Questões para Concursos

Low Oil Prices Could Be Good
for Electricity and Renewables

By Robert Fares
Since I first wrote about the price of oil last
December, the global oil price has fallen to levels
not seen in over five years. For many, the recent
price decline brings back memories of the 1980s oil
5 price collapse, which followed the 70s oil price spike
and drew attention away from renewable energy
and other alternatives — famously prompting U.S.
President Ronald Reagan to remove the White House
solar panels that had been installed by the previous
10 administration.
Thankfully, this time around, the outlook for
renewable energy isn’t so bleak. In fact, it is possible
low oil prices could actually improve the economics
of renewable energy. It all comes down to the
15 relationship between oil and gas production and the
price of electricity, which directly affects the bottom
line of technologies like wind and solar.
In 1973, the year the Arab Oil Embargo caused
a steep rise in oil prices, the United States produced
20 17 percent of its electricity using petroleum. When the
oil price increased, the price of electricity increased
too. This increase in price prompted greater interest in
domestic sources of electricity, like coal, nuclear, and
renewable energy.
25 Due in part to the turn away from oil in the 70s,
today the United States produces just 0.7 percent of
its electricity using petroleum. Therefore, the price of
oil has no direct impact on the price of electricity. Most
electricity comes from coal (39 percent) and natural
30 gas (27 percent), with the remainder coming from
nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and other renewables.
The fuel with the most direct impact on the price
of electricity is natural gas, because natural gas
generation often sets the price of electricity in the
35 market. To gauge how low oil prices might affect the
price of electricity, it’s really important to think about
how they might affect the price of natural gas.
Although oil and natural gas prices have
decoupled in recent years, there is still an indirect link
40 between the price of oil and the price of natural gas,
because both oil and natural gas are often produced
from the same well. While most U.S. natural gas is
produced from wells drilled for the express purpose
of extracting gas, a portion comes from wells that
45 are drilled to extract oil, but produce natural gas as
a byproduct. This “associated gas” or “casinghead
gas” is often flared in regions like the Bakken in North
Dakota, which has limited pipeline infrastructure.
However, in regions like Texas’s Eagle Ford and
50 Permian Basin, this gas is often injected into the
existing pipeline network. Because drillers are really
after the more-valuable oil, associated natural gas is
often simply dumped into the pipelines at little or no
cost — depressing the overall price of natural gas.
55 The Railroad Commission of Texas, which
regulates the oil and gas industry, collects separate
data on natural gas produced from gas wells and
natural gas produced as a byproduct from oil wells.
These data show that, while overall Texas natural gas
60 production has increased since 2008, the amount
of gas produced from purpose-drilled gas wells has
actually declined. On the other hand, natural gas
associated with oil production has increased markedly
since 2008.
Available at:
low-oil-prices-could-be-good-for-electricity-and-renewables/>.
Retrieved on: Nov. 10th, 2015. Adapted.

From Security to Efficiency: Modern Vessel Tracking

More so than many other fields of business, the
maritime industry is focused on cost, which in turn
gives the appearance of being conservative towards
technology. Certainly, we have technical ships
5 magnificently operating with equipment that wouldn’t
look out of place in a NASA lab, but generally, it can
take decades for a technology to become mainstream.
Unless it becomes mandated by the IMO (International
Maritime Organization). Vessel tracking is a partial
10 exception to the rule though, with many fleet owners
realizing its potential for more cost-effective operation
and personnel security.
Knowing the exact position of all vessels in a
fleet, in a software solution designed to fit with your
15 own logistical processes, can significantly improve
efficiency. If a ship arrives early or late, more often
than not there will be an associated cost. If this can
be identified during transit then the early or late arrival
can be negated or at least planned for. Likewise, if
20 by knowing the positions of your fleet of workboats
means that you can route the closest vessel to the
next job, then significant fuel cost savings can be
made. With modern tracking systems, the way data is
used is just as important as knowing where a vessel
25 is at all times. But there are countless ways to apply
the data to the benefit of efficiency for a single ship
or fleet. So providing easy and reliable access to
position reports is essential.

A new tracking unit

30 ___ RockFLEET is an advanced new tracking unit
for the professional maritime environment. During
its design phase, the team decided that in order for
the position data it provides to be of the most use,
as well as being available via Rock Seven’s own
35 fleet viewer ‘The Core,’ it must also be available in
any software system the user chooses. Using a
standards-based API (Application Programming
Interface), the customer can integrate tracking data
from RockFLEET into their own applications. Typically
40 this means that RockFLEET tracked assets can be
added to existing fleet management software, which
invariably is designed around an owner or operators
own logistics.
With precise vessel location data available,
45 the opportunities are unlimited and only down to the
creativity of the user. For instance, a current Rock
Seven customer uses location data to manage payroll
of personnel. Essentially, personnel get paid different
amounts depending on whether the ship is at sea, in
50 international waters, in port or transiting regions with
high piracy incidents.

RockFLEET, a unique device

The above user is a private security company
involved in anti-piracy operations. It actually gets
55 location data using RockSTAR, the handheld version
of RockFLEET, which is a new fixed unit that can be
fitted anywhere on board. Completely waterproof and
with no moving parts, it is a robust, ultra-compact
(13cm diameter/4cm high) device with multiple
60 mounting options. The physical design of RockFLEET
was in part driven by the security challenges faced by
vessels facing the issues of modern piracy.
The unit itself is designed to look anonymous;
as standard there’s no name on the outside. It works
65 from ship’s power, but it uniquely has a backup battery
inside. Which is important should a vessel be hijacked
and the main power cut.
Knowing the location of all friendly vessels in a
region is vital to organisations with a stake in ensuring
70 safe passage through known piracy hotspots. With an
operational vessel/fleet tracking system, ship owners
and fleet managers will know where their ships are at
all times. This information can be fed to authorities,
private anti-piracy companies and the naval forces
75 patrolling piracy hotspots to build a clear, near
real-time picture for domain awareness. The value of
this information should a vessel be hijacked is obvious:
knowing the last whereabouts of a vessel provides
responders with a starting point should a hijacked
80 vessel’s tracking system be disabled by pirates.
Today’s pirates know that many commercial
vessels are tracked, especially those would be targets
sailing in what are known to be hostile waters. So
disabling vessel tracking equipment on board is a
85 sensible action for said pirates after a hijacked ship’s
crew have been subdued and because most tracking
units are powered by the vessel, finding and cutting
the power supply isn’t hard. RockFLEET, however,
is the only device of its kind with an internal battery
90 backup, so it can continue to transmit position for up
to two weeks if external power is cut.
With facility to mount covertly, this makes it
especially suitable for vessels traversing piracy
hotspots.

Available at: .
Retrieved on: Jan, 7 th , 2015. Adapted.

From Security to Efficiency: Modern Vessel Tracking

More so than many other fields of business, the
maritime industry is focused on cost, which in turn
gives the appearance of being conservative towards
technology. Certainly, we have technical ships
5 magnificently operating with equipment that wouldn’t
look out of place in a NASA lab, but generally, it can
take decades for a technology to become mainstream.
Unless it becomes mandated by the IMO (International
Maritime Organization). Vessel tracking is a partial
10 exception to the rule though, with many fleet owners
realizing its potential for more cost-effective operation
and personnel security.
Knowing the exact position of all vessels in a
fleet, in a software solution designed to fit with your
15 own logistical processes, can significantly improve
efficiency. If a ship arrives early or late, more often
than not there will be an associated cost. If this can
be identified during transit then the early or late arrival
can be negated or at least planned for. Likewise, if
20 by knowing the positions of your fleet of workboats
means that you can route the closest vessel to the
next job, then significant fuel cost savings can be
made. With modern tracking systems, the way data is
used is just as important as knowing where a vessel
25 is at all times. But there are countless ways to apply
the data to the benefit of efficiency for a single ship
or fleet. So providing easy and reliable access to
position reports is essential.

A new tracking unit

30 ___ RockFLEET is an advanced new tracking unit
for the professional maritime environment. During
its design phase, the team decided that in order for
the position data it provides to be of the most use,
as well as being available via Rock Seven’s own
35 fleet viewer ‘The Core,’ it must also be available in
any software system the user chooses. Using a
standards-based API (Application Programming
Interface), the customer can integrate tracking data
from RockFLEET into their own applications. Typically
40 this means that RockFLEET tracked assets can be
added to existing fleet management software, which
invariably is designed around an owner or operators
own logistics.
With precise vessel location data available,
45 the opportunities are unlimited and only down to the
creativity of the user. For instance, a current Rock
Seven customer uses location data to manage payroll
of personnel. Essentially, personnel get paid different
amounts depending on whether the ship is at sea, in
50 international waters, in port or transiting regions with
high piracy incidents.

RockFLEET, a unique device

The above user is a private security company
involved in anti-piracy operations. It actually gets
55 location data using RockSTAR, the handheld version
of RockFLEET, which is a new fixed unit that can be
fitted anywhere on board. Completely waterproof and
with no moving parts, it is a robust, ultra-compact
(13cm diameter/4cm high) device with multiple
60 mounting options. The physical design of RockFLEET
was in part driven by the security challenges faced by
vessels facing the issues of modern piracy.
The unit itself is designed to look anonymous;
as standard there’s no name on the outside. It works
65 from ship’s power, but it uniquely has a backup battery
inside. Which is important should a vessel be hijacked
and the main power cut.
Knowing the location of all friendly vessels in a
region is vital to organisations with a stake in ensuring
70 safe passage through known piracy hotspots. With an
operational vessel/fleet tracking system, ship owners
and fleet managers will know where their ships are at
all times. This information can be fed to authorities,
private anti-piracy companies and the naval forces
75 patrolling piracy hotspots to build a clear, near
real-time picture for domain awareness. The value of
this information should a vessel be hijacked is obvious:
knowing the last whereabouts of a vessel provides
responders with a starting point should a hijacked
80 vessel’s tracking system be disabled by pirates.
Today’s pirates know that many commercial
vessels are tracked, especially those would be targets
sailing in what are known to be hostile waters. So
disabling vessel tracking equipment on board is a
85 sensible action for said pirates after a hijacked ship’s
crew have been subdued and because most tracking
units are powered by the vessel, finding and cutting
the power supply isn’t hard. RockFLEET, however,
is the only device of its kind with an internal battery
90 backup, so it can continue to transmit position for up
to two weeks if external power is cut.
With facility to mount covertly, this makes it
especially suitable for vessels traversing piracy
hotspots.

Available at: .
Retrieved on: Jan, 7 th , 2015. Adapted.