Thursday, September 29, 2016

China's Insurance Policy Against High-Priced LNG, COAL= Death of British Columbia's LNG Super-Power Fantasy!




Written by Grant G

Well well well...more bad news on the British Columbia LNG front....Shell Canada, which possessed a Federal environmental certificate, a 40 year export license, all the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission permits, a deal with First Nations has postponed their proposed LNG project until mid 2020s, or..never!

 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/shell-backed-lng-canada-delays-plans-for-terminal-on-bc-coast/article30867006/

What a shocker eh, who knew?..actually, every reader and contributor to this site knew...Written August 21st/2015...

British Columbia LNG Industry, The Last Gas(P)....A Straight Goods Special

http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.ca/2015/08/british-columbia-and-lngs-last-gaspa.html

There are those who say that the Petronas proposal..PNW LNG in Prince Rupert is different..people like BC Liberal spin doctor Tom Cassada(Twitter @lotuslander1000)...He claims PNW LNG is different because the consortium are offtakers of the gas...in other words, partners, equity partners don't care what the price is...that according to Tom Cassada..

Shell Canada had as partners..PetroChina and Kogas..(China and Japan)..and they were offtakers of Shell's gas too..

What some people can't digest, and it is a very simple concept...Why spend $billions to ensure $10 dollar LNG when you can lock in longterm LNG buys for $4 to $5 dollars per MM BTU's...That way these companies keep their cash, and get cheaper LNG...

Funny stuff indeed...The latest announcement from Shell Canada LNG..their Christy Clark ball-busting announcement seems to be completely ignored by B.C. media..Global..nothing, Vancouver Sun?..A Vaughn Palmer article containing only Government quotes(lazy)...The Province newspaper, crickets..

I have been busy leaving Postmedia LNG bread crumbs, real easy to follow..bread crumbs ignored, I drew them a road map, put up flashing LNG lights and still Postmedia remains deaf, dumb and blind..

I wonder why?..Could it be that partnership CAPP has with Postmedia is the reason why they protect Corporate owned Christy Clark, ...in other words ..mutual masturbation?.."See no evil, hear no evil speak no evil.."

Postmedia raggedy newsprint...corporate propaganda...Christy Clark claims, as does Gordon Wilson that "British Columbia has a moral obligation to develop LNG"...because Chinese people are dying from air pollution, pollution from coal...Christy Clark has made the inane claim that BC LNG will clean up China's air....Postmedia's Michael Smyth and others have echoed Clark's inane blather..

China, hmm....China is building 50 nuclear plants, China has the most renewable solar and wind power, it's growing leaps and bounds...China is also building more coal-fired power plants ..and when I say more..a lot more..

 ____________

If China Is So Committed To Renewable Energy, Why Are So Many New Coal Plants Being Built?

Responding to the air pollution crisis, China’s central government has made some monumental strides. It is estimated that by 2020, over 15 percent of China’s energy capacity will come from non-fossil fuel sources, and the country is the clear global leader when it comes to renewable energy.

However, the most coal-fired energy capacity in the world is also in China.


Even as China adds mountains of renewable energy capacity and develops progressive government policies to improve air quality, the old incumbent coal is still maintaining its leading position — and its looking to do so for a long time yet.

China’s National Action Plan for Air Pollution Prevention and Control’s mid-term review, which was released on July 5th, shows that the eight provinces which make up their ‘key regions,’ added on a massive 50.8 GW of new coal-fired energy capacity between the years of 2013-15. For scale, the country’s total installed energy capacity in 1980 was 66 GW. On top of this, the report showed that 42 GW of additional coal-fired capacity is currently under construction, with 11 GW more being approved just last year. Meanwhile, just 10.8 GW of coal-fired capacity in these provinces was taken offline during this same period. Considering that each coal-fired power plant has a lifetime of thirty to fifty years, it seems as if China has hedged its biggest energy bet on coal for the foreseeable future.



http://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2016/07/08/if-china-is-so-committed-to-renewable-energy-why-are-so-many-new-coal-plants-being-built/#5e5110f265f7


_______________

So why, why hasn't Postmedia and our legislative scribes blasted Christy Clark on the coal issue..could it be that B.C. wants to export vast volumes of coal too..exactly, the corporate angle rears it's head again, resulting in a B.C. domestic mainstream media that for all intents and purposes are utterly useless!..

Time and time again, to get a detailed explanation as to what is really going on...one must get the information from bloggers and alternative news sources..

So what the hell is China up to....

Well..here we go, China, with China over the last 15 years...the only number that mattered is GDP..Gross Domestic product/production..growing the economy regardless of the real cost..ghost cities abound..

China has right now, redundant power generation..China has many provinces, every local bigwig had orders to build infrastructure, whether it is needed or not...Building coal-fired powerplants employed Chinese workers, added to China's GDP...and more...So why would China build 50 nuclear plants, more renewable power than any other country, plus build not only more new coal-fired power plants, build more coal plants when the power grid already has too many power generators..redundant power generation..why?

More from that Forbes article....

__________

“New power plants certainly have much more aggressive emission control technologies than older plants, although many older plants are being fitted with these control technologies as well,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, a researcher at Greenpeace. “China has managed to reduce SO2 and NOx emissions from the power sector very rapidly in the past few years, above all due to retrofitting and due to stagnating power generation from coal, which has allowed emission controls to catch up. Where the logic falls apart is that very little capacity is being retired.”

According to Myllyvirta, there are some very clear drivers behind China’s local governments’ hesitancy to sever ties from coal.

1) Coal power is an easy way to generate economic activity at a time of reduced growth, not only via the construction of coal plants but through supporting local miners, who are struggling;

2) The profit margins for coal-fired power plants are currently over-inflated, as the cost for coal is market driven, and has dropped significantly, but cost of electricity, which is government regulated, has remained unchanged;

3) Expectations of future energy demand have not yet been adjusted to take into account the vast amount of renewable energy coming online and slowing economic growth.

So while the contradiction of attempting to reduce carbon emissions on one hand while increasing coal-fired energy capacity on the other can be contextualized, it cannot be completely explained away. Increasing coal energy capacity so dramatically at the height of a national air-quality crisis mitigates some of the gains made in renewable energy.


However, just because China has X-amount of new coal-fired energy capacity doesn’t necessarily mean that all of this capacity is being utilized — not at all. By the numbers, China has upwards of 200 GW of redundant coal-fired power capacity and, ultimately, has little use for many of the new coal plants that are currently being built.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2016/07/08/if-china-is-so-committed-to-renewable-energy-why-are-so-many-new-coal-plants-being-built/2/#4bf3ec5d7730


_______________

So what the heck is China up to?....Read it again, think about it...China is building vast amounts of renewable power..China is building GHG free nuclear power..and even more redundant coal-fired power plants..why..

Look to Japan for that answer..Japan relied on mainly one power source..NUCLEAR POWER...And when the tsunami wiped out Fukushima nuclear plant, when panic beset the Japanese public the Japanese Government as a precaution shuttered all Japan's nuclear power plants....

What happened next..That's the answer to why China is building all forms of power generation...

At Japan's time of need, desperate for power, nuclear plants shuttered and LNG imports ramped up to pick up the slack..How did the world's big energy companies react...They grabbed Japan by the balls and squeezed and squeezed and brought the Asian country to their knees..another word for it..blackmail, usury, almost like war-time profiteering..

Does China want to, and intend to use some LNG..indeed they do...But what China now possesses..China possesses an insurance policy against the world's big energy companies, if LNG gets too high-priced..China can say..get lost, we'll use coal, thus China can now control the price of LNG...

China will never put itself in a position of relying on big energy to power their country...China has excess redundant, brand new coal-fired power plants...

And it is this exact scenario that has spelled the death of B.C.'s LNG fantasy...

Remember what Christy Clark said about Japan and Japan's LNG need...I do..Christy Clark told the Japanese people and Asia that British Columbia was going to charge 5 and 6 times the North American natural gas rate(Henry Hub) to Japan and Christy Clark said more...Clark said British Columbia was going to become debt free, become filthy rich, the land of no sales tax, employ 100,000 s of thousand in the LNG industry...All the wealth to be shaken out of our Asian neighbour's pockets..

You do have a big-mouth Christy Clark.. unfortunately the only thing that comes out of your mouth is bafflegab, also known as word salad..



China does things different and they don't take too kindly to those countries that use energy blackmail against energy hungry Asia...

Thus...British Columbia's LNG fantasy is over, in fact, after the already under construction LNG terminals around the world come online.. I don't believe there will ever be a new-sudden need to build massive LNG terminals again, with renewables tumbling in price, with information on methane leakage finding it's way to the public, the enormous environmental footprint LNG leaves..

BC Liberals and Postmedia will attempt to ride the lame sparkle pony right up to election 2017...

Lastly.. look for a possible snap election call this Fall(before the shit hits the fan)..

As for that lame sparkle pony, it has a June 2017 reservation at the glue factory!

__________






The Straight Goods

Cheers Eyes Wide Open












Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Two Hours of Blog Talk Radio, Everything LNG, Including All the Lies and Distortions





My first podcast....there was a few technical issues, lack of bandwidth...

However, we covered the LNG topic in great detail...

I would like to thank http://www.blogtalkradio.com/canadianglen

Thank Canadian Glen for hosting me...You can find him on Twitter here..


https://twitter.com/canadianglen

Below is a link to tonight's episode(September 28th/2016)..



http://blogtalk.vo.llnwd.net/o23/show/9/495/show_9495523_2016_09_29_03_15_22.mp3


Hey...I kinda enjoyed that..



The Straight Goods

Cheers Eyes Wide Open

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Rich Coleman`s December 22/2015 Opinion-Editorial on British Columbia`s LNG Industry Thus Far.( Deciphered)




Deciphered by Grant G


I came across a rather odd opinion/editorial .....And yes it`s true that editorials and opinion pieces can be structured grammatically a myriad of ways...however, there is something very disturbing when a man, or in this case a minister, a minister who is charged with, in control of, his domain,  a minister who allegedly has the expertise to manage his portfolio.

What I find disturbing is, when a cabinet minister has to resort to writing opinion/editorial to defend his portfolio...You see, opinions and editorials aren`t facts,

Time to decipher Rich Coleman`s very weird LNG opinion piece...First off, read it, read the below Rich Coleman LNG editorial, the editorial Rich Coleman penned December 22/2015, 

___________

OPINION-EDITORIAL: LNG happening, poised for monumental year

By Rich Coleman

Minister of Natural Gas Development

(766 Words)


British Columbia’s liquefied natural gas industry made unprecedented progress this year.
The first final investment decision was made by Pacific NorthWest LNG, marking their commitment to move forward with construction and operation. That pledge had two conditions; with the first requiring government to finalize a project development agreement with them, which we did.

The other outstanding condition – environmental approval by the Government of Canada – is scheduled for a decision in 2016. I am confident that progress will continue and Pacific NorthWest LNG will finalize their investment in the new-year, in addition to other LNG proponents coming forward with their decisions.


That could all happen while the expansion of FortisBC’s Tilbury LNG facility continues in Delta which has already provided $50 million in contract work to over 100 companies in neighbouring communities like Vancouver, Langley, Abbotsford, Coquitlam, and more.

These are positive developments for just three of the 20 facilities now proposed in our province. Other exciting news included LNG Canada finalizing the very first substituted environmental assessment in our province, keeping their proposal on track to be one of B.C.’s most promising export operations.

The progress made in B.C. in the last year is remarkable because these are challenging times in the industry, for reasons beyond our control. Global prices have fallen since we launched our LNG Strategy and just as companies are considering making huge investments – some of the largest in Canadian history.

But here’s what’s important to remember: B.C. is in this for the long-term. That’s why we’re taking actions on our end to ensure B.C. is globally competitive and an attractive place to invest.

If you were to listen to the critics – the ‘scrooges’ of economic development -  they would tell you that progress has stalled and government should relinquish the BC Jobs Plan’s ambitious goals for growth and market diversification.

Those pessimists, to be frank, are short-sighted; reluctant to admit LNG is making progress, creating jobs and securing long-term prosperity for all of us.

In fact, if just five facilities are built, we know the benefits are significant, including over 100,000 jobs. To date, industry has invested more than 20 billion dollars to advance development.

The prospects of a stronger future are most evident in First Nations communities where access to new skills training and environmental stewardship programs are materializing. We are inking agreements with financial benefits – both immediate and long-term – that are making a difference in communities that have been on the periphery of economic development for far too long.

Many First Nations are leading the charge as well. The Haisla Nation has been active in the Kitimat area for many years. Cedar LNG is another recent proposal that could move forward by partnerships owned directly by the Haisla Nation.

In 2016, we are poised to take even greater steps forward.

The B.C. government is negotiating project development agreements with proponents, working with First Nations to further strengthen environmental stewardship, and partnering with trades associations to increase skills training. Thousands of jobs are being created and our first commitment is to have British Columbians ready for them.

We are confident Pacific NorthWest LNG will confirm its financial commitment – the largest private-sector investment in British Columbia - as a hallmark operation which will keep B.C.’s natural gas sector flourishing for decades.
Contract opportunities will increase, providing companies with long-term security and the ability to expand their businesses.

These are only a handful of developments that will be highlighted during our annual international conference in Vancouver, Oct. 12-14, 2016 – the fourth year we will host the energy industry’s most influential people and discuss B.C.’s burgeoning role in the global marketplace.

We are all in the midst of the holiday season. This time of year we need to be thankful for what we have. Our province is fortunate to have reliable access to energy and the quality of life it provides us.

Many other countries, including developing areas of Asia, are not as fortunate. Exporting our natural gas – the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel - can, and will, help Asian countries improve their standard of living and provide others with a dependable source of clean energy for decades to come.

Our government was ambitious about LNG from the day the BC Jobs Plan was released in 2011, when only a few export proposals were considered.

In a few short years our prospects have increased exponentially.


We are building a new, long-term industry in British Columbia. The benefits are far-reaching and despite what ‘Scrooge’ claims, the opportunity has arrived, and it’s only just beginning.


https://news.gov.bc.ca/factsheets/lng-happening-poised-for-monumental-year


_________________

Wow, absolutely bizarre....Where to even begin......I`ll start at the beginning..

_______


OPINION-EDITORIAL: LNG happening, poised for monumental year

By Rich Coleman

_______

Even though Coleman`s words above were posted on an official British Columbia Government news feed, the words of Rich Coleman are his, not government, ...Because, the Rich Coleman utterance is titled "opinion-editorial".....In other words, the spewing is one man`s opinion, Government is not saying anything concrete in this editorial....When is real Government progress described as opinion?

Let`s move on to this section...

____________

 British Columbia’s liquefied natural gas industry made unprecedented progress this year.
The first final investment decision was made by Pacific NorthWest LNG, marking their commitment to move forward with construction and operation. That pledge had two conditions; with the first requiring government to finalize a project development agreement with them, which we did.

The other outstanding condition – environmental approval by the Government of Canada – is scheduled for a decision in 2016. I am confident that progress will continue and Pacific NorthWest LNG will finalize their investment in the new-year, in addition to other LNG proponents coming forward with their decisions.

__________

Funny couple of paragraphs.....Rich Coleman states that B.C.  received it`s first FID...And then in the following paragraph Rich Coleman states that he is confident progress will continue and that Petronas will finalize their investment in the new year(2016)....

Now I`m confused...Because, Keith Baldrey had a year-end interview with Christy Clark on Global News on December 24th/2015...two days after Rich Coleman penned his opinion-editorial..And here is the relevant part...

From the December 24th/2015 Keith Baldrey interview with Christy Clark on Global TV..and I quote..

__________


Baldrey: "You talked a lot about LNG in the last election campaign, but still, here we are today, no sign that any company is going to make that final investment decision and go ahead with one. Are you accepting the possibility you’re going into the next election campaign with no LNG facilities in place?"

Clark: "Well, $20 billion has been spent, that’s no small change. That’s a lot of jobs for a lot of people, and that’s a pretty big commitment from a lot of companies, but we can’t control the world’s conditions. All we can do is everything possible in B.C.’s end. Work with First Nations: we’ve done it. Build a competitive tax framework: we’ve done it. Build the right environmental framework: we’ve done it. Go out and attract the investment, sell B.C. overseas: we’ve done it. All of the plans are in place, all of the things we need to do, and, you know, I can’t, as much as I’d like to control the rest. "


http://globalnews.ca/news/2420844/2015-year-in-review-one-on-one-with-christy-clark/


_________

There seems to be a direct contradiction compared to what Rich Coleman said and what Christy Clark, Keith Baldrey muttered about...Let`s have another look at that section of Rich Coleman`s opinion piece..

_____

British Columbia’s liquefied natural gas industry made unprecedented progress this year.
The first final investment decision was made by Pacific NorthWest LNG, marking their commitment to move forward with construction and operation. That pledge had two conditions; with the first requiring government to finalize a project development agreement with them, which we did.

The other outstanding condition – environmental approval by the Government of Canada – is scheduled for a decision in 2016. I am confident that progress will continue and Pacific NorthWest LNG will finalize their investment in the new-year, in addition to other LNG proponents coming forward with their decisions.

____________

The above word "pledge", ...is a pledge legal, binding, is a pledge more legally binding than a New Year`s resolution?......

_____
That pledge had two conditions; with the first requiring government to finalize a project development agreement with them, which we did.

_________

Strange sentence above indeed.....Sometimes people accidently reveal more than they intend to by just speaking, or in this case writing...If I was a Minister...I would have said...Petronas and the BC Government negotiated a competitive project development agreement(PDA)...Rich Coleman, in my opinion states in his opinion piece exactly what happened with his and Government`s dealing with Petronas...

Petronas told the BC Liberal Government what to do, and the Government obeyed Petronas....

Let`s have another look..

_______

The other outstanding condition – environmental approval by the Government of Canada – is scheduled for a decision in 2016. I am confident that progress will continue and Pacific NorthWest LNG will finalize their investment in the new-year, in addition to other LNG proponents coming forward with their decisions.


That could all happen while the expansion of FortisBC’s Tilbury LNG facility continues in Delta which has already provided $50 million in contract work to over 100 companies in neighbouring communities like Vancouver, Langley, Abbotsford, Coquitlam, and more.

These are positive developments for just three of the 20 facilities now proposed in our province. Other exciting news included LNG Canada finalizing the very first substituted environmental assessment in our province, keeping their proposal on track to be one of B.C.’s most promising export operations.

____________


"That could all happen".....Another weasel word(could) like could, should, hope, pray...

Then Coleman states in his opinion piece  These are positive developments for just three of the 20 facilities.....

However, at this point in his op-ed Coleman mentioned only two proposals..Petronas and Fortis BC`s Tilbury LNG facilty(a BC Government operation)...

Only then does Coleman mention Shell Canada`s LNG proposal, Coleman mentions the "substituted environmental assessment ...He cites that in a odd way, he claims a substituted environmental assessment is "progress"....British Columbia relinquishing our own environmental assessments for the Stephen Harper all oil, all pipelines, all projects are good environmental assessment...

That federal environmental assessment process is being renewed by the new Justin Trudeau administration..

Then Rich Coleman states this little nugget...

__________

 "The progress made in B.C. in the last year is remarkable because these are challenging times in the industry, for reasons beyond our control. Global prices have fallen since we launched our LNG Strategy and just as companies are considering making huge investments"
_______

So, in one breath Rich Coleman talks about remarkable progress in 2015 on the LNG file and in the next breath Rich Coleman utters ...."for reasons beyond our control. Global prices have fallen since we launched our LNG Strategy and just as companies are considering making huge investments"

Rich Coleman is now blaming low prices for no progress on LNG in British Columbia...

That`s kinda funny in a way, Coleman comes across like he is in shock, like there`s a rule or law that energy and commodity prices are not supposed to decline...and as a political observer in British Columbia for many years, these quasi Conservative BC Liberals blamed the NDP of the 90`s for the temporary downturn of the B.C. mining industry...Those terrible industry hating British Columbia NDPers were single-handedly responsible for the "Asian Flu"...Responsible for the WORLD collapse of commodity prices in the 90`s...

But, when it comes to depressed commodity prices when the BC Liberals are in power, ..Rich Coleman utters this..

_________

 "for reasons beyond our control. Global prices have fallen since we launched our LNG Strategy and just as companies are considering making huge investments"
_____

Then Rich Coleman starts calling people like me, Rafe, Damien Gillis, Norm Farrell and others names...Bizarre..
______

But here’s what’s important to remember: B.C. is in this for the long-term. That’s why we’re taking actions on our end to ensure B.C. is globally competitive and an attractive place to invest.

If you were to listen to the critics – the ‘scrooges’ of economic development -  they would tell you that progress has stalled and government should relinquish the BC Jobs Plan’s ambitious goals for growth and market diversification.

Those pessimists, to be frank, are short-sighted; reluctant to admit LNG is making progress, creating jobs and securing long-term prosperity for all of us.

In fact, if just five facilities are built, we know the benefits are significant, including over 100,000 jobs. To date, industry has invested more than 20 billion dollars to advance development.

_________

Hello, pessimist scrooge here again, where were we?...Oh yea..

"In fact, if just five facilities are built, we know the benefits are significant, including over 100,000 jobs. To date, industry has invested more than 20 billion dollars to advance development."

More moving numbers, more moving goal posts ....What am I referring too...Let`s address those job numbers...

Rich Coleman in his December 22/2015 opinion piece stated if just five facilities are built it will create over 100,000 jobs, yet Rich Coleman said to the Victoria Times Colonist on February 22/2014.....And I quote..

__________

Rich Coleman on February 22/2014 made this outrageous statement while giving a 30 minute speech on LNG..

Read it carefully..

___________-


"I get a kick out of some of the other folks out there saying: 'You're behind schedule.' "No we're not. We're actually right on the time frame that I established."

One thing that works in the government's favour is the scale of the enterprise. The values are so vast that even delivering a fraction of the potential could count as a win.

Coleman said: "They say: 'They can't all go ahead.' "I say: 'OK. Let's have three.' That's $100 billion. That's 100,000 jobs."

It's that comfort level that's giving him the kicks, and the amusement. snip..


http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/comment/story.html?id=9cc9a3fd-2f0b-4b77-b2e1-40ddae5a1039&k=33176

_______

That information is contained in this Straight Goods posting..

http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.ca/2014/02/rich-coleman-habitual-liar-cant-stop.html

So, Rich Coleman stated, on February 22/2014 that three LNG plants would create over 100,000 jobs, now, on December 22/2015 ...according to Rich Coleman, five LNG projects will create over 100, 000 jobs...Moving numbers, disappearing goal posts indeed!

And what about the BC Liberal claim of $20 billion dollars already invested in BC`s LNG industry...

That my friends and readers is pure bafflegab..Of that $20 billion ...Petronas bought Progress Energy for $6 billion dollars.

http://business.financialpost.com/news/energy/petronas-completes-6-billion-progress-energy-acquisition-after-deal-gets-ottawas-approval?__lsa=a9fd-d1f9


 Progress Energy of Alberta owned upstream facilities and infrastructure in British Columbia and in the USA...that $6 billion dollar acquisition cost is part of that $20 billion dollar number being bandied about.......Petronas merely bought Progress Energy...Changed the ownership papers, and, of that $6 billion dollar purchase price of Progress Energy, half of Progress Energy`s assets are actually located in USA shale gas plays......Damien Gillis has a little to say on that $20 billion dollar figure being bandied about too..

_____

"Energy and Mines Minister Rich Coleman has spoken often of B.C. needing to "win the LNG race." Well, it's over and we lost.
Premier Clark can crow all she wants about $20 billion of foreign investment thus far -- that's almost all upstream, in the acquisition and development of fracking plays. Not one of the 21 companies or conglomerates proposing an LNG terminal downstream has reached a final investment decision to spend the more than $10 billion required for plant construction. Nor are they likely to at this point."

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/12/21/Premier-Clark-LNG-Fibs/

_____________

Then Rich Coleman blathers this...

_______

"We are all in the midst of the holiday season. This time of year we need to be thankful for what we have. Our province is fortunate to have reliable access to energy and the quality of life it provides us.

Many other countries, including developing areas of Asia, are not as fortunate. Exporting our natural gas – the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel - can, and will, help Asian countries improve their standard of living and provide others with a dependable source of clean energy for decades to come.

_______

 Well, perhaps the BC Liberals and the LNG industry as a whole need to get their heads out of sand..because, the true story of LNG and how clean it really isn`t is here...The truth about LNG`s dirty secret really isn`t that secret, merely ignored by corporate media, and ignored by BC`s pathetic legislative reporting hounds..From The New York Times

_______


One reason natural gas is called “clean” is because it emits 50 percent less carbon dioxide than coal when you burn it. Thus it’s seen by some as a “bridge” fuel until zero-carbon-producing renewables can take over. But natural gas isn’t clean in the way that solar is clean. It’s clean-er than coal. It’s better than the worst; that’s all.

And the situation is actually too dire for a bridge fuel: experts say we must stop adding carbon into the air within the next 30 years [1] or face a climate “feedback loop” in which global warming continues regardless of subsequent activities, a point at which we would be able to make things worse but not better. If switching to natural gas long delays the dominance of renewables, it’s not doing us much good. That’s why action now is important.

Alternatively we could all buy land in the Arctic.

Then there’s this: Natural gas is made up mostly of methane
[2], and methane, unburned, is around 70 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide. There isn’t nearly as much of it, and it’s shorter lived, but it’s not so short-lived that we can allow a great deal to escape into the atmosphere, which it does when anything in the production, transmission or distribution processes leaks [3]. It’s a scarily powerful greenhouse gas for over 20 years, and merely powerful (25 times stronger than carbon dioxide) over a span of 100 years. By which time much of the world’s coastline will be what we now call “inland.”

To see natural gas as even semi-clean, then, you have to burn all you take out of the ground [4]. Because at least one study found that if as little as 3 percent of the methane produced escapes, you might as well be burning coal, from a climate perspective [5]. All that talk of a bridge to a renewable future … forget it. That’s why Anthony R. Ingraffea, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Cornell University, refers to natural gas as a “gangplank.”


_______________

Rich Coleman ends his opinion/editorial piece with this..

____

"Our government was ambitious about LNG from the day the BC Jobs Plan was released in 2011, when only a few export proposals were considered.

In a few short years our prospects have increased exponentially.


We are building a new, long-term industry in British Columbia. The benefits are far-reaching and despite what ‘Scrooge’ claims, the opportunity has arrived, and it’s only just beginning."

_______

Breaking story, the oil companies knew in 1980 how harmful their tarry oily goop was, ...This is a shocking story, why aren`t any oil executives in jail?



I have nothing more to say for now....

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the "pessimistic scrooge"....Also known as..


The Straight Goods



The Straight Goods

Cheers Eyes Wide Open




Friday, September 23, 2016

Justin Trudeau, Christy Clark, We Are Idiot!

mi-bc-130426-clancy-lng3

Breaking.....September 23/2016....Federal Government set to nix Petronas..

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-petronas-lng-idUSKCN11T2MM

Flowery words, gentle tone, grandiose optimistic future visions opined in Paris by Justin Trudeau....

But on the ground  in Canada, policy, regulation, captured regulators and cowtowing to industrial giants continue as if Stephen Harper was still running the show....Full steam ahead..

I had such great expectations for Justin Trudeau, he talked during the 2015 Federal election of a "new relationship" with First Nations, Justin talked of  "regulatory reforms" and a "new NEB process, one the public could have confidence in"...

I can picture Justin Trudeau in election ads hiking the Grouse grind, kayaking and recently pictures appeared of Justin holidaying at one of British Columbia's most beautiful locations, Vancouver Island's Long Beach....

And what about business acumen, do we in Canada possess none?..or should I say, are Canada's political leaders idiots, mentally challenged or outright criminals acting on behalf of themselves, feathering beds, in search of future directorships on corporate boards...it must be true, how else can one explain the actions of a one Christy Clark and of Justin Trudeau...

The former, word salad chef and vocabulary butcher Christy Clark...Site C dam boondoggle, the power isn't needed, won't be needed, the cost is astronomical, we are looking at $15 billion dollars by the time the numbers are added up...and..

If one asks Christy Clark what the Site C Dam power is needed for ....the answer forthcoming is gibberish, and constantly changing...who can keep track of Christy Clark's myriad of answers...First Christy claimed site C power was "needed to power an new LNG industry"...yet LNG liquefaction terminals don't use electricity to power their plants, they use natural gas, secondly, LNG majors won't pay for the cost of Site C power, they will accept free electricity from British Columbia...yet the power isn't free, residential rates are set to skyrocket even higher to pay for this power generating boondoggle...

 any LNG terminal built, IF, would be located hundreds of miles away from Site C, ..major transmission lines would be a must to make that happen....who pays for that?


Christy Clark has refused to have the project vetted by the BCUC or by other reputable sources, why?

Because the project won't stand up to scrutiny or a business profitability case, or a need-based case...

Now, as Christy Clark's LNG fantasy fades to black the story changes, Clark says   "Site C Dam will get Alberta off of coal power generation"    yet Alberta won't pay for the over-priced Site C power and Christy Clark wants the federal Government to pay for a transmission line from Site C to the Alberta power grid....

A major transmission line would have to be built to make that Alberta energy deal happen

Then Christy Clark changes her tune again..."Site C energy will be used to electrify the northern BC gas fields"

Really, when a LNG/fracking industry would require drilling thousands of wells per year, is BC Hydro now on the hook for continually delivering grid energy to a constantly moving fracking industry, are we going to zig zag power poles and lines all through the north...? For a sunset industry, for a industry riddled with lies, for an industry that will only cost Canadians money and never deliver wealth or jobs in any meaningful way...

So let's get this straight, ....Site C Dam power is needed to power LNG terminals.....and or to power the gas fields in northern  B.C......and if LNG doesn't happen the Site C power will save Alberta from dirty coal power.....Wow. now that's a business plan(insert sarcasm here)

I did mention business acumen....Canadian political leaders possess none...Rachel Notley believes the answer to the world's oil glut is to build more oil pipelines and flood the saturated oil market with more oil...brilliant!...funny how in the past Alberta made tons of money from big oil without tidewater(with the exception of Kinder Morgan to B.C.'s Burrard Harbour) access.....Now apparently Alberta can't survive without it...and on and on it will go, it won't stop at Kinder Morgan, CAPP will push for Northern Gateway, Energy East and even more pipelines....and still Alberta will wallow in big oil debt...

What about your business savvy Rachel Notley...?...you'll take Site C power(subsidized by BC Hydro ratepayers) if we give you Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion and Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline....How NDP-like of you Rachel...resort to blackmail when under industry pressure, a lame attempt to save your political future.....you done Rachel Notley, and you can't see the way forward, and as for the future you promised during the election you've abandoned.....Hey Rachel, let me give you a clue...bring in a provincial sales tax to shore up the provincial budget and then you won't need to destroy pristine parts of Canada by cowtowing, caving, giving in to big oil......my oh my, that sounds progressive and almost....NDP-like..

Christy Clark and Rich Coleman believe the same of LNG...build it and they(Asia) will buy LNG..no, they won't, they may buy LNG from B.C. for half the cost of production...the only way Petronas or any energy giant will build in B.C.. is if we give them gas for free, or pay them to take it..

The truth be known....Petronas is not, and will not be building a LNG terminal at Lelu island...The economics don't add up...(Hey Justin Trudeau, the Lax Kwa’laams Band voted for continued talks with Petronas and....on mass the Lax voted for moving the location to Ridley Island or to Dish Cove)

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Bloated, glutted and static, Asia's LNG market keeps disappointing



http://www.reuters.com/article/asia-lng-supply-demand-idUSL8N1BJ03P



The liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry has morphed from energy's golden child to black sheep in the last two years, with demand slumping just as supplies soars.
While low prices are a boon for consumers, the lack of demand and lowered revenue will threaten the efforts of companies to recoup investments in LNG export terminals in the United States and Australia. Further, future projects will have a hard time gaining approval.
Asia demand was expected to soak up this supply but the region has turned to alternative and cheaper fuels. LNG imports to Japan, the world's biggest consumer of the fuel, are down 5.3 percent for the first seven months of 2016, government data shows. Meanwhile, South Korea's imports in July dropped 15.2 percent from the same time a year ago.We here in Canada don't get the real news, we have captured media that's in the business to promote the corporate agenda, real news in Canada is obtained almost exclusively through the internet, bloggers and alternative media...
MORE TO COME
Even with the current LNG oversupply, there is more to come
Huge reserves off Africa's east coast, in the eastern Mediterranean
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As Norman Farrell and others have pointed out...BC Hydro has been way off the mark with their power need projections going back a decade, ever since Gordon Campbell sabotaged BC Hydro's ethics and honesty, Gordon Campbell's IPP super power boondoggle comes home to roost..

Now in 2016 BC Hydro is dumping high-priced IPP power at a loss..and no, the northern BC frackers won't pay for IPP power, they won't pay for Site C power either..they will take taxpayer paid for power for free...Business acumen is indeed absent from the BC Liberal Government...They are the government of selling out to corporate party donors...

and what of LNG...Christy Clark pinned her LNG hopes on fleecing the Japanese people...robbing them blind after the Fukushima nuclear disaster...That game is over...

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"Seven Japanese nuclear power reactors are likely to be in operation by the end of next March and 12 more one year later, according to an estimate by the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ). Judicial rulings and local consents will influence the rate of restart, it notes.
In its Economic and Energy Outlook of Japan Through 2017, the IEEJ has considered the economic and environmental impacts in financial years 2016 and 2017 (ending March 2017 and 2018, respectively) of various scenarios for the restart of reactors in Japan.
The organization estimates that if restarts take place according to the current schedule - the "reference scenario" - seven reactors could restart by the end of FY2016 (ending March 2017). By the end of FY2017, 19 units could be restarted, generating some 119.8 TWh of electricity annually, compared with total nuclear output of 288.2 TWh in FY2010, the year prior to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Under this scenario, compared with FY2010, total spending on fossil fuel imports in FY2017 decreases by JPY4.7 trillion ($45 billion)"
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$45 billion per year less by 2017 will Japan be spending on LNG...
$45 billion is a lot of money leaving the LNG market...
Need more...Iran with sanctions lifted is opening it's doors to foreign energy companies, Iran possesses the largest reserves of conventional gas in the world...conventional gas, meaning no fracking, meaning cheaper to produce, meaning more competition to BC's dead LNG fantasy..


Israel is fast-tracking development of their mammoth offshore gas reserves...Russia is doing the same, Russian gas remains profitable at $4 per MM BTUs..

Israel seeks to lure big oil and gas groups for rights auction



Shell's Prelude multi billion dollar floating LNG terminal will start operations next year off Western Australia and Africa too...Africa is courting the energy majors to develop their vast natural gas reserves...


Egypt is getting into the LNG game too...

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Egypt’s New Gas Discovery: Opportunities and Challenges
After a tough year, the Egyptian government recently received some good news. Italy’s ENI announced that it has discovered the “largest ever” offshore natural gas field in the Mediterranean off the Egyptian coast. Dubbed a “supergiant” field, ENI suggested that the Zohr project would be able to meet Egypt’s own natural gas demands for decades to come.
This is welcome news for the government of Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi as it enters its second year and it is likely to resonate locally and regionally. Once the field comes online it will go a long way toward satisfying local demand, thus allowing Egypt to spend significantly less on energy. It would be prudent for the government to use these savings to improve people’s livelihoods and invest in infrastructure, health, and education.  

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Japan, the world's largest LNG importer to slash its LNG imports by more than half by the end of 2017 saving the country $45 billion US dollars per year....

Christy Clark said this about Japan and LNG during the run-up to BC,s 2013 election...

"Liquefied natural gas is the industry that will make British Columbia debt free," says B.C. Liberal Leader Christy Clark.
"We have a plan to export natural gas at five times the price of what we can get here in North America."
"Their hunger for the cleanest fossil fuel on the planet is almost unlimited," Clark said earlier this month while on a campaign stop in Dawson Creek."
Christy Clark sticks to her pitch.
"Development in natural gas can stimulate $1 trillion \in new economic activity across the province — 100,000 new jobs. $100 billion in 30 years," Clark said

"The first plant will be running in two years and two others will be shipping LNG by 2020, while insisting her projections are quite modest."
"In setting out the amount of money that we'd be putting into the Prosperity Fund, at $100 billion over 30 years, set a very conservative number. But we'll see."

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So here we are, 3 months left in 2016 and not a shovel in the ground, no FIDs(final investment decisions)....Shell Canada was granted all the required permits....They cancelled their project..Altagas had all the required permits too, they shelved their tiny project because it was uneconomical, a money loser...Woodfibre LNG is about to defer to the distant future too...

So, Christy Clark, Rich Coleman and Gordon (i'm for sale) Wilson were 100% wrong on LNG...

Business acumen indeed!, so...Those pathetic politicians who got elected on lies and distortion are to be believed on Site C...laughable to say the least...

We the people are not gullible sheep Christy Clark, .....Mr. Trudeau..your turn for ridicule is coming..

Gordon Campbell shuttered Burrard thermal, a natural gas emergency power generator because...

Gordon Campbell to facilitate his IPP boondoggle created a law...A LAW, a LAW DAMN IT, a LAW

A BC Liberal government law that requires British Columbia to reduce 2007 greenhouse gas levels/emissions by 33% by 2020....




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B.C. Premier Christy Clark at Friday’s news conference in Richmond announcing the province’s update to its climate plan, with Environment Minister Mary Polak in the background.
    
"The B.C. Liberal government has put off the heavy lifting on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to a later date, under a new plan released today.
The much-anticipated update to a 2008 plan created under then-premier Gordon Campbell recommits the province to achieving an 80 per cent reduction over 2007 levels by 2050.
However, today’s 52-page plan only lays out actions estimated to achieve less than half of the needed reductions by 2050, and much less if the government’s much-hoped-for liquefied natural gas export industry materializes and significantly increases emissions.
While it’s already known that B.C. will not meet its 2020 target of reducing emissions by one-third, the Christy Clark-led Liberals are not setting a new interim target and will have to remove from law the 2020 legislated target.
At a news conference in Richmond, Premier Clark said the plan will need to be updated every year with new measures, although the plan only calls for renewal every five years.
Clark also said the plan would reduce carbon emissions by eight per cent by 2030, which is not mentioned in the plan.
The new, interim target is just one of the many recommendations from a government-appointed 17-member advisory committee that is not being implemented"

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BC Liberals make a greenwash law to justify an IPP private power rip-off boondoggle that is costing BC Hydro and ratepayers hundreds of $millions per year and now because the BC Liberals know they won't come anywhere close to the set 2020 goal are revoking the law...baa baa baa...

That and because of Christy Clark's delusional LNG super-power fantasy....Petronas's PNW LNG proposal to be located at the mouth of Canada's second most productive wild salmon river..The Skeena, this one project would increase British Columbia's greenhouse gas emissions by a staggering 40% once all the downstream and upstream emissions are counted...

Over to you Justin Trudeau....Nice speeches in Paris last year, flowery, optimistic, grandiose, oh how Canada was going to be a world leader in reducing greenhouse gasses...baa baa baa..

Business acumen, do you have any business acumen Justin,..I personally think not...the real action is in renewable power...$trillions and trillions of dollars being invested in renewable power while you suckle Christy Clark's ass fumes and cowtow to a foreign state owned company Petronas, a country who's leader Najib Razak is a portrait of a criminal, a liar, a cheat, an embezzler, a rule of law trouncer a crusher of human rights...

and for what....Business acumen....Petronas talks of a $36 billion dollar investment in Canada, the number is a fraud...fraudulent..
of that alleged $36 billion dollar investment....Petronas bought an Alberta company for $6 billion..Progress energy, the company Petronas bought...Petronas has tallied Progress energy's normal business activities..Progress energy has over half its workforce in the USA....Petronas has stated that Progress Energy's normal operational costs are all B.C. investment...$6 billion for Progress energy..$3 billion for Progress energy's payrole and operations here and in the USA...Petronas claims this is all investment in B.C.,,,,It is no such thing..Progress energy sells natural gas and receives payment for that gas, none of that revenue is deducted from Petronas's cost...in other words, Petronas is counting every penny spent in North America and calling it B.C. investment while ignoring Progress Energy's (Petronas) income stream....smoke n mirrors and funky bookkeeping...Who is cooking Petronas's books? Najib Razak....indeed.
Petronas in its $36 billion dollar investment in B.C. also includes the cost of TransCanada building a pipeline, a pipeline Transcanada will operate...Petronas in that $36 billion dollar total is including a possible future building of more LNG trains ...Petronas in their $36 billion dollar total is also including the cost of their Lelu island terminal..of which $8 billion of an estimated $11.2 billion dollar Lelu Isalnd terminal cost....$8 billion dollars of the $11 billion dollar terminal will be spent in South Korea and Japan..All the mainframes and modules will be imported...and..

Petronas wants the Canadian taxpayer to write of the entire $36 billion dollar cost at an accelerated rate...when a mere $3 to $8 billion only would be spent in Canada....a lose lose losing proposition..

Petronas's LNG project would become Canada's most polluting single point operation...A carbon bomb..
And no...LNG production in BC will not reduce coal powered energy in Asia, there is no offset, none at all and even if one existed, fracked, piped, liquefied gas then regasified has a carbon footprint as bad if not even worse than coal...and besides that..China isn't getting off of coal ..China is embracing coal fired power, thus they are building hundreds of coal fired power plants even today...


China's Insurance Policy Against High-Priced LNG, COAL= Death of British Columbia's LNG Super-Power Fantasy!


Mr. Trudeau...or can I call you Justin?......

British Columbia has thousands of miles of coastline....British Columbia has LNG terminal sites available in many places...Dish Cove..Ridley Isand to name a couple...and where does petronas want their proposal located....At the mouth of Canada's greatest wild salmon rivers, ..Petronas wants 24 hour construction for years, pile driving and bright spot lights 24/7...underwater light, thus drawing predators and young salmon fry eaters to devour our salmon brood stock for years and years...Petronas will not proceed unless they are granted that construction timeline...Scientists have rejected Petronas's environmental assertions...DFO and the Federal government decades ago warned of such activities in and around the Skeena river flora bank...there are no mitigation measures..

We just suffered the worst sockeye salmon return on the Fraser river..can you say FISH FARMs ..I can...

We have thousands of miles of coastline and you Justin Trudeau are placating Petronas by allowing them to build in the worst possible location...Remember that surfing you were doing on BC's wild west coast..Long Beach...That would be a environmentally better location for a LNG terminal than would Lelu Island...

Business acumen...Do you have any Justin?

Petronas, run by Malaysian criminals...Najib Razak....A company wanting $36 billion in Canadian tax write-offs when a mere $3 to $8 billion might be spent in Canada....To destroy the historic Skeena river salmon legacy...To allow the single biggest greenhouse gas emitter in Canada to proceed, destroying Skeena river salmon while were at it...a salmon run worth hundreds of million$$ every year..

When we have thousands of miles of coastline.....

And despite of all of this...Petronas is in no hurry to build...The project for all intents and purposes has been cancelled, and or deferred for many many years...

Justin Trudeau...pick up the phone and call Australia and ask them how their LNG is working for the Australian taxpayer...Maybe call the Australian judicial, taxation division and see how many lawsuits the Australian Government has launched against the LNG majors for tax avoidance and funky bookkeeping...
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Chevron adds $7b to 'in house' loan, critics say move designed to shift income offshore


A multinational corporation labelled Australia's worst tax avoider by members of a Senate inquiry has added $7 billion to an "in house" loan that critics say is designed to shift billions of dollars of income offshore.
Chevron's latest financial accounts show that a shell company in Delaware has now lent a total of $42 billion to Chevron Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, the Chevron subsidiary developing the vast Gorgon gas project in Australia's northwest.
"It really shows continuing contempt for the Australian Government and the Australian people," Jason Ward, a researcher with the union-backed ITF, told the ABC.
"This is really a tax scheme designed to avoid payments, once profits start to flow on the Gorgon project and the Wheatstone project."
Dr Mark Zirnsak, a spokesman for the Tax Justice Network, also said it looked like Chevron was trying to avoid paying taxes in Australia.
"It does look like further tax dodging by Chevron, loading itself up with debt from the US tax haven of Delaware in order to avoid paying taxes here in Australia," Dr Zirnsak, who is also a director for the Justice and International Mission Unit of the Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, said.
Chevron maintains that the arrangement between the Delaware shell company and its Australian subsidiary is a bona-fide loan to fund construction on the gas projects.
But the arrangement will have the effect of reducing Chevron's tax bill in Australia by many billions of dollars.

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Lastly....Justin Trudeau...If you have no balls, no guts, no business acumen, do the next best thing..Make a Petronas approval subject to finding a new location outside of the Skeena watershed..

anything less and you Mr. Trudeau will be deemed, like Christy Clark..

"You are idiot"

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The Straight Goods

Cheers Eyes Wide Open