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Download this reportEnergy in the Americas
Inside this issue
• US groups are making headlines with investments in alternative energy but oil and natural gas are set to remain their core activity
• Mexico’s attitudes make much-needed reforms difficult for the world’s sixth-biggest oil producer - -
Content
Policy doubts come to the fore
When President Barack Obama was elected to the White House, it seemed that a hardnosed energy policy addressing climate change would be inevitable.
Wind of change sparks US renewables revival
The history of the US is replete with images of extravagant fossil-fuel consumption: smoke billowing from gleaming trains; long, sleek, gas-guzzling cars; gigantic refineries endlessly pumping out plumes of dirty air. But the reputation is somewhat misleading.
Painfully slow emergence from dark ages
The US is the world’s biggest generator of nuclear power. It is also the world’s biggest energy consumer, and more than most other leading economies it is heavily dependent on coal for its electricity, creating high rates of carbon dioxide emissions.
Drop in prices clouds long-term outlook
In the past several years, estimates of US natural gas supplies have grown from 30 years worth to more than 100 years worth, as new technologies and expertise have made it economic to extract gas from shale rock.
Hot air over cap-and-trade
The Verizon Wireless Theater, a stadium in downtown Houston, is known locally as a live-music venue. In recent weeks it has featured performances by Alice Cooper, the histrionic rocker, and John Legend, the smooth soul star.
Caution reinforced by growing scrutiny
The return of relative stability to the oil market has given Canada’s oilsands industry a badly-needed breathing space
‘Dabbling’ in alternatives dwarfed by core business
The US oil majors have been making headlines with their forays into alternatives – ExxonMobil with its move into algae as a potential biofuel, Chevron with its investment in solar to power oilfield operations, and ConocoPhillips with its pilot project to make diesel from chicken fat.
Independents hang on for better times
In 2006, Alex Archila left Chevron, where he had spent 24 years rising through the ranks to become president of its Canadian operations.
Big offshore discovery fuels debate
The recent discovery of potentially vast new reserves of oil and gas off Brazil’s coast looks certain to transform the country into a leading oil-producing nation over the coming decade.
National attitudes put brake on reforms
When Mexican children hit eight, they turn to page 120 of their government-approved history books, stare at a picture of glorified peasants and workers framed by oil rigs and the red, white and green colours of the national flag, and then start reading the text below.
