From the IPCC Meeting in Geneva:

Mr. Rajendra Pachauri, has been reelected by acclamation this morning for a second term.

Mr. Pachauri will meet the press on Thursday following the closure of the Plenary at 13.00, at the CICG in Geneva.

He will then introduce the new Bureau members and provide information on other major items concerning the future IPCC work program.

The Chairman will only be available for interviews on that occasion.

Please see Press release attached.

With best wishes,

Brenda Abrar-Milani
IPCC information and communication Office
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
7 bis, avenue de la Paix
CH-1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
Tel. +4122 730 8066
Email:  babrar at wmo.int
Web: www.ipcc.ch

————————————————-

PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday September 2, 2008.
The IPCC is happy to announce that its Chairman, Mr. Rajendra Pachauri, has been reelected by acclamation this morning for a second term.

Mr. Pachauri has been the head of the organization since 2002. Under his leadership, the IPCC released “Climate Change 2007”, its Fourth Assessment Report, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that same year.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is holding its 29th Plenary session in Geneva until Thursday 4 September.

All other agenda items under discussion, including the election of the other Bureau members, are still in progress. The new team elected by all member countries will lead the IPCC through the preparation of the Fifth Assessment Report, which is expected to be released in 2014.

Mr. Pachauri will meet the press on Thursday following the closure of the Plenary at 13.00, at the CICG in Geneva. He will then introduce the new Bureau members and provide information on other major items concerning the future IPCC work program.

The Chairman will only be available for interviews on that occasion.
Contact :
Brenda Abrar-Milani :  babrar at wmo.int Tel: +33 614 81 73 98/ IPCC website : www.ipcc.ch

The Following is from Grist  http://www.grist.org/feature/2008/08/22/…

Cynthia McKinney.

Excerpts from:
McKinney on the Record: Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney talks to Grist.
BY KATE SHEPPARD, Grist, . August 22,  2008.

Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney sums up her energy policy with a simple, memorable rhyme: “Leave the oil in the soil.”

“Right now we’ve got two energy policies in this country,” McKinney told Grist. “One is war, the other is drilling. And neither one of them works.” It’s a message she hopes will win over voters who have tired of both the Democratic and Republican parties. { those words are quite right, but the picture is disturbing and we wonder what did she really have in mind. If we are skeptical about the sudden love T. Boone Pickens found for Wind Mills, Why should we have any more trust in Cynthia’s entourage in what they say about oil? We rather think that they are quite shrewed and her statement means - get the US of our back - this is not different in any way or form from what Bin Laden says. Then, leave the oil in the ground. We agree with this because we mean it literally, but the producers might think the same way provided that you let them set the level of income from them setting the price level of oil. If you hike-up prices by producing less - you earn much more in the long run - and this makes god business - ask T.Boone Pickens - he will agree also.}

McKinney tapped hip-hop activist and indie journalist Rosa Clemente to run as her VP candidate. { Good move, can get the votes of the hot-heads that voted for Lebanese American Ralph Nader and kept Al Gore out of the White House. Now Cynthia may think that if she trips Obama, she will again help her side of the world- ?? }

****

Grist caught McKinney by phone at her current home in California, where she’s pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley.

Why should voters consider you the strongest candidate on environmental issues?

I have a record that includes authorship of the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act. From that to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to my position on offshore drilling, I think my record is pretty clear. And then there is the greatest need we have in this country, and that is for investment in infrastructure and a greening of our economy.

————————

What sets your green platform apart from other candidates’?

We’ve taken nuclear off the table. When you start talking about sustainable energy, nuclear isn’t it. We need to take offshore drilling off the table, we need to take ANWR off the table. We should also make sure that investment in solar and other types of heating and energy supply are made attractive to people, [through] tax schemes that decrease the price to the end user. [We need] also an incentive so that when people are in the process of buying houses, a score is given for the energy consumption that that house represents. Those are just a few things that could be done very easily.

—————

Energy is a hot topic on the political scene right now. Republicans are really driving home the drilling mantra. What do you think should be done to counter that?

My message is to “leave the oil in the soil.” Right now we’ve got two energy policies in this country. One is war, the other is drilling. And neither one of them works. We’ve got to do something different.

————–

Another talking point on the Hill right now is that regulating greenhouse-gas emissions and shifting away from fossil fuels will be catastrophic for the economy and working families. These scare tactics seem to work, especially in a period of economic downturn. What’s the message you’re taking to voters on this? How do you talk about these issues when people are already upset about rising gas prices?

I’ve seen communities over in Europe that have no energy bills at all, and so if we’re talking about hardship, the hardship occurs when the elected leadership is stuck in old ways and reticent to invest in new ways that make more sense. And certainly sustainable living makes more sense. Sustainable energy makes more sense. And doing the same thing and getting a worse result is not something that makes more sense. If we continue to do what we’ve done in the past, on the horizon is nothing more than an extension of war, an extension of the military machine, and reliance on a resource that is not infinite.

——————

You’ve said that the United States could declare itself carbon- and nuclear-free. How soon do you think that’s possible? What do you propose to do to make that happen?

What’s on the table now is [a goal of dramatically reducing carbon emissions by] 2050, but of course we don’t have that kind of time. Carbon-free communities are being built in other parts of the world, particularly in Europe. There are oil-producing countries in the Middle East that are already at least moving in this direction. We even had the king of Saudi Arabia say, “We’re going to leave some of our oil in our soil.”

—————–

Do you believe we can achieve political consensus on a goal of 80 percent carbon reductions by 2050?

I think that public policy is supposed to reflect the values of the people. To the extent that it doesn’t, then it’s up to the people to change the policymakers. That’s why we have to be engaged at every step of the process of voting — before we vote, during the vote, during the counting of the vote, and after the election is over — not only to make sure that the counting process is accountable, but also so that our elected officials remain true to the values that people voted. That has not happened with the Democratic and Republican parties.

When people cast their vote for the Green Party, they’re voting for green solutions. They’re voting for people who have the attitude that this is possible, that this is doable, and we represent the best alternative for the voting public.

——————

How would you bring China and India to the table on a global climate treaty?

I think the best way is to lead by example. The United States isn’t doing that. In fact, there’s an effort to make it appear that China and India are enemies. China and India are no more enemies than the United States’ behavior toward them would lead them to be. So first of all, the United States needs to do what it must do to reduce the greenhouse gases.

——————

What should be done at a federal level about food issues — farming, genetically modified foods, etc.?

There is an effort to store seeds in Norway. And at the same time, there’s this push to impose particular Monsanto-type seeds on farmers around the world. That needs to stop, and it needs to stop right here in the United States. I would prohibit it. I would ask Congress to prohibit it and allow farmers to grow their crops in the best manner time-tested for thousands of years.

I used to be on the Agriculture Committee and represented farmers in Georgia. I got to visit farmers in Europe, and they have really taken this to an entirely new level, where not only is there the organic farming, but also a level beyond organic. Every aspect of the production is done in a way that has no toxins, no chemicals, nothing that would be harmful to man or any aspect of nature. Those are the kinds of agricultural trends that ought to be supported, for example, in the Farm Bill.

————————–

What other environmental issues need more national attention?

There was an effort that we tried to focus on with only limited success, and that was the cleanup of our military bases. Cleanup of these installations would provide far more jobs than one would think, because of the egregious nature of the problem.

We’ve also got this situation of environmental injustice that hasn’t been taken care of. Hurricanes Rita and Katrina coated every building, every item, every living and non-living thing in New Orleans with slime, and we’ve got the toxic effects of that. The legislation that I introduced was to provide for the testing of the environment — all of the land, soil, and air in New Orleans — and then making that known to people so they know what the potential health effects are. That has not even been ascertained by any official governmental body. Basically what was done in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was looking at the buildings — they were classified as habitable if they were structurally sound. But nobody tested the mold and the slime and the toxicity of those structurally sound buildings.

And then of course in Louisiana we’ve got Cancer Alley, which has been noted for a number of health effects.

We’ve just got massive cleanup that needs to be done inside this country, and it receives very little attention even now as we all talk about environmental issues.

————————–

Are Democrats and their presidential candidate, Barack Obama, doing enough on environmental issues?

I think that’s a question that voters, those who are particularly interested in environmental issues, will have to sort out for themselves. But there is a party, the Green Party, that is dedicated and founded for the purpose of extending social justice as well as ecological wisdom for people in this country and around the world. And the Green Party is an international collection of parties that help to make policy on the national level in many other countries around the world, and it’s about time that we had the influence and the impact of Green Party policies here at home in the U.S.

——————————

After Ralph Nader ran on the Green Party ticket in 2000, there was a lot of anger from folks afterward that he tipped the presidency to George W. Bush. Are you concerned about siphoning off votes from the Democrats this year, possibly changing the outcome of the election?

It’s a ludicrous assumption, and it’s not based on the facts. In 2000, 1 million black people went to the polls and voted, but their votes weren’t counted. So now who’s responsible for that? Nine hundred thousand of those votes would have gone to the Democrats, but the Democrats conceded the election rather than demanding a recount or an investigation that would have found the guilty parties. Unfortunately, those misconceptions that are put forward by the corporate press have nothing to do with the truth. Seventy-eight thousand black people in Florida alone voted and their votes weren’t counted, and that doesn’t even include the number of people who went to the polls and attempted to vote, who didn’t even get a chance to cast their votes.

It’s ludicrous to think that George Bush won the election by 537 votes, but it’s also ludicrous for the political party that actually won the election to give it away. The question should be posed to them: Why did they?

————————-

What environmental achievement are you proudest of?

The National Forest Protection and Restoration Act was something that was near and dear to my heart.

After the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the piece of legislation that we introduced to ascertain and make public the environmental status of the area was also necessary, particularly given the situation with the first responders at the World Trade Center after Sept. 11. It was clear that there were going to be health effects [after the Sept. 11 attacks], and yet the workers were sent in there anyway to rescue people as best they could and then to find as many bodies as they could. They did that work, and the Bush administration lied to them, and to all of us, and now they truly are suffering the health effects.

The depleted uranium legislation that I introduced is also something that I am proud of. My bill would have stopped the use of all depleted uranium ammunitions until we understood clearly what the health effects were.

—————————

Who is your environmental hero?

My heroes are the people who strove for justice, and the ultimate environmental hero in my opinion would be someone who was working to make peace. If we understand the sanctity of human life, then we are, I believe, less apt to destroy that which sustains our life. So perhaps the people who struggle for human rights have to be the environmental heroes. As I think about it, for example, it’s the women’s suffrage movement who are responsible for me and [my running mate] Rosa being where we are right now with the Green Party ticket. Then of course you’ve got the abolitionists — Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman. I certainly wouldn’t be where I am without them. And so those are to me the ultimate heroes, because it’s on their shoulders that I stand.

—————————-

What have you done personally to lighten your environmental footprint?

Well, I don’t consume very much. Where possible, I’m changing my shopping habits, in terms of the food that I buy. I choose to buy from the local folks as opposed to the mega folks. Of course, you have to go to the supermarket every once in a while to get stuff. I’m trying to live within the 200-mile rule of thumb in terms of my food consumption. As a black person, there’s a dearth of services generally and a lack of healthy food in the black community, so that’s been a challenge.

From:  sniffenj at un.org
Subject: NEWS RELEASE: Biofuels soon to be measured by international standards.
Date: August 13, 2008

forwarding of News Release from: Charlotte Opal
Tel: + 41 21 693 5351
 charlotte.opal at epfl.ch

Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels - An initiative of the EPFL Energy Center.

Ensuring that biofuels deliver on their promise of sustainability - Biofuels soon to be measured by international standards.

300 experts and representatives of the public and private sector have come
together in the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, housed at the EPFL
Energy Center, to develop global norms for the economic, social, and
environmental impacts of biofuels.

LAUSANNE, 13 August 2008 – Are biofuels a panacea or a threat to climate,
food and energy security? While the answer is indeed “it depends”, pundits
so far have not agreed on global criteria to evaluate the positive or
negative impacts of a certain crop, produced in a certain area, processed
in a certain way into a biofuel to be used in a certain place.

However, such diverse constituencies as businesses, academics and
environmentalists seem closer to a previously unlikely agreement about the
economic, social, and environmental sustainability of biofuels. A critical
step was announced today, when the Steering Board of the Roundtable on
Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), an international initiative hosted by the
Energy Centre at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne
(EPFL), endorsed the first draft of a global sustainability standard for
biofuels.

The standard is intended to be used by investors, governments,
corporations, and civil society groups to assess the sustainability of
different biofuels. “With all of the mixed messages we hear about biofuels,
there is a clear need for a standard that can differentiate the good from
the bad,” said Claude Martin, chair of the Roundtable and former
Director-General of WWF International. “For an issue of such seminal
importance, it was necessary to bring many different stakeholder groups
together to agree on how to define and measure sustainable biofuels. The
publication of the first draft standard today represents an important
consensus for how we can judge the development of this industry”.

The draft criteria of the Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels, developed
through a multi-stakeholder process, are based on a comprehensive “land to
tank” analysis, covering the whole chain of biofuels’ production. ‘Version
Zero’ of the standard will now undergo six months of global stakeholder
consultation for incorporation into what will become Version One to be
released in April, 2009. In person feedback sessions on Version Zero are
being planned in East Asia, Europe, Mozambique, Mali, and throughout the
Americas. “Any interested stakeholder is welcome to attend these meetings
or give feedback online,” explained Charlotte Opal, Head of the RSB
Secretariat. “Our hope is that by February 2009, all interested
stakeholders will have had their chance to influence the criteria”.

Over 300 experts from corporations, civil society groups, academic
institutions and government agencies from nearly 40 countries helped draft
Version Zero of the standard, through
teleconferences, an innovative Wiki format  www.bioenergywiki.net), and
in-person meetings in Switzerland, Brazil, China, India and South Africa.
The standard addresses the major issues of concern regarding biofuels’
production, including their potential contribution to climate change
mitigation and rural development; the protection of land and labor rights;
and their impacts on biodiversity, soil pollution, water availability and
food security. Version Zero can be accessed here:
 http://cgse.epfl.ch/page70341.html
.
The Energy Centre at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne,
EPFL (one of the two federal institutes of technology in Switzerland)
houses the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels.

Steering Board members include, among others, individuals from BP, Bunge,
EPFL, the National Wildlife Federation, the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), Petrobras, Shell, Swiss and Dutch federal agencies, TERI-
India, Toyota, UNICA (the Brazilian sugar producers’ union), the World
Economic Forum (WEF), and the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF)

—————————–

The following members of the Roundtable’s Steering Board can be contacted
for interviews:

Barbara Bramble, National Wildlife Federation, USA +1 202 797 6601
Jean-Philippe Denruyter, WWF International, +1 202 822 3459
Lukas Gutzwiller, Swiss Federal Office of Energy, +41 31 322 56 79
Stephan Herbst, Toyota Motor Europe, +32 2 745 2720 (August 13th and 14th
only)
Marcos Jank or Geraldine Kutas, UNICA – Brazilian Sugar Producers’ Union,
care of Rose Racorti, +55 11 3093-4949,
Jürgen Maier, German NGO Forum, +49 (30) 6781 775 88 or +49 171 383 6135,
Martina Otto, United Nations Environment Programme, +33 (1) 44 37 46 91
Hans-Björn Püttgen, Director, EPFL Energy Center, +41 21 693 2473
Roberto Smeraldi, Amigos da Terra – Amazônia Brasileira, +55 (11) 3887-9369
(August 13th and 14th only)

For more information, please call Charlotte Opal, +41 21 693 5351, or
e-mail her at  charlotte.opal at epfl.ch. The Roundtable’s website is
 http://EnergyCenter.epfl.ch/Biofuels.

***********************************
Jim Sniffen
Information Officer
UN Environment Programme
New York
tel: +1-212-963-8094/8210
 info at nyo.unep.org
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The World Values Survey is available at: www.worldvaluessurvey.org www.happyplanetindex.org

Download the reports
Download the Happy Planet report (2006, pdf)
Download the European Happy Planet report (2007, pdf)

See the Global HPI map:  http://www.happyplanetindex.org/map.htm

Israeli startup turns Asia’s three-wheelers green.
By Sharon Kanon - http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDi…;
July 29, 2008

A snazzy green Yamaha RS100T motorcycle with a sidecar will be the greenest taxi in the Philippines in the near future. The vehicle will be fitted with three compact cylinders of natural gas, using technology developed by Israeli-American company, Energtek.

Energtek’s recent announcement of the first successful conversion of a three-wheeled vehicle to natural gas for commercial purposes created a buzz in motorcycle media, green publications and blogs worldwide.

“Natural Gas is the most practical motor fuel alternative to gasoline,” Lev Zaidenberg, Energtek’s CEO, tells ISRAEL21c. “Extraordinary quantities exist. And, it is cheaper and cleaner than gasoline.”

With oil prices skyrocketing, and increased concern about pollution, Energtek’s proprietary ANG technology is a breakthrough for countries where two and three-wheeled vehicles predominate. During the past year, Energtek has successfully entered three Asian markets - the Philippines, India, and Indonesia.

There are about 300 million two and three wheeled vehicles on the road worldwide - some 25 percent of the world’s automotive market; and nearly 85 percent of them are in Asia.       

Small 2-stroke engines which get a quick surge of power because combustion is completed in only two stokes of the piston, rather than four as in a car, are popular.

* * *

Ban on polluting vehicles

“Energtek’s technology provides a solution for two million tricycle drivers to continue to operate their vehicles, preventing them from suffering a significant loss of livelihood…” says Ariel P. Lim, the Philippine President’s Special Advisor for Public Transport Affairs.

Last Wednesday, Energtek signed an agreement with the Philippine National Oil Company to convert half a million three-wheeled vehicles to natural gas within three to four years.

Energtek will buy the gas from stranded wells in the province of Isabela, and use its technology in a multi-phase conversion project, dubbed “the world’s first commercial ANG project.” It hopes to convert 50,000 tricycles within 18 months. This initiative is expected to generated revenues of $20 million in vehicles equipment sales and $40 million in annual gas sales.

***

Inventive contributions:

“Our R&D division (Angstore) spent more than six years on research and development,” says Zaidenberg, a maverick entrepreneur who also founded Mutek, as well as Angstore, and has received awards for his inventive contributions to the Israel Air Force and the Israel Computer Society.

“Natural Gas is abundant but often ’stranded,’ not easily accessible,” explains Zaidenberg. “Our innovative technology is not dependent on pipelines. Unlike oil, natural gas does not have to be refined.

The plan in the Philippines pilot project is to compress the Natural Gas on the stranded gas site into small cylinders that will then be shipped to distribution outlets throughout the country.

The Joint Venture with DML PTE will commercialize Energtek’s technology in Singapore, and Malaysia as well as Indonesia. Revenues are expected to surpass $100 million.

***

Asked about Energtek’s next marketing target, Zaidenberg says: “Our next move will probably be to the US and South America. We are looking for countries that are oil importers, and have natural gas. Look, the price of gasoline is over $4.00 a gallon. The big gap is in our favor.”

“We have the right technology at the right time,” adds Zaidenberg. “Just think a short time ago we were just five guys with technology, no business. Now we have a business that is worldwide. Even Iran, the third largest oil producer is converting to gas.”

OFFSHORE MAGAZINE, PennWell Corporation, Tulsa, OK - Offshore magazine, first published in 1954, is a monthly publication recognized as the worldwide leader for covering the key issues and trends relative to offshore technology, oil and gas E&P (Exploration and Production) operations. It is the world’s most highly respected magazine dedicated entirely to the offshore industry, and enjoys the highest and most widely read circulation in its class. Since 1910, The PennWell Petroleum Group has been the industry leader for coverage of and service to the worldwide petroleum industry.

Its foundation magazines are Oil & Gas Journal, Offshore, Oil, Gas & Petrochem Equipment, Oil & Gas Financial Journal, LNG Observer and The Petroleum Buyers Guide. The group also produces targeted e-Newsletters, hosts global conferences and exhibitions, seminars and forums, directories and technical books, print and electronic databases, surveys and maps.

We were introduced to http://www.offshore-mag.com because of our interest in the oil finds in Brazil.

Brazil is now at the top of OFFSHORE interest and they plan an upcoming webcast lecture:

(AkerSolutions Technip)

The Petrobras FPSO Experience: Technology Evolution and Application In the US Gulf of Mexico
Date: August 14, 2008
Time: 2:00 PM EDT 11:00 AM PDT 18:00 GMT
Length: Approximately one hour
Speakers: César Palagi, Walker Ridge Production Asset Manager, Petrobras America Inc.

***

According to Bloomberg data, Petrobras is the fourth-most valuable company in the Western Hemisphere, behind Exxon Mobil Corp., General Electric Co., and Microsoft Corp. “We think this is part of a major transformation of Petrobras, which could lead to it becoming a much larger company in terms of production and reserves over the next five to 10 years,” Merrill Lynch analysts wrote.

***

Brazil in OPEC?

If confirmed, the Carioca-Sugar Loaf find would vault Brazil into the Top 10 countries for oil reserves, ahead of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) such as Nigeria and Libya. It also would surpass the US, point out oil analysts.

Director Estrella, who is known for conservative forecasts, told Offshore that: “Considering the geologically provable dimensions of the whole pre-salt reservoirs, including Santos, Campos, and Espírito Santo basins, plus other prospects, such as geologically estimated recoverable oil and natural gas in the Tupi accumulation, we may be dealing with recoverable volumes very much larger than the current Brazilian proven reserves.”

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on several occasions that when Brazil becomes a crude exporter it would like to join OPEC and work to lower oil prices.

Director Estrella pointed to the emergence of a new organization, the National Oil Companies (NOCs), as a forum of exporting and non-exporting countries that meets annually and has a different objective from OPEC: “In my opinion, NOC’s mission, through long-term strategic partnerships, is more interesting for Petrobras and raises the country’s political profile as an uncontestable leader of emerging countries.

I am not in favor of Brazil joining OPEC. New oil producing countries started exporting but did not join OPEC, which in a way is weakening OPEC’s economic and political power.

OPEC is going down the path of political obsolescence.”

While the potential Brazil find could add significant supplies to a global oil market many see as tight, it would likely take the better part of a decade before any of the oil finds its way to consumers. The site will need to be studied further, and many more facilities must be designed, built, and transported before it can start producing oil.

***

The OFFSHORE Magazine July 2008 issue (July 7, 2008) includes three articles about Brazil. We give here the references and small parts from these articles:

July 7, 2008
 http://www.offshore-mag.com/display_arti…

Title: “Pre-salt discoveries continue in Brazil. ” (Above is a 6 page article)

by Peter Howard Wertheim, Contributing Editor

Potential for super-giant fields remains to be confirmed in ultra deepwater.

Deep under the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil’s state-controlled Petrobras has made what could prove to be the largest oil discovery in 30 years, and one that would propel the already prospering country into the major league of oil exporters.

The head of Brazil’s upstream regulatory body National Petroleum and Biofuels Agency (ANP), Haroldo Lima, said in April that the find in the Carioca exploration area could contain 33 Bboe, which would make it the world’s fourth-largest field. Lima did not say whether his unofficial estimate was of recoverable reserves or in-place resources and Petrobras did not comment.

Brazil Energy Minister Edison Lobão was quoted as saying on São Paulo’s Estado newswire that he would neither confirm nor deny Lima’s statements. However, he cautioned that any announcement on the extension of oil fields should only be made once the government is certain about the data.

For context, current Brazilian crude oil proven reserves are at 14.4 Bbbl.

Outstanding sequence of discoveries
“This is one of the most impressive oil finds globally in terms of scale,” says David Riedel of New York-based Riedel Research Inc. The deepwater discovery, coming after a similar find announced last year by Petrobras, suggests that the world still has major pools of oil to be found.

For Brazilian analysts, it also casts new doubts on peak oil theory, which postulates that world oil demand will soon outpace supply.

Riedel says uncertainty remains regarding the size of the Carioca discovery on BM-S-9 block, which lays under 2 km (6,562 ft) of water, plus many more kilometers of sand, hard rock, and another 2 km of salt. The exploration area, also called Carioca-Sugar Loaf, is 275 km (171 mi) off the coast of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

“Petrobras is very good at deepwater drilling but this is going to be very complicated stuff to get out of the ground,” he adds.

—————–

July 7, 2008 http://www.offshore-mag.com/display_arti…

Title: “Jubarte field production enhanced with wellbore ESP”. (Above is a 4 page article)

by Marcos Pellegrini, Giovanni Colodette - Petrobras
Ignácio Martinez, Leandro Neves - Baker Hughes Centrilift

1,200-hp subsea system installed.

Through technological advances in ultra deepwater production, the highest horsepower-equipped electric submersible pump (ESP) to date was installed in the 1,400-m (4,593-ft) JUB-6 subsea well in the Jubarte field, offshore Brazil. The system is composed of a 1,200 hp motor and a pump capable of producing over 22,000 b/d of heavy oil (17º API). High flow rates and a longer subsea step-out were the drivers for selecting an ESP system as the artificial lift method for the project. Reliability is one of the main concerns of ESPs, and proper selection of the system for the application was critical for the run life of the equipment.

Operators and service companies are always searching for most cost-effective methods to produce deepwater reserves over the life of the field. Gas lift traditionally has been the preferred artificial lift method in offshore Brazil subsea applications with relatively short step-outs. But when high-flow production of heavy and viscous oil in a long step-out is needed, gas lift is not efficient. Electrical submersible pumping systems are the best option.

Jubarte field: The Jubarte field, in the northern part of the Campos basin, about 80 km (49.7 mi) offshore from the state of Espírito Santo, was discovered in January 2001. An extended well test was performed to evaluate drilling, completion, artificial lift technology, and to verify reserves. Then, Petrobras started Phase 1 production with FPSO P-34. Four wells were planned to produce around 60,000 b/d of oil. Two of the wells are produced using gas lift, the third one is an ESP installation on the seabed, and the fourth is a subsea ESP wellbore installation.

———————-

July 7, 2008 http://www.offshore-mag.com/display_arti…

Drilling zero discharge offshore Brazil in an environmentally sensitive area. (Above is a 3 page article) These drillings are in shallow waters near terrific white sand beaches.

by Perry Morris - El Paso Oil & Gas
Keith Browning, Kevin Redfern - Halliburton

One key element of the El Paso Oil & Gas exploration program offshore Brazil during the recent drilling and completion of the Acai and Cacau exploration wells in the Camamu basin was to ensure compliance with a zero discharge policy. The wells were in a shallow 23 m (75.5 ft) water depth, near shore and 11 km (6.8 mi) from an extremely environmentally sensitive area. Brazilian authorities designated the coastal area as a future recreational development.

Equipment outlay: El Paso contracted Halliburton’s Baroid Surface Solutions services to provide equipment and personnel at the rig site to transport cuttings and drilling waste to a dedicated cuttings barge. To protect the delicate subsea reef environment and the nearby Camamu white sand beaches, El Paso installed booms completely surrounding the Todco 156 rig. The dedicated cuttings barge was moored outside the booms to allow access to the barge for dumping cuttings further out into deepwater. This configuration resulted in a greater distance than normal for cuttings transportation.

—————

The deepwater oil-finds locations towards the the souther part of Brazil’s coast - the Santos Basin and the Caramba, Sugar Loaf, Carioca, Parati, Tupi and Jupiter discoveries.

Location map of the exploration blocks in Santos basin showing the recent giant and super-giant pre-salt oil and gas discoveries.

The shallow water oil-basins that are close to environmentally sensitive coasts. North of Rio de Janeiro - the Espirito Santo and Camamu basins and the Potiguar basin in the northeast.

The Acai and Cacau exploration wells in the Camamu basin are in a shallow 23 m (75.5 ft) water depth near shore. 

BAN DRESSES DOWN TO ‘COOL’ THE UN - as per an August 1, 2008, UN press release.

In lieu of his usual business suit, United Nations Secretary-General donned a more casual outfit, as part of the “Cool UN” initiative which seeks to curb the world body’s greenhouse gas emissions, which kicked off today.

The three-pronged scheme seeks to limit the use of air conditioning, slash emissions and save money for the UN.

“We are not just cutting back suits and ties,” Mr. Ban told reporters, adding that the month-long “Cool UN” programme at the Secretariat in New York will make a 10 per cent saving in energy consumption. Use of steam will be cut by more than 4 billion pounds, the equivalent of 300 tons of carbon dioxide in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

The UN estimates that the scheme will also result in financial savings of more than $100,000.

If the initiative is extended beyond August and into the winter, savings will be even greater, the Secretary-General noted.

Calling on the support of the UN family and Member States, he said that
“ultimately, this will be important for our common efforts in addressing
climate change issues.”

The main UN premises in Bangkok, which houses over a dozen of the
Organization’s entities, joined the Secretariat today in rolling out the
“Cool UN” scheme.

Like the Secretariat in New York which is raising the thermostats by five
degrees from 72 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit in most parts of the landmark
building, ESCAP turned up the temperature by 2 degrees Celsius. Most of its
staff members also came to work today in lighter clothing, including
national dress.

“Cool UN” is just one of several schemes ESCAP is involved in to slash
energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2002, it has cut
back electricity consumption by 16 per cent yearly by replacing old and
inefficient appliances such as power transformers, elevators, air
conditioners, lights and pumps.

ESCAP’s service also has pilot solar panels and wind turbines, and water
usage has been reduced by 30 per cent every year through new
higher-efficiency water closets and using recycled water for the main
gardens.

—————–

UN’s Ban in Shirt-Sleeves, a Cooling Room Next Door, Asked about Double-Standards by Fox.

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

UNITED NATIONS, August 1 — Television camera crews were waiting for the UN’s Ban Ki-moon on Friday morning; he showed off for them a short sleeved shirt and lack of tie. To set an example, he said, of action for climate change, the UN will raise the temperature in the building by five degrees. A photo opportunity was scheduled for 9:15 in Ban’s office, but upon arrival the Press was told there would not be enough space. It was said Ban would take no questions, that no reporters should go upstairs.

Ultimately questions were allowed, by CNN, Fox and Inner City Press.

The Fox TV reporter demanded that Ban address the “double standard” in the cooling of rooms on the 38th floor. Ban’s office felt warm, but a conference room next door was, the Fox team estimated, closer to 60 degrees. Ban said, “I have been sometimes very warm in this room, I have to switch to the next conference room.” To some, this meant that he will have his own cooling spot upstairs, which Fox called a meat locker, while other UN staff, particularly in rooms facing the sun and East River, sweat through August.