US-India cooperation on clean coal

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/One of the essential elements in the US-India bilateral relationship on energy has been cooperation on the use of coal in a clean manner. Supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Energy (DOE), laboratories, and utilities in the United States, the core of clean coal activities in India over the past several decades has been to introduce, demonstrate, and commercialize new technologies and practices to promote better utilization of coal in order to lower greenhouse gas and other pollutant emissions while promoting energy security. Starting in the mid-1980s, the US team, in partnership with the Indian Ministry of Power, NTPC (previously, the National Thermal Power Corporation, India's largest state-owned utility), and several state utilities, has worked to improve the operations and performance of India's power plants. These have included coal beneficiation, heat rate improvement, optimal blending techniques, and the introduction of best Operations and Maintenance (O&M) practices. The DOE/USAID support for India’s research on advanced gasification of coal technology was also a part of the clean coal activities, which built capacity and demonstrated results, but awaits deployment. USAID's clean coal projects in India were designed to reconcile three key aspects, namely, the abundance of coal, need for energy, and sustainable energ

إمدادات النفط والغاز في منطقة الخليج إلى آسيا: تداعيات ازدهار ثورة النفط الصخري الأمريكي والعقوبات الإيرانية والحرب التجارية مع الصين

The Middle Eastern Gulf region is Asias traditional supplier of oil and gas. However, in the past two years, record oil and gas oil volumes from United States have headed into Asia, riding high on the shale boom. While US has emerged as worlds top oil and gas producer in 2018, it should not obscure the fact that Gulf still accounts for one-third of global oil production, one-sixth of gas production, 48 percent of proved oil reserves, and 38 percent of proved gas reserves. However, Gulf oil and gas markets are facing an unprecedented wave of political-economic currents. With the re-imposition of sanctions, the Trump administration is seeking to drive Irans oil exports to zero, an unintended consequence of which has been to moderate the impact of bumper US output on oil prices. Yet, as the United States ratchets up trade war with China and the two countries impose tit-for-tat tariffs, crude prices are declining amidst trade tensions and fears of a global recession. Beijing has imposed retaliatory tariff on LNG from United States, but has so far avoided an outright tariff on oil, opting instead to taper these purchases. US crude oil producers nonetheless continue to find eager market in Korea, Japan and India - all importing record volumes to make up for the loss from Iran. Asian buyers, except China, are also importing LNG from the United States in a big way. The jump in US oil and gas exports to India, South Korea and Japan is also supported by another implicit aspect. It comes as the Trump administration continues to push Asian consumers to buy more, so that United States can reduce trade deficit with them through larger sales. Consequently, Asias biggest consumers, including China, are left to grapple with challenges emanating from the loss of crude under sanctions, escalating trade antagonism between Washington and Beijing, and having to agree to narrow their trade surpluses through the purchase of oil and gas from US suppliers. Given this scenario, the following is argued: First, Asian consumers must keep their supply sources expanded to the widest possible extent, to hedge their bets in case of supply shocks emanating from political decisions. Secondly, the best possible supply option for the Asian consumers come from the Gulf states, as they collectively produce and export more than US suppliers. Thirdly, oil and gas supply from the Gulf region to Asia is highly facile, given geographical proximity that translates into low freight charges and cost of insurance. Fourthly, the US shale boom is vulnerable to drilling intensity and oil pricing shifts. Any sudden decline in oil prices can make intensive drilling less competitive, leading to a rapid decline in production. Lastly, in terms of price, crude from the Gulf region suits the large consumers in Asia better than that supplied from the US fields, as American crude being sweet and light, is more expensive. This problem is especially acute for Indian refiners inured to Gulfs heavy crude

Emerging trends in India-U.S. oil and gas engagement

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/Sujata Ashwarya, Asia Studies Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center in Washington, explains that "While the increasing supply and demand are the obvious drivers of this upward trend in trade, the contours of energy ties have been fleshed out in the India-US Strategic Energy Partnership.