“The credibility of OPEC is at stake”
The recent “plunge” in oil prices since the end of summer has motivated OPEC to call for a cut in members oil production by 4.3% - restricting output to 26.3 million barrels-per-day. This is in effort to halt the fall in price, and “re-stabilize” the market.
OPEC surprises with deeper oil cut
OPEC agreed on Friday to curb its output by 1.2 million barrels per day, its first cut for more than two years, to halt a precipitous fall in prices.
The reduction, amounting to 4.3 percent of OPEC’s September production, was deeper than anticipated and the biggest since January 2002. It trims OPEC output to 26.3 million bpd from November 1.
“The credibility of OPEC is at stake,” Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil told Reuters before the meeting that began Thursday and ended in the early hours of Friday.
OPEC believes that the “right price” for a barrel of oil is $55 to $60 USD - which is still 3 times to cost we paid in January 2002.
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Small, Clean, Powerful Diesel Engines
From: Edmunds.com
Honda Motors unveiled its latest development in diesel technology on September 25, putting the carmaker well ahead of the pack in the race to bring clean diesel vehicles to market. Its next-generation diesel engine uses a catalytic converter requiring no additives of any kind and will run cleaner through its new design…
…What sets Honda’s new technology apart is that its catalytic converter requires no outside chemicals whatsoever. As the exhaust hits the first layer of the unit, a small amount of NOx is converted to ammonia, which is then absorbed by a second layer. The second layer, now ammonia rich, then reacts with the remaining NOx and spits it out as harmless nitrogen…
…Honda designed the converter for use in its 2.2 iCTDi diesel engine, which has garnered widespread attention since its debut in the current model European Accord. The engine, which is remarkably quiet, is also much cleaner than most diesels right out of the gate. Thanks to a redesigned combustion chamber, a reduction in fuel injection time and other efficiency improvements, the engine already emits significantly less NOx. Add on the new technology the converter affords, and clean diesel could be right around the corner.
While European drivers may be seeing this technology sooner than we will, Honda estimates that their diesel vehicles will start hitting our shores in about three years. Couple this with their recent announcement concerning future diesel hybrid vehicles, and it looks as if Honda is pulling to the head of the clean diesel pack.
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Honda Announces Cleaner Diesel Car Engine
I’ve always appreciated Honda’s quality and economy - and within 3 years there will be a new Honda powertrain available in the US that meets stringent emission standards by adding a revolutionary new catalytic converter to an already acclaimed diesel system.
Honda designed the catalytic converter for use with its 2.2 i-CTDi diesel engine, which has earned widespread praise for quiet, clean operation and dynamic performance since its introduction in 2003 on the European Accord model. By further advancing combustion control, the 2.2 i-CTDi delivers cleaner exhaust to the NOx catalytic converter. Honda achieved this by optimising the combustion chamber configuration, reducing fuel injection time with a 2,000-bar common rail injection system and boosting the efficiency of the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) system. Thanks to these improvements, Honda has reduced the amount of NOx and soot normally found in engine exhaust, while increasing power output.
Along with developing superior technology for cleaning exhaust gas, Honda plans to address other technical challenges in developing clean diesel engines, such as handling diesel fuels with different cetane numbers and meeting U.S. On-Board Diagnostic System requirements. Honda plans to introduce its next-generation diesel engine in the U.S. within three years.
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What’s in a Barrel of Oil?
Ever wonder what exactly is in a barrel of oil?
Product Percent of Total
- Finished Motor Gasoline 51.4%
- Distillate Fuel Oil 15.3%
- Jet Fuel 12.6%
- Still Gas 5.4%
- Marketable Coke 5.0%
- Residual Fuel Oil 3.3%
- Liquefied Refinery Gas 2.8%
- Asphalt and Road Oil 1.9%
- Other Refined Products 1.5%
- Lubricants 0.9%
One barrel contains 42 gallons of crude oil. The total volume of products made from crude oil based origins is 48.43 gallons on average - 6.43 gallons greater than the original 42 gallons of crude oil. This represents a “processing gain” due to the additional other petroleum products such as alkylates are added to the refining process to create the final products.
Additionally, California gasoline contains approximately 5.7 percent by volume of ethanol, a non-petroleum-based additive that brings the total processing gain to 7.59 gallons (or 49.59 total gallons).
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Won’t Return to Gas-Guzzling Habits
A recent article from America’s cheese-capitol indicates that the sustained high gas prices of this spring and summer have changed the gas-guzzling habits of survey respondents, and that the recent drop in gasoline prices will not change them back. Let’s hope there are similar mid-west sensibilities from the right coast to the left coast.
From Wisconsin State Journal
Survey: Driving won’t climb as gas prices fall
MARV BALOUSEK…After more than a year of high prices driven by a range of factors - increased demand, last year’s hurricanes and global instability - gasoline has plunged in recent weeks, selling for $2.51 a gallon at some Madison-area stations. And analysts say prices could drop further, thanks to the end of the summer driving season and stable supply. Natural gas prices also have declined, setting the stage for decreased energy spending for consumers in the coming months.
But area drivers say they haven’t forgotten the summer’s high prices, which saw gasoline approach $3.20 a gallon in Madison, and they say aren’t returning to their old gas-guzzling ways. That’s because many are aware prices could easily go back up…
…Some analysts are forecasting that gas prices will continue to decline, said Pam Moen of AAA Wisconsin. But she said consumers are smart to be wary.”People are relieved and we should be thankful these prices have finally come down,” she said. “But it’s important to understand that nothing really has changed. Until we address issues with our national energy infrastructure, we are going to be vulnerable to the kind of volatility and extreme pricing we’ve seen in the past year.”
Gas prices accelerated the boom in hybrid cars and now play a bigger role in consumer choices, said Neeraj Arora, a UW-Madison professor of marketing research.
“People are going to reflect back on the prices that have changed over the last month or two more than they did three or four years ago,” he said. “My guess is it’s going to become a bigger factor than it has in the past in making a consumer decision on which (vehicle) brand they should buy.”
Jeff Beddow of the National Automobile Dealers Association said it took a long stretch of higher gas prices before sales of less fuel efficient vehicles dropped, and he doesn’t see buyers quickly coming back to gas-guzzlers.
“Typically, changes in consumer buying habits related to gas prices come after a sustained period of time at either a high or low price level,” he said…
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$1.15 per gallon?
Wow… wondering if I should go buy that Escalade I’ve been wanting… maybe some 55 gallon drums…
From The Seattle Times: Business & Technology
Analyst predicts plunge in gas prices
By Kevin G. Hall
September 14, 2006WASHINGTON — The recent sharp drop in the global price of crude oil could mark the start of a massive sell-off that returns gasoline prices to lows not seen since the late 1990s — perhaps as low as $1.15 a gallon.
“All the hurricane flags are flying” in oil markets, said Philip Verleger, a noted energy consultant who was a lone voice several years ago in warning that oil prices would soar. Now, he says, they appear to be poised for a dramatic plunge.
Crude-oil prices have fallen about $14, or roughly 17 percent, from their July 14 peak of $78.40. After falling seven straight days, they rose slightly Wednesday in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, to $63.97, partly in reaction to a government report showing fuel inventories a bit lower than expected. But the overall price drop is expected to continue, and prices could fall much more in the weeks and months ahead…
Research Finds Biodiesel Performs Well in Harsh Environments
Here’s the take-away for the attention challenged:
“Yellowstone National Park, serving as the soy biodiesel testing ground for the National Park Service, has a pickup truck that is still running on 100% biodiesel after 10 years and 181,000 miles in this high-altitude extreme environment.”
From Farm Futures
September 13, 2006
Soy biodiesel has stood up to the test of time and harsh environment conditions, according to decade-long look at use in national parks including Yellowstone and Grand Teton.In 1995 Yellowstone National Park began serving as the soy biodiesel testing ground for the National Park Service. The park boasts over 300 pieces of machinery operating on soy biodiesel, the centerpieces being the park’s well-known yellow buses and a 1995 Dodge pickup. Yellowstone’s trademark yellow tour buses have evolved into a high tech, biodiesel-powered riding experience including on-board electronic and communications gear. The pickup has been running on 100% biodiesel for over 10 years and 181,000 miles. This is no small feat, with an elevation of 6,241 ft., the mountainous region surrounding the park experiences a variety of extreme weather throughout the year, the United Soybean Board says…
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Made in USA: Soy-based Biodiesel
A fledgling fuel company, Milagro Biofuels of Memphis LLC, has actually started processing soy bean oil into diesel fuel, in a “micro-brew” facility nestled in a historic building in Memphis.
While they are getting interest in their products from around the country, they expect to sell most of their production locally, providing their community with a locally brewed and renewable alternative fuel… cool!
The “micro-brew” facility will be followed up with more substantial production plants already in the works…
From Biodiesel Magazine
Memphis biodiesel plant begins production
by David Nillis
September 12, 2006An idle cotton oil mill in a downtown redevelopment zone in Memphis, Tenn., is now home to a biodiesel producer. Milagro Biofuels of Memphis LLC produced its first biodiesel Sept. 11, according to President Diane Mulloy.
The 5 MMgy [ed: MMgy = “million gallons per year”] plant was expected to start-up in late August, but minor start-up glitches pushed production to this week. Mulloy said test batches have been conducted and samples sent to the U.S. EPA for certification. “I’m hoping that process is quick,” she told BiodieselMagazine.com. “We hope to sell biodiesel by the end of September.”
Jeep Liberty Diesel w/ 21% better fuel economy
September 10, 2006 · Filed Under Diesel, Alternative Fuels, Bio-Diesel, Automotive Industry · 1 CommentWhat do you think of when you hear the word “diesel”? The newer diesel powerplants might surprise you if you thought of noisy trucks spewing black smoke. Using new technologies, diesel engines for smaller vehicles are efficient, quite, and powerful - and create the opportunity to use bio-diesel fuels to replace or compliment your use of petro-diesel.
Source: Green Car Congress
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The 2005 Jeep Liberty CRD, equipped with a 2.8-liter, four-cylinder, turbo common-rail diesel engine, offers 21% better fuel economy compared to a comparable gasoline-powered Liberty (3.7-liter, V-6 engine).
VM Motori provides the engine, an enhanced version of the four-cylinder diesel engine currently offered on this vehicle in Europe. VM Motori is owned in part by Detroit Diesel, a DaimlerChrysler company. VM has been supplying the Chrysler Group diesel engines since 1992 for minivans and Jeep products sold in Europe.
The 2.8-liter CRD engine delivers 160 hp (120 kW) and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) of torque at 1,800 rpm, with 22 mpg city, 26 mpg highway, for a combined EPA rating of 23 mpg.
