Research, analysis and opinion on the ongoing energy transition. Writing about it at: https://powering-the-planet.ghost.io
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@txsharon.bsky.social is out in the Permian oil fields of Texas with @ssteingraber1.bsky.social and they just came across this. The oil industry loves to tout emissions numbers based on theoretical operating conditions using engineering estimates - thus ignoring the reality of the oilfield.
This guy ran a major oil industry company. The Texas oil industry relies heavily on renewable energy. Someone should ask him how that is possible if it is a scam? Why would the oil industry do this? This is a picture from TX that I took last year. Largest oil field in the world.
"these are men without ideas building a simulacrum of innovation, all propped up by grifters cashing in on the front end of the hype cycle" no notes!
I've argued or a while that the combination of ignorance and arrogance in the oil industry will hasten their downfall. I recommend reading this whole thread but this is pretty much an example of what I've been saying.
It seems in Trump's America, trying to find employment is now considered an attack on the president. Noise, so to speak. "Stop looking for work in America. " Republicans 2025
One of the very first interactions I had on this website was someone telling me solar plus storage was too expensive and couldn't compete with gas. I disagreed at the time. Still do. If you look at these numbers and risk any capital on new gas infrastructure, you are an idiot.
1/x 🧵 🔌💡 #Greensky. Hey climate peeps! Here’s a local victory to celebrate, and some lessons from it. Last night, the Town of Poughkeepsie, NY, voted to overturn its 18-month moratorium (6 months, renewed twice) on grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS).
Want to protect and defend democracy? Here's a tip: don't overheat the Earth's habitation systems beyond the point of basic human societal survivability.
An explainer I wrote last year about what is happening now. What I said at the time. "The true hoax of this energy transition is the idea that the U.S. has unlimited oil and gas that is just waiting to be produced as soon as those tree-hugging liberals stop standing in the way."
The first big dip on this graph of US crude oil exports was due to the global pandemic that cratered oil demand. The second big dip is due to what? Seems like a good question right? We were promised oceans of liquid gold and yet it's going the other way.
“If the central bank is no longer independent and they’re slashing the fed funds rate even though they shouldn’t be…then long-term rates — the 10-year Treasury yield and 30-year mortgage rates — will actually go up a lot" Can the clowns start telling their cult that the rates are fake? Tough sell.
Dear World We're sorry. This is really fucked up.
Organize for power.
a bit more expensive? Last I checked it was 4-8 times as expensive unless is was made from used cooking oil. And the amount of used cooking oil available is a rounding error compared to what is needed.
I'm a refinery engineer and "sustainable/renewable fuels" are a waste of everyone's time. If you're not avoiding the burn carbon step of energy there's no climate benefit.
"Our results indicate that there is no foreseeable slowdown in the momentum of global methane emissions growth."
Organize for power.
The IEA in 2014 saw European coal demand rising 0.1% between 2013 and 2019. In practise, it fell 30%.
Current fossil fuel derived hydrogen (from methane) contributes 2% of global CO2 emissions plus a lot of methane emissions. We need to replace this with electrolytic hydrogen made from water and clean power. That is a big project. After that, there are other uses, transportation isn't likely one.
“It's just the fact that if it's just one resident or 100 residents without drinking water, it's not right. In 2025, we should not have residents who can't drink their water." Courtesy of the largest gas producer in the country.
This tactic - pressuring corporations financially until they put a regime friendly voice in charge - is exactly how Orbán took over the free press in Hungary
The oil industry touts Texas as a success story in controlling climate-warming methane emissions. The state’s regulator, however, grants nearly every request to burn or vent gas into the atmosphere.
i cant believe i have to explain this to the comms experts making mid 6 figures but the way the news cycle works now: - you make a lot of noise - the noise is reported on - your opponents are asked about the noise - you get invited on shows to talk about the noise - the noise is the story
"They appear to realize this and are no longer talking about a future in which we grow plants to make oil to burn in internal combustion vehicles. The future is pretty clear at this point and vehicles will either be burning good old gasoline and diesel or they will be powered by batteries."
I recently wrote about some of the oil and gas industry's various scams that function as delay tactics. I didn't cover sustainable aviation fuel. “It became clear that the project would be insufficiently competitive to meet our customers’ need for affordable, low-carbon products" SAF is a SCAM
So if these units cost the Chinese billions in stranded assets (they will), we can say that? Are you implying local governments call the shots in China?
No. But likely lower emissions than imported LNG from the US. China is getting off of gas and coal more quickly than anybody else. They installed over 10 times the solar the US did in the first half of the year. They are making progress. Doesn't help to say otherwise, imo.
I don't agree.
That's RaShon Young, a @runforsomething.net in Florida, over-performing big time and becoming the first gen Z Democrat elected to the state leg. We love to see it!!!
There is the potential for that but emissions in china are going down because renewables are replacing fossil fuels. It is very important that we don't build more fossil fuel infrastructure NOW. What is happening with solar and storage is helping make that a reality.
“They can’t get it below 2% because they keep drilling,” DiCarlo said. Since emissions are highest when a well is being drilled, overall emissions will remain high as long as the industry is drilling new wells. “That’s just the nature of the beast.” @txsharon.bsky.social has said this for YEARS!
In related news
"Every 5GW of PV is capable of displacing 1 MTPA of LNG in the electricity sector. So the 400GW of PV installed so far this year could displace about 20% of global LNG consumption." Any questions?
The industry is making big claims about lower methane emissions in the Permian. Read this article and see if those hold up. "S&P’s report acknowledged that satellite data showed a much more modest reduction of 4%, contradicting the company’s own data, which was collected by airplane."
“Markets speak loud and clear if you listen to what they’re saying. The market in Texas is saying loud and clear that gas is not going to be built any time soon.” Watch what bankers do: they don't like to lose money. For more, see The Sun Has Won, Part 1 www.planetarytech.earth/s/The_Sun_Ha... 🔌💡
The plan is plastics. Or I should say, was. www.ciel.org/plastics-pet...
"That there are no consequences for gas companies failing to act on a major leak of methane for 20 years, and the Australian and NT governments are allowing Santos to keep using the leaking tank without fixing it, or even monitoring it properly, is a disgrace." No consequences.
powering-the-planet.ghost.io/methane-insa...
"methane has likely caused 40% to 50% of all warming in the past 20 years" Meanwhile, we are told that liquid methane (LNG) is a climate solution. If we follow that path of insanity, we are in deep, deep trouble.
“A lot of it is real, but how much?” asked Tom Falcone, president of the Large Public Power Council... Utilities see a massive opportunity in AI but realize that many proposed projects will never be built—earning them the moniker “phantom data centers.”
I haven't seen new polls but it does seem like Trump's appeal isn't as great there after the tariff and Russian oil issues.
India isn't a big market, right? #teslatakedown
LNG is worse than coal when it comes to warming impacts due to high methane emissions. If Japan isn't starting to realize the error of their ways, they will. However, the powers that be in Japan are working to mislead the world about this basic science so they can make a few more $$$.
The global LNG industry must succeed for the oil industry to have a future. Which helps explain why they think they can ignore the basic rules of supply and demand. But they can't Sio it will be a financial bloodbath for the dumb money if they go along with Carney's plan.
yet again @justinmikulka.bsky.social daily all this evidence and yet a section of the political class ignore basic economics etc and ineed what others are doing and for no other reason than they get paid to do that, which in itself is deeply corrupt
Certainly will be a big driver. My family lives in Maine. Heat pumps are doing great there. Why? They work and save money. I know this in part because a city appraiser volunteered it: "Heat pumps save me $600 a year on heating and I get AC for free!!" It's a strong pitch.
Shying away from confrontation with a ruthless and better funded opponent hell-bent on your destruction doesn't have a lot of historical precedent for success I like McKibben's framing. "People think renewable energy is like Whole Foods when it's really like CostCo - cheap and available in bulk"
As it is often the same companies in both countries, we shouldn't be surprised that the results are the same.
Happy Friday!! Who wants to read 2700 words about the LNG industry?!
This also cheered me up. bsky.app/profile/jrfh...
This is good on so many levels. I can only imagine the endless laughter at the Tesla truck design. "Have you seen his truck?!"
Reminds me of something.... www.quora.com/What-dirty-t...
People from the UK should come visit the US and stop in Pennsylvania where they are fracking everything and then visit New York where fracking was banned. Talk to the people, drink the water....just be careful about drinking the water in Pennsylvania.
Never a better time! powering-the-planet.ghost.io/the-end-of-t...
Most LNG is sold on long-term contracts. Some allow the buyers to resell the LNG, some don't. Pakistan is now trying to renegotiate with Qatar to push off their contracted deliveries they don't need and have no way to accept as there is no storage.
And in
Et tu, Pakistan?
What about Japan? You might think, "But Japan loves LNG!! Why would they do this? "The total amount of electricity generated from natural gas plants during Jan-June of 2025 was the lowest for that six-month period since at least 2019, as high natural gas prices stifled gas use in the country." $$
Much like China, India also is importing less LNG this year as the facts indicated would happen.
Big oil analytics firms don't stay in business if they don't provide hope for the future of the industry. I don't have that problem and can base my analysis on facts. From March of this year: "As I’ve been saying for a while, there is a real LNG pause and it is based on economics."
How is that prediction holding up? Not well. Really not well. www.linkedin.com/posts/stephe...
Back in February one of the oil industry analytics firms that always gets top billing by the media said this: "Rystad expects China’s LNG imports to reach more than 83 Mt in 2025 – greater than the previous record-high in 2021" So, in February they predicted record LNG imports for China
As Wilson ( @txsharon.bsky.social) drily observed, “If you want to stop methane from rising in our atmosphere, you have to stop dumping methane into our atmosphere.
It could. The oil industry has always loved to solve its problems with wars. The one problem with this is that it raises prices. The oil and gas industry is in a price war with competitors with a big advantage right now. Not exactly a textbook case of when to raise your prices.
I thought the US ethanol program was peak economic and climate stupidity but importing US ethanol is a whole new level!
China was supposed to be leading the world's growth in LNG. How could this happen? LNG is expensive. Solar is cheap. With LNG declining in China does anyone know how they are doing with solar?
"If Powell does not come to Cook’s defense and continue to treat her as a governor-in-good-standing, he will be the Fed chair who oversaw the destruction of the Federal Reserve’s prized independence." Big moment, Jerome.
Why is Japan using less gas (LNG)? "The total amount of electricity generated from natural gas plants during January to June of 2025 was the lowest for that six-month period since at least 2019, as high natural gas prices stifled gas use in the country." It's too expensive.
Spend some time in the Permian oil and gas fields and you will be assaulted by the air quality. It's not good breathing in "chemical soup." “Natural gas is not just methane. It’s actually closer to a chemical soup.”
Not how I interpret this. “The solar panels imported into Sierra Leone in the last 12 months, if installed, would generate electricity equivalent to 61% of the total reported 2023 electricity generation, significantly adding to electricity supply.”
"Canadian photojournalist Valerie Zink announced on her personal Facebook page that she is resigning from Reuters news agency after eight years as a stringer, saying she can no longer work for an agency she accuses of "justifying and enabling" Israel’s systematic killing of journalists in Gaza."
"The energy transition is dead!" Very well paid important people funded by the oil industry petrofascists. Meanwhile, one country in Africa imported enough solar panels in a year to replace 60% of its total power consumption. That isn't a transition, that is a tsunami. Get on board!
For more on this.
"Utilities have also shied away from using imported LNG, as it is costlier than other fuels, further exacerbating Pakistan’s oversupply." Hmmm....
If we don't address the macro climate change, all of the micro climates we care about are fucked. There are no great solutions anymore, only least bad. How are you helping solve the problem in a way that will avert macro climate change disaster?
I see no evidence of a plan. They didn't see this coming. Their plan is to trade LNG to each other. Saudi Arabia has a really big problem if oil prices don't spend a lot of time over $90 a barrel in the future. And that is a very unlikely scenario at this point.
They were hoping oil demand would grow by 1.8 million barrels this year. It is likely to be under 800,000. that is a big deal. Once global oil demand flatlines, the oil industry is fucked. Decline and they start to eat their own. I want faster results too. In this shitshow, that isn't possible.
good question.
Here is a reason! oilprice.com/Energy/Crude...
A desperate tactic from a failing movement.
Over on LinkedIn, someone made a comment on one of my posts that makes a lot of sense. I'm paraphrasing here. "If you want to compete with China and you think you are going to do it by powering your industry with LNG (liquid methane), you won't."
Last year I wrote about why those making those predictions were wrong "The idea that it is China’s “sputtering” economy that is causing the global slowdown in oil consumption will not age well. China’s economy is changing along with the rest of the world and the transition away from oil has begun"
Last year we were told oil demand would be back in a big way thanks to China and Asia. This right here is a big deal. "In China specifically, Kpler sees an actual decline in the demand for petroleum products this year..."
Correct. "The scam of natural gas as clean energy desperately needs us all to believe in the scam of AI."
In the US we are told you can only power data centers with fossil fuels or nuclear. Perhaps someday the US will be able to keep up with the more advanced economies of places like Malaysia and power data centers (and everything else) with renewables.
The desperation is strong with this one...
So I'm told Merrick Garland and the Democrats wanted to prosecute the criminal behind the coup but they ran out of time. They had four years. And the facts. We're going to learn some hard lessons about what can be done in four years. To be fair, Schumer wrote a strong letter recently.
Eleven days ago, Israel assassinated a Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist. Anas al-Sharif documented the relentless Israeli assault on civilians, breaking down on camera as he reported on the gathering famine. He was 28 years old www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/o...
"It gives to those who lobby and takes from those who labor. It reinforces a message I’ve felt in my bones for years: You’re on your own." Powerful piece of writing.
Headed off the grid for some time off and longer writing.
"Thursday's data suggests, then, that companies will not absorb all costs incurred from tariffs but will pass some of these costs on to consumers in the form of higher prices." Will pass "some of these costs"? Still can't admit the truth, eh?
"This week the federal Energy Information Administration predicted that US oil output would fall next year, as crude prices drop to just $47.77 a barrel, almost $20 below shale drillers’ break-even price." The US shale industry will never even break even.
In March the IEA said global oil demand would grow 1.1 million barrels per day in 2025. Now they say 685,000 bpd. That's quite a large downward revision. I'm sure once Trump gets his people in place at IEA this may change but that won't change the reality of what is happening to oil demand.
powering-the-planet.ghost.io/the-end-of-t...
The US has very pricey LNG. How does that work out when the world is oversupplied? "KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas will only proceed with liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from the US if they are competitively priced and match Malaysia’s actual needs, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said today."
Interesting point. “Since the US has invaded so many countries should India stop buying US LNG, amongst other things?” he asked.
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) have been the fastest-growing segment of the clean energy space in recent years, and continue to expand at a faster pace than wind and solar farms in 2025. Total installed utility-scale BESS capacity was 33,212 MW as of mid-2025
I don't think so.