THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY AND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL    EXXON-MOBIL    CHEVRON-TEXACO    BP-AMOCO


"Global demand for clean energy -- natural gas, renewables, electricity and new energy technologies -- will grow faster than overall demand for energy, including oil and coal....that doesn't mean that the market for oil , or coal -- is going to dry up any time soon. It won't. There will continue to be a large market for these fuels for years and years to come. It just means that the market share for carbon-rich fuels will diminish, as the demand for other forms of energy grows.... energy companies have a choice: to embrace the future and recognize the growing demand for a wide array of fuels; or ignore reality, and slowly -- but surely -- be left behind." *     I have often heard the argument that "Big-Oil" will never allow the Hydrogen and other alternative energy sectors to emerge.

My research to date seems to indicate otherwise, it appears that "Big-Oil" knows its days are numbered and appears to have adopted the  attitude "If you can't beat them - join them"   Shell hydrogen, a division of Royal Dutch Shell is a primary player, perhaps the preeminent leading force Internationally  in the  Fuel Cell sector, In 2001 , Phil Watts, of Royal Dutch Shell, gave a remarkable speech in New York that Shell, one of the largest oil companies in the world, was preparing for the "End of the Hydrocarbon Age."

Texaco, Exxon-Mobil and others are also staking out their territory. Texaco for instance at one time had a 20% interest in, and has joint ventures with Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) , and has also acquired a 5% interest in Accumentrics . For more specific information on individual companies involvement click the links above

 

EXXON-MOBIL  

ExxonMobil has joined the California Fuel Cell Partnership, and among other ventures also has a research collaboration with both General Motors and Toyota to develop an on-board, gasoline processor for fuel cell vehicles. The processor uses gasoline as a fuel to create hydrogen that is used by the fuel cell to power the vehicle.  Full Report on ExxonMobil

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL

Established Shell Hydrogen in 1999 to pursue and develop business opportunities related to hydrogen and fuel cells on a global basis , one of the founding members of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, a unique collaboration of fuel companies and , auto manufacturers. Full Report on Royal Dutch Shell

CHEVRON-TEXACO      

Chronology of Activities

 

In addition to its involvement in the FuelCell Arena, ChevronTexaco is developing new technologies that can efficiently convert unmarketable or low-value hydrocarbons into cleaner, high-quality liquid fuels, including diesel. Hydrocarbons-to-Liquid (HTL) technology, natural gas, low-grade solid and liquid hydrocarbons  Full Report on ChevronTexaco

BP-AMOCO               

Chronology of Activities

 

Of the Big Four Oil Giants BP Amoco Has delved the least into the Hydrogen sector. Although they have expressed interest ,their primary interests in Alternative energy appears to be Solar Power And Natural Gas

 

"There is lots of hydrogen in the world, but it is all either bound to carbon or oxygen. We are working on a number of projects that involve converting natural gas and other hydrocarbons into efficient sources of hydrogen........ We are beginning to think about more efficient ways of producing hydrogen from water. To do this, improving the efficiency of solar power is probably the best short term option, which our solar company, BP Solarex, has as one of its main objectives." *Mike R. Bowlin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer BP-AMOCO
 

Read -Powering The Future


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