BHP Billiton is in talks with Australian company Woodside Petroleum Ltd. about a possible sale of its oil and gas assets, as it continues to offload fossil fuel investments. A firm decision has not been made as yet, and the company is still exploring all options. Another piece of positive news comes from researchers who say that several computer models show there are a number of viable avenues to prevent further global warming. And a recent study calls into question blue hydrogen’s use as a clean fuel.
BHP Billiton May Divest Oil and Gas Businesses
BHP Billiton may sell its oil and gas businesses to Woodside Petroleum Ltd. in exchange for an estimated 53% share ownership of the company.
The transaction would allow BHP to further divest itself of fossil fuel assets, having already sold off some of its coal business.
In turn, Australian company Woodside would likely see its output double to 200 million barrels of oil equivalent once it takes over BHP’s assets. Woodside would also double its annual underlying earnings to $8 billion.
BHP’s oil and gas assets span North Africa, Central America, the Caribbean, and Australia. The deal would permit Woodside to expand its business outside of Australia’s borders.
However, a firm decision has not been made as yet, BHP Billiton said, and it is still exploring other options.
Selling its oil and gas businesses would leave BHP free to focus on its core mining business. The majority of BHP’s profits come from mining iron ore. It also mines copper and nickel, and is looking at a potash project in Canada.
Computer Simulations Suggest Ways Out of Climate Catastrophe
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sobering report released last week emphasized that there are still options available to prevent the earth from becoming too hot, and researchers around the world have produced computer models to prove it.
Climate scientists have created computer models of different scenarios for solving the problem of climate change and say that there are several workable solutions available to governments.
The solutions vary, including discouraging energy use by governments imposing more regulations or raising energy prices. Another solution is to install more renewable energy capacity to meet increased energy demand, though this would be at the cost of using larger areas of land for such installations.
To keep global warming to a minimum would require that all greenhouse gas emissions be eliminated within 40 years. Achieving such emissions reductions would require a focus on energy use in transport, housing, and electricity supply, experts said.
Computer models of possible ways to achieve the reductions, known as integrated assessment models, are built on data about current sources of emissions, assumptions about international trade, and the cost of new technologies, among other factors.
However, the scientists creating the optimistic simulations acknowledge that they don’t factor in the human element, such as personal preference or political considerations.
Carbon Capture Market Set to Reach $2 Trillion
As the price per ton for carbon emissions in Europe inches toward 100 euros, the number of projects to capture and store carbon have increased six-fold since 2019.
Experts say that the rising cost of emissions for companies makes investment in carbon capture and storage technology more attractive and economically feasible. Though carbon capture is currently still more expensive than paying for carbon emissions, companies are expecting it to prove more economical over the long term.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology works by capturing the carbon emissions from fossil fuels and storing them indefinitely, including in depleted underwater oil reservoirs.
The U.K., Norway, and the Netherlands, whose major oil and gas companies have long operated in the North Sea, are at the forefront in investing in CCS technology.
The three countries have announced CCS investments of roughly $6 billion in total, and they hope that such technological investment will allow the fossil fuel industry to continue to operate.
The U.K. wants to cut its emissions by more than three-quarters by 2035 and is hoping to use the CCS to remove 10 million tons of carbon dioxide annually from the atmosphere.
Some CCS projects are already in use, while around 32 others are in development. Once all of these are operating, they are expected to remove about 100 million tons of carbon dioxide. However, this is a mere fraction of the 33 gigatons of emissions produced worldwide in 2019.
Study Shows Blue Hydrogen Not Clean Fuel
While several countries are developing projects for blue hydrogen to be used as a cleaner transition fuel, a recent peer-reviewed study shows that the fuel is actually dirtier than using natural gas itself.
Hydrogen is derived from oil and gas in the form of gray hydrogen. It is transformed into blue hydrogen by using natural gas to capture the CO2 in its production. Blue hydrogen has been heavily promoted by the fossil fuel industry as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels, particularly by members of the Hydrogen Council established by some big oil firms.
However, there has previously been no peer-reviewed study of the claims about blue hydrogen being cleaner. A new study in the journal “Energy Science & Engineering” found that while blue hydrogen does produce a bit less carbon dioxide, it produces 20% more greenhouse gas emissions overall, much of these in the form of methane.
Methane stays in the atmosphere for only about a decade, unlike carbon dioxide, which lingers for hundreds of years, but Methane is also is 80 times more potent in its greenhouse effect. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report expressed concern about the large increase in methane emissions over the past decade and their impact on climate change.
The study’s authors suggest that the promotion of blue hydrogen as a transition fuel is a distraction from substantive solutions.
Burning natural gas as fuel instead of using it to produce blue hydrogen would produce less greenhouse gas emissions, the study found.
The authors of the study urged that focus be redirected toward greater use of clean power like electricity.
Religious Buildings to Benefit From Infrastructure Package
The Biden administration’s trillion-dollar infrastructure package includes an allotment of $50 million for nonprofit organizations, including religious establishments, to pay for energy efficiency improvements.
Through the $50 million fund, nonprofits like churches and synagogues can receive up to $200,000 to spend on more energy-efficient installations. Since there are 350,000 congregations in the U.S., only a small number will be able to benefit from the grants.
Congregations are faced with aging and dwindling memberships, as well as deteriorating buildings that make upgrading and maintaining their places of worship difficult. They are ill-equipped to handle the cost of energy efficiency upgrades. As nonprofits, they do not pay taxes, and so are unable to access energy efficiency subsidies that usually take the form of tax credits.
The deteriorating condition of places of worship means that their energy bills are usually high also.
Bitcoin Miners Looking to Nuclear Energy
Bitcoin companies have begun exploring the use of nuclear energy to power their mining operations. Though people in the industry agree that traditional nuclear reactors are not feasible because of the cost and time involved in building them, they are looking at building micro nuclear reactors that can power the energy-intensive operations of bitcoin miners.
One Silicon Valley company, Oklo, is in the process of obtaining approvals to build several micro nuclear reactors that will create energy from the waste of conventional nuclear reactors. Those reactors are expected to power 44,000 bitcoin mining computers, the equivalent amount of energy used by 150 small towns.
Nuclear energy is seen as a good fit for bitcoin because it is clean and does not fluctuate like renewables do. Bitcoin mining requires that mining computers are working 24/7.
However, analysts said they do not expect such arrangements to become the norm, since the cost of renewables is considerably more attractive than that of nuclear power.
Namibia Gets 40 Million Euros for Green Hydrogen
Namibia is looking into using its tremendous solar energy capacity for the production of green hydrogen. It is one of a few countries on the African continent to venture into green hydrogen production; others being South Africa, Egypt, and Morocco.
Germany has given 40 million euros to fund research by the University of Namibia into the possibility of Namibia launching a green hydrogen industry. The money will be spent on feasibility studies and a pilot project. The country believes the project could lead to foreign investments of well over 300 million euros.
Namibia currently generates 517 megawatts of energy from renewable sources.
NGOs Get Funding for Solar Panels
The EU has given 2.4 million euros to 12 organizations in Trinidad and Tobago to install rooftop solar power systems.
The organizations include schools, NGOs, and government divisions. The EU donation is aimed at helping the country reduce its carbon emissions while building climate resilience.
The organizations selected for the funding were chosen from a pool of 164 applicants. The EU-funded project will also provide training in maintenance and technical skills for locals to sustain the solar power systems.
Opinion writer: Jewel Fraser
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