas use could all serve to improving the air quality. Summertime, when natural gas demand is at its lowest and smog problems are the greatest, would be a good time for industrial plants and electric generators to use natural gas to fuel their operations instead of using the more polluting fossil fuels. This would effectively reduce smog emissions resulting in clearer, healthier air around the urban centers.

A study conducted in 1995 by the Coalition for Gas-Based Environmental Solutions found that in the Northeast, smog and ozone-causing emissions could be reduced by 50 to 70 percent through the seasonal switching to natural gas.

Particulate emissions such as soot, ash, metals, and other airborne particles also cause the degradation of air quality in the United States. Natural gas emits virtually no particulates into the atmosphere. Emissions of particulates from natural gas combustion are 90 percent lower than from the combustion of oil, and 99 percent lower than burning coal. Increased natural gas use in place of other dirtier hydrocarbons can help to reduce particulate emissions in the United States.

Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation are concerned about the levels of smog and acid rain. They look at increasing their supply of the more environmentally beneficial natural gas and to make it more accessible to the northeastern part of the United States.

Oil Production on Floating Vessel Offshore Brazil

2007-12-28T16:28:00.000-08:00

Designed to produce 180,000 b/d of oil at peak production, the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO P-54) went online December 11th on the Roncador field in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil. It will increase the field's installed capacity to 460,000 b/d. Petrobras built the new platform vessel to be added to the fleet.

Capable of compressing 211.9 MMcf/d of natural gas and storing up to 2 million barrels of oil, the P-54 is built from the conversion of tanker Barão de Mauá, which belonged to Petrobras' fleet. The new platform is an addition in the Roncador field to the P-52, which kicked off production in November and is also capable of lifting 180,000 b/d.

The new platform is expected to reach peak production in the second half of 2008. P-54 is anchored in 4,593 feet (1,400 m) of water, and will be connected to 17 wells, 11 of which oil and gas producers. The other six wells are water injectors. Oil production outflow will be performed by relief vessels. The natural gas collected will be transported via sub-sea pipelines to Brazil’s mainland.

As was the case with the P-52, Petrobras built the new platform in compliance with the new nationalization parameters. Totaling 63 percent national content, constructing the FPSO P-54 generated 2,600 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs. The P-54 was built in a modular fashion over 41 months after three agreements were signed in June 2004. The Dresser Rand/Mauá Jurong consortium built the gas compression modules, and Nuovo Pignone made the power generation ones. Jurong Shipyard was in charge of converting the hull, manufacturing the remaining process and utility modules, and unit integration. The process, utility and compression modules were built at the Mauá-Jurong construction site in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro. The power generator was built at Nuovo Pignone's Porto Novo Rio construction site in Caju, Rio de Janeiro.

Another FPSO unit named Cidade de Vitória, capable of producing 100,000 b/d from the Golfinho field in the Espírito Santo Basin was put into production in November in addition to the P-54 and the P-52. Petrobras concludes in the last quarter of the year, with the inauguration cycle of three new production units in southeastern Brazil. These additional floating platforms will increase Petrobras capabilities considerably. The construction will generate thousands of jobs and once completed, new production jobs will open up to carry on the process.

Oil companies in the United States like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation keep aware of other countries producing oil for many reasons; one being to learn how other countries extract oil from their locations and another being possible trade negotiations as far as importing and exporting.

Mexico’s Oil Output

2007-12-28T16:26:00.000-08:00

Oil was not discovered in Mexico until after the turn of the twentieth century. Commercial production of crude oil started in 1901 and by 1911 Mexico began to export oil.

In 1923 Bucarelli Agreements committed the United States and Mexico to regard titles held by foreign oil companies as concessions by the Mexican government rather than as outright ownership claims. And in 1925 President Plutarco Elías Calles decreed that foreign oil companies must register their titles in Mexico and limited their concessions.

Largely as a result of increased international demand generated by World War I, Mexico's oil production peaked in 1921 at 193 million barrels (25 percent of world production). Mexico was second only to the United States in petroleum output and led the world in oil exports during much of the 1920s.

Giving the Mexican government a monopoly in the exploration, production, refining, and distribution of oil and natural gas, and in the manufacture and sale of basic petrochemicals, President Lázaro Cárdenas nationalized the petroleum industry in 1938. This left the oil companies uncomfortable. The United States government soon pressured the oil companies to come to terms with Mexico as a result of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy. In 1943 Mexico and the oil companies reached a final settlement under which the companies received US$24 million (a fraction of the book value) as compensation.

Mexico's oil output expanded at an average annual rate of 6 percent between 1938 and 1971. And production increased from 44 million barrels in 1938 to 78 million barrels in 1951 alone. Domestic demand progressively exceeded output, and in 1957 Mexico became a net importer of petroleum products. Production then rose to 177 million barrels by 1971 with the exploitation of new oil fields.

Extensive oil discoveries in the 1970s increased Mexico's domestic output and export revenues. Almost every drilling operation conducted after 1972 struck oil. In 1973 oil production surpassed the peak of 190 million barrels achieved in the early 1920s.

However, by early 1993, both crude oil production and exports had begun to decline. Down from almost 80 percent in 1982, in 1995 the oil sector generated slightly more than 10 percent of Mexico's export income. In 1995 Mexico was the world's sixth-largest producer of crude oil. In the Western Hemisphere, only the United States produced more oil than Mexico. Directly behind Mexico was Venezuela.

The Mexican government invested heavily to increase the capacity of existing refineries and construct new ones so that, by the early 1990s, some 40 percent of Mexico's crude petroleum output was refined domestically. In 1993 Mexico had the world's eighth largest crude petroleum reserves, amounting to some 5 percent of the world's total. Mexico's reserves are sufficient to guarantee the current production levels for fifty years.

Since the nationalization of the oil industry in 1938, the state-owned Pemex has monopolized the production and marketing of hydrocarbons. In August 1993, it became known that the government was considering proposals to allow private companies to buy, sell, and distribute imported gasoline, natural gas, and petrochemicals, and to invest in new pipelines.

In early 1996, the government unveiled its Program for the Development and Restructuring of the Energy Sector. The plan is intended to increase Mexico's petroleum exports, improve its competitiveness in the international energy market, and contribute to more balanced regional development, which it has.

Companies in the United States’ oil sector, like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation continue to look at Mexico’s oil output and assess any potential business dealings.

Oil Spill in the North Sea

2007-12-28T16:25:00.001-08:00

Oil spills happen. The most likely reason an oil spill occurs is when an oil tanker’s equipment has failed causing oil to leak into the ocean. If the equipment breaks down, the tanker may get stuck on shallow land. When they start to drive the tanker again, they can put a hole in the tanker causing it to leak oil.

Other oil spills may occur when countries are at war; one country may decide to dump gallons of oil into the other country’s oceans. Terrorists may cause an oil spill because they will dump oil into a country’s ocean. Many terrorists will do this because they are trying to get the country’s attention. Illegal dumps also can happen when people decide they do not want to spend money on decomposing their waste oil. Natural disasters (like hurricanes) may cause an oil spill, too. The winds from a hurricane can cause an oil tanker to flip over, pouring oil out.

The affect oil spills have on animals is tremendous. Birds die from oil spills if their feathers are covered in oil. Animals may die because they get hypothermia, causing their body temperature to be really low. Oil may also cause the death of an animal by entering the animal’s lungs or liver. Oil also can kill an animal by blinding it causing it to not be aware of predators. Oil spills sometimes are the reason for animals becoming endangered and instinct.

There are many ways to stop the spread of oil in the ocean. Workers can place a boom around the tanker that is spilling oil. Booms collect the oil off the water. A boom may be placed somewhere before an oil spill. They can be placed around an entrance to the ocean, like a stream. These booms will absorb any oil that flows around it. The workers can also use skimmers, boats that can remove the oil off the water. Sorbents are also used which are sponges that can collect the oil. An airplane can fly over the water dropping chemicals into the ocean. The chemicals can break down the oil into the ocean. They also can burn freshly spilled oil with fireproof booms to contain the oil.

Recently in the North Sea off of Norway, an oil spill happened while the tanker Navion Britannica was loading oil from a storage buoy. The tanker is owned by a Vancouver-based corporation. About 25,000 barrels of oil were discharged into the Statfjord field, 125 miles (201 km) off Bergen on the afternoon of December 12th. Reported on December 14, 2007 ships carrying two oil collection systems were active in the area where the oil slick was believed to be the thickest. StatoilHydro, involved in the clean-up, called off the deployment of booms to help collect the oil because the oil slick was too thin to recover. StatoilHydro will continue to monitor the situation and maintain its emergency response team. Vessels still present in the area, watch over the slick, which is also being monitored by satellite. The Norwegian National Coastal Administration's LN-SFT surveillance aircraft flew over the affected area later that week to make any new observations.

Oil spills happen. Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp. are kept abreast of these incidents for many reasons. This precious energy source should not be wasted. And the world has to learn that the damage caused by such oil spills has to be avoided.

There are many things being done to prevent more spills. In 1990, US Congress passed OPA (Ocean Pollution Act). The OPA 90’s major laws are: Emergency Response Plans—This law says that the owners of the tanker must have a detailed plan on what they will do if there was a spill. They must have this plan written before any spill. Double Hulls—The law says that all ships in the U.S are required to have a double hull. Liability—The law says that the owners of a boat that spills oil will have to pay $1,200 for every ton they spill. Spill Fund—The law says that the government has money from companies that transport the oil so when a spill occurs, the government can pay for the clean up. Navigation—The law says that the Coast Guard must know where the oil tankers can drive without an oil spill occurring.

Iraqi Unions Fight the New Oil Law

2007-12-28T16:23:00.000-08:00

One of the Bush administration’s top political priorities is Iraq’s proposed oil law, which would open up control of the country’s oilfields to multinational corporations. On July 3, Bush called Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to encourage him and other leaders to move forward on it. The latest draft of this new oil law headed to the Iraqi Parliament for debate. With strong opposition from Iraqi oil workers, enacting the law will be very difficult, even if does pass through the Parliament.

“It doesn’t serve the interests of the Iraqi people,” says Faleh Abood Umara, general secretary of the Basra-based Southern Oil Company Union and the Iraqi Federation of Oil Workers’ Unions. Umara recently toured the United States, advocating national control of Iraqi oil assets and the immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.

Umara emphasizes the fact that the new law was written in the United States and would permit joint ownership of many Iraqi oil fields by foreign companies. Under the new law, Iraq could export much of the oil and profits from these fields for up to 35 years under what are called “production sharing agreements.”

“We want the national Iraqi oil company to make service contracts with the companies, not partnerships,” Umara said in an interview. Basically, the Iraqi oil workers’ unions are opposed to sharing joint ownership of the oil assets. “We want new technology for the production of oil but to have foreign companies work with Iraqi workers and professionals for a limited time only,” he says. “We are not opposed to being developed with advanced and imported technology, but we would like to be sole owner of our wealth and use it to develop our country and cities.” The oil workers’ opposition to the law could prove a serious obstacle to the already much-delayed legislation.

Umara says the oil workers’ unions want the distribution of revenue directed to a national redevelopment fund. But the Bush administration has long wanted to give foreign oil companies as much control as possible over Iraqi oil fields. The proposed oil law partly would govern the distribution of revenue. Antonia Juhasz, an analyst for the Oil Change International, says that the law gives foreign oil companies great flexibility, with no requirement to hire or invest profits locally, and opens the door to the long-term production-sharing agreements. Other Middle East oil-producing nations have rejected these agreements. The average oil worker is concerned about the future of Iraq’s oil.

US oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation see this objection to the new oil law proposal as a delay in foreign oil imports. They realize it is, more than ever before, necessary to find ways for the United States to be energy independent.

FloaTEC TLP Model Testing Underway

2007-12-28T16:21:00.000-08:00

At Texas A&M University, model testing of FloaTEC's Extended Tension Leg Platform (ETLP) is underway at the Offshore Technology Research Center (OTRC). The American Petroleum Institute (API) established new guidelines after Hurricane Katrina. The testing at OTRC has been in accordance to these revised environmental regulations which require existing and future installations to withstand hurricane force winds similar to those of Hurricane Katrina.

To prove this, OTRC's testing tank simulates the wave and wind environments found in the Central Gulf of Mexico. Significant changes were made to the design basis requirements so that all new structures (Tension Leg Platforms, Spars and Semi-submersibles) will be designed to meet the requirements for use in the Central Gulf of Mexico. FloaTEC says API's new regulations have enabled new testing procedures to be established and will continue to test all of its future designs in this manner.

FloaTEC’s initial model test was confirmed a success and is considering a second optional test. With the scale model receiving no green water damage, FloaTEC feels its ETLP design is suitable to post-Hurricane Katrina requirements and now looks to secure an order to construct the design to work in the Central Gulf of Mexico. Designed with drilling and production capabilities, the ETLP will be able to be moored in water depths up to 5,500 feet (1,676 m) and drill ultra-deep wells up to 35,000 feet (10,668 m). The production capabilities will be able to yield 120,000 b/d of oil and contain up to 18 slots for drilling and dry tree production.

Since the rig market continues to be tight, FloaTEC President Eric Namtvedt explains the ETLP's dry tree application presents an attractive development alternative. Though tested for the Central Gulf of Mexico, FloaTEC's ETLP design can be used elsewhere and is not designed exclusively for use in the Gulf.

Compared to other floating production solutions, FloaTEC's design is expected to have the ability to fast-track a field's development, as construction time is significantly reduced being that FloaTEC's parent companies, J. Ray McDermott and Keppel Fels, ensure timely, full assembly, with both fabrication and shipyards at its disposal.

Altogether, FloaTEC anticipates its engineering and construction resources can reduce field development cycle time by as much as two years. The platform's drilling unit, topsides and nodes would likely be fabricated at Keppel's facilities, while hull construction, as well as integration work would be undertaken at McDermott's shipyard in Mexico and McDermott's derrick barge DB 50 could be utilized for integration of hull and topsides.

FloaTEC hopes to secure an order within the next 18 to 24 months. Representatives from Chevron, Petrobras and ConocoPhillips attended the model testing. As the news gets extended, independent companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation will be looking into this also as possible investment potential.

Canada is the Largest Supplier of Oil to US

2007-12-28T16:20:00.000-08:00

United States oil imports from Canada are now greater than imports from the entire Persian Gulf. In 2001, 23.3% of US oil came from the Persian Gulf, 15.4% came from Canada, 12.1% was imported from Mexico, 14.0% from Saudi Arabia, and 13.1% from Venezuela. In 2006, US oil imports from the Persian Gulf was at 16.2% and the imports from Canada were at 16.9%, 12.4% from Mexico, 10.7% from Saudi Arabia, and 10.3% from Venezuela. The source of US imports for both petroleum and related products has shifted during the years 2001 and 2006.

The trend is very interesting, in that oil imports from Canada now exceed imports from the entire Persian Gulf, and oil imports from Mexico now exceed imports from Saudi Arabia.

Canadian oil companies recently announced $38 billion of new construction in Alberta's oil patch. And new projects in Canada which have been announced over the past year total something close to $200 billion worth.

At the moment, Canada's oil reserves are the second largest in the world, behind Saudi Arabia. This change has happened rather quickly and it is predicted that within a decade, Canada will have a higher daily oil production than any other country in the world, including Saudi Arabia.

Ahead of Saudi Arabia in 2004, Canada took first place, as the largest foreign supplier of crude oil to the US, according to data released by the Energy Information Agency of the US Department of Energy. That year Canada supplied to the United States 2.1 mm bpd of oil, crude and refined combined. From 1999 to 2004, consecutively, Canada was the number one foreign supplier of oil to the United States. Canadian oil production continues to increase each year, with production expansion of Alberta's oil sands, and of the Atlantic offshore.

With planned investments, oil sands production is projected to double by the end of the decade. In 2004, over a million bpd of crude oil were produced from the oil sands, about a third of total Canadian production. At roughly 180 bn barrels (5 bn conventional and 175 bn established oil sands), Canada has the second largest reserves in the world.

Since the signing of the NAFTA in 1994, the two-way trade between Canada and the United States has more than doubled in value. With $1.2 bn in trade now crossing the Canada-US border every single day, they are each other's largest trading partner.

An important part of this bilateral trade is energy. Canada is the largest supplier of not only oil, but natural gas and electricity also, to the United States. Oil Companies within the United States, like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation watch the amount of imports the US needs to help gauge their production.

Opposition to the Energy Bill Passed

2007-12-15T20:18:00.000-08:00

The American Gas Association (AGA) today announced its opposition to the Energy Bill (H.R.6) which passed the House. The bill includes several provisions that are detrimental to the nation’s natural gas customers by causing higher prices.

This recent Energy Bill H.R.6 discourages the expansion of natural gas distribution systems by increasing the depreciation period for natural gas distribution pipelines. In the Energy Policy Act of 2005 the depreciation period for these systems was reduced from 20 to 15 years. This policy encouraged the expansion of new systems and to replace aging equipment. After only three years, the current legislation proposes to reverse this policy. Without an effective delivery system, investments in natural gas infrastructure are very important because consumers will not have access to this clean domestic fuel. The new legislation will drive production down and prices up. Because of this likely outcome, the AGA opposes the bill.

“Responsible energy legislation should not only encourage increased use of natural gas but also ensure adequate supply. This legislation moves in the opposite direction,” said AGA President and CEO David Parker. “Higher taxes will reduce supply and result in higher prices for American consumers. Now is not the time to drive up energy costs.”

Building facilities and expanding production would benefit some regions of the country by boosting local economies. There are still many regions in the nation where pipelines do not even reach. These regions are subject to choose other energy sources that are more costly. Increased natural gas supplies would benefit the nation’s economic and energy outlook. This new bill also increases the tax on domestic natural gas production by repealing parts of Section 199. Higher taxes will reduce supply and result in higher consumer prices. Both outcomes are certainly not desired.

Natural gas is the cleanest domestic reliable fuel and with expansion, has the ability to meet the nation’s energy needs. Being sensitive to the environment of the future, natural gas reduces greenhouse gas emissions and is considered a viable resource to use because of this. Natural gas is the most efficient of the energy resources. Increased production and use of natural gas is a solution for improving the nation’s future energy outlook and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Natural gas eliminates the threat of oil spills, oil contamination and environmental clean up. Because natural gas burns so cleanly, no unpleasant odors, soot, or ashes are left behind. Natural gas is non-toxic, not poisonous or harmful to humans. The new bill puts all this in jeopardy. Energy supply companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation agree that the passing of this bill is a step in the opposite direction for the natural gas industry. At a time when oil is becoming cost prohibitive, natural gas, with the passage of this bill, has potential to do the same.

Energy Coalition Recommends Improvements to Recent Compliance Program

2007-12-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

The energy trade coalition represents both the electric and gas industries and is comprised of the American Gas Association (AGA), Edison Electric Institute (EEI), Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA), and the Process Gas Consumers Group (PGC). All of the above coalition members understand the goal Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) wants to achieve, but expressed the need for a better ‘road map’ for compliance. There has to be more clarity and definition of the compliances in the policies, rules, regulations and specific processes.

A diverse coalition of energy trade associations released a White Paper on “Implementation of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Enforcement Authority”, which expresses support for the spirit of FERC’s enforcement actions, but calls on FERC to be more explicit. The white paper offers a constructive analysis to support the Commission’s use of its enforcement authority to foster a culture of compliance by market participants.

“Energy market participants want to comply with the law and the Commission’s regulations for a good reason—it is the right way to operate,” said former FERC Commissioner Bill Massey, who is representing the energy coalition. Massey said, “In addition, they value their commercial reputations, want to maintain competitive market environments, seek to provide innovative and market responsive services, strongly support industry reliability and understand the costs of noncompliance.”

While the energy coalition expressed its support for compliance in energy markets, the coalition also requested greater clarity. As noted in the white paper, certain FERC regulations and aspects of its enforcement policies and actions need to be clearer.

Massey said, “Market participants who desire to take the steps necessary to achieve full compliance need assistance from the Commission to develop a better compliance ‘road map.’” He said, “FERC and market participants have the same goals—to support the development of necessary energy infrastructure, ensure a reliable energy supply, promote competitive markets, and protect consumers—and market participants urge FERC to take further steps to promote and facilitate compliance with the energy laws and regulations it administers.”

To promote compliance by market participants, the coalition provided a number of recommended steps discussed in the white paper Highlights of the recommendations that FERC can take immediately include: clarifying, simplifying, and codifying certain Commission policies and rules to reduce regulatory uncertainty; measuring the success of the Commission’s enforcement program not by the number and amount of penalties, but by the degree to which the clarity of its rules and transparency of its policies facilitate compliance; and providing timely responses to informal and formal requests for assistance in interpreting the rules and regulations.

The coalition asked Bill Massey and Bob Fleishman of Covington & Burling LLP to prepare this white paper on behalf of the seven electricity and natural gas industry trade associations. Energy corporations like Triple Diamond Energy Corp. will want to hear how this unfolds to better serve their customers and meet the competitive market demands.

Energy Efficient Residential Gas Furnaces

2007-12-14T14:26:00.000-08:00

Natural gas meets almost one-fourth of the United States' energy needs. With the price of energy on the rise, the American Gas Association (AGA) has recognized a growing concern and need for residential homes to be kept warm and safe in the future.

The American Gas Association, founded in 1918, represents 200 local energy utility companies that deliver natural gas to more than 64 million homes, businesses and industries throughout the United States. A total of 69 million residential, commercial and industrial customers receive natural gas in the US, and AGA's members’ deliver 92 percent of all natural gas provided by the nation's natural gas utilities. AGA is an advocate for natural gas utility companies and their customers and provides a broad range of programs and services for member natural gas pipelines, marketers, gatherers, international natural gas companies and industry associates.

The American Gas Association overwhelmingly approved of the final rule issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) for residential furnaces and boilers. The rule is the result of a long process that will ultimately give the end consumer the choice of energy-efficient, cost-effective, natural gas central furnaces and boilers.

“This rule underscores DOE’s understanding that consumers who live in warmer climates should not have to pay the additional costs for central heating equipment that, in the long run, will not pay for itself through energy-efficient savings,” said Charles Fritts, AGA Vice President, Government Relations. “In fact, an unreasonably high efficiency requirement could cause the unwanted and unsafe consequence of consumers attempting to repair equipment rather than replace it with a cost-prohibitive newer system.”

The Department of Energy has been researching and compiling an in-depth analysis for technical feasibility and economic justification of the new minimum efficiency requirements designated by Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) ratings that will go into effect in 2015. It has been concluded the new requirements will raise the minimum requirements from two to five AFUE percentage points, so typical natural gas furnaces must meet a minimum of 80 AFUE and natural gas boilers will be at 82 AFUE. These new requirements may not seem to be a drastic change; however, they represent a balanced and sensible approach to safety and efficiency concerns with regard to central heating equipment, natural gas furnaces and boilers.

“This new rule balances consumers’ pocketbooks with safety and increased energy efficiency—a win-win situation for everyone,” Charles Fritts concluded at the end of the announcement.

Of course, energy companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation keep informed of any new rules the American Gas Association approves issued by the Department of Energy. The result of the study and rule will give consumers a more cost-effective and efficient way of receiving natural gas. And in the end the energy companies will continue to supply their customers with what is needed.

Pipeline Spills Reduced

2007-12-13T22:23:00.000-08:00

In 1999 a voluntary environmental pipeline performance tracking system was started. The petroleum pipeline industry has reduced both the number and volume of crude, refined product, and highly volatile liquid (HVL) spills. An increased emphasis on managing pipeline risk have led to these reductions.

The Petroleum Pipeline Tracking System (PPTS) records detailed data and information about spills and releases, their causes and consequences. The pipeline members of the American Petroleum Institute and the Association of Oil Pipe Lines believe that tracking and learning from spills will further improve performance. In recent years that has proven to be true. The times where spills have been increased have been noted during natural catastrophes (hurricanes Ivan, Katrina and Rita).

In 2004, pipeline operators participating in PPTS accounted for about 85% of the total interstate oil pipeline mileage and volume throughput. Data verification efforts are extensive and usually include an incident-by-incident comparison to releases reported with the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, checking for completeness and accuracy. While specific incident information recorded in PPTS remains confidential, the data mining team (DMT) checks the data from all of the reported spills. The DMT publishes results of the analyses in advisories so the pipeline industry can better manage any possible pipeline risk.

Spills caused by equipment failures which include non-pipe components such as valves, fittings, and pumps and operator error showed their first significant declines in 2004. The increased emphasis on facilities integrity and risk management contributed to these declines.

Spills caused by corrosion can be controlled by the in-line inspection tools that identify potential corrosion locations. The pipeline repairs are identified and repaired before failure. So corrosion spills also continued to decline, led by the reduction in spills from crude oil systems. Crude oil spills were about one-third more numerous than refined product spills but declined rapidly due to improvements in corrosion spill prevention in onshore pipelines.

Between 2003 and 2004 the volumes released rose very slightly, due in part to releases related to Hurricane Ivan. The data for 2005 will also show a significant spill volume related to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which affected both onshore and offshore oil pipelines and associated shore-based facilities in the Gulf Coast.

Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation join PPTS in their commitment to improving safety and environmental protection by the analysis of results of the pipeline spills.

Peak Oil Situation

2007-12-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

Oil is a finite, non-renewable resource, one that has powered enormous economic and population growth over the last century and a half. The world has become addicted to oil. In just 8 years, it's projected the world will be consuming nearly 50,000 gallons of oil every second. It has been said that for every nine barrels of oil we consume, we are recovering only one. We're using up oil at breakneck speed. It has been challenging to keep up with the rate of demand. Peak oil is the label for this problem of energy resource depletion or the peak in global oil production. Exploration and discovery is becoming more expensive as we go further out into unknown and untouched areas.

Oil reserves to tap in the state of emergency have been opened up for use. OPEC member governments supplied only approximate amounts. The International Energy Agency (IEA) even admitted to knowing about some of OPEC's members not revealing accurate amounts of oil stored in reserve. The global impact on oil prices is staggering. The world economy and the strength of the dollar are directly related to oil supplies and cost.

How can the output be increased to meet the demand? OPEC claims they will (to 20million barrels per day), but it's been found that OPEC Middle East oil nations, even Saudi Arabia, are pumping oil from fields known to be post-production. OPEC is relying on what is called "Peak Oil" when they claim this increased production of 20 million barrels of crude oil per day. While most of the world idly stand by, investors are beginning to catch on to what's happening in the oil and gas industry on the global scale. While the energy crisis is beginning to make its way into the news media limelight, just a few are aware of the true scope and magnitude of this crisis. Other alternatives are being studied while exploration is still being done accompanied with economical ways to recover the new discoveries.

The rate of oil production (extraction and refining) currently is about 84 million barrels per day. Once we have used up about half of the original reserves, oil production stops growing and begins a terminal decline, hence 'peak'. The peak in oil production does not signify running out of oil, but it does mean the end of cheap oil. For economies leveraged on an ever increasing quantity of cheap oil, the consequences seem inevitable.

Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation have, of course, extracted the easier-to-reach, cheaper oil first. The oil pumped first, near the surface, is light and 'sweet' with a low sulfur content and therefore easy to refine. Naturally these fields are worked on before the rest until final depletion determined when it takes the energy of a barrel of oil to extract a barrel of oil.

Clean Diesel Engines and Fuel

2007-12-09T21:49:00.000-08:00

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has successfully compiled a group of regulatory and non-regulatory standards for reducing emissions from diesel engines. Now it extends this success by creating the National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC). Through the implementation of varied control strategies and the aggressive involvement of national, state, and local partners, this Campaign has been set up to reduce the pollution emitted from diesel engines across the country. The challenge the NCDC has in reducing diesel emissions is developing new emissions standards for locomotive and marine diesel engines while promoting the reduction of emissions for existing diesel engines. The strategies, of course, have to be cost-effective also. NCDC participants are committed to finding innovative ways to protect human health and the environment. This means using cleaner fuels, having existing fleets retrofitted and repaired, and reducing the need of idling, among others.

Over the last five years, the EPA has brought forward a number of very successful programs all designed to reduce emissions from the existing diesel fleet. By 2014, in conjunction with state and local governments, public interest groups, and industry partners, EPA has established a goal of reducing emissions from the over 11 million diesel engines in the existing fleet. School buses were also sited as an area where diesel emission control can greatly help a susceptible population, our children. Other sectors identified where diesel engines need repair or retrofitting are seaports, construction, freight, and agriculture. Each program provides technical and financial assistance to stakeholders interested in reducing their fleets’ diesel fuel emissions effectively and efficiently.

The Agency is devoting significant efforts to ensuring the successful implementation of stringent new standards for diesel fuel and new diesel engines with proposing regulation standards which will act as the foundation of the EPA’s diesel control program.

As of June 1, 2006, refiners began producing clean ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD) with a sulfur level that is at or below 15 parts per million (ppm) for use in highway diesel engines. Low sulfur (500 ppm) diesel fuel (LSD) for any non-road diesel engines are currently required and will be all replaced by 2010 with ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel for these machines including locomotives and marine engines.

Besides reducing emissions from the existing diesel fleet, these clean fuels will enable the use of advanced technologies on new engines. Technologies like particulate traps, capable of emission reductions of 90% and more, that are required under the new standards already, are being phased into the highway sector. These technologies plan to be phased into the non-road sector by 2011. Through the use of cleaner fuels and engines, the EPA is also working to reduce emissions from large commercial marine diesel vessels like cruise and large container ships.

Together these programs will yield enormous long-term benefits for public health and the environment. Of course, oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation will be producing the ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel besides continuing to produce the low-sulfur diesel fuel until the complete switch is made to using ULSD entirely.

Oil Shale in the Green River Formation

2007-12-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

Inside more than 16,000 square miles of rock and sand, an area called the Green River Formation, sits a gargantuan supply of oil. This land covers portions of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. What lies in this region is what geologists call oil shale.

Oil shale is a black rock feeling grainy to the touch and greasy. When heated, oil shale oozes bubbling crude. This precious resource is rare and found only in a few select countries like China, Brazil, Estonia, Morocco, and Australia. But all these countries’ oil shale resources pale in comparison to the supply here. The United States dominates the oil shale market with possessing over 72% of the world’s oil shale resources. World-renowned geologist Walter Youngquist calls the oil beneath the Green River Formation, “a national treasure.”

This region holds the largest known oil reserve on the planet. Congress calls this area, “the next Saudi Arabia.” In 1930, the federal government placed protective legislation on this land forbidding anyone to use it. The government owns 80% of the reserved area. Wisely, knowing its potential value, they kept it for a “rainy day”.

Restricted for 76 years, it is now open for drilling. Extracting the oil from shale has always been cost prohibitive. But now it has become way too expensive to keep buying foreign oil. Coupled with the price of gasoline constantly rising, the “rainy day” has arrived. There will be certain challenges that will surface, as they do with using any unfamiliar resource. Oil shale processing can be made energy efficient. It is necessary to work out any problems so we can take advantage of this huge resource. We now have more proven discoveries and have developed more technological advances than we knew about in 1930. Companies are coming up with economical ways to get oil from the Green River Formation. Scientists and engineers continue working on ways to recover oil shale for a reasonable cost. Dozens have stepped forward with claims that they can extract the oil for as little as $10 a barrel. With oil prices approaching $70 a barrel, these pretty significant breakthroughs have convinced the government that it is time to start extracting the oil from the shale in the Green River Formation.

The protective legislation on the Green River Formation was lifted on August 8, 2005 by President Bush and signed into law. This mandate is called The Energy Policy Act of 2005. It calls for the opening phases of oil extraction in the Green River Formation, the world’s most concentrated energy source. We’re are now ready to tap the largest oil reserve on the planet located right here in America.

Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation are watching the development of the opening of this reserve and how it affects the nation’s energy supply and economy. According to the RAND Corporation (a public-policy think tank for the government), this small region has the potential to produce three million barrels of oil per day which translates into more than $20 billion a year.

Oil Drilling in Alaska

2007-12-09T21:47:00.000-08:00

The Arctic National Wildlife Range (ANWR) was established in 1960 to protect the "unique wildlife, wilderness and recreational values" of the area. This area has grown since 1960 and today, the ANWR encompasses nearly 20 million acres, which is about the size of South Carolina.

In March 2006, the U.S. Senate passed its 2007 Budget Resolution, which included a provision for lease sales of the right to drill for oil in region of the Arctic National Wildlife (ANWR) in Alaska. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the income generated from lease sales could top $4.2 billion in the next five years. The same act authorized the study of the oil and gas potential of the northern part of the Refuge, called the 1002 Area. This region is now being looked at as a possible oil-development site, but environmental groups say that any oil production would upset the natural ecosystem within the ANWR. A 1998 analysis conducted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that there are about 7 billion barrels of profitable oil in the 1002 Area alone, but the price of crude-oil determines how profitable that oil is.

By releasing a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) in August 2007, the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has renewed its attempt to drill for oil in the Arctic. No alternative was presented in the draft. Despite overwhelming opposition from scientists, local communities, the Wildlife Society, and the general public, this sensitive and important wildlife habitat is being put in jeopardy. The government claims that the drilling will not harm healthy populations of waterfowl and caribou. But many believe this is not supported by sound science.

Right now, much of the land in the Northeast Reserve that has oil potential is already available for leasing. In fact, 3.8 million acres have already been leased for oil and gas drilling and are actively being explored. For now, the Teshekpuk Lake area is the only part of the northeast Reserve that remains closed to drilling. This lake area is one of the most important wetlands to Alaska and BLM’s complicated leasing plan will degrade critical wildlife habitats. However, the analysis released presently attempts to satisfy the court and allow leasing and drilling to move ahead. The environmentalists continue to fight the oil drilling plan for this area saying there is no new science justifying the decision. It has been an on-going battle.

The government has been trying to lease the Teshekpuk Lake area to the oil industry for years. The oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation know that they have to keep providing the nation with energy resources so that we can claim independence from foreign supplies.

The New Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel

2007-12-09T21:38:00.000-08:00

To meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, the petroleum industry is now producing a new Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) fuel. A major reduction in the sulfur content of diesel fuel was indeed necessary. The emission levels from diesel engines and vehicles had to be reduced to keep the air quality safe. This new fuel is a cleaner-burning diesel fuel containing a maximum of 15 parts-per-million (ppm) sulfur.

By December 1, 2010, all highway diesel fuel offered for sale must be ULSD fuel. At the present, at least 80 percent of the highway diesel produced or imported is now ULSD fuel. It will be replacing most Low Sulfur Diesel (LSD) fuel, which contains a maximum of 500 ppm sulfur (quite a difference). Used in combination with cleaner-burning diesel engines and vehicles, ULSD fuel is improving air quality by significantly reducing emissions. Both ULSD fuel and LSD fuel will be available through 2010.

Environmentally speaking, this was extremely necessary. Reducing emissions from diesel engines is one of the most important air quality challenges facing the United States. As more and more people are driving and transportation demands increase, the air quality has to be improved. The ULSD fuel along with new engine and emission control system technology advances on vehicles have an important role in improving air quality and providing human health benefits.

The current heavy-duty vehicle fleet is expected to be completely replaced in 2030. Emission reductions will be equivalent to removing the pollution from more than 90 percent of today’s trucks and buses annually. Engine manufacturers show that the use of advanced emissions control devices reduces emissions of both hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen (precursors of ozone) to near-zero levels.
With children and the elderly among those most at risk, EPA studies have concluded that ozone and particulate matter cause a range of health problems, including those related to breathing, such as asthma attacks and premature mortality. Certainly with this program engaged, there will be significant health benefits.

Since diesel-powered vehicles tend to be more fuel efficient than gasoline-powered vehicles, an additional benefit for some will be economical when at the pump with the new ULSD fuel.

New EPA fuel standards for diesel fuel also apply to non-road ULSD fuel used in locomotive, marine and non-road engines and equipment, such as farm or construction equipment.

Oil Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation have been producing at their refineries this new ULSD fuel along with the LSD fuel until the total switch is transferred.

Why the Price of Heating Oil Fluctuates

2007-12-09T21:36:00.000-08:00

The main heating fuel used in approximately 8 million U.S. households is heating oil. The primary use for heating oil is for residential space. The demand is highly seasonal with the Northeast as the biggest user using most of the heating oil during the months of October through March. In order to beat rising winter prices, some customers fill their storage tanks in the summer or early fall when the prices are likely to be lower. Most homeowners do not have large enough storage tanks to store the full amount needed for the entire winter. They may have to refill their tanks as often as 4 or 5 times during the heating season, and possible rising or spiking prices are a concern.

The United States has two sources of heating oil: domestic refineries and imports from foreign countries. Refineries produce heating oil as a part of the “distillate fuel oil” product family, which includes heating oils and diesel fuel. Pipelines, barges, tankers, trucks and rail cars ship the heating oil throughout the United States. Most imports of distillate come from Canada, the Virgin Islands, and Venezuela. If consumer demand is high for gasoline during its peak season, refiners may delay producing heating oil for the winter, which may lower inventories at the start of the heating season. The supply and demand principal comes into play.

Heating oil is brought into oil storage terminals by the refiners and other suppliers. Heating oil may be delivered to a central distribution area, such as New York Harbor, where it is then redistributed by barge to other consuming areas, such as New England. Once heating oil is in the designated area, it is redistributed by truck to smaller storage tanks closer to a retail dealer’s customers, or even directly to residential customers depending on the consumer area.

The cost of crude oil, the cost to produce the product, the cost to market and distribute the product, as well as the profits (sometimes losses) of refiners, wholesalers and dealers all play an intregral part in determining heating oil prices paid by the end consumers. Prices can vary over time and by where a consumer lives. Prices can change for a variety of reasons. These include seasonality in the demand for heating oil, changes in the cost of crude oil, and regional operating costs. Prices also are impacted by higher costs of transporting the product to remote locations.

When crude oil prices are stable, home heating oil prices tend to gradually rise in the winter months when the demand is highest.
Since crude oil is a major price component of heating oil, changes in the price of crude oil will generally affect the price of heating oil. Crude oil prices are determined by worldwide supply and demand. The supply is influenced by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other factors. The demand can vary worldwide with the economy and with weather. The cost of doing business by dealers can vary substantially depending on the area of the country in which the dealer is located. These are the main variables to make the prices of home heating oil fluctuate constantly.

Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation do their part in supplying the homeowner with the heating oil they need to keep everybody warm and comfortable throughout the winter.

What Causes a Surge in Heating Oil Prices?

2007-12-09T21:35:00.000-08:00

High on the list of variables that affect the pricing of home heating oil is the supply-and-demand factor. For many reasons home heating oil prices can change dramatically in just a short period of time. Assuming crude oil prices are staying pretty much stable, if refiners, wholesalers, dealers and consumers have enough heating oil in storage and temperatures do not drop rapidly, prices can hold fairly steady throughout the winter.
A rapid change to colder weather can impact both supply and demand. People want more fuel when the harbors and rivers may be frozen and delivery systems are interrupted. The available heating oil in storage is used much faster than it can be replenished during this time. During these cold periods, the refineries normally cannot keep up with demand. Concerned that supplies are not adequate, the wholesaler buyers will bid up prices to cover short-term customer demand for heating oil at this time. In the Northeast in particular, additional supplies may have to come from some distance away, such as the Gulf Coast or Europe costing more to transport. It also can take up to two weeks to arrive. While waiting, the supply of heating oil that sellers in the region have in storage drops further, buyers’ anxiety about finding heating oil in the short term rises, and so do prices until new supply arrives.
Refiners can increase heating oil production in the winter to a modest degree. There comes a point when more of other petroleum products which could not be sold in sufficient quantities during the winter months, have to be produced. If consumer demand is high for a seasonal product, such as gasoline, refiners may delay producing heating oil for the winter, which may lower inventories at the start of the heating season.

Prices of other heating fuels (such as natural gas or kerosene) may increase too, even more than heating oil prices during very cold periods. Because of this, some consumers may switch from using their normal heating fuel to using heating oil, which only increases the demand for heating oil.

Roughly 78 percent of all the households which heat their homes with oil are located in the Northeast region of the United States. The Northeast region (which includes the New England and Central Atlantic States) remains the area with an appreciable share of oil-heated single family homes. In 2005, over 5 billion gallons of heating oil were sold to residential consumers in the Northeast. In other regions, the older homes have been converted to gas heat from oil. So oil heat no longer has a noticeable share of the new home construction market. The seasonal increase in inventories and demand (sales of heating oil) is largely confined to the Northeast.

Triple Diamond Energy Corporation, along with other oil manufacturers, keep watch over their supply of heating oil and make sure there is adequate production for the demand the winter months bring.

Today’s Crude Oil Market

2007-12-09T21:33:00.000-08:00

The increasing demand for petroleum products has affected the refining sector, and this has affected the global crude oil market. Even as the capacity to refine crude continued to expand, utilization rates exceeded 90 percent in the United States over the period of 2000-2004. As the demand increased, so too did the demand for conversion capacity.

The reduction in spare refining capacity has affected the international crude oil market. There are many different types of crude oil. To name a few here: West Texas Intermediate, West Texas Sour, Arab Heavy, Bonny Light. There are many characteristics to any given crude, the two most common distinctions relate to its viscosity or how “light” or “heavy” a crude is, and the amount of impurities contained within the oil, sulfur being the most common. These characteristics indicate the amount of processing required to convert the crude oil into saleable petroleum products. Generally speaking, lighter crudes, which are also known as “sweet”, require less processing to produce a relatively more valuable group of petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Heavier crudes, also known as “sour” contain more sulfur and require more processing before the resulting petroleum products can be sold into the marketplace.

The market for refined petroleum products is very similar to the crude oil market in that there is widespread buying, selling, and trading of products in both the physical market (or spot market) and the futures market. And just as with crude oil, there are significant international flows of refined products. Trade in petroleum products reflects the international market’s efforts to match what is produced (the supply) with what consumers prefer (the demand). In the United States the majority of exports tend to involve products for which there is little or no domestic demand. Crude oil is the single largest input cost associated with the manufacturing of petroleum products. The rest of the other costs involved make up the other 50%.

Consequently, changes in crude oil prices have a significant effect on petroleum product prices. If crude oil prices rise, most likely gasoline prices will also rise. Changes in expectations about future crude oil prices can lead to changes in both current and future prices of gasoline and other petroleum products. Inventory of the products will either have to build up or be drawn down. However, prices for petroleum products can also change due to supply-and-demand factors unrelated to the crude oil market.

There exists a dynamic relationship between current prices and prices for petroleum products to be delivered in the future. Future markets can give valuable information to oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation about the market’s expectations about future supply and demand conditions in the physical market—conditions that will ultimately determine the price for oil.

The Complexity of Oil Refineries

2007-12-09T21:31:00.000-08:00

The black as tar substance that is extracted from the ground known as crude oil needs to be refined before it is delivered to the end consumer. Meeting the consumer demand is complicated. Refining a barrel of crude oil involves a series of complex processes. In order to produce the gasoline or any of the many other different products demanded by consumers, the crude oil has to go to the designated refineries.

Once the barrels of oil are at the refinery, the first step is the distillation where the oil is heated and then broken down according to different boiling points. When the vapor turns into liquid form, it is separated into its varied component parts. Subsequent processes, often referred to as conversion, focus on transforming lower-valued products into higher-valued products. One example of conversion is removing impurities, such as sulfur, to make higher quality diesel fuel. Another example of transforming a lower-valued product into a higher-valued product is changing bunker fuel suited for ships into different grades of gasoline used in automobiles. It is the size and scope of these various conversion processes that distinguish the differences in refineries.

The United States refining capacity stands at approximately 17 million barrels produced per day. Different refineries will prefer different types of crude oil. At the beginning of 2005, this capacity was spread across 55 refinery companies operating 144 refineries. Vertically integrated operations involving the production of crude oil and independent refiners with little or no crude oil production involved are among the 55 companies. Operations, both large and small, range in scale from millions of barrels produced per day down to thousands of barrels per day. No one refinery can own more than 13 percent of the total U.S. refining capacity.

The refinery segment of the oil industry has been on the decline due to the negative economic returns. The trend in profitability has, until the past few years, been consistently moving downward. As a consequence, the market has seen a decline in the ownership of refining capacity on the part of major oil companies in the United States. During the 1990s, the major U.S. oil companies reduced their ownership of refinery capacity from 72 percent to 60 percent of total U.S. capacity. The fast-growing independent refiners increased their refinery capacity from 8 percent to 23 percent of the total U.S. capacity. The largest independent refiners are now in competition with the major oil companies in their capabilities to meet the nation’s growing concerns and demands for cleaner transportation diesel fuels. Competition from imports is also increasing, as more than 10 percent of the daily U.S. petroleum products consumption now comes from outside the United States. In their efforts to meet the increasing demands for petroleum products, oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation face these changes and purchase or lease the necessary amount of refineries.

Protecting Our Reliable Supply of Fuel

2007-12-09T21:25:00.000-08:00

After September 11th, 2001, the U.S. oil and natural gas industry partnered with federal and local authorities to reevaluate and strengthen our domestic security.

Nationwide, oil and gas companies made major investments in construction, training and communications. All the way from the wellheads to the offshore platforms changes were made. The oil tankers, ports, pipelines, refineries, and storage tanks were all reevaluated and all necessary construction was done. And most importantly, employees and their communities were informed of the important security policy changes and/or trained.

Now in place are early warning systems to make sure that all security officials in the oil and natural gas industry are alerted to intelligence that might signal a threat. The industry partnering with the government at all levels is now working to protect hundreds of facilities across the country from the potential of terrorist attacks.

The American Petroleum Industry and related associations produced an industry-wide method for managers to identify security vulnerabilities in their operations. These protocols were endorsed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In October of 2004, additional protocols were established to expand the coverage to pipeline, truck, rail and liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations.

The oil sector uses an API compiled document “Security Guidelines for the Petroleum Industry,” to help managers protect their facilities and respond to changes in the threat level. Available free to all eligible operators in North America, an internet-based, secure, early warning system is in place for making sure that threats and suspicious behavior are relayed between oil and gas operators and homeland security agencies.

Government inspectors have examined refineries and other key energy production assets and conducted cyber-attack vulnerability tests on critical oil and gas facilities. In the summer of 2004, nineteen oil and gas associations created the Oil and Natural Gas Homeland Security Coordination Council to give the government a single point of reference for the industry when it is needed.

As a result of the public-private partnerships and numerous new federal security requirements, oil and natural gas operations are now safer and more secure. These partnerships and new security laws have strengthened the reliable flow of energy to consumers.

The oil and gas companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation are committed to protecting the reliable supply network of fuels and products to safely keep our economy growing. The goal is to continue coordinated efforts in the industry working with government officials to enhance the homeland infrastructure security.

Changes in the Market Structure

2007-12-09T21:21:00.000-08:00

No longer is there a market structure in the oil industry based on rigid long-term, commercial arrangements. It has been replaced by a more efficient one. Now the buyers and sellers have greater flexibility in establishing commercial relationships that better meet their respective needs. The market structures are transforming. The global oil industry has seen a transformation in the contractual structures used to purchase and sell crude oil over the last 25 years.

Transactions which involve the near-term purchase and sale of a commodity, such as crude oil and refined products are called “spot markets”. Spot contracts typically involve delivery of crude over the coming month. Since they entail the buying and selling of physical volumes, spot markets are also referred to as the “physical market”. Refiners, traders, producers, and transporters all buy and sell these markets. The benefit of allowing buyers and sellers to more easily adjust their crude supplies is achieved depending on the near-term supply and the demand conditions in both the product markets and the crude oil markets.

In contrast to a spot transaction, a futures contract concerns the future purchase or sale of crude oil or petroleum products.
Specifically, it is a contract that carries the obligation for delivery of a given quantity of crude in the future. The contract specifies the volume, type or grade of crude oil, the price, the future time in which the crude is bought or sold, and the particular location to which it is to be delivered. The buying and selling of futures contracts occurs on organized exchanges.

The futures market is often referred to as the “financial market.” The crudes underlying futures contracts are often called “marker” or “benchmark” crudes. Thousands of independent traders, including both commercial as well as financial institutions get involved in competitive organized exchanges. The prices in the spot market transactions are often tied to prices for crude oil on organized exchanges. Price adjustments account for differences in the quality of the crude oil being traded; plus the location of the spot market transaction is considered. The oil industry uses various types of contractual structures and financial instruments. The trade press most commonly reports the prices of futures contracts which are watched by the public.

Futures markets bring a number of benefits to the global oil market. Crude oil futures markets provide information about future expectations regarding supply and demand conditions. To manage risk facilitated, crude oil producers, marketers, and refiners are able to use the financial contracts on the exchanges. This trading process becomes beneficial to those who can respond to this information. It provides the economic incentive to build inventories if the higher futures prices will cover the cost of storage.

Future markets bring together valuable information about the market’s expectations about future supply and demand conditions in the physical market – conditions that will ultimately determine the price for oil. Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation use the future markets to gauge their supply capacity and to make business transactions.

What Will Happen When We Run Out of Oil?

2007-12-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

The dwindling supplies of crude oil will cause massive changes in our economy. Because of the rampant increase of people driving, the rising demands for gasoline alone is a monumental concern. Gas prices are influenced by many factors including the world supply of oil. The truth is that there is probably more oil to be discovered somewhere, but the costs of drilling it in far off remote areas or deep under the ocean floor will get too costly to pursue. It will be too expensive to find; we won’t be able to afford it. Most likely, the rising costs will force us to develop other energy sources.

Oil companies start out exploring for oil in the easiest places, costing the least to drill and bring to the surface. They go to the areas closest to their refineries to cut costs in transportation. This enables the costs to the end consumer to be kept in line. Once the nearby places are tapped out, the oil companies go elsewhere to find oil which might be harder to harvest. If the oil supply continues to get harder and harder to find, unfortunately, it will continue to get more and more expensive.

However, there is always a possibility for surprising good news to surface too. Recently, scientists from Cornell University discovered an enormous amount of oil off the coast of Louisiana. The find is some 60 billion barrels or three times more than the current US recoverable oil of 20 billion barrels. This discovery should bring the United States total oil reserves to 80 billion barrels which is on par with Venezuela. In comparison to other finds around the world, this is twice the size of all oil ever found in the North Sea and six times larger than the estimates of the Alaskan Artic National Wildlife Refuge oil deposits.

A new method of oil discovery known as “gas washing” was used to find this area of about 10,000 square miles. It was found under layers of salt domes. With this method, geologist are able to track the movement of oil deposits by the way they interact with the flow of natural gas. It helps scientists to make extremely accurate 3D-seismic maps of deep underground oil deposits and mitigate the risk involved in drilling such deep under water wells.

A team lead by a chemical geologist from Cornell and funded by a grant from Chevron discovered the oil with information gathered from source rocks deep below the sea. Because of the devastation left by the hurricanes Katrina and Rita there is a critical shortage of equipment and manpower to do the kind of recovery work needed to bring the oil to the surface. At the present, crews are working hard to get the necessary equipment to the area to conduct more tests. It is estimated that it won’t be until 2010 before oil will be pumped from the found area.

Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation are always pleased when the new oil discoveries are made within the United States. Of course, it is discoveries like this which make the United States self sufficient and contribute to being less dependent on foreign oil. So, what will happen when we run out of oil? Maybe we won’t.

What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

2007-12-03T13:32:00.000-08:00

Oil supplies were cut off during the oil embargo (1973-1974), so in 1975 the United States started the petroleum reserve. The government decided that the country should never again be caught short which put the economy in shock. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve can be tapped when oil prices rise to help make sure that people who use oil to heat their homes will have plenty and that the price will not be too high. It was President Clinton who authorized the Department of Energy, which manages the reserve, to release up to 30 million barrels of oil in a swap with oil companies. The companies took the oil in fall 2000 with a promise to return the oil by fall 2001. The government hoped that the companies would use the oil to keep supplies adequate during winter.

Stored in underground salt caverns at four sites along the Gulf of Mexico, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the United States' emergency oil stockpile, and it is the largest emergency petroleum supply in the world. The reserve stores about 570 million barrels of crude oil. A barrel contains 42 gallons (59 liters) of oil. To create the caverns, workers drill into a salt dome and then proceed to put water into the hole to dissolve the salt. Holding about 10 million barrels of oil, each cavern is about 2,000 feet deep. The United States Energy Department has chosen using salt caverns to store the oil reserve because it is much more economical than storing it in tanks above ground. Another reason for this choice is because the pressure from the earth will seal up any leaks that might develop. Plus the temperature difference in the caverns, which are 2,000 feet below the surface of the earth, keeps the oil circulating so that the petroleum maintains its quality.

The government put the oil near the Gulf of Mexico because there are many oil refineries nearby and therefore shipping is readily available. The sites are Bryan Mound near Freeport, Texas; Big Hill near Winnie, Texas; West Hackberry near Lake Charles, Louisiana; and Bayou Choctaw near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The reserve could store up to 700 million barrels. Most of the oil in the reserve comes from Mexico and the North Sea.

It costs the federal government $21 million every year to maintain the oil reserve. The oil reserve employs about 1,150 people, of which about 125 are government employees, and the rest are contracted workers. The Energy Department will get about $157 million to buy oil for the reserve in the coming budget year. Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation may become involved in supplying the oil so that the reserve never gets low or tapped out.

The United States uses almost 19 million barrels of petroleum every day, and more than half of that oil comes from imports. A reserve of 60 days' worth of petroleum could help keep the oil flowing in case there ever is a cut-off or embargo again. The last time that the United States used oil from the reserve was during the Persian Gulf War in 1991 to keep oil plentiful and the prices stable. That drawdown is different from the exchange authorized recently because the companies who bid for it will return the oil this time.

Tracking Gasoline Prices in America

2007-11-30T17:03:00.000-08:00

Gasoline prices are down one month, after they were up the previous month, and then will shoot up the next. Many variables affect the price of gasoline. Tracking them is difficult making it practically impossible to predict. Plus, they're different depending on where you are. Other states and cities, and other countries can have very different gas prices from your local gas station.

Gasoline continues to be the nation’s bloodline. It is what keeps America on the go. Last year 140 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel were pumped into just our personal cars alone, up 3.2 percent from the previous year.

Many forces impact the price of gas at the pump. The biggest portion of the cost of gas is crude oil, presently that is about 50 percent. This is determined by the world's oil-exporting nations, particularly the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The price of a barrel of oil is determined by how much these countries are producing. Price increases generally occur when the world crude-oil market tightens and lowers inventories. Another portion of the price covers the cost of the refining process. The cost of distribution and marketing also has to be included in the price. Federal and state excise taxes are in the price, too. All these factors vary and fluctuate. Natural disasters, weather, war and world events can step in to change the price of gasoline also.

According to a Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) report, Americans drive more than 2.5 trillion miles per year in automobiles, light trucks and sport-utility vehicles (SUVs). With SUVs continually growing in popularity we are only getting more dependent on gasoline. A severe gas shortage would practically cripple the country. This high demand usually translates into higher gasoline prices. According to the Department of Energy, the United States consumes an average of 20 million barrels of oil daily, Of that, about 45 percent is used for motor gasoline or something like 178 million gallons is consumed every day.

The time of year can drive gasoline prices to go up. Typically, when lots of people go on vacation during the summer, the demand for gas spikes. In some years (like in 2004), prices continued to rise past the end of the summer travel season for a variety of reasons, including several hurricanes and an increase in the price of crude oil. Also, growing demand can sometimes outpace refinery capacity. In the spring, refineries perform maintenance, which slows or stops production. Oil refineries are usually back to full capacity by the end of May. So again, the time of year affects the price of gasoline. Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation follow a production schedule that adheres to industry standards.

The Price of Gasoline at the Pump

2007-11-30T09:19:00.000-08:00

There are actually many factors that determine what you end up paying at the pump. You might think it is dependent on the price of crude oil. The money you pay at the pump gets broken down into little pieces that get distributed among several entities. Just like any other consumer product, gasoline’s supply chain determines what the price will be. Several groups have to get paid for their contribution.

The biggest portion of the cost of gas is crude oil, presently that is about 50 percent. This is determined by the world's oil-exporting nations, particularly the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The price of a barrel of oil is determined by how much these countries are producing.

Prices of crude oil fluctuate upwards in a time of emergency or after a disaster when they have been known to double. Even when there is plenty of crude oil on the market, sometimes gas prices can go up. Because it depends on what kind is plentiful: the light or sometimes labeled “sweet” oil or the heavy (“sour”) type. Light crude is easier and cheaper to refine. There is a lot of heavy crude available in the world, but refineries have to undergo costly retooling to handle it.

The next portion (28%) of the cost of gasoline has to do with the refining of crude oil. This cost is determined by how much is distilled from the crude oil batch and the refining process costs involved.

Crude oil is transported to refineries and gasoline is shipped from the refineries to distribution points and then to gas stations. The price of this transportation is included in the gasoline price at the pump. The advertising costs of the certain brand is also passed along to the consumer. The distribution and marketing together account for 8% of the price of gasoline.

In the United States, 14% of the total price of gas is for taxes (federal and local). Federal excise taxes are 18.4 cents per gallon, and state excise taxes average 18.2 cents per gallon. There may also be some additional taxes such as applicable state sales taxes, gross receipts taxes, underground storage tank fees, and environmental fees. Taxes vary from state to state making the price of gas vary too.

Some of the actual money you spend at the pump does go to the service station which usually adds a couple of cents per gallon. There's no set standard; so shopping around may be a worthwhile option. Some states have markup laws designed to protect small, individually-owned gas stations from being driven out of business by large chains.

Other variables can affect the price of gasoline. Competition between local gas stations can drive prices down. Distance from the oil refineries due to transportation costs involved can change the price. Anything that affects any part of the process, from when the oil is drilled, through refining and distribution will result in a price change. World events, wars and weather disasters can also raise prices. And, as in just recently, legislation in Washington DC can also affect the price. All of these factors must be studied and watched by the oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation to help them predict the future of their products in the constantly changing marketplace.

Finding Oil

2007-11-26T19:31:00.000-08:00

The United States, in 2005 alone, consumed per day an estimate of 9 million barrels of crude oil and 13.21 million barrels of imported oil. This oil is refined into gasoline, kerosene, heating oil and other essential products. To keep up with this demand, oil companies must constantly look for new sources of petroleum, as well as improve the production of existing wells.

The fossil fuel oil can be found in countries all over the world. It was formed from the remains of tiny plants and animals (plankton) that died in ancient seas millions of years ago. After the organisms died, they sank into the sand at the sea’s bottom. Over the years, the organisms decayed in the sedimentary layers. Because there was little oxygen there, the organisms broke down into carbon-rich compounds. This material mixed with the sediments, forming fine-grained shale which known as the source rock. As new sedimentary layers were deposited, they put intense pressure and heat on the source rock which distilled the organic material into crude oil and natural gas. The oil flowed from the source rock and accumulated in thicker, more porous limestone or sandstone, called reservoir rock.

Movements and shifts in the Earth’s surface trapped oil and natural gas in the reservoir rocks between layers of impermeable rock, or cap rock, such as granite and marble. These movements of the earth included folding when the rock moved horizontally inward creating a fold or anticline; faulting where the layers of rock cracked with one side shifting upward and the other downward, and pinching out when a layer of impermeable rock squeezed upward into the reservoir rock.

Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation employ directly or under contract from a private firm, geologists who actually find the oil. Their task is to find the right conditions for an oil trap—the right source rock, reservoir rock and entrapment. They interprete surface features, surface rock, soil types, and small core samples obtained by shallow drilling and, nowadays, with the additional help of satellite images. They also can use sensitive gravity meters to measure tiny changes in the Earth's gravitational field that indicate flowing oil, as well as sensitive magnetometers to measure tiny changes in the Earth's magnetic field caused by flowing oil. They can detect the smell of hydrocarbons using sensitive electronic noses called sniffers. And they also most commonly use seismology, creating shock waves passing through hidden rock layers. In seismic surveys, a shock wave is created by a compressed-air gun which shoots pulses of air into the water for exploration over water, a thumper truck which slams heavy plates into the ground for exploration over land, and explosives drilled into the ground for exploration over both land and water.

Although modern oil exploration methods have made it easier for finding oil, geologists still only have a 10-percent success rate for finding new oil fields. Once a prospective oil strike is found, the location is marked.

Chris Jent is the Chief Marketing Officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit htttp://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com

Fractional Distillation of Crude Oil

2007-11-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

The make-up of crude oil consists mostly of carbon and hydrogen. Hydrocarbons come in different molecular forms. Longer chains with 5 or more carbons are liquids. Very long chains are solids like wax or tar. By chemically cross-linking hydrocarbon chains you can get a variety of different products like synthetic rubber, nylon, and even plastic. Hydrocarbons are very versatile depending on their cross-linking.

At the oil drilling site, after the rig is removed, a pump is placed on the well head. The pump system extracts the crude oil; then it is brought for refining and the process of distillation. The first step is to separate the oil components by size, weight, and boiling temperature. The process called fractional distillation separates the components by heat. Different substances have different boiling temperatures. Fractional distillation is useful for separating a mixture of substances with narrow (fractional) differences in boiling points, and is the most important step in the refining process.

The steps in this process are as follows: the mixture of two or more substances (liquids) with different boiling points are heated to a high temperature. A vapor (gases) form as the mixture boils. This vapor goes into the fractional distillation column that has trays or plates at different levels. These trays collect the liquids that form at various heights in the column. The temperature gauge runs from hot at the bottom of the column to cool at the top.

As the vapor rises through the column with trays, it cools. When a substance in the vapor reaches a level in the column where the temperature is equal to that substance's boiling point, it will condense into the form of a liquid. This liquid fraction is collected in the tray at the appropriate height. As the liquid cools even more, it passes from the tray to storage tanks or to other areas for further chemical processing.

Most of the components that go through fractional distillation have to be chemically processed further before becoming marketable. For example, one of the major products coming from crude oil, gasoline is only 40% distilled crude oil. Distillated and chemically processed fractions are treated to remove impurities, such as organic compounds containing sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, water, dissolved metals and inorganic salts. Treatment usually involves passing through a column of sulfuric acid, an absorption column filled with drying agents, and/or a hydrogen-sulfide scrub.

After treatment and more cooling, the fractions are blended together to make various products, such as gasoline, lubricating oils, and kerosene (all of various weights and grades), jet fuel, diesel fuel, and heating oil. Further chemical processing will turn the crude oil into plastics and other polymers. Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation have production crews at the refineries to make sure that the fractional distillation process at the refineries produce enough of every product.

Chris Jent is the Chief Marketing Officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit http://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com.

Land Oil Rig Systems

2007-11-26T19:11:00.000-08:00

The modern oil exploration methods today include using sensitive gravity meters, magnetometers, electronic noses called sniffers, and seismology. These all help the geologists determine where there is oil to be drilled. Once the site is selected, the land is prepared for drilling. The rig equipment may be transported to the site by truck or helicopter depending on the remoteness of the area. When the equipment is at the site, the rig is set up. The major systems or anatomy of a land oil rig are the power system, the mechanical system, the rotating equipment, and the circulation system.

Large diesel engines burn diesel-fuel oil to provide the main source of power. Electrical generators are powered by the diesel engines to provide electrical power. This is the power system of the land oil rig.

The mechanical system is driven by electric motors. A mechanical winch called drawworks is used for hoisting heavy loads. The drawworks has a large steel cable spool, a block-and-tackle pulley, and a receiving storage reel for the cable. The mechanics also include a turntable, part of the drilling apparatus.

Rotary drilling requires the rotating equipment of a swivel, kelly, turntable or rotary table, drill string, and drill bits. The large handle or swivel is used to hold the weight of the drill string allowing the string to rotate and make a pressure-tight seal on the hole. The kelly is a four-or-six-sided pipe that transfers rotary motion to the turntable and drill string. The turntable or rotary table drives the rotating motion using power from electric motors. The drill string consists of drill pipe (connected sections of about 30 feet or 10 meters) and drill collars, larger in diameter and heavier, this pipe fits around the drill pipe and places weight on the drill bit. The drill bit(s) are at the end of the drill which actually cut the rock. They comes in many shapes and materials (tungsten carbide steel, diamond) that are specialized for various drilling tasks and rock formations.

The large-diameter concrete pipe that lines the drill hole is called casing. It prevents the hole from collapsing, and allows drilling mud to circulate which brings us to the circulation system.

The circulation system is made up of pumps, drilling mud, pipes and hoses, a mud-return line, a shale shaker, a shale slide, the reserve pit, mud pits, and a mud-mixing hopper. The drilling mud is a mixture of water, clay, weighting material and chemicals used to lift rock cuttings from the drill bit to the surface. The pump sucks mud from the mud pits and pumps it to the drilling apparatus. Pipes and hoses connect everything to the drilling apparatus. There is a line that returns mud from hole. The shale shaker is a sleeve that separates rock cuttings from the mud which are conveyed to the reserve pit by the shale slide. The reserve pit collects rock cuttings separated from the mud. Mud pits collect the drilling mud mixed by the mud-mixing hopper and recycle it.

A derrick is the support structure that holds the drilling apparatus, It is tall enough to allow new sections of drill pipe to be added to the drilling apparatus as drilling progresses.

The final system is the blowout preventer which consists of high-pressure valves located under the land rig or on the sea floor that seal the high-pressure drill lines and relieve pressure when necessary to prevent a blowout.

These major systems all work together in bringing the oil to the surface. Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation have production crews working these rigs to accommodate today’s demand for this energy.

Chris Jent is the Chief Marketing Officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit htttp://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com

Just What is in Crude Oil?

2007-11-26T19:09:00.000-08:00

The unprocessed oil that comes out from the ground is called crude oil, also known as petroleum. Crude oil is one of the fossil fuels from which we get energy. It was made naturally from decaying plants and animals living in ancient seas millions of years ago found any place where there were once sea beds. Crude oil varies in its consistency from water to almost solid, and varies in color from clear to tar-black.

The hydrocarbons (molecules containing both hydrogen and carbon) in crude oils are a useful starting point for so many different substances. Hydrocarbons contain a lot of energy. This energy is captured in the products derived from crude oil like gasoline, diesel fuel, methane, and paraffin wax.

The make-up of crude oil consists of the following elements or compounds: 84% carbon,14% hydrogen, 1 to 3% sulfur as hydrogen sulfide, sulfides, disulfides, elemental sulfur, less than 1% nitrogen, less than 1% oxygen found in organic compounds such as carbon dioxide, phenols, ketones, carboxylic acids, less than 1% metals (nickel, iron, vanadium, copper, arsenic) and less than 1% salt (sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride).

Hydrocarbons can take on many different forms. Methane (CH4) is the smallest hydrocarbon. This is a gas that is a lighter than air. Hydrocarbons come in different molecular forms. Longer chains with 5 or more carbons are liquids. Very long chains are solids like wax or tar. By chemically cross-linking hydrocarbon chains you can get a variety of different products like synthetic rubber, nylon, and even plastic.

The major classes of hydrocarbons in crude oils include paraffins (typically liquids such as methane, propane, butane), aromatics, (typically liquids such as benzene, naphthalene), and napthenes or cycloalkanes (typically liquids at room temperature such as cyclohexane, methyl cyclopentane). Hydrocarbons called alkenes which can be either liquid or gas are ethylene, butene, isobutene. Other hydrocarbons which also can be either liquid or gas are dienes and alkynes (acetylene, butadienes). Hydrocarbons are indeed versatile depending on their cross-linking.

Through heating and chemical processing, crude oil can be made into many different products. It is a great resource. Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation supply barrels of crude oil to refineries where everything is separated into useful substances. Chemists separate things into various components by heating the crude oil, vaporizing it and then condensing it. This process is called fractional distillation. The refineries must treat the fractions to remove impurities. Chemical processing on some of the fractions to make others in the process is called conversion. So if the demand for gasoline increases, a refinery can change diesel fuel into gasoline. Refineries also combine the various fractions into mixtures to produce more desired products like gasoline with different octane ratings. In addition to making the different oil-based products, refineries are responsible to treat the wastes involved to minimize pollution.

Chris Jent is the Chief Marketing Officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit http://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com.

Drilling and Testing for Oil

2007-11-26T19:04:00.000-08:00

Once the oil rig system is set up and in place, the crew starts the drilling operation. Above where the geologists have predicted the oil trap is located, a starter hole is drilled to the surface hole and down to a pre-set depth. There are five basic steps to drilling the surface hole. First the drill bit is placed in the collar and drill pipe in the hole. The kelly is attached to the turntable and drilling begins. As drilling progresses, mud is circulated through the pipe and out of the bit to float the rock cuttings out of the hole. New sections (joints) are added to the drill pipes as the hole gets deeper. Lastly, the drill pipe, collar and bit are removed (tripped out) when the pre-set depth is reached which is generally between a few hundred and a couple-thousand feet.

When the pre-set depth is reached, the crew must run and cement the casing which involves placing the casing-pipe sections into the hole to prevent it from collapsing in on itself. To keep it centered in the hole, casing pipe has spacers around the outside. The casing crew puts the casing pipe in the hole. Using a bottom plug, a cement slurry, a top plug and drill mud, the cement crew pumps cement down the casing pipe. The pressure from the drill mud causes the cement slurry to move through the casing and fill the space between the outside of the casing and the hole. Finally, the cement is allowed to harden and then tested for hardness, alignment and a proper seal. This describes the method of drilling that has been used for years. The oil industry and the U.S. Department of Energy are working to drill oil with new drilling technologies, including horizontal drilling techniques, to reach oil under ecologically-sensitive areas, and using lasers to drill. Triple Diamond Energy Corporation stays current with the new drilling techniques to make sure that it is done appropriately and accurately.

After the crew drill, then run and cement new casings, they then drill again to ensure they have reached the appropriate depth. The final depth is reached when the rock cuttings from the mud reveal the oil sand from the reservoir rock. At this point, the drilling apparatus is removed from the hole. Then further tests are performed to confirm that they have drilled in the correct spot to reach the oil.

Well logging is done by lowering electrical and gas sensors into the hole to take measurements of the rock formations in the spot drilled. In order to do drill-stem testing a device is lowered into the hole to measure the pressures, revealing whether reservoir rock has been reached. Core rock samples are taken to look for characteristics of reservoir rock.

Once the final depth is reached, the crew completes the well to allow oil to flow into the casing in a controlled manner. After the well is completed, the flow of oil into the well starts. To help the flow, acid is pumped down the well and out the perforations for limestone reservoir rock. For sandstone reservoir rock, a specially blended fluid containing sand, walnut shells, aluminum pellets (proppants) is pumped down the well and out the perforations. The oil rig is removed from the site after the oil is flowing. Next, the production equipment is set up to extract the oil from the well.

Chris Jent is the Chief Marketing Officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit http://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com.

Preparing an Oil Drilling Site

2007-11-20T11:31:00.000-08:00

Modern oil production is quite different from the way it has been portrayed in the movies. Black crude oil gushing out of the ground is not what typically happens. Technology has made the exploration and drilling of oil a more precise art.

The modern oil exploration methods today include using sensitive gravity meters which indicate the flow of oil, sensitive magnetometers which measure tiny changes in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by flowing oil, sensitive electronic noses called sniffers which detect the smell of hydrocarbons, and seismology which produce shock waves through the hidden rock layers of the Earth. Shock waves are created by a compressed-air gun shooting pulses of air into the water for exploration over water, a thumper truck which slams heavy plates into the ground for exploration over land, and by explosives drilled into the ground for exploration over both land and water.

Once a prospective oil strike is found and the location to drill is selected, the site must be surveyed to determine its boundaries, and environmental impact studies may have to be done. Oil companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation purchase the lease agreements, obtain titles, and evaluate legally right-of-way accesses for the land. For sites on the water, legal jurisdiction must be determined. With the legal issues settled, the oil company’s crew goes about preparing the land.

The land is cleared and leveled, and access roads may have to be built. Because so much water is used in drilling, there must be a source of it close by. If there is no natural source, a water well is drilled. A reserve pit is made, used to dispose of rock cuttings and drilling mud during the drilling process, and it is lined with plastic to protect the environment. If the site is an ecologically sensitive area, such as a marsh or wilderness, then the cuttings and mud must be trucked away instead of placed in the reserve pit.

After the land has been prepared, several holes must be dug to make way for the main hole and rigging structure. A rectangular pit, called a cellar, is dug around the location of the actual drilling hole. The cellar provides space around the hole for the workers and drilling accessories. With a small drill truck, the crew then begins drilling the main hole. The first part of the hole is large and then lined with a large-diameter conductor pipe. To temporarily store equipment, additional holes are dug off to the side. When these holes are done, the rig equipment can be brought in to be set up. Depending upon the remoteness of the site and the access to it, equipment may be transported by truck, helicopter or barge. Some rigs are built on ships or barges for work on inland water where the land will not to support a rig, as in marshes or on lakes.

Chris Jent is the chief marketing officer of Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Triple Diamond Energy specializes in acquiring the highest quality prime oil and gas properties. For more information, visit http://www.triplediamondenergycorp.blogspot.com.

The Demand for Natural Gas Increases

2007-11-13T13:01:00.000-08:00

Because the natural gas market is so heavily dependent on the interaction of supply and demand, it is important to have knowledge of the factors that affect these two components of the commodity.

Throughout the twentieth century, natural gas was known as an ‘energy orphan.’ In North America, natural gas was priced as a byproduct until late 1970s. It was banned as an industrial fuel from 1978 to 1989. There was either too little demand or too much supply. In Europe local supplies made gas ‘slightly important’ commodity. In the 1970s, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) was considered a bold experiment for Algeria and Indonesia.

As the cleanest fossil fuel by far, natural gas became known as the most precious energy source. Being extremely efficient, the BTU input to BTU use is 1.1 to 1.0. The big drawback at the time was that it was complex to travel. The pipelines were expensive to construct and they couldn’t go to stranded locations.

The gas demand peaked in 1971/1972 in the United States. It bottomed out in 1985/1986. It finally broke old 1971/1972 record in 2001/2002. It was believed that high gas prices would inevitably destruct the demand for natural gas because of the transportation drawback. This theory proved wrong with U.S. natural gas supply actually peaking in 1973 when daily gas produced was 62 Billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day. Because of the abnormal mild weather between the years 1985 and 2000 the demand growth was dampened. The repeal of banned gas use re-created industrial and electricity feedstock use. By late 1990s, the United States adopted natural gas, as the fuel of choice.

In 2000 the National Petroleum Council (NPC) forecasted the natural gas demand in the United States would increase 36% to approximately 30 TCF by 2010. Half of this predicted growth was created in the electricity demand. The other half was calculated from economy growing by 2.5% per year. It was gathered that gas prices would be kept under $3 through 2015 by improvements made in technology and production efficiency. Many study participants questioned whether the demand could grow this much, but almost no one worried about the supply.

The National Petroleum Council (NPC) forecast was an understated assumption. It predicted 113,000 MW at gas-fired power plants by 2010. The reality is that there were already 220,000 MW gas-fired plants by 2004. The NPC demand was grossly underestimated. The other things overlooked in the assumption were the need for peak capacity, the black-outs or brown-outs that happen, and the weather changes affecting the demand. Bitter cold weather causes demand to rise by 50%. Muggy hot weather causes the electrical demand for air conditioning to rise by 30%. The 60% to 80% of surge now comes from natural gas for this reason.

Taking watch over the increase of demand for natural gas as an energy source, companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation keep their business running efficiently in order to meet this demand.

The Natural Gas Industry Structure

2007-11-13T12:58:00.000-08:00

Of the over 8,000 natural gas producers in the United States, there are about two dozen large integrated production companies in the industry termed 'Majors'. From these majors which usually have operations worldwide, producers can range from having interests in all segments of the oil and gas industry all the way to small one or two person operations that may only have partial interest in a single well.

In 2000 the over 580 natural gas processing plants in the United States, at the time, were responsible for processing almost 17 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and extracting over 720 million barrels of natural gas liquids.

About 160 pipeline companies operate over 285,000 miles of pipe in the United States, of which is 180,000 miles of interstate pipelines. This pipeline is capable of transporting over 119 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas per day from the producing regions to the consuming regions.

There are about 415 underground storage facilities in the United States with about 114 natural gas storage operators. The storage capacity of these facilities is 3,923 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas, maintaining an average daily deliverability of 78 billion cubic feet (Bcf). The Energy Industry Association (EIA) keeps a weekly storage survey which monitors the injection and withdrawal of stored natural gas. By measuring the natural gas extracted or stored at any one time in response to the demand, this survey gives a good indication of the status of the natural gas market.

As companies enter and exit from the industry quite frequently, the status of the natural gas market is constantly changing. The volume of non-physical natural gas that passes through the hands of marketers is very large, and can be much greater than the actual physical volume consumed. This is an indication of just how vibrant and transparent the commodity markets are for natural gas. Just for example, in 1998, it was estimated that for every thousand cubic feet of natural gas consumed, about 2.7 thousand cubic feet passed through natural gas marketers.

The natural gas market is similar to other commodity markets in that the prices reflect the ability of the supply meeting the demand at any one time. When the demand for gas is rising, and prices rise accordingly, producers will respond by increasing their exploration and production capabilities. Being one of these producers, Triple Diamond Energy Corporation follows this straightforward economic strategy.

While many distribution companies maintain a monopoly status over their distribution region, many states are currently in the process of changing this by offering consumer choice options with respect to their natural gas distribution. In the United States there are over 1,200 natural gas distribution companies which own over 833,000 miles of distribution pipe.

Natural Gas and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction

2007-11-09T15:08:00.001-08:00

A recently issued report done by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) along with a comprehensive study analyzing the Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act presented by the Natural Gas Council (NGC) informs the public and the natural gas industry of the projected impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on our economy.

The Natural Gas Council (NGC), composed of the four natural gas industry trade associations, firmly concluded from the modeled study that natural gas will be a critical component in achieving greenhouse gas emission reductions under any climate change legislation. And National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) projected the impact of greenhouse gas reduction policies on our energy markets and economy.

Constraints were placed on the number of nuclear facilities and power plants utilizing renewable fuels that realistically can be built to achieve the emission reductions mandated. A range of possible outcomes that may occur were addressed as the energy economy adjusts to mandatory carbon constraints. The NGC study focused on the findings, insights and lessons learned which can be applicable to other climate change proposals and any Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Legislation that may be introduced.

The analysis yielded insights establishing a comprehensive program for mandatory reductions of Greenhouse Gas emissions in the United States. It was concluded that solutions to achieve GHG emissions reductions are complicated due to many interdependencies and uncertainties. Results are heavily dependent on the features and functionality of legislative provisions. Global demand for offsets could limit availability to purchasers in the United States affecting the price. The number of offsets available will make a very large difference in the outcomes. Economic impacts depend on the success of new technologies and the rate at which they are adopted.

Given the significant emission reductions desired after 2030, it is very important to understand the implications to the economy and society and what solutions may be available to make necessary changes. Companies selling energy commodities like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation must stay aware of the solutions available to comply to the legislative challenges.

Results show the strong possibility that there will be greater reliance on natural gas to achieve the emission reduction targets established for 2020 and 2030. Given the importance of achieving the emissions reduction targets that Congress ultimately may legislate, the natural gas industry would like to explore, at minimum, using natural gas as a bridge fuel for electric generation, until the other technologies for GHG emission reductions can be commercialized and fully deployed.

Oil from Shale

2007-11-09T12:27:00.000-08:00

Oil shale is a sedimentary rock rich in kerogen which is a fossil fuel. Kerogen is an immature form of hydrocarbon that has been trapped in the oil shale. Solid oil shale is transformed into synthetic crude oil. Synthetic crude is a liquid fuel that can be refined into diesel and gasoline.

There are hundreds of patents from different companies trying to come up with cost efficient ways to extract the oil from the oil shale. Nothing made sense cost wise until oil started getting up over $70 a barrel. Now with oil hovering above $90 a barrel extracting oil from oil shale is starting to look promising.

Right here in the U.S. is one of the largest potential reserves of oil shale in the world. It lies in the Green River Formation which is an underground lakebed that spans some 17,000 square miles in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. It is said to hold at a minimum 800 billion barrels of oil that can be recovered. A Department of Energy study says that the Formation can sustain two million barrels a day by 2020 and three million a day by 2040.

Shell Oil has developed the most promising technology which they call the In Situ Conversion Process. How it works is this: 1800 foot wells are drilled and then heating rods are inserted in the wells. The heating rods heat the oil shale to 650 degrees Fahrenheit. They surround the wells with freeze walls which keep the oil from escaping into the ground water. The freeze walls are created by piping coolant deep into the ground around the wells. This freezes the rock and water around the drill site. The heat from the heating rods transforms the oil in the shale into oil and natural gas. The natural gas is separated from the oil and then will be used to produce the power to heat the rods. Of course a lot of water and energy is used to extract the oil from the oil shale. Most oil companies, like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation, will generate their own power from the natural gas extracted right at the drilling site. The oil will be piped to a refinery to be converted into gasoline.

Surface mining of oil shale deposits is just like strip mining for coal and has numerous effects on the environment. This new In Situ Conversion process will significantly reduce the damage to the environment caused by extracting oil from oil shale deposits.

Why Oil is Close to $100 Per Barrel

2007-11-09T12:23:00.001-08:00

Shock and fear is hitting consumers as winter approaches and oil prices have increased by $25 a barrel over the last ten weeks. What is going on? Why is it happening and can anything be done about it?

The fear of shortages is one reason for the rapid price increases. The Energy Information Administration revealed that oil stocks in the US are much lower than expected, raising fear that there will be a lack of supply over the winter months and have asked OPEC to increase supply.

Political tensions are another factor. America is the world’s largest oil consumer. Political tensions are high with Iran which is the fourth largest producer of oil in the world. The US has accused Iran of backing the Shia militants in Iraq and is threatening to impose sanctions on Iran. This could effect US supply of oil from Iran. There is also threat of supply disruptions from Iraq due to fears of conflicts between Turkey and Kurdish rebels in Northern Iraq. There is also instability, as always, throughout the Middle East which continually offer supply threats.

The weak dollar is having a major effect. The weak housing market and turmoil in the financial markets caused by the subprime mortgage problem and its effect on the economy in the US has pushed the dollar to record lows against the euro and the pound. The dollar is par with the Canadian dollar for the first time in 30 years. Investors are buying more oil in an attempt to hedge their losses from the weak dollar. These weaknesses are expected to be exacerbated by another expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve which will put more downward pressure on the dollar. This will drive oil prices even higher and threaten to drive up inflation. Investors are flocking to commodities like oil or precious metals to protect themselves from these threats.

Oil demand is strong which also has a major effect on oil prices. The rapidly growing economies of China and India are increasing their consumption of oil by 10 to 15% per year. China is second behind the US in oil consumption and its demand is growing at close to 15% per year. Demand is expected to increase throughout the world by 2% a year over the next five years.

Can production be increased to help reduce costs? OPEC, which is the world’s largest oil supplier recently raised its production quotas by 500,000 barrels a day. OPEC has stated that they feel the recent price increases are due to geopolitical issues and that there are adequate supplies of oil. This makes it unlikely that they will further increase their production quotas to help ease the price increases. US companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation help alleviate our dependence on foreign oil by finding new sources of domestic oil supply.

All of these factors are exacerbated in the US by the predictions of a major slowdown in the US economy next year which could force us into a recession. It seems that the price of oil is always a factor in times of economic instability. Supply shortages, political tensions, the weak dollar and increased demand seem to be here to stay and enhance the importance of reducing our consumption of oil.

The Costs of Natural Gas and Oil

2007-11-09T12:19:00.001-08:00

Most Americans use is either oil or natural gas for energy. A supply and demand imbalance is currently driving up the costs of both oil and natural gas. Americans are demanding more energy and as this demand increases, our supply of oil and natural gas hasn’t increased especially from domestically available resources. Actually, this production is on the decline. It is time to start exploring and tapping new supplies of oil and natural gas here in America.

Oil is a worldwide commodity. Prices are bound to rise worldwide with the increased competition/demand and the present stagnant production. Higher prices are also a result of supply disruption "fears" from potential hot spots in the Middle East, Venezuela, and Russia. Worldwide spare capacity has reduced dramatically from 10 million barrels per day a decade ago to about 2 million barrels per day today.

The natural gas used in the United States is primarily from North American resources. Importing natural gas in a liquefied state from overseas hasn’t yet been fully developed. Natural gas is a preferred fuel choice that powers most new homes and buildings, as well as power plants mainly because it is clean-burning. Inconsistent government policies and regulations have discouraged the exploration and production of new domestic gas supplies. This creates another supply-demand imbalance. Because the increase in natural gas demand isn't being met with new supplies, prices for natural gas rise too.

Some other reasons for the rising costs of natural gas and oil include: weather (cold weather will increase demand), hurricanes (can stop production in the Gulf of Mexico), litigation and regulations, lack of public support and government encouragement for new oil and gas wells, Geopolitical unrest around the world, and market speculation.

The consequences of no new domestic production makes for fluctuation in consumer prices. Some of our factories are moving their businesses overseas to take advantage of cheaper energy costs meaning lost jobs and lost tax and royalty revenue. Today, 63% of our oil is imported today which is a high reliance on foreign countries, taking on a national and economic security risk. Having the supply controlled by other countries, of course, is not ideal. Plus the extremely high national trade deficit (one-third of which is represented in oil imports) has to stop soaring.

The fuel industry needs to re-look at the federal policy recognizing the importance of domestic oil and natural gas. Some suggested changes are: allowing access to non-park, non-wilderness federal lands where abundant, lower cost domestic oil and gas is located, providing for more offshore oil and gas exploration, stopping unnecessary law suits and regulations, providing full federal funding for government agencies that have industry oversight and for oil and gas technology programs to do research, encouraging students to get involved in order to develop a new workforce for the coming years, and offering credits for unconventional resources to be used instead.

Currently, in the United States, there are about 5,000 independent oil and natural gas producers. Independents can be small family companies or publicly traded companies. They operate in 33 states and the offshore. Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation drill 90 percent of the wells here and produce 68 percent of America's oil and 82 percent of domestic natural gas.

Natural Gas Distribution

2007-11-09T12:14:00.001-08:00

The natural gas industry is an extremely important commodity in the energy sector of the U.S. economy. In addition to providing one of the cleanest burning fuels available, it offers constant value and growing commerce to the nation.

Over the past 15 years, the structure of the natural gas industry has changed dramatically. The industry formerly had a simple structure with limited flexibility and few options for delivery. Production companies explored and drilled for natural gas, selling their product at the wellhead to large transportation pipelines. These pipelines transported the natural gas, selling it to local distribution utilities, which sold that gas to its customers. The price for which the producers sold the natural gas to the transportation pipelines and the price for which the pipelines sold the local distribution companies were both federally regulated. Then state regulation monitored the price for which local distribution companies sold natural gas to their customers. The increasing demand for natural gas as a fuel source, new technology, regulation flexibilities, and innovative data monitoring have changed the industry.

Distribution is the final step in delivering natural gas to end users. High capacity interstate and intrastate pipelines deliver directly to the large industrial, commercial, and electrically generated customers. These accounts are usually contracted through natural gas marketing companies. Most other users receive natural gas from a local distribution company (LDC). There are two basic types of local distribution companies: those owned by investors, and public gas systems owned by local state governments.

Local distribution companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp transport natural gas through small-diameter distribution pipe. Delivery points to LDCs, especially for large municipal areas, are often termed 'citygates'. LDCs usually take ownership of the natural gas at the citygate, then deliver it to each individual customer's location of use. It has been estimated that the extensive network of small-diameter distribution pipe required to deliver natural gas in the United States is over one million miles.

The transportation infrastructure required to move natural gas to many diverse customers across the country to some remote and isolated areas, distribution costs make up the majority of natural gas costs for small volume end users. Distribution companies must deliver relatively small volumes of gas to many more different locations. Large pipelines can reduce unit costs by transmitting large volumes of natural gas, but these infrastructures are utilized around the concentrated metropolitan areas of the country. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), for the typical small volume residential natural gas consumer, distribution costs represent up to 47 percent of the natural gas bill. The actual natural gas commodity represents about 34 percent of residential consumers' bill, and transmission (by large interstate and intrastate pipelines) and storage costs make up about 19 percent.

Other innovations affecting the natural gas industry include the new technology of flexible plastic and corrugated stainless steel tubing in place of rigid steel pipe, new electronic meter-reading systems capable of transmitting data information directly to the local distribution company, new trenching techniques allowing for pipe installation with less impact on the above ground surroundings, and new supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems which assimilate gas flow control and measurement providing a comprehensive accurate report for the LDC. All of these improvements result in cost savings for the LDC, which are passed along to customers.

Pipelines are the Nation’s Energy Lifeline

2007-11-08T15:59:00.001-08:00

There is a 200,000-mile petroleum pipeline network constantly working to supply us with the products that make our nation tick. America's economy depends on these pipelines to run efficiently, safely and to be reliable. Every day this network delivers us the energy we need to survive. It brings us the gasoline to run our machinery and transportation vehicles, heating oil to make our homes and work places comfortable, and jet fuel to fly both people and products to places all over enabling manufacturing and production to happen in a timely fashion. The primary means of moving crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel and other petroleum products to consumer markets are these pipelines. Because most of them are buried underground, and largely unseen, they are safe from harm. They move crude oil from oil fields on land and offshore to refineries where the oil is turned into other fuel products. From the refineries, the oil and fuel products go to terminals where they are trucked to retail outlets. Americans use more than 20 million barrels of oil products each and every day. Pipelines operate constantly, 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep the essential fuel flowing through this network to consumers.

Safely, cost effectively, and efficiently, this pipeline network delivers us with a commodity that is fundamental to the American way of life. Transported through the pipelines is the energy to fuel our cars, trucks, busses, airplanes, and ships—the vehicles that keep us going. Also through the pipeline network, crude oil is delivered to refineries that convert it into essential material for the core industries producing plastics, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture—the major products necessary to maintain the life style as we know it.

Realizing how important the pipeline network in America is, the petroleum pipeline industry’s safety record remains strong and is constantly improving. Operators are doing a better job steadily of protecting pipelines from corrosion, damage by third parties, weather or natural disasters, and any other harmful circumstances. Government agencies that regulate the pipeline industry include the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (part of the U.S. Department of Transportation), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Regulations have forced a recording of the distribution of energy products through the pipeline network. The specific product is measured at the receipt point in the pipeline and again upon delivery to document the amount of product moved from one point to another. The amount charged to the customer depends on the product, the amount transported, and the distance between the receipt and delivery points. This process is similar to how you ship a package from one place to another. First, a carrier is chosen; the pick up and delivery point are confirmed; the weight is accounted for; and a pre-established fee is paid for the service. Like shipping packages, transporting different batches of petroleum can encounter unexpected delivery changes. However, unlike the package tracking, tracking and measuring pipeline volumes can be real challenges. Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation accept these challenges as a part of doing business within the energy sector providing such an important commodity.

Natural Gas and the Oracle of Delphi

2007-11-08T15:57:00.000-08:00

Most people have heard the term - the Oracle of Delphi. In ancient times Delphi was thought to be the center of the world. To the Greeks it was the place where heaven and earth met. It was the center of worship for the Greek God Apollo who was the son of Zeus.

People would go to the Oracle of Delphi, who was a priestess of the time, to get advice on personal concerns or concerns of the state and to have their questions about the future answered. The Oracle or priestess was thought to dispense advice which came right from God, to have divine or as we think of it today psychic powers.

The temple of the Oracle of Delphi was built on top of Mount Parnassus. The temple was founded when a goat herder came upon a flame rising out of a fissure in a rock. The Greeks thought the flame had a divine origin and built the temple on top of it. The prophecies of the priestess were said to be inspired by the divine nature of the flame. Also, vapors arising out of the fissure were thought to produce intoxication that helped loosen the lips of the oracles.

These myths and prophecies grew around the flame and Delphi is still a favorite tourist attraction in Greece. A recent study of the area below the temple at Delphi show that two faults intersect there and also found evidence that hallucinogenic gases were rising from a spring nearby and were preserved within the rock of the temple. When faults intersect the rock around them are more permeable and water and natural gases can rise out of the rock easier.

The gases in the spring water near the temple were analyzed and it was found that one of the gases was ethylene which has a sweet smell and produces a narcotic effect if inhaled. The Oracle of Delphi was said to go into a trance like state when she would pronounce her prophecies. She would be in a small, enclosed room in the basement of the temple. It’s possible that there was enough ethylene to produce this trance like state.

Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation drill natural gas which then travels through pipelines to a processing plant that extracts the ethylene.Ethylene is a flammable gas extracted from natural gas and petroleum. Ethylene is extracted using fractional distillation followed by steam cracking followed by liquefaction of the gas and then further fractional. Polyethylene is produced from ethylene. Polyethylene is the world’s most widely used plastic.

Who Regulates Natural Gas and the Effects of Regulation on Prices

2007-11-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

Each state has a public utility commission that regulates natural gas utilities. Surprising as it may seem the natural gas utilities aren’t allowed to make any money from the natural gas itself. A natural gas or electric utility bill typically has three main charges: natural gas or electricity used, service fee and delivery charges. The service fee and delivery charges are based on the amount of natural gas or electricity used.

The state utility commissions not only oversee the rates utilities charge but issues related to construction and maintenance of adequate supplies for customers. There are three federal agencies that regulate the natural gas industry as well. They are the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Securities Exhange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. These agencies are the federal overseers of the industry that help ensure that the natural gas markets are not being manipulated.

The fluctuations in the price of natural gas are more related to supply and demand issues than to the individual utility companies increasing their profits. When natural gas prices increase, most people become more frugal in their usage. The natural gas utility actually makes less in this instance because they only make profits on the service fees and delivery charges. When consumers use less natural gas the utility is forced make less in service fees and delivery charges which are based on the volume used.

Many state public utility commissions are exploring the decoupling of rates from amounts used for utilities. Today, with the rates charged tied to the amount used the utility companies have less incentive to be concerned about energy efficiency. Alternative approaches are being discussed to more closely align utility revenue with energy efficiency.

The actual price of natural gas is mainly influenced by supply and demand as in most free markets. Today, in the United States, demand is growing in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors. It is a very efficient fuel source that is much friendlier to the environment than oil.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issues winter price forecasts once a month during the winter. These estimates are based on a couple factors. First, an estimate of what the average price over the winter will be. Next, a prediction of the weather is made. How cold is it expected to be this winter? Will it be colder or warmer than last year? A percentage increase or decrease is derived from this.

The Increasing Use of Liquefied Natural Gas

2007-11-08T15:55:00.000-08:00

When natural gas is cooled at normal pressure to about -260°F, it condenses into a liquid form known as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). LNG takes up about one six hundredth the volume of gaseous natural gas making it very efficient to transport. When it is necessary to transport natural gas energy to stranded or mountainous destinations, shipping it as LNG is much more practical. The absence of a pipeline infrastructure to these areas make direct connection of small gas utilities to the pipeline grid impractical.

Liquefied Natural Gas when vaporized to gaseous form, will burn in concentrations of between only 5 and 15 percent mixed with air. Another advantage is that LNG, or any vapor associated with it, will not explode in an unconfined environment. In the unlikely event of an LNG spill, the natural gas has little chance of igniting an explosion. The process of turning natural gas into a liquid form removes from it, oxygen, carbon dioxide, sulfur, and water, resulting in almost pure methane. LNG is a clean fuel and a safe fuel.

Liquefied Natural Gas is usually transported in specialized tankers with insulated walls. The process of auto refrigeration in these tankers is used in which the LNG is kept at its boiling point, so that any heat additions are countered by the energy lost from LNG vapor that is vented out of storage and used to power the vessel. This is another example of the efficiency of LNG.

LNG storage facilities continue to be important in meeting peak demand needs of local utilities and also provide a more economical way to store gas until it is needed. Several niche markets, such as vehicular fuel and using it as an alternative energy to propane for facilities off the pipeline grid, keep LNG in an increasingly high demand whether its from domestic or foreign sources. Replacing propane or other fuels in certain isolated industrial sites such as mineral extraction and forest product facilities has proven to be effective economically. Growth depends on expansion of current facilities and new construction. The need for additional supply sources to meet projected U.S. demand generally coincides with numerous developments in LNG trade on a worldwide basis.

Although Liquefied Natural Gas currently accounts for a small percent of natural gas used in the United States, it is expected that LNG imports will provide a steady, dependable source of natural gas for U.S. consumption. Domestic natural gas exploration companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation continue to locate new sources of natural gas as well. Since 2001, companies have announced plans for the construction of LNG import facilities to serve U.S. markets. LNG imported to the United States comes via ocean tanker, and receives the majority of its LNG from Trinidad and Tobago, Qatar, and Algeria. Some other shipments arrive from Nigeria, Oman, Australia, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates.

New Natural Gas Pipeline Excavation Laws

2007-11-08T15:54:00.000-08:00

Explosions caused by natural gas leaks are rare considering the 1.9 million miles of natural gas distribution pipeline in the United States. When they do happen they are often caused by damage from construction companies excavating a site for new construction or to repair existing construction.

In 2006 Congress passed legislation called the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement, and Safety Act of 2006. The purpose of the legislation is to prevent excavation damage to natural gas pipelines through the enhanced us and improved enforcement of state One Call laws. One Call laws require excavators to contact the state One Call system prior to excavating to locate the underground pipe. The excavators are also required to report any damage or escape of gas caused by their digging.

The law provides funding and direction for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s pipeline safety oversight programs and new funding to strengthen excavation damage prevention programs.

The Department of Transportation is responsible for enforcing the laws. Civil penalties are assessed. These civil penalties are not only assessed against excavation companies violating the One Call laws but also to any pipeline operator who does not respond to a request for information on a location or does not mark the pipeline location properly.

The new legislation also provides state grants for improvements to the damage prevention programs and for development of new technologies for prevention of excavation damage.

Studies show that natural gas pipelines have been the safest mode of transportation in the United States. The natural gas pipeline companies spend a large amount of their budgets making sure the pipelines run safely. They are constantly doing research and development to improve their infrastructure to increase the safety and reliability of their infrastructure. The new legislation also mandates the installation of excess flow valves on new service lines or on lines that have been entirely replaced that serve single-family homes.

Between 1986 and 2004 the number of accidents reported decreased by 28 per cent. Over 650,000 miles of pipeline were added during this period and the gas moving through the pipelines increased by 33 per cent. Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation are focused on increasing the domestic supply of natural gas to support the increased demand.

Natural gas provides 25% of the energy used in the U.S. The White House, Pentagon and Capitol building all use natural gas for heating. Natural gas has been delivered via pipeline for over a century in the U.S. The cost of the new regulations to natural gas pipeline companies is significant. First year implementation were estimated to be approximately $0.036 per thousand cubic feet. The increased safety provided by this legislation far outweighs the additional expense incurred. Accidents are far more costly to natural gas pipeline companies than the additional expense of the requirements of the new law.

Underground Natural Gas Storage Facilities

2007-11-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

Because it can be stored indefinitely, natural gas is the most readily available of the fossil fuels. The exploration, production, and transportation of natural gas takes time. Often, when natural gas reaches its destination, it is not always needed immediately, so it is stored underground in large storage reservoirs strategically located all over the United States. These storage facilities can be near market centers that do not have a ready supply of locally produced natural gas. In addition to storage underground, natural gas can also be stored in liquid form known as liquefied natural gas or LNG. The advantage of LNG over gaseous natural gas is that it takes up much less space to store and ship.

Stored natural gas can act as insurance if any unforeseen accidents, natural disasters, or unexpected consumer demand surges happen. Traditionally, natural gas has been a seasonal fuel with highest demand during the winter for heat. However, because of advantages natural gas has over other energy sources, its demand has increased to be used for more than just the winter months. Also, stored natural gas ensures that any excess supply delivered during the summer months is available to meet the increased demand of the winter months.

Shortly after World War II, the natural gas industry noted that seasonal demand increases could not be met by pipeline delivery alone. Reaching the increasing demand in the growing consumer regions using the pipelines in existence then was not possible. The size and quantity of pipelines would have to increase dramatically. Making available underground natural gas storage facilities was the answer. These facilities now play an important part in maintaining the supply needed to meet the energy fuel demands of consumers today. To ensure that adequate supplies of natural gas are available for seasonal and any unexpected demand shifts, underground storage is used to serve as a buffer between transportation and distribution.

There are three types of underground storage: depleted reservoirs, aquifers, and salt caverns. Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation work to maintain all of these types of storage so the demand for power from natural gas can be satisfied. In depleted reservoirs, essentially, natural gas is injected into the formation vessel underground, building up pressure as more natural gas is added, becoming, in a sense, a sort of pressurized natural gas container. The higher the pressure, the more readily gas may be extracted. If the pressure drops to below that of the wellhead, there is no pressure left in order to push the natural gas out of the storage facility. A certain amount of gas may never be extracted known as physically unrecoverable, and this is permanently embedded in the formation underground.

Depleted gas reservoirs are the most common type of natural gas storage. They are the most economical and easiest to develop, operate and maintain. They have already been tapped of their recoverable natural gas and just need to be filled again. From a practical stand point, using an already developed reservoir allows the use of the equipment left behind from when the field was last productive.
The least desirable and most expensive type of natural gas storage is aquifers. They are underground porous, permeable rock formations that act as natural water reservoirs and are usually used in areas without depleted reservoirs which are a better option.

Primarily located along the gulf coast and in the northern states, another form of storage is using salt caverns which are formed out of existing salt deposits. Being much smaller than depleted gas reservoirs and aquifers, salt caverns can't hold enough volume of natural gas to be used as a dependable resource, but work for peak load capacity situations.

All underground natural gas storage facilities should be considered as the consumption of energy increases in our changing world.

Petroleum-based Components Used in Products You Never Realized

2007-11-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

Of course, everyone realizes petroleum products are used in the gasoline we fuel our vehicles and in the heating oil we use to keep our homes warm. But did you know petroleum-based components are in medicines, food, plastics, and even in the clothes we wear? Not only is petroleum a source for fuel, but it has many other uses.

Petrolatum or better known as petroleum jelly is sometimes blended with paraffin wax and used in medicines and in many toiletries and healing moisturizers. Paints, lacquers, and printing inks all have within them petroleum-based solvents to make them flow better. Besides your automobile engine, all machinery, like the engine in your lawn mower, need lubricating oils and grease made from petroleum to keep them running smoothly. Petroleum (or paraffin) wax is used in packaging, candles, matches, shoe polish, and even candy making. Asphalt we use
to pave our driveways, roads and airfields is a byproduct of petroleum. Asphalt also is used to surface canals, dams, and reservoirs. We can find this in the linoleum we cover our floors with and in the shingles we put on our roofs.

Petroleum coke is used as a raw material for many carbon and graphite products. These products include furnace electrodes and liners and the anodes used in the production of aluminum. Aluminum is used in the construction of just about all of our everyday appliances.

Since the 1920's, petroleum has been used as a feedstock in the production of petrochemicals. A liquid obtained from the refining of crude oil called naphtha is one of the basic feedstocks, Petrochemical feedstocks also include products recovered from natural gas, and refinery gases (ethane, propane, and butane). Petrochemical feedstocks are converted to basic chemical building blocks and intermediates, such as ethylene, propylene, normal- and iso-butylenes, butadiene, and aromatics such as benzene, toluene, and xylene.

All these chemicals are in turn used to produce plastics found in our everyday objects, synthetic rubber used to make things more pliable and stretchy, synthetic fibers found our clothing to make them more comfortable, drugs to help us fight diseases, and detergents to make our cleaning process easier.

There are three major categories for petroleum-based products: fuels such as gasoline and diesel fuel, non-fuel products such as solvents and lubricating oils, and feedstocks such as naphtha. Petroleum-based products, especially motor gasoline, distillate (diesel) fuel, and jet fuel, provide virtually all of the energy consumed in the transportation sector. Transportation remains the greatest single use of petroleum. The industrial sector is the second largest petroleum consumption, and the residential/commercial including the electric utility sectors account for the remaining petroleum consumption. Because we depend on oil and petroleum–based products so greatly, companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation, concentrate their efforts in continuing to provide it and making it readily available.

The Natural Gas Advantage for Your Home

2007-11-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

Consider some of the good reasons why you should choose natural gas appliances and amenities for your home. Certainly, you want your home to be a safe environment where your family can relax and feel comfortable. With natural gas you'll find convenience and value for your energy dollar with more years of dependable service. Gas surpasses electricity on performance. It is also more cost-efficient. Being the cleanest source of energy obtained from fossil fuels, it helps promote a healthy environment adding no harmful emissions to the air. Listed below are the many uses of natural gas in the home along with their specific advantages

Natural gas for heating

Homes heated with natural gas all feel warm, comfortable, and draft-free. Even in the coldest weather, you can rely on a natural gas furnace while electric heat pumps may fail to adequately deliver heat. A gas furnace delivers air from the vent at about 130° F, while an electric heat pump needs to be as much as 40 degrees hotter. Over 70% of all new homes built currently use natural gas as the main central heating system. Gas furnaces bring a steady flow of warm air faster using less energy. The life of a gas furnace is usually double that of an electric heat pump. The pilot-less ignition and regulated zone heating can also save money on your heating bill.

Natural gas water heater

Heating water is the second largest energy user in the home. Waiting too long for hot water or, worse yet, running out of hot water too soon can be prevented by using a natural gas water heater. Whether you are showering or washing dishes, you want hot water fast and plenty of it. Gas flames provide instant heat, and today’s gas water heaters are even more efficient than older models. Using a natural gas water heater enables you and your family to enjoy long, relaxing hot showers.

Gas range top cooking

With a gas flame there's no waiting for the burner to warm up or cool down. Contrary to an electric range, the cooking stops as soon as you turn off a gas burner. Cooking time is easily controlled on a gas range because it responds instantly to your touch. Foods can cook faster and more evenly. The pilot-less ignition of newer models eliminates the need for a standing pilot light. The flame burns only when the gas is turned on, cutting your gas usage by about one third so you can enjoy great food in less time. Nowadays, saving time is a great advantage.

Your clothes get dry faster with a gas dryer

Gas dryers outperform electric ones by more than a three to one ratio. Gas clothes dryers can provide significant cost savings without sacrificing performance features. Better temperature control from the natural gas flame allows your clothes to dry faster and more evenly. No more going to the dryer to find some clothes partially dry or even still wet. Features like pilot-less ignition, sensor controls, automatic cooling-down cycles and shut-offs, plus optional shorter cycles for de-wrinkling are all designed for better efficiency saving you money.

Natural gas fireplaces verses wood-burning fireplaces

Fireplaces burning wood can cause chimney fires, ashes and sparks. Clean-up is necessary and sparks can potentially harm children, pets, and/or furnishings. Just a flick of a switch can provide fuel-efficient, fuss-free flames from today’s gas logs and fireplace inserts. There is no need to buy wood and never mind about hauling and storing it. Enjoy a cozy fire instantly without dealing with the mess of a wood-burning fireplace. Gas fireplaces also offer the benefits of both radiant and convective heat.

Gaslights operate even during power outages

When a power outage happens, standard electrical lights go out, but the comforting glow from gaslights endures. Unlike electric lights, gaslights don't attract insects. Gaslights add security and a warm welcome to entryways, driveways, patios, and decks near pool and garden areas.

Enjoy smoky, barbecue flavored food without the mess of charcoal or propane

There is no propane tank to fill, nor the wait for charcoal to heat up. Natural gas controls are right at your fingertips. Cooking outdoors can be safe, convenient, and reliable with natural gas barbecues. Natural gas flames can be fine-tuned with precision— something difficult to regulate with other barbecues. Another advantage to barbecuing with natural gas is that gas grills are easy to clean and virtually maintenance free.

Gas heaters for the pool, spa and patio areas

Natural gas patio and swimming pool heaters let you enjoy these areas more months out of the year. When warmed by natural gas, water temperatures in a spa or pool stay consistently comfortable. Patio heaters (available in an array of different models) can be used even in exposed outdoor areas. Natural gas patio heaters can keep you comfortably warm air for up to a 20-foot circular area.

Understanding the advantages of natural gas for your home makes the decision for using it easy. It is the choice for many new homes. Natural gas is stored at facilities managed by companies like, Triple Diamond Energy, which make sure to meet the seasonal demands as they increase. The energy is provided as needed without supply disruptions. Natural gas is stored underground in large reservoirs easily accessed through pipeline systems.

Natural Gas, the Clean Fossil Fuel

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Of the fossil fuels, natural gas is the cleanest source of energy to use for many of our every day needs and activities. It plays an important part in reducing pollution so that a clean and healthy environment can be maintained. Because of its almost perfect combustion process, very few byproducts are emitted into the atmosphere as pollutants. The environmentally friendly attributes of natural gas reduce air pollution.

Composed primarily of methane, the main products of the combustion of natural gas are carbon dioxide and water vapor which are the same compounds we exhale when we breathe. Unlike other fossil fuels, the combustion of natural gas releases very small amounts of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, virtually no ash or particulate matter, and low levels of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and other reactive hydrocarbons.

Transportation vehicles such as automobiles, trucks, and buses contribute greatly to the air pollution in the United States. This kind of air pollution makes for low visibility, smog, and various greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), more than 80 percent of air pollution in cities is produced by transportation vehicles. Natural gas can be used to cut down on these high levels of pollution from gasoline and diesel powered cars, trucks, and buses. According to the EPA, vehicles operating on compressed natural gas have reductions in carbon monoxide emissions of up to 97 percent and reductions in carbon dioxide emissions of 25 percent. Nitrogen oxide emissions, and other non-methane hydrocarbon emissions could all be reduced drastically. Because of the relatively simple makeup of natural gas, there are fewer toxic and carcinogenic emissions from vehicles running on natural gas.

The natural gas industry is committed to ensuring that the process of producing natural gas is as environmentally clean as possible. Switching to natural gas eliminates the threat of oil spills, oil contamination and environmental clean up. Because natural gas burns so cleanly, no unpleasant odors, soot, or ashes are left behind. Natural gas is non-toxic, not poisonous or harmful to humans.

Other advantages of choosing clean natural gas as an energy source are that it is convenient, efficient, and economical. Natural gas is brought directly to the customer’s home through safe, efficient pipeline systems throughout the country developed and set up by companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corporation. There is an abundant supply of domestic natural gas making it not necessary to depend on an energy source supply susceptible to international events. Furthermore, natural gas is reliable in that the pipeline systems are not easily damaged or affected by changing weather conditions.

The Formation of Oil in the Earth’s Surface

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Oil is one of three fossil fuels found in the earth’s surface formed about 300 millions of years ago before the time of the dinosaurs during the Carboniferous Period. At the time, the land was covered with swamps filled with huge trees, ferns, large leafy plants and rich vegetation. The oceans were filled with algae another form of vegetation made up of billions of tiny plants. On the land, as the trees and plants died and fell to the bottom of the swamp, they formed layers of a spongy material known as peat. Then over hundreds of many years, the peat was covered by sand, clay and minerals, which turned into a type of rock called sedimentary. In the oceans, the algae attracted diatoms, tiny sea creatures the size of a pinhead. As the diatoms died, they fell to the ocean floor and were buried under layers of sand and sedimentary. As the earth changed, shifted, and folded, it squeezed the diatoms capturing their energy. When this movement happened, both oil and natural gas got trapped in pockets between folds of rock in the different layers of the earth. Oil is also found to exist within the rock itself where it is more porous.

Oil has been used as an energy resource for more than 6,000 years. The ancient Babylonians, Sumerians, and Assyrians used crude oil and asphalt or "pitch" collected on the Euphrates River from large seeps (places where the ground leaks oil up from below the surface). Before electricity, oil was used in lamps to provide light. The ancient Egyptians also used liquid oil as a medicine for wounds.

Today, to find oil, companies like Triple Diamond Energy drill through the layers of earth deep below the surface to the deposits. Oilrigs pump
the oil from below and then it is usually sent through pipelines or by ship to destinations for it to be stored in large tanks until it is needed to be used. By heating the thick black crude oil at the refineries, it can be split into various types of products.

Many different products started as oil. These products include almost everything made of plastic, farm fertilizers, gasoline, diesel fuel, oil for aviation and ships, jet fuel, home heating oil, and oil to burn in power plants that make electricity.

The importance of oil in our life is many-fold. There is a limit to how much oil there is. It took millions of years to create and once it is tapped out, it is gone. Fossil fuels are not renewable. So, it is essential we save them by conserving energy.

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2007-10-25T10:19:00.001-07:00

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