Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
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EU taxonomy CDA for nuclear and gas to be included has been voted through, a very sensible outcome considering the current global crisis and the need to ensure pragmatic transition, it will be interesting to note if this will be a catalyst for Minister Ryan,..GL S
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2022/07/05/mcguinness-in-plea-to-meps-to-save-embattled-nuclear-and-gas-proposal/ Greens at it again ... interesting day ...
Could not read that link, topknot,....this link ( https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/natural-gas-soars-700-becoming-driving-force-in-the-new-cold-war-122070500518_1.html ) covers the same gas topic,.....surely, it must be wake up time, for some now.
Extract,
"In short, natural gas now rivals oil as the fuel that shapes geopolitics. And there isn't enough of it to go around"
BW
The Irish media are now starting to pick up on the unfolding crisis, it will be interesting to note if Eamon Ryan is called out for the ridiculous delay of Ireland’s energy security review,…GL S
Norway strikes threaten to cut off gas supplies to UK within days
Europe’s energy crisis intensifies as Equinor begins shutting down oil and gasfields
Norway has warned that gas exports to the UK that also supply mainland Europe could be shut off this weekend if a workers’ strike escalates, with up to 60 per cent of the Scandinavian country’s supplies under threat from industrial action.
Equinor, Norway’s state-backed energy company, has already shut down three oil and gasfields since strikes began on Monday evening over pay claims seeking to compensate for rising inflation, in a move that helped propel European gas prices to their highest level in four months.
Around 70 per cent of Irish gas supplies come from the United Kingdom and any prolonged shortage in the UK due to the Norwegian strike could also affect supplies here. Already the news has sent wholesale gas prices sharply higher which, if sustained, could also put further upward pressure on supply costs to Ireland.
Norway’s Gassco, the state-owned pipeline operator, said on Tuesday that “in a worst-case scenario, deliveries to the UK could stop totally”, with striking workers planning to extend the shutdowns on Saturday to a key distribution hub that supplies the UK.
Norway is the UK’s largest source of gas, according to industry body Offshore Energies UK, overtaking domestic production for the first time last year to meet 42 per cent of all UK demand. Norway also supplies about 25 per cent of total European gas.
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/2022/07/05/norway-strikes-threaten-to-cut-off-gas-supplies-to-uk-within-days/
After years of sideways movement, Providence (or whatever it becomes called) is finally in the hands of pros . . . Vevan/Roaring Waters/Pageant. They will deliver oil, quietly from under the sea, disturbing no-one. Interesting to read Leo Varadkar's interview this morning about the Government's huge initiative to lessen the impact of the massive cost-of-living increases. His soundbite is "large amounts of money are being sucked out of the country to pay for oil, gas and interest rate increases . . ". There is a sensible, practical message in there . .
Whilst this article and IEA comments are directed towards the UK, they certainly should not be overlooked by Ireland’s government and specifically Eamon Ryan and his colleagues at the DECC, a wake up moment is fast approaching and serious decisions need to be taken before the EU scramble to be fit for winter,…GL S
“Norwegian gas strike shows the danger of the UK’s dithering on domestic drilling, says IEA energy analyst”
“Today’s strike by Norwegian oil & gas workers in the North Sea, and the consequent surge in European gas prices, reminds us of the danger of the UK government’s dithering on fracking and imposition of a windfall tax.
“The EU is dependent on Russia for around 40 per cent of it’s gas imports, with Norway responsible for a further 20-25 per cent. Both countries are throttling supply which will endanger efforts to build reserves for the winter and provoke an even more extreme crisis than the one expected.
“The UK, while not dependent on Russia, is highly exposed to Norwegian supply. They provide us with about 40 per cent of our gas supply, and we have no serious reserves to offset disruption from short strikes.
“Longer disruption from a protracted dispute will force the government to pay British industry to shut down, and presents a significant risk to domestic heating supplies this winter.”
https://iea.org.uk/media/norwegian-gas-strike-shows-the-danger-of-the-uks-dithering-on-domestic-drilling-says-iea-energy-analyst/
Interesting yet Ireland sitting on a massive oil/gas discovery , will it happen fingers crossed it does. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-05/the-global-energy-crisis-just-got-even-worse-here-s-why?sref=Em01M8Hr
Perhaps Alan Curran the new CEO should be placing more emphasis on the gas reserves at Barryroe, as there appears to be no stopping the run away prices, the month ahead uk gas is now above 300p, the day ahead is up 18% to 270p/therm, with TTF now at 168MWH and we are heading towards $300 per barrel of oil equivalent, that is certainly transformational for Barryroe, as is $110 plus for Brent crude, …GL S
PS..A very lively start on Euronext this morning!, +19%
Very welcome development with a proven track record in delivery…. Just need acceptance of reality from the delusional government
Agreed, a strong and very shrewd appointment by the board and I am sure when Minster Ryan gets the lease undertaking signed off, it will very quickly transition from ‘interim’,…GL S
Perfect fit for Providence judging by his CV.
Providence Resources P.l.c (PVR), the Irish based energy company, today announces that Alan Curran has been appointed Interim Chief Executive effective 4th July. Following Alan's appointment, James Menton reverts to his role as non-executive Chairman of the Board. Alan's career spans 40 years in the oil and gas industry where he has held a wide range of senior roles. Most recently Alan led a transformational restructuring strategy at Verus Petroleum. As CEO from 2014 to 2019, he was responsible for overseeing $500 million of acquisitions, involving successful finance raising activity and extensive interaction with the banking and investment communities. The successful programme execution culminated in NEO Energy acquiring Verus in 2019. As a petroleum engineer, Alan began his career in the 1980's with Shell and subsequently held director level roles at Oryx Energy, Kerr-McGee and Maersk Oil. In 2006 Alan was appointed Managing Director at Lundin Petroleum, before joining Wood Group as Chief Executive of its North Sea business in 2009. Prior to his assignment with Verus, Alan held the position of COO with Iona Energy. Over the last two years Alan led Ortus Petroleum, an investment vehicle for oil and gas exploration in north-west Europe. Alan is based in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
"We've all heard the stories of children digging pits in the DRC in Africa searching for cobalt, However even in more structured countries our renewable needs are destroying whole areas.
https://news.sky.com/video/battle-for-chiles-critical-minerals-12643766 "
Onshore wind turbines use 4 to 6 times as much copper per installed megawatt as fossil fuel plants. Offshore wind needs 7 to 10 times as much. Solar PV uses 11 to 40 times as much! Only about a quarter of copper for wind power is in the turbine itself. 50-60% is for cabling. The rest is needed for transformers, components etc. Then consider that Ryan wants to build 30 GW of wind -- five times current capacity -- as a buffer and exportable commodity. Copper usage will easily go up by a factor of 20. Then there's all the concrete, steel, eye-watering amounts of rare earth elements, etc. for wind turbines. The world's largest turbines are now approach 1000 ft in height. And that's before we get to the planned increased use of electric power for heating and transport, lithium for batteries etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_in_renewable_energy
https://www.americanexperiment.org/so-you-want-wind-turbines-but-dont-want-copper-mines/
https://www.woodmac.com/press-releases/global-wind-turbine-fleet-to-consume-over-5.5mt-of-copper-by-2028/
https://www.copper.org/environment/sustainable-energy/renewables/
Cheers
I went reading about the state of hydrogen infrastructure when I first heard Ryan bloviating about it. It is years, if not decades away from being ready for prime time. Hydrogen can be added to natural gas in small quantities in existing generating plant. Beyond that its flame front propagates too rapidly and causes the equivalent of a backfire. Fully hydrogen burning plant is possible but the City of Los Angeles (for example) is planning one for 2045.
Then there are hydrogen fuel cells which so far are not used for large scale stationary power applications. They would have to scale up by a factor of a thousand by 2030 to make a dent, and another factor of 6-7 by 2050.
https://www.reutersevents.com/renewables/renewables/order-magnitude-changes-needed-large-scale-hydrogen
On top of that, add the cost of the new infrastructure for generating, storing, and transporting hydrogen. That's in addition to all the added cost for wind turbines and the added grid capacity to connect them. You are adding multiple layers of overhead to generate the same power.
Ryan is happy to criticise immature technologies that he doesn't like (modular nukes, CCS etc.) but he is literally betting the farm on a different set of non-existent technologies (grid-scale batteries, hydrogen). I genuinely believe he is a dangerous nutcase who has no business directing energy policy in a first world country.
More and more energy sector observers and participants are calling out Ryan’s flawed ideology and significant concerns around Ireland’s energy security are now being reported on a daily basis,..GL S
National power system in ‘very dangerous’ position, say experts
With the British government reportedly planning to stop supplying the Benelux with gas supplies should shortages occur, fears are growing that Ireland could be cut off too
Ryan recently told the Business Post that the energy from the country's future off-shore wind farms off the south and west coast could be converted into hydrogen for use as a back-up system. He said he would be developing a hydrogen strategy later this year.
"So, my view is the real potential for us is using hydrogen, green hydrogen as the zero-carbon storage gas for all the different uses of the future," he said.
However, analysis carried out by the Irish Academy of Engineering suggests hydrogen technology is still decades away.
“The idea that hydrogen is somehow going to solve this problem is not realistic. Maybe in 25 years’ time it will, but right now, hydrogen is still a future technology. It’s in existence nowhere in the world at the moment. There are still all kinds of problems with hydrogen, including the fact it’s very difficult to store,” Moore said.
“It’s a crazy decision not to have an LNG terminal in Ireland, which is still government policy, and it has only added to this current problem. We’re the only country in Europe with a coastline that doesn’t have an LNG import facility.
“To me that’s amazing and incredibly foolhardy. I just wonder why the Commission for Regulation of Utilities [CRU] haven’t been more vocal on this. What exactly are they doing? It’s the CRU’s job to ensure the energy security of the state.”
The government still has not published a long-awaited review of Ireland’s energy system, which was first commissioned in 2019 by then minister Richard Bruton, to assess the security of Ireland’s gas and electricity systems.
“My sense is that the report on Ireland’s energy security has been buried,” a senior energy industry source said.
“Minister Ryan doesn’t want it out there as its findings are likely to include recommendations to build gas storage and LNG infrastructure, which is the very antithesis of his policies.”
In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU launched its multibillion-euro RePower EU plan, which sought to provide direct supports to member states to build biomethane facilities, gas storage and LNG infrastructure. These supports included capital grants of up to 40 per cent on such infrastructure.
“Ireland didn’t apply for any funding under the scheme. I’ve never seen such an opportunity missed in my entire career. It’s a terrible shame,” the source added.
https://www.businesspost.ie/news/national-power-system-in-very-dangerous-position-say-experts/
In 1973 the socialist Salvador Allende was ousted in a coup by Augusto Pinochet in Chile.At the time it was rumoured that the CIA had helped the coup to facilitate the copper needs of A T & T , the world leader in telecoms back then.
The Green hypocrisy on banning LNG while there is little said of where and how the copper and lithium for renewables comes from.
We've all heard the stories of children digging pits in the DRC in Africa searching for cobalt, However even in more structured countries our renewable needs are destroying whole areas.
https://news.sky.com/video/battle-for-chiles-critical-minerals-12643766
Good to see the mention of "legal action".
With the Rockhopper settlement amount mooted to be published in this month, July, and the embargo from Ryan there could be a big threat to the government of big sums to pay if they do not get their fingers out.
And the fact that the Independents were banging the Barryroe drum not long ago adds more fuel to the fire that hopefully is going to roast Ryan's rear end in the not too distant future.
Larry Goodman has certainly ruffled the feathers of the various media outlets, another well structured and detailed article has been circulated by Joe Brennan in the Irish Times this afternoon,..GL S
“The war in Ukraine has pushed energy security and pricing to the top of the agenda for governments across Europe. And there are hopes in some quarters the expected publication in the coming months of a long-awaited Government-commissioned energy security report will provide Ryan with political cover to finally sign off on the lease.”
“Ryan’s colleague, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, indicated an interview last month with The Currency, the online business news publisher, that the main stumbling block in the way of the renewing the licence lies in the fact that there is a question mark hanging over whether Providence has the financial backing to move forward with the next stage of its appraisal.”
“The growing presence of Goodman, with his deep pockets, on the shareholder register may assuage such concerns.”
“It could also provide comfort to Providence, which plans to rename itself as Barryroe Offshore Energy, if it ultimately feels the need to take legal action.“
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2022/07/01/larry-goodman-eyes-providence-success-but-eamon-ryan-is-stalling/
Article in Irish Times might put the frighteners on Ryan.
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/2022/07/01/threat-to-irish-gas-supplies-from-britain-a-cause-for-alarm/
Good to note the state watchdog speaking out and drawing attention to the government’s ludicrous position, the volume is clearly being raised by the right people and it will difficult for Ryan to keep his head in the sand for much longer,..GL S
“State needs more sources of fossil fuels, says energy watchdog”
“Electricity generation on the island of Ireland is becoming ‘more and more reliant’ on gas, according to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities”
Electricity generation on the island of Ireland is becoming “more and more reliant” on gas, and there is a strong need to diversify the State’s fossil fuel sources, according to the country’s energy watchdog.
The British Irish Chamber of Commerce hosted representatives from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), as well as other experts, at an event on Wednesday to discuss the security of Ireland’s energy supply and storage capabilities ahead of the winter months.
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2022/06/29/state-needs-more-sources-of-fossil-fuels-says-energy-watchdog/
16.13% for Larry Goodman
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2022/06/30/goodman-becomes-providences-top-shareholder-with-161-stake/
Whilst there is still hard yards ahead with regards to the DECC granting the LU, it is very evident that it is a very different landscape in terms of the financial support available to PVR and Barryroe partners, this coupled to the viability of the Irish economy being on a cliff edge, as a result of ridiculous ideology and the fingers in the air approach to energy security, is sharpening the focus of the political forces within FG and FF, so it would not be a huge surprise to see some movement with the LU, even before the Dáil rises in a few weeks time, or at the very latest in Q3 when the energy security review is released and the news below from Vevan this morning is a very clear statement of intent!,…GL S
RNS Number : 7851Q
Providence Resources PLC
30 June 2022
Providence Resources P.l.c. ("the Company")
Notification of Interest in Share Capital
Providence Resources P.l.c. have been informed by Vevan Unlimited Company of a change in its shareholding.
Vevan Unlimited Company, now holds 172,905,735 ordinary shares of €0.001 each in the capital of the Company representing 16.13% of the issued ordinary share capital.