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Transportation Regulation as an Instrument for Developing Natural Gas Networks in Brazil

Yanko Marcius de Alencar Xavier and Anderson Souza da Silva Lanzillo

in Energy Networks and the Law: Innovative Solutions in Changing Markets

This chapter aims to evaluate transportation regulation in the Brazilian natural gas industry. It gives a brief institutional overview of the sector in Brazil and outlines changes incurred in ... More

This chapter aims to evaluate transportation regulation in the Brazilian natural gas industry. It gives a brief institutional overview of the sector in Brazil and outlines changes incurred in transportation regulation to the current stage of the Gas Act. It reflects on whether competition is still considered a development instrument in this market and the extent to which it is a proper instrument to plan and invest in the construction and maintenance of gas pipelines.Less

Self-Regulation, State Regulation, and Co-Regulation in Energy in New Zealand

Barry Barton

in Regulating Energy and Natural Resources

Energy regulation has seen many shifts and changes because of the significant policy movements that many countries have seen. Two substantial shifts have occurred in New Zealand in a two-year period, ... More

Energy regulation has seen many shifts and changes because of the significant policy movements that many countries have seen. Two substantial shifts have occurred in New Zealand in a two-year period, 2003 to 2005. The electricity market is no longer under self-regulation, but is now under state regulation. The natural gas industry is no longer virtually unregulated, as it once was, and is now under a form of co-regulation. This chapter explores the reasons for these changes.Less

Gas, Petrochemicals, and Nuclear Energy

Gholam R. Afkhami

in The Life and Times of the Shah

Iranian-Soviet relations took a turn for the worse after the Bilateral Agreement was signed between Iran and the United States on 5 March 1959. When the agreement on gas was signed with the Soviet ... More

Iranian-Soviet relations took a turn for the worse after the Bilateral Agreement was signed between Iran and the United States on 5 March 1959. When the agreement on gas was signed with the Soviet Union in October 1965, no infrastructure was yet laid. The shah pushed the process forward, believing that unless deadlines were set, nothing serious ever happened. The NIOC was charged with preparing the ground for the agreement. Ultimately, the gas that was Iran's payment for Soviet goods and services was made available on time. The shah began to speak of petrochemicals in the early 1950s and discussed the subject rather extensively in his 1960 book, Mission for My Country. In the mid-1970s, Iran embarked on its nuclear adventure. Given the shah's prestige and money in late 1974, Ford and Kissinger decided to accommodate him on his nuclear policies, though they remained uncertain about his ultimate goals.Less

The Competitive Potential for the World's Pipeline Systems

in The Political Economy of Pipelines: A Century of Comparative Institutional Development

This chapter investigates whether the efficient Coasian market in rights enjoyed by the US gas industry has any chance of developing in other pipeline markets, and analyzes the stunted nature of gas ... More

This chapter investigates whether the efficient Coasian market in rights enjoyed by the US gas industry has any chance of developing in other pipeline markets, and analyzes the stunted nature of gas commodity markets in Europe and Australia. The absence of Coasian bargaining in Canadian pipeline transport rights probably affected the gas prices at various locations across Canada. The UK government and its regulators focused on lowering the entry barriers to gas marketers. Australia would seem to have the structural basis for a competitive gas market. In general, the EU worked on the institutions that: govern the way its pipelines are regulated; transact with customers; facilitate or impede the growth of a competitive gas market; and promote the security of its gas supplies without resorting to redundant pipelines and complex political maneuverings.Less

The Partial Deregulation of Transportation and the Creation of a Single North American Gas Market

Paul W. MacAvoy

in The Natural Gas Market: Sixty Years of Regulation and Deregulation

This chapter describes the restructuring of the natural gas industry and the emergence of the spot market, and examines the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission orders. The effects of regulation are ... More

This chapter describes the restructuring of the natural gas industry and the emergence of the spot market, and examines the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission orders. The effects of regulation are significant and result in reduction of the capacity of the pipeline system, high gas prices, and low production. The chapter studies the market effects of restructured transportation and the role of capacity increase, concluding that market, not regulatory conditions, determine prices for transportation service. The transitions to unregulated markets add to the improvement of industry performance in terms of increased production. The partial deregulation of the transport market results in no gains and the behavior of spot gas prices on the market indicates that transportation has become competitive enough to warrant the elimination of rate regulation. The chapter also presents the gains and losses from unbundling and partial deregulation, and reveals that the inconsistency leaves both producers and consumers worse off.Less

Lifeblood of Global Business: Oil and Gas

Mahesh K. Joshi and J.R. Klein

in Global Business

Oil is both the lifeblood and poison of the global economy. Historically the control of resources confers power to governments and people. Geographic control of choke points on trade routes impacted ... More

Oil is both the lifeblood and poison of the global economy. Historically the control of resources confers power to governments and people. Geographic control of choke points on trade routes impacted the flow of commerce. Oil and gas are no different, providing power and influence to those that control it. Oil and gas are not just a resource that provides energy for the world. It is also the most important feedstock for manufactured components that are in demand the world over. Everything from cosmetics to containers, machine parts, fashion, and furniture are all by-products of petroleum. The pervasive nature and the uses of oil and gas comes from the desire for a certain standard of living. It has the potential to influence change in those regions that lack it, and it influences our ability to maintain security or defend against aggression.Less

Enterprise Reform and Wage Movements in Chinese Oil Fields and Refineries

Kun-Chin Lin

in From Iron Rice Bowl to Informalization: Markets, Workers, and the State in a Changing China

This chapter focuses on the Chinese oil and natural gas industry, highlighting the growing variation in wages within the industry. This is a nationally important industry whose employees have ... More

This chapter focuses on the Chinese oil and natural gas industry, highlighting the growing variation in wages within the industry. This is a nationally important industry whose employees have hitherto been protected from market fluctuations and have traditionally enjoyed better than average wages and benefits. However, a state-sponsored restructuring divided the industry into a core of highly profitable companies and a group of noncore service companies. The noncore companies work under semi-feudal arrangements with the core companies, which have resulted in a duality of increased wages and job security at the core firms versus a high degree of employment uncertainty in the noncore firms. State-owned capital is the original driving force behind this transformation, although it has since been fueled by international capital, which has invested in the core, publicly listed firms.Less

The BP Oil Spill and Beyond: How Women of the Storm become Women of the Spill; how a project is almost derailed; and how a third visit to Washington creates new alliances

Emmanuel David

in Women of the Storm: Civic Activism after Hurricane Katrina

This chapter examines how Women of the Storm responded to the BP oil spill in 2010. No longer an emergent group, Women of the Storm’s structure was in place and thus it demonstrated organizational ... More

This chapter examines how Women of the Storm responded to the BP oil spill in 2010. No longer an emergent group, Women of the Storm’s structure was in place and thus it demonstrated organizational adaptation, shifting its goals more so than its organizational structure. The chapter discusses the group’s Be the One campaign, a public service announcement video and accompanying petition seeking increased funding for coastal restoration. The chapter continues by discussing controversy that arose when critics suggested that the group had ties to the oil and gas industry, and it relates the fallout as well as the group’s rebuttal. The chapter ends by considering the group’s third trip to Washington to show support of post-BP legislation known as the RESPOND Act, which would speed up the oil and gas revenue sharing measures that were achieved, in part, as a result of the group’s previous trips to Washington.Less

“What a Few People Can Do”: Learning to Advocate for Others

Peggy Frankland

in Women Pioneers of the Louisiana Environmental Movement

This chapter presents the stories of six women—Jessie Price, Gay Hanks, Mary Brasseaux, Florence Robinson, Mary Ellender, and Carol Savoy—whose environmental activism became especially difficult in ... More

This chapter presents the stories of six women—Jessie Price, Gay Hanks, Mary Brasseaux, Florence Robinson, Mary Ellender, and Carol Savoy—whose environmental activism became especially difficult in the mid-1980s, when the decline of Louisiana’s oil and gas industry devastated the state’s economy. Louisiana’s political and economic climate pitted these women against individuals and companies wielding a great deal of power and not afraid to use it.Less

Financing Renewable Energy in Brazil: Challenges of Climate Change and Innovation

Yanko Marcius de Alencar Xavier and Anderson Souza da Silva Lanzillo

in Innovation in Energy Law and Technology: Dynamic Solutions for Energy Transitions

This chapter analyses Brazilian public policy on financing renewable energy to address climate change. Conditions in Brazil favour adoption of an increasingly clean energy matrix: with significant ... More

This chapter analyses Brazilian public policy on financing renewable energy to address climate change. Conditions in Brazil favour adoption of an increasingly clean energy matrix: with significant innovation in energy policy and technology much of the country’s energy production now comes from renewable sources. The chapter examines the National Policy on Climate Change (Federal Law no. 12.187/2009), the National Fund for Climate Change (Federal Law no. 12.114/2009). Yet, energy for Brazil’s transportation system remains largely fossil fuel-based, and the oil and gas industry is economically important. The chapter discusses the intergration of renewable energy into climate change policy and adoption of climate policy in energy legislation, together with measures such as taxation that support renewable energy. The chapter examines the oil and gas industry economic crisis and the ramifications for financing renewable energy given historic reliance on the fossil fuel sector to fund innovations in renewable energy technologies.Less

Becoming Market and People Cities

Michael Oluf Emerson and Kevin T. Smiley

in Market Cities, People Cities: The Shape of Our Urban Future

This chapter details the history of Copenhagen and Houston. In Copenhagen, we showcase the medieval roots of the city and how it was compacted into a relatively small area until the mid-nineteenth ... More

This chapter details the history of Copenhagen and Houston. In Copenhagen, we showcase the medieval roots of the city and how it was compacted into a relatively small area until the mid-nineteenth century. Since that time, many economic, governmental, and population changes have occurred. In Houston, we study how the younger city took off with the rise of the oil and gas industries, particularly after World War II. We discuss rising ethnic diversity in the context of the city’s tradition of guidance by economic and civic elites. We conclude by focusing on two points of crisis in the cities – in the mid-nineteenth century and in the 1980s and early 1990s – and how those shaped how they came to be Market Cities and People Cities.Less

Sampling Sediments

John S. Gray and Michael Elliott

in Ecology of Marine Sediments: From Science to Management

One of the truisms of sampling design is that the design depends on the objectives. Too often objectives are not defined properly, with the result that the data collected cannot be used to answer ... More

One of the truisms of sampling design is that the design depends on the objectives. Too often objectives are not defined properly, with the result that the data collected cannot be used to answer the questions posed. A good example is that of a monitoring programme that aims to detect changes in an assemblage of benthic organisms caused by eutrophication but where the magnitude of change was not specified in the objectives, with the result that the monitoring programme was so loosely designed that insufficient samples were taken. A posteriori analyses of the results may show that the monitoring would take 10 years to detect a 10% change in the faunal composition. You may think that this is an unrealistic and hypothetical example, but our experience shows that far too often results such as this are the norm. We return to the types of monitoring in Chapter 11, but for now let us start with perhaps the simplest case: we wish to survey an area of coastal soft sediment simply to find out what is there (i.e. to map the habitats and prepare for a more detailed quantitative study of the benthic assemblages). Up to the last couple of decades, sampling subtidally below diveable depths was usually done blind. One had to resort to charts, perhaps prepared in the nineteenth century, which have depths and descriptions of sediments made from soundings done with handlines with candlewax in a hollowed-out part of the lead weight that touched sediment particles, enabling the sediment type to be crudely mapped. Since the 1980s huge technological advances have been made in mapping sediments. Two types of instrumentation have been developed: depth sounders of various types and remote-operated vehicles (ROVs). With sounders, accurate maps of the contours of the seabed can be produced and then indications of the hardness and roughness superimposed on the depth and good three-dimensional images produced with modern software. Sophisticated multibeam echosounders have been used to map the whole continental shelves of many countries. Now that the satellite-based differential global positioning system (DGPS) is generally available with an accuracy to a few metres, mapping of subtidal sediments has become much easier and more accurate. Less