Expanding: The Bayou Corne sinkhole covers 24 acres and has been sucking in trees and swamp
Sinkhole the size of 20 football pitches opens up in Louisiana… amid fears it could burst into flames as it fills up with GAS
Tag Archives: Natural gas
Arsonist tried to blow up UC Davis fraternity, police say
credit: sacramento.cbslocal.com
Oklahoma Pipeline Explosion Sparks Large Fire, Prompting Evacuations (VIDEO)
Natural gas rig blows out in Gulf; 44 workers safely evacuated, Coast Guard says
A rig believed to be producing natural gas blew out in the Gulf of Mexico around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. All 44 workers on board were safely evacuated form the Hercules No. 265 rig about 40 miles southwest of Grand Isle, said Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Bill Colclough.
No injuries have been reported. The workers escaped the rig on two Hercules off-shore lifeboats, then transferred to an offshore supply vessel, the Max Cheramie, which is on its way to the shore.
The Coast Guard dispatched a cutter helicopter and two aircrafts to assist and monitor the evacuation. Coast Guard officers will report any environmental impacts, Colclough said.
The cause of the blow-out is still under investigation, he said.
Netanyahu hails ‘historic day’ as Israel starts pumping gas from major offshore find
Four years after discovery, flow from Tamar field marks start of Israel’s transformation to ‘energy independence’ and eventual natural gas exporter
Undated file photo of the Tamar Lease natural gas rig, located 90 kilometers west of the city of Haifa, northern Israel (photo credit: AP/Albatross Aerial Perspective)
Natural gas from the offshore Tamar field was pumped to Israeli shores for the first time Saturday, four years after its discovery, in preparation for its first use in the Israeli energy market — a move that could transform the Israeli economy.
The Tamar deposit, discovered in 2009 some 90 kilometers west of Haifa, holds an estimated 8.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
On Saturday, hailed an “important day for the Israeli economy” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, natural gas from the field was being pumped to a newly erected facility on the coast of Ashdod, connected to the gas field via pipelines laid out on the ocean floor, 150 kilometers long and 16 inches wide.
Commenting on the historic development, Netanyahu drew a link between the event and the holiday of Passover.
“On the festival of freedom, we are taking an important step toward energy independence. We have advanced the natural gas sector in Israel over the last decade, which will be good for the Israeli economy and for all Israelis,” Netanyahu said.
The gas is to be transferred Sunday from the facility to a processing plant in Ashdod. From there, it will flow into the Israeli market. These newly harnessed resources promise to be a major boon to both the country’s public and private energy needs.
The controlling Tamar shareholder, Yitzhak Tshuva, said Saturday’s start of pumping came “months ahead of schedule.” He said the gas flow “will make Israel energy independent.”
The gas from Tamar is expected to help meet Israel’s energy needs for the next 20 years, Channel 2 said, and will save the economy some NIS 13 billion (some $35 billion) per year. Its ahead-of-schedule use will also save Israeli citizens some cash — lowering a planned rise in electricity costs to 6 percent, less than originally planned.
“This is an ‘energy independence day’ for Israel,” said Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom. “This breakthrough is the harbinger of the foray of additional private companies” into the Israeli energy market, he added.
The Tamar deposit, and especially the heftier Leviathan, which was discovered in 2010, are expected to provide Israel with enough natural gas for decades and transform the country, famously empty of natural resources, into an energy exporter.
Leviathan, which boasts an estimated 16 to 18 trillion cubic feet of gas, is expected to go online in 2016, the approximate time when exports are expected to begin.
Selling this gas overseas will require Israel to navigate a geopolitical quagmire that risks angering allies and enemies alike, however. Amid this uncertainty, Israel still has not formulated an export policy.
“Instead of being an ingredient which serves to calm the tensions of the eastern Mediterranean, (the discoveries) provide instead another impetus for rivalry,” said Simon Henderson, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “There is a reason this is often called diplomatically trapped gas.”
The discoveries are just a portion of the huge reserves in the Levant Basin, which the United States Geological Survey estimated in 2010 holds some 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.
While Israel’s finds are minimal compared to gas giants Russia, Iran or Qatar, they are more than enough for the country’s domestic needs and would enable the country to reduce its reliance on costlier and dirtier oil and coal. Nearby Cyprus has also become newly resource-rich, and Israel’s other neighbors, including enemies, may discover their own deposits.
In all, Israel has just the world’s 46th largest supply of proven natural gas reserves, according to the CIA Factbook. But the country’s proximity to Middle Eastern and European markets could make it an important regional player. For oil companies hoping to profit from the new wealth, the biggest hurdle remains the lack of an export policy.
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U.K. could run out of natural gas by April
Britain now only has 2-day supply in reserve
(OILPRICE.COM) — Demand for natural gas in the UK soared during the coldest March in 50 years. This has led to a supply shortage, and some experts to suggest that Britain’s gas supplies could actually run out by the 8th of April, forcing them to import from Norway and Russia at far higher prices.
Whilst the government has been championing a “dash for gas” which has seen demand for the fuel increase significantly, they have done little to increase the storage capacity in the country. After the month of higher than expected demand the UK now only has a two day’s supply in reserve.
Ian Marchant, the chief executive of Scottish and Southern Energy, one of the UK’s largest power suppliers, commented that, “it appears the government is significantly underestimating the scale of the capacity crunch facing the UK in the next three years and there is a very real risk of the lights going out as a result.”
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End Time Bible Prophecy 