It cannot be said that the conversation around sustainability and carbon intensity in the energy industry happened overnight, since the topic has been a subject for over five decades. But what has changed is that there has been a major acceleration in the discussion in the last year, and even the last month. The European majors and supermajors have all adopted ambitious carbon-neutral goals – even though some jurisdictions are saying that those aren’t even enough. Over the pond, even shareholders are pushing the traditionally more reticent American giants to adopting stronger climate change goals. Nothing is more emblematic of this change that the shareholder revolt at ExxonMobil’s recent AGM, where upstart activist investor Engine No. 1 managed to oust a quarter of ExxonMobil’s board; the initial tally saw two of its candidates elected, but the final numbers showed that three of Engine No. 1’s nominees now sit on the Board of Directors with a remit to initiate climate change manoeuvres from the inside.
That sort of conversation will be jittery for a particular section of the industry: Canadian oil sands – the heavy, sandy deposits of bitumen in Alberta that provide Canada with the third-largest proven oil reserves in the world. Extracting this heavy stuff is expensive, requiring large-scale excavation and massive capital spending that only really made economic sense with the oil price boom in the late 2000s. Shipping this tarry substance is also a challenge, necessitating dilution with lighter crudes to be shipped via pipeline – which is the only major viable route to market for landlocked Alberta, sending the tarry substance all the way south to the US Gulf Coast for processing. The problem is that extracting oil sands is extremely energy-intensive – with the main culprit being steam injection to liquify the underground bitumen – that has resulted in some of the highest carbon emissions per barrel in the world. In a world racing towards net zero carbon emissions, that is quickly proving to be unacceptable.
So while the climate change debate rages on in the boardrooms of the largest energy firms, the exit has already begun from Alberta, operationally and financially. The latest moves come from Chevron, which saw its shareholders overturn the company’s recommendation to instil stricter emissions targets for its crude, and the New York State Common Retirement Fund, the third-largest in the USA. Chevron’s CEO Mike Wirth recently signaled that he was open to offloading its 20% stake in the Athabasca oil sands project, stating that even though it generates ‘pretty good cash flow without needing much capital’ it was not a ‘strategic position’. Wirth insisted that Chevron wasn’t operating on a ‘fire-sale mentality’ but would consider selling if it got ‘fair value’ – with in business-speak is basically as invitation for offers. But would those offers be forthcoming? Investors all around the world have pulled back from financing Canadian oil sands, limiting the pool of potential buyers. In April, the New York state pension fund restricted investment in six oil sands companies – Imperial Oil, Canadian Natural Resources, MEG Energy Corp, Athabasca Oil Corp, Japan Petroleum Exploration and Cenovus Energy – claiming that they ‘do not have viable plans to adapt to the low-carbon future, posing significant risks for investors’. The amount of funds (US$7 million) is a drop in the ocean for the US$248 billion pension fund, but the message it sends is loud and clear.
Taken as it is, this could be an exit. But taken as a collective movement considering divestments over the past 3 years, this is an exodus. In May 2020, Norges Bank Investment Management – the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund with over US$1 trillion in assets gleaned from Norway’s oil industry – pulled back entirely from Canadian oil sands, selling nearly US$1 billion in four major firms citing concerns over carbon emissions. While no other major pension fund has followed suit, private investors have, including titan BlackRock that has begun to exclude oil sands from its major funds Financing is also proving tricky, with a string of major banks – including HSBC, ING and BNP Paribas – either paring back or stopping lending entirely to the industry; the insurance industry is also pulling back, with The Hartford stopping investing or insuring of the Alberta crude oil industry.
These high-profile investment and financing moves have dimmed the shimmer of an industry that was never that clean to begin with. But what will hurt is the pullback of upstream players, which hollows out the pool of companies left to exploit what is an increasingly unattractive asset. Before Chevron even contemplate its sale, Shell already sold its assets in 2017 for US$8.5 billion and ConocoPhillips offloaded to Cenovus Energy as part of a broader sale including gas assets for US$13.3 billion, also in 2017. Norway’s Equinor, too, has liquidated its position. Then in February 2021, ExxonMobil dropped a bombshell – effectively eliminating every drop of oil sands crude from its worldwide reserves, a tacit admission that oil sands would not form part of its upstream focus (at least at current prices) for the foreseeable future, especially with more attractive propositions in Guyana and the Permian. Given its recent shareholder revolt, it is unlikely that oil sands will be back on the menu ever.
The players in Alberta are trying to fight back. Having been consolidated in less than a dozen major players – from oil sands specialists to more integrated players such as Suncor – the industry is trying to rally institutional support, stating that traditional industry is still necessary to build the clean energy industries of the future. Suncor’s CEO Mark Little puts it this way: ‘this is way more complicated (than its seems)… the wind farm can’t be the solution to every problem. It’s not. So we need to find innovative solutions.” The oil sands patch’s biggest players are also banding together to form an alliance to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – similar to the goals of most energy majors – as it tries to convince not just the world, but also Canada’s own government that Alberta has a continued role in the country’s energy transition. Efforts include linking facilities in Ford McMurray and Cold Lake to a carbon sequestration hub, expanding carbon capture and storage technology, accelerating clean hydrogen and other clean technologies such as direct air capture and fuel switching. The timeframe and viability of this is critical, given that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already announced plans to raise Canada’s carbon price steeply to accelerate its energy transition.
Those are bold plans and bold ambitions. But will it be enough? Can the exodus be stemmed? Or will the industry be whittled down to a handful of local players isolated from the wider energy world, removed from climate change engagement completely? It is difficult to tell at this point, but at the very least, things are starting to move in the right direction. Even if the pace is as slow as the crude sludge mined in Alberta.
End of article
Market Outlook:
- Crude price trading range: Brent – US$71-73/b, WTI – US$69-71/b
- Confidence in the crude markets has vaulted global price benchmarks to their highest level in two years, with both Brent and WTI exceeding the US$70/b psychological level
- Underpinning this rally are signs that vaccinations are boosting economic activity, with the likelihood of some travel and hospitality sectors reopening fully across the northern hemisphere’s summer, while crude marker indication show tightness in the market
- That will reinforce OPEC+’s position to ease its supply quotas from July onwards, with club’s goal likely to be keeping prices around US$70/b – a level that should stabilise internal finances and budgets for most member countries.
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Today we will certainly discuss industrial timber pellet mill Most of us know that contemporary society promotes the recycling of resources, especially waste wood, sawdust, straw, and so on. The timber that might not be utilized before can be refined into sawdust after squashing and also processing., sawdust as well as other raw materials, advertise the recycling of waste wood, as well as facilitate our lives.
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Sawdust source has the features of high calorific value as well as reduced emission of unsafe gas. It can be used as a high-quality biomass resources for power usage, which can lower the intake of non-renewable energy such as coal, oil as well as natural gas. Currently, the energy use techniques of sawdust in my country generally consist of: straight combustion heating, granulation, gasification, liquefaction as well as carbonization.
Around us, waste wood, branches, waste wood scraps, bark, branches, waste boards, veneers, furnishings factory scraps, assorted wood, etc can be grated into sawdust, and also biomass pellet fuel is generated through the industrial timber pellet mill The finished product has high burning efficiency and little harm to the atmosphere, which can be claimed to kill two birds with one rock.
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1. Making use of industrial timber pellet mill.
The industrial wood pellet mill is a good gadget that can make sawdust energy. There are numerous house suppliers, which produce a large quantity of sawdust each year. Nevertheless, due to the influence of standard manufacturing techniques and also living routines, the use price of sawdust is extremely low, and a substantial amount of sawdust sources are disposed of or blazed, which not just creates waste of sources, yet additionally pollutes the air. The use of industrial timber pellet mills successfully recycles these resources.
Over the years, Richi Machinery has actually focused on the research and development, design and also production of commercial timber pellet mills, wood cutting pellet machines, sawdust pellet makers, biomass pellet machines, wood pulverizers, timber pellet assembly line, timber processing tools and also various other items. All items have passed ISO9001 :2008 The international high quality monitoring system qualification as well as EU CE qualification have gotten to the worldwide sophisticated degree, as well as the items swiftly cover the domestic market and are exported to countries all over the world.
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Considering that its facility, Richi Machinery has won the honorary titles of "Advanced High Quality Device" and " Top Quality Trustworthy Unit" each year, and also has been identified as a national AAA-level enterprise for high quality, track record and service. The firm has actually always stuck to the principle of " top quality first, online reputation initially", according to the tenet of "survive by top quality, and also look for take advantage of development", exerting its own benefits as well as gradually increasing its scale. In the future, the industrialized people will make persistent efforts to establish and develop products that are well gotten by residential and also foreign customers, as well as stroll in the forefront of the industry.
2. The development possibility of industrial wood pellet mill.
Over the last few years, many nations have better enhanced the development of brand-new power as well as the management of environmental issues. Biomass commercial wood pellet mills are not only environmentally friendly and also resource-saving, but also bring us economic value. They have been affirmed by several individuals as well as buddies, and the market sales are likewise high. For that reason, the development prospect of commercial wood pellet mill can be claimed to be extremely excellent.
Related post: biomass wood pellet plant in Indonesia
In order to meet the demands of different life as well as production, industrial wood pellet mills have actually likewise been innovated and also upgraded. These cutting-edge technical products are made use of more and more widely in our lives. It brings us a very safe material for individuals's livelihood heating and also living power. This gas has a high usage price and is simple to shop. Especially, it can be made use of as the primary gas type for thermal power generation, which greatly replaces the existing ones. Different non-renewable power sources such as raw coal and firewood, gas dissolved gas, etc can successfully save the input of non-renewable fuel.
This strong gas that has actually been crushed as well as pressed by an industrial wood pellet mill has outstanding burning performance. Its thickness is larger than that of common fuels, and at the same time, the launch of various unsafe gases is reduced. It is a safe, green as well as environmentally friendly gas kind.
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When individuals have a complete understanding of the strong gas of "biomass pellet fuel", the marketplace demand for industrial wood pellet mills as well as various other mechanical devices is also boosting. The advent of industrial timber pellet mill has actually developed remarkable economic value and also social worth.
Now, countries around the world pay more and more focus to the security of the environment and the application of numerous power sources. The innovative study of industrial wood pellet mill has brought us the efficient use of renewable energy to a huge extent, enabling us to obtain convenient, energy-saving, pollution-free eco-friendly power, and likewise bring us excellent resource maintenance. Obviously, when we use the biomass timber pellet mill maker, we should follow the operating specs and also its collection of needs for material processing and also manufacturing, so as to increase its result as high as feasible as well as prolong its service life.
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It is no secret that the COVID-19 epidemic has forced us all to make significant changes in our lives. Remote work has been an option for businesses; K-12 schools have adopted distance learning as a necessity; many college students, who were previously enrolled in on-campus courses, now have to learn online.
While online learning carries many positive benefits that make it the preferred choice for millions of students, it doesn't come without its challenges--especially for students who are more familiar with in-person courses.
Here are seven tips from Jonathan Small (associate vice president for online learning at Regis College), that will help you to adapt your study habits to fully online learning.
Tips for Online Classes1. Take the time to plan ahead and understand when your assignment is due.Online students interact with the subject matter and complete assignments via learning management software (LMS). Regis offers online classes through Moodle. Other popular tools include Canvas and Blackboard.
It doesn't matter what LMS you use, it is important that you take the time to familiarize yourself with the interface as well as your assignments. Take a look at the due dates for your assignments so you can create a realistic plan to complete them.
Small says that online classes are often structured in modular formats, which is different from face-to-face classes. You don't always have the physical reminder that your work is due in class. Online classes can be very busy, so students must organize their time.
2. Make sure you have enough time to study.Many students at Regis and other universities pursue their education while also fulfilling other obligations. You have to balance work, childcare, family obligations, and internships.
Small says, "Chunking tasks is a great way for students to feel accomplished." You feel like you are making progress. You can also schedule a time to study, which will help you establish and maintain a routine.
3. Regular communication is essential for group projects.Many college courses include group projects and assignments that you must compete with others in the class. This is true for both online and in-person courses. Small says that while in-person courses allow for group projects and bring people together face to face, online students must be careful about communicating effectively.
Groups must prioritize communication, regardless of whether it's via Zoom, email or phone call, instant messaging, shared documents, or any other form altogether.
Small says, "Find a system which works for everyone in your group and then follow up often."
4. Split up work groups early.It is important that groups are able to properly divide tasks so that everyone has a fair share and everyone knows exactly what they have to do.
Small advises that group projects should be planned far in advance so that everyone can share the work and coordinate their efforts. This way, even if something isn’t due for a few more weeks, everyone has the opportunity to use their time and work on their tasks as they can.
5. Keep in touch with your professor frequently.As important as it is to communicate with your classmates and group members, it's equally important that you communicate with your instructor or professor. Whether you need help with an assignment, or simply want to share your struggles with them, make the effort to contact your professor.
Small says that talking to your instructor is key to success. Small says that you don't have to struggle with your questions and concerns alone. The professor can help. Talking to your instructor for five minutes can help you save days of stress. You will feel better, get more clarity, and be more successful.
You don't have to communicate only when things are going wrong. You can build a rapport with your instructor by letting them know when things are going well.
6. Participate as often as you canParticipation is key to your success, no matter if you are taking classes online or in person. Active participation not only shows your professor you are engaged but also shows you are learning and willing to do the work required to succeed. Participation transforms education from a passive process to one that is active.
Small says that the more you take part as a student the better your experience will be.
7. Flexibility is key.Flexibility is key to online learning, both for you and your fellow students--and even your professors.
Small says, "Remember that your instructors had only to switch to remote teaching within a weekend. That's the same time it took to transition to online learning."
"This happened by accident. It's possible to restore the campus community by simply being compassionate, active in your course material, and talking to your instructors. This will make the transition smoother.
Put in the WorkOnline learning might not be your first choice. However, the tips and advice above will help you make the most of your online courses. Clear and open communication with your classmates and instructors, as well as staying focused on the course material, will be key to your success in this difficult time.
Related article from studentjob.co.uk : http://www.studentjob.co.uk/blog/5757-best-online-exam-help-top-five-websites-you-can-trust
Related Resources:
Are Online Classes Worth It? 12 Pros & Cons Of Online Learning
Tips to Be Successful in Your Online Classes In 2022
5 Reasons Why Online Learning is the Future of Education
The Impact of Online Classes on Students
One of the most popular literary devices or genres is Satire. This genre is especially designed to criticize someone or group of people for their vices, wrongdoings, or shortcomings.
Usually, humor is used to highlight important political and cultural issues in a society. A satire article is a type essay that uses humor, sarcasm, and irony to ridicule a person, situation, or ideology. It pokes fun in an elite and sarcastic fashion at certain people or situations.
How to Write Satire Essays: Writing Tips
How do you write a satire article? It doesn't have to be difficult, even though it seems daunting. However, once you use the following tips, it can be an easy task to write a satire article.
Choose a relevant and original topic
This is why you will need to create a satire essay. Your first step is to pick a satirical essay topic. You may be assigned a topic by your professor or teacher in some instances, but you would need to create your topic.
Decide the topic of your essay. Depending on what you are interested in, you can choose to concentrate on either a political or societal situation.
However, it's a good idea to choose a topic you are already familiar with. This will make it easier to locate facts and evidence to support the views you hold.
Consider your audience
Your essay is the center of attention. You must consider your audience at every stage of the writing process. Your essay should be addressed to college professors or high school students.
Are professionals reading it or are you just a student? It is important to consider your audience and determine the right tone for your essay.
A casual tone is acceptable if your target audience is mostly friends and students. It's best to use a formal tone if your target audience is professionals.
Add humor!
What makes a humorous essay so engaging? It is the topic, or the writer's writing style that makes satire essays so interesting. Humor is the key ingredient to any satire essay. You want your audience to laugh at the absurdity or inanity of a person or situation. Irony, sarcasm or hyperbole are all great ways to accomplish this end.
These devices can be very effective if used in a thoughtful manner.
Be clear about the facts
Because satirical essays often use exaggeration and humor, it is crucial to write an essay that is straightforward. An essay that contains false or misleading information will not be accepted by the court of public opinion.
Therefore, facts should only be stated that are supported by strong evidence. If you want to give credibility, be sure to cite the source of your information after citing figures, theories, opinions, etc.
This would ensure your audience that your essay was credible. Avoid including arguments that you are unable to prove or find evidence.
Use the ELP Format
ELP format is a great tool to ensure that your satire essay will be professional and high-quality. ELP is an acronym that stands for ethos, logos, and pathos.
These three elements make up a large part of an essay and can either help or hinder your work. These elements are important and can be used in your essay.
Ethos informs readers about the topic at hand and their preexisting beliefs. To provide a foundation for readers, Ethos should be used as a tool in the introduction.
Logos give credibility to your work by providing facts and figures for the audience.
As the name implies, pathos will elicit the appropriate emotions and feelings from your audience. You can use this tool to invoke sadness, sympathy, anger or any other emotion.
Be tolerant
It is important to avoid making offensive statements in satire essays, even though they are often filled with irony or sarcasm.
Your audience will likely include people from all walks of life. Therefore, it is important not to make comments that could be considered discriminatory or offensive for a particular section.
The art of discerning the right line between humor and offensiveness is delicate and requires practice. You can ask teachers or colleagues to give you second opinions so that your essay doesn't offend.
Learn more at: https://proessays.net/blog/40-witty-topics-for-a-satirical-essay