Best Of

FPT

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Surely this latest war is just more evidence we need to stop importing energy which surely means more renewables? How can anyone disagree.

There are some alternatives. We could have massive strategic reserves of gas and oil that the government can release in an emergency (see Japan). We could nationalise and massively subsidise O&G production to isolate the industry from global energy prices and boost domestic production. Coal in theory could work because it's easy to store, we'd just need to import lots of it and, again, nationalise it in preperation for a period like this.

These aren't cost-free options though.

The massive gas storage facility which Conservative governments decided wasn't worth the cost of subsidising would have probably been the most cost effective mitigation.

As a I understand it the North Sea would make an excellent gas storage facility, if we hadn't drilled it so extensively. That's why Rough is unusual for being a decent UK option, neglected until 2022 and the Ukraine invasion.

Richard_Tyndall is online however so he can put me straight.

The problem is not how much we have drilled. Indeed drilling/producing a field is a pre-requisite to reduce the existing volumes/pressures in the formation so you can then use it to store gas. And the cement we use to abandon wells is, by necessity, stronger than the surrounding formations. This is my job these days, abandoning hundreds of wells across the North Sea and Denmark. As long as it is done properly then it has no impact on the storage capabilities.

The problem with the gas storage is that continualy pumping gas into and out of the formation weakens it over time. Rough has no where near the capacity it had at the start of its storage life because of this. And suprisingly the number of fields suitable for such storage are vanishingly small. I am not aware currently of any other serious contenders for gas storage in the UK sector - although some of those being looked at for CCS might be suitable. Germany generally uses salt as the storage formation for its gas reserves which is much more stable but in the North Sea the Zechstein Salts are much deeper which causes a lot of additional problems as the pressures are higher and salt under pressure acts like a fluid and flows.

I am sure there are suitable targets but successive governments over the last 40 years have not really invested in looking for or apppraising them.

Sadly, creating storage caverns with large nuclear weapons doesn't work either.

UK gas consumption has been falling for 20 years. 2024 saw the lowest consumption since 1992, I believe. Big investment in storage capacity does not seem like a priority.

There is little prospect that we won't need some form of gas backup for decades to come. No matter what the Greens try to claim, renewables are not reliable enough at present to provide security of supply. And since we are dragging our feet over those non-hydrocarbon fuel sources which are reliable - nuclear and wave power - gas is really the only viable alternative. If you believe, as I do, that the world is becoming less secure for the foreseeable future then we do need some form of storage that will help assure our supply.

We should also build far more coal fired power stations. It generated our electricity for decades, it's abundant globally, it's easy to store and it's relatively cheap. The Chinese are building dozens.

That, reopening the North Sea, axing the green crap and abandoning the insane marginal pricing rule would start to bring our energy prices down to competitive levels.

Why are people still pushing the ridiculous conspiracy theories about Epstein “being murdered”, or whatever. I’m sick and tired of it. This is just the latest vapid bilge from the Telegraph


“The last prison guard to see Jeffrey Epstein alive made suspicious cash deposits in the 12 months before his death, US Department of Justice (DoJ) files reveal.

“Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York on Aug 10, 2019. His death was ruled a suicide.

“Tova Noel, 37, one of two officers accused of falsifying prisoner record checks that night, made a final cash deposit of $5,000 (£3,729) into her bank account less than a fortnight earlier on July 30.

“A total of 12 ATM cash deposits, beginning in October 2018, were flagged by her bank to the FBI in a “suspicious activity report” in November 2019.

“Ms Noel and her colleague Michael Thomas were fired after being accused of falsifying records to claim they checked on Epstein during the night before his suicide on Aug 10 that year.

“CCTV footage revealed the pair did not check on Epstein for eight hours, despite his cell being just 15 feet from the guards’ desk.

Criminal charges against them were later dropped.”


Why can’t people just let it go? Jeffrey Epstein was a nasty criminal but in the end he was better and he realised he’d done bad things and stuff, and decided to off himself as a punishment to himself. Indeed he was so honourable at the end he killed himself when it wouldn’t be too upsetting because all the guards were asleep. Just accept it and stop talking about it.

Funny. Of all the conspiracy theories you buy into and THIS is the one that is a step too far?

I think Leon is having a little joke.

Why are people still pushing the ridiculous conspiracy theories about Epstein “being murdered”, or whatever. I’m sick and tired of it. This is just the latest vapid bilge from the Telegraph


“The last prison guard to see Jeffrey Epstein alive made suspicious cash deposits in the 12 months before his death, US Department of Justice (DoJ) files reveal.

“Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York on Aug 10, 2019. His death was ruled a suicide.

“Tova Noel, 37, one of two officers accused of falsifying prisoner record checks that night, made a final cash deposit of $5,000 (£3,729) into her bank account less than a fortnight earlier on July 30.

“A total of 12 ATM cash deposits, beginning in October 2018, were flagged by her bank to the FBI in a “suspicious activity report” in November 2019.

“Ms Noel and her colleague Michael Thomas were fired after being accused of falsifying records to claim they checked on Epstein during the night before his suicide on Aug 10 that year.

“CCTV footage revealed the pair did not check on Epstein for eight hours, despite his cell being just 15 feet from the guards’ desk.

Criminal charges against them were later dropped.”


Why can’t people just let it go? Jeffrey Epstein was a nasty criminal but in the end he was better and he realised he’d done bad things and stuff, and decided to off himself as a punishment to himself. Indeed he was so honourable at the end he killed himself when it wouldn’t be too upsetting because all the guards were asleep. Just accept it and stop talking about it.

Funny. Of all the conspiracy theories you buy into and THIS is the one that is a step too far?

I think Leon is having a little joke.

A joke vastly improved by most of PB not getting it

You oversell yourself, sir.

It was about as subtle as one of @TSE's thread headers.

I think the Tory problem is simple. If you want a Reform government you vote Reform. If you don't, you vote for the party that can beat Reform in your seat AND certainly won't help them govern. It doesn't matter what they say, people will believe the Tories might sustain a Reform government.

If (like me) you want an old fashioned One Nation Tory government, tough.

The Tory dilemma may be insoluble for now.

The problem is if the Tories rule out supporting Reform the follow up questions are likely to result in the Tories calling Reform out as the racists they are.

And you can’t call your potential voters racist.

Why are people still pushing the ridiculous conspiracy theories about Epstein “being murdered”, or whatever. I’m sick and tired of it. This is just the latest vapid bilge from the Telegraph


“The last prison guard to see Jeffrey Epstein alive made suspicious cash deposits in the 12 months before his death, US Department of Justice (DoJ) files reveal.

“Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York on Aug 10, 2019. His death was ruled a suicide.

“Tova Noel, 37, one of two officers accused of falsifying prisoner record checks that night, made a final cash deposit of $5,000 (£3,729) into her bank account less than a fortnight earlier on July 30.

“A total of 12 ATM cash deposits, beginning in October 2018, were flagged by her bank to the FBI in a “suspicious activity report” in November 2019.

“Ms Noel and her colleague Michael Thomas were fired after being accused of falsifying records to claim they checked on Epstein during the night before his suicide on Aug 10 that year.

“CCTV footage revealed the pair did not check on Epstein for eight hours, despite his cell being just 15 feet from the guards’ desk.

Criminal charges against them were later dropped.”


Why can’t people just let it go? Jeffrey Epstein was a nasty criminal but in the end he was better and he realised he’d done bad things and stuff, and decided to off himself as a punishment to himself. Indeed he was so honourable at the end he killed himself when it wouldn’t be too upsetting because all the guards were asleep. Just accept it and stop talking about it.

Funny. Of all the conspiracy theories you buy into and THIS is the one that is a step too far?

I think Leon is having a little joke.

A joke vastly improved by most of PB not getting it

FPT

.

Surely this latest war is just more evidence we need to stop importing energy which surely means more renewables? How can anyone disagree.

There are some alternatives. We could have massive strategic reserves of gas and oil that the government can release in an emergency (see Japan). We could nationalise and massively subsidise O&G production to isolate the industry from global energy prices and boost domestic production. Coal in theory could work because it's easy to store, we'd just need to import lots of it and, again, nationalise it in preperation for a period like this.

These aren't cost-free options though.

The massive gas storage facility which Conservative governments decided wasn't worth the cost of subsidising would have probably been the most cost effective mitigation.

As a I understand it the North Sea would make an excellent gas storage facility, if we hadn't drilled it so extensively. That's why Rough is unusual for being a decent UK option, neglected until 2022 and the Ukraine invasion.

Richard_Tyndall is online however so he can put me straight.

The problem is not how much we have drilled. Indeed drilling/producing a field is a pre-requisite to reduce the existing volumes/pressures in the formation so you can then use it to store gas. And the cement we use to abandon wells is, by necessity, stronger than the surrounding formations. This is my job these days, abandoning hundreds of wells across the North Sea and Denmark. As long as it is done properly then it has no impact on the storage capabilities.

The problem with the gas storage is that continualy pumping gas into and out of the formation weakens it over time. Rough has no where near the capacity it had at the start of its storage life because of this. And suprisingly the number of fields suitable for such storage are vanishingly small. I am not aware currently of any other serious contenders for gas storage in the UK sector - although some of those being looked at for CCS might be suitable. Germany generally uses salt as the storage formation for its gas reserves which is much more stable but in the North Sea the Zechstein Salts are much deeper which causes a lot of additional problems as the pressures are higher and salt under pressure acts like a fluid and flows.

I am sure there are suitable targets but successive governments over the last 40 years have not really invested in looking for or apppraising them.

Sadly, creating storage caverns with large nuclear weapons doesn't work either.

UK gas consumption has been falling for 20 years. 2024 saw the lowest consumption since 1992, I believe. Big investment in storage capacity does not seem like a priority.

There is little prospect that we won't need some form of gas backup for decades to come. No matter what the Greens try to claim, renewables are not reliable enough at present to provide security of supply. And since we are dragging our feet over those non-hydrocarbon fuel sources which are reliable - nuclear and wave power - gas is really the only viable alternative. If you believe, as I do, that the world is becoming less secure for the foreseeable future then we do need some form of storage that will help assure our supply.