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December 2011

2012 Global Energy Outlook

Causes of Arab Discontent Unresolved
page 4

European Power: Recovery Postponed

page 23

Innovation and Inspiration: Energizing

Change in the Industry and the Economy
page 102

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insight

Publishers Note

Patsy Wurster

The 2011 Global Energy Outlook issue of Platts Insighta key resource for shortand long-term planningdraws on the rst hand knowledge and expertise of just
a few of the 250 Platts editorial thought leaders from across the globe. In the following pages they discuss and identify key issues from 2011 and uncover potential
pitfalls and opportunities for 2012.
Dont miss the inside story on this years Platts Global Energy Awards winners.
While the panel of eight Global Energy Awards judges consider the nominees nancial performance, they also go beyond that metric to carefully consider a companys
other performance indicators including customer focus, community involvement,
integrity and leadership before granting one of these prestigious awards.
This years Global Leaders Section showcases many of this years Global Energy
Awards nalists who are making major advances in their local communities and
across the world through exceptional leadership and innovation.
The 2011 Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company RankingsTM are also featured
in this issue. Each year, Platts ranks the worlds top energy companies by nancial
performance, identies whos up and whos down and provides a breakdown of
the Top 250 by industry and region, while providing commentary on trends and
movement within the list, including the fastest growing companies over a three
year period.
If youd like to learn more about Insight and see the editorial calendar for the
2012 issues, visit our web site at www.events.platts.com.
Patsy Wurster
Publisher, Platts Insight

Guest Editors Note

Ross McCracken

Apocalypse Now
The world survived the 2008/09 nancial crisisor did it? Heading into 2012 and
the OECD is struggling to avoid another recession that could see energy demand
once again plummet and the current massive debt burden become structural. This
uncertainty leaves energy sector investment plans in the balance as the expectation
of steady growth in demand is once again replaced by possible contraction.
Uncertainty is by no means restricted to the demand side. Yemen and Syria were
both on the brink of civil war as the conict in Libya wound down. In North Africa and the Middle East the aspirations of the Arab Spring have yet to be met. The
region that is home to the bulk of the worlds remaining conventional crude oil
supplies remains politically fragile.
And amidst all the doom and gloom, energy prices remain high, at least for oil and
coal. These internationally traded commodities are sustained by the Asian growth
storythe belief that the scale of Asias expansion is so great that any slump in
OECD demand will be but a drop in the ocean. But, at the same time, Asias growth
will cause shortages of everything from oil to bread and land.
Natural gas on the other hand is a different dish. Following US footsteps, the rest
of the world, from Jakarta to Warsaw to Johannesburg, is succumbing to shale gas
fever. This last development, while less dramatic than the political upheaval of the
Arab Spring or the economic cataclysm of the nancial crisis, is no less important.
It is a salutary reminder that for all the apocalyptic predictions that have been
made down the years, whether for food, metals, energy or indeed the weather, none
have been proved right. Technological change has always bested the Malthusians.
At a time when policy is so driven by Cassandra-esque forecasts, perhaps someone
should take stock of the record of such predictions. It aint good.
Ross McCracken
Editor, Platts Energy Economist
December 2011 insight 1

Inside
1 Publishers Note

40 Russia Embraces Asian

Energy Demand

Patsy Wurster

1 Guest Editors Note

Nadia Rodova

Ross McCracken

4 Causes of Arab Discontent Unresolved

Tamsin Carlisle

46 Winners and Losers Emerge

for Renewable Energy
David R. Jones

8 The New Normals of US Oil

John Kingston

13 Shale Replaces LNG as Gas

Consumers Savior
William Powell

52 Petchem Markets Adjust

to Changing Feed Slate
Jim Foster

59 New Era for Renewables Finance

18 Recession Proof Coal

Swami Venkataraman and Andrew Giudici

James OConnell

23 European Power: Recovery Postponed

Henry Edwardes-Evans

64 Asia Forges Ahead (Platts Top 250

Global Energy Company Rankings)
Ross McCracken

28 Prices and Prots: US Shale Gas

Bill Holland

34 Climate, Kyoto and National Security:

the Outlook for Durban
Frank Watson

102 Innovation and Inspiration:

Energizing Change in the Industry
and the Economy
Patsy Wurster

Authors

Tamsin Carlisle

Henry
Edwardes-Evans

Jim Foster

Bill Holland

David R. Jones

John Kingston

Ross McCracken

James OConnell

William Powell

Nadia Rodova

Swami
Venkataraman

Frank Watson

Tamsin Carlisle has written about the oil and gas industry for more than 20
years from bases in the Middle East and Canada. She joined the Dubai ofce of Platts as a senior editor in June, 2011, following a three-year stint in
Abu Dhabi heading energy coverage for The National, an English-language
daily newspaper launched in the UAE capital in April, 2008. Previously,
Tamsin was the Calgary-based correspondent for Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal, reporting on such issues as the rise
of Canadas oil sands sector and the countrys emergence as the biggest
source of US oil imports.
2 insight December 2011

Henry Edwardes-Evans has a bachelor of arts degree from Oxford University,

where he studied English Literature. As a trainee journalist at Financial Times
Business, he worked on a number of energy-related publications before being appointed editor of EC Energy Monthly in 1996. Henry launched and edited
the FT newsletter Power in East Europe, which subsequently became Platts
Energy in East Europe. In 2000, he took over editorship of FTs agship energy
newsletter, Power in Europe, now Platts Power in Europe, developing power
plant trackers and managing three other highly-regarded Platts newsletter
titles Energy in East Europe, Power UK and Power in Asia.

Jim Foster is a senior editor of global petrochemical analytics at Platts. He

has been with the company for more than 8 years, covering daily electricity,
aromatics and styrenics markets before leading the petrochemical analytics
initiatives. He earned a bachelors degree from Auburn University in 1994 and
completed his MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2009.
Andrew Giudici joined Standard & Poors in 2003 and has held a number of
positions there. As a director in the Utilities, Infrastructure and Project Finance
Ratings group, he is responsible for determining new and maintaining existing
ratings on a portfolio of independent power providers, Public-Private Partnerships and project nance transactions. Prior to this, Andrew was a team leader
in Structured Finance where he was responsible for managing credit ratings
on a $1 trillion portfolio. Before joining Standard & Poors, Andrew worked for
Citigroup as part of the corporate workout team. He holds a BS in economics
from Oneonta State University and an MBA from St. Johns University.
Bill Holland has been covering shale for six years as an associate editor
for Platts Gas Daily. In addition to shale developments, Bill also covers
corporate nance, bankruptcies and mergers & acquisitions in the oil and
gas industries. A graduate of St. Josephs University in Philadelphia with
degrees in English and Philosophy, Holland has also done MBA studies at
Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. Prior to becoming a reporter and editor
at newspapers, television stations and online news services in Florida, he
served 15 years in the US Navy as an aviator and deck ofcer.
David R. Jones is Platts global renewable energy editor, based in London. An
environmental journalist with 20 years experience, David edited newsletters
on US state and local government, medical waste management, oil pollution,
and solid waste before joining Platts in 2001 to cover coal and energy policy.
John Kingston, Platts global director of oil, manages a staff of almost 80
editors covering the worlds oil industry. He has been with Platts for 22
years, including stints as managing editor of Platts Oilgram Price Report and
editor-in-chief of Platts Oilgram News. Prior to joining Platts, John worked for
American Metal Market and for newspapers in New Jersey and Virginia. He
is a graduate of Washington & Lee University.
Ross McCracken, editor of Energy Economist, joined Platts in 1999 to run the
European and West African crude desk. He was previously an editor with an
Oxford University-based political and economic consultancy, and has taught

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December 2011 insight 3

Arab spring

Causes of Arab
Discontent Unresolved
Tamsin Carlisle, Senior Editor

The Arab Spring arrived late and has still to blossom

into a summer of prosperity and freedom. Instead, the
revolutionary fervor that quickly toppled two dictators and,
with much more difculty, has lately ousted a third,
continued to crest in ragged waves across the Middle East
and North Africa well into the fall of 2011.

In Tunisia and Egypt, the Arab

Spring may be running out of steam,
sapped by harsh post-revolutionary
economic realities, continuing political uncertainty and old-guard resistance to institutional reform. In Libya, the economy is broken, although
probably not irreparably so. The
countrys crude exports remain all
but halted as its oil wells struggle to
return to life and its reneries sputter.
In terms of oil and broader economic
output, Syria and Yemen are out for
the count, while political discontent
continues to rumble in Arab states as
diverse as Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco,
Algeria, Kuwait and Sudan.
Outside the Arab region, the Iranian
reform movement has, for the moment, been cowed. But sanctions are
biting and Irans key hydrocarbon sector is clearly struggling. Tehrans irascibility towards Riyadh is undiminished
and casts a wide, intransigent shadow over the worlds most important
4 insight December 2011

oil producing region. Although the

MENA region encompasses an ethnic,
cultural, economic and political mosaic of seldom appreciated diversity, the
general picture that emerges is one of
troubling volatility.

Risk Premium
With the notable exception of Libya, most of the recent upheaval in the
MENA region has been concentrated
outside of the major oil producing
states. Nonetheless, with the issues that
triggered the recent uprisings largely
unresolved, the risk of further disruptions to Persian Gulf and North African oil supplies cannot be discounted.
As Libyas unrest escalated into civil
war, it came as no surprise that the
price of the physical crude oil benchmark Dated Brent crude climbed back
towards $130 per barrel, its highest
level since July 2008. Saudi Arabia
and other Gulf Arab OPEC exporters
responded (eventually) with higher

2012 global energy outlook - Arab spring

output. Saudi Aramco even made
available a new blended light, sweet
crude, custom designed as a substitute
for the 1.6 million b/d of Libyan light,
sweet crude that had disappeared
from the market.
Yet, although no European re nery
ran short of crudeeven as the conagrated earthquake, tsunami and
nuclear disasters in Japan boosted
demand for oil from Asiathe market viewed Saudi output increases
as reducing the kingdoms spare oil
production capacity, thereby making
global oil supplies more rather than
less vulnerable to further disruptions.
Abdalla el-Badri, the OPEC secretarygeneral, has estimated the oil price
premium due to the Arab Spring at
$16 to $20/b. At a September press
brie ng in Dubai, when the Libyan con ict appeared to be winding
down, he was unsure whether that
risk premium had started to decline.
International crude prices have
trended downward during the summer and fall of 2011, but intensifying
concerns about Europes debt crisis
and stubbornly high US unemployment, combined with Beijings efforts

to curb ination and guard against

overheating are more than sufcient
to account for the decline. All these
factors would appear to presage a period of falling oil demand in developed
economies and slower demand growth
in the critically important Chinese

... the market viewed Saudi output increases

as reducing the kingdoms spare oil production
capacity, thereby making global oil supplies
more rather than less vulnerable to further
disruptions.
market. By September, the prospect
of a double-dip global recession and
an outright drop in world oil demand
loomed larger than at any time in the
past three years.
And yet, oil prices remained surprisingly robust, with Dated Brent crude
still in triple digit territory to the end
of September. The US benchmark,
West Texas Intermediate, hovered at
a signicantly lower level in the mid
$80s per barrel, but the yawning gap
between Brent and WTI is predominantly the result of local distortions in

1. Oil prices and the Arab Spring.

Dated Brent ($/b)
130
Protests and demonstrations erupt across
the Middle East and North Africa, 2/25/11

Libyan capital Tripoli

falls to rebels, 8/24/11

120

110

Self immolation of
Algerian market trader
sparks unrest in Tunisia
12/19/10
Egyptians protest against post-Mubarak
military government, 9/16/11

100

Unrest spreads in Libya,

leading to anti-Qadafi rebellion
2/16/11

90

80
Tunisian president Ben Ali
flees to Saudi Arabia
1/16/11

70

Egyptian government announces

that president Hosni Mubarak
is standing down, 2/11/11
Nationwide protests
erupt in Egypt, 1/25/11

Yemen close to
civil war, 9/24/11
Sanctions-hit Syrian
government continues
violent crackdowns on
protests, 9/26/11
Last pro-Qadafi supporters
fight on in Sirte, 10/18/11

60
10/2010

12/2010

2/2011

4/2011

6/2011

8/2011

10/2011

Source: Platts
December 2011 insight 5

2012 global energy outlook - Arab spring

North American physical crude markets due to infrastructure constraints
around the key pricing hub of Cushing, Oklahoma.
As of Fall 2011, international oil
prices seemed poised between two
opposing forces: downward pressure
from the deteriorating global economic outlook balanced by upward
pressure from lingering concerns
about MENA-region unrest. If anything, the bearish global situation

... the most troubling problem on the horizon

is the short-term failure of MENA-region
governments to address the root causes
of the Arab uprising
seemed to be carrying the day, but a
reversal due to further MENA oil export disruptions later in the year or in
2012 cannot be ruled out.
To start with, it is unclear how quickly
Libyan oil will return to the market, as
credible information on the extent of
damage to the countrys oil sector infrastructure has been slow to emerge. Preliminary anecdotal reports of only minor damage to facilities in and around
Benghazi, the rebel stronghold in eastern Libya, were somewhat reassuring,
but did not paint a comprehensive picture of the situation across the country.
A large question mark also hung
over Syrian crude supplies as international sanctions were enacted against
the discredited regime of strongman
Bashir al-Assad. For similar reasons, a
decline in Iranian oil output was on
the cards. An offsetting regional factor was early Iraqi progress in bringing
new crude supplies to market as large
development projects led by international oil companies gathered momentum. However, Iraqs precarious infrastructure is likely to cause bottlenecks
sooner rather than later.

Root Causes
However, the most troubling problem on the horizon is the short-term
failure of MENA-region governments
to address the root causes of the Arab
6 insight December 2011

uprising, namely the regions widespread and growing youth unemployment, ingrained institutional corruption resulting in social inequity and
the disenfranchisement of a large portion of the regions native and immigrant populations.
The IMF wrote in April: The unfolding events make it clear that reforms, and even rapid economic
growth as seen periodically in Tunisia and Egypt, cannot be sustained
unless they create jobs for the rapidly growing labor force and are accompanied by social policies for the
most vulnerable. For growth to be
sustainable, it must be inclusive and
broadly shared, and not just captured
by a privileged few. Endemic corruption in the region is an unacceptable
affront to the dignity of its citizens,
and the absence of transparent and
fair rules of the game will inevitably
undermine inclusive growth.
Surging food and fuel prices in
rst-half 2011 were seen as especially destabilizing for the region. The
IMF noted that various MENA region
countries including Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE,
Algeria and Yemen, had introduced
both temporary and permanent scal measures that amounted to state
hand-outs aimed at quieting political disaffection. For the most part,
they would do little to alleviate the
regions core problem of youth unemployment, it predicted.
Essentially, that means unrest
in the region could escalate at any
time. Even the Saudi regimes ability
to pay off potential protesters faces
limitations, especially if the global
economy deteriorates and takes oil
prices with it. Against this, lower
oil prices would ease the budgetary
strain faced by MENA-region oil importers such as Jordan, Tunisia and,
in recent years, Egypt. On balance,
the risk premium attributable to the
Arab Spring and continuing political
volatility in the MENA region seems
likely to stay firmly in place for the
foreseeable future, however brief
that may be.

oil

The New Normals

of US Oil
John Kingston, Director of News, Platts

The focus on spreads is coming off the trading oor and into
the boardroom. Investment decisions are being taken on the
basis that the price difference between crude oil benchmarks
West Texas Intermediate and Dated Brent and between crude
oil and natural gas will stay wide. These investments are long
term and assume that current conditions represent a new and
stable normal. The reality may be more eeting.

Spreads are something traders talk

about all the time, in their own unique
lingo. For example, Novy-Deck is
trader shorthand for the spread between a November price and a December price; the up-down represents
the price difference between the same
petroleum product, one priced at the
US Gulf Coast and the other in the
US Atlantic Coast. (One end is at the
up end of the Colonial Pipeline; the
other at the down end. Get it?) Its
all very esoteric.
Some spreads are easier to understand as a physical difference rather
than just trader talk. For example,
the ethanol business talks about the
crush spread; the relative value of
crushing corn into ethanol and selling it into the fuels market versus
keeping it as a kernel and selling it to
feed pigs and cows. The spark spread
has several de nitions, but they all
8 insight December 2011

boil down to the question of whether

its better for a utility to burn natural
gas and create electricity, or just buy
electricity generated elsewhere, and
serve part of its customer base with
the purchased watts.
Spreads dont always stay in nice
neat ranges, whether they are energy
spreads or nancial instruments. The
collapse in 1998 of hedge fund Long
Term Capital Management was easily
the most vivid example of a company
whose business plan was based on a
simple idea: spreads always come back.
It bet a lot of money on that belief,
and then watched it all evaporate as
markets chose to go their own way.
Markets do that sometimes.
In the last two to three years, energy markets have been getting to
grips with two spreads that long ago
stopped doing what theyre supposed to do. But no longer is the talk

2012 global energy outlook - oil

just about numbers on a whiteboard
at the front of a trading room, or on
a ashing screen from an exchange.
Now, those spreads are causing signicant investment decisions to be made
around them, with long-term impacts
on supply lines. In essence, companies
with physical assets, not just traders,
are starting to bet on a new normal,
but one that might just as well prove
transitory.

Key Spreads
The two spreads in question are
the Brent to West Texas Intermediate spread, historically with WTI at
a premium but blown out earlier this
year to well over $20/barrel in favor
of Brent; and the crude to US natural
gas spread, where the enormous gap
between the two is starting to have
an impact on consumption patterns
and is spurring the construction of
billion-dollar facilities to take advantage of the difference.
The reasons for the shift behind
Brent-WTI are well-known: lots of
new oil production from Canadian
oil sands and the Bakken Shale formation, heading into the NYMEX
contract delivery point of Cushing,
Oklahoma, with inadequate pipeline
capacity to take it any further beyond.
Combine that with a wave of recurring outages in the North Sea and the
loss of Libyan output, and you have
the formula for Brent-WTI to begin
2011 at about $4/b, and be at $27/b
by the time September was coming to
a close.
The gap between those two crudes
has had a physical impact that can be
seen in a number of ways. You can see
it in trains pulling more than 100 rail
cars coming out of the Bakken eld
in North Dakota, lled with crude on
their way to a destination other than
Cushing, trying to stay away from
those depressed prices. You can see it
in the once mighty Capline, a pipeline that used to carry crudes from
all over the world up from the Gulf
of Mexico to Chicago, now carrying
almost nothing but products such as
diluents needed for the production of

Canadian oil sands. Chicago, the nal

terminus of the Capline, has plenty of
Bakken and Canadian crude to ll its
re neries.
And you can see it in the numerous pipeline projects planned to carry
crude away from Cushing and down
to the US Gulf Coast, none more
controversial than the Keystone XL
pipeline. The section between the Canadian border and Cushingbefore
it heads to the Gulf of Mexicohas
become a cause clbre of the environmental movement.
The Brent-WTI spread has most
clearly been a boon to the US rail industry. The precise amount of crude
being railed from Canadas oil sands
and the Bakken in North Dakota and
Montana to various markets isnt certain. But at the Platts Pipeline conference in September, Daniel House
of Musket Corp. listed six projects in
just the next 12 months expected to
come online with 300,000 b/d of rail
capacity from the Bakken, shipped to
well, wherever. (Thats one of the
points that rails backers make, that
the product can go wherever theres a
rail line.)
Its also a boon to US Midwest re ners, who are able to re ne crude based
on the price of WTI and sell products
that bear no such burden. So Cushing-based oil is cheap, but products
made from it get sold at prices more in
line with Brent, the global oil benchmark. The Cushing crude market may
be cut off from much of the rest of the
world; the products market, connected to the Gulf Coast by the Magellan
pipeline, is not.
So, for example, cracking margins for
a barrel of WTI rened in the US Midcontinent, according to Turner Mason
models and Platts data, averaged more
than $30/b for July and August, a gure so high its almost laughable. The
cracking margin for Light Louisiana
Sweet crude in the US Gulf during that
period? About $3.70/b.
Those sorts of opportunities have
spurred a few re nery expansions,
which on the surface dont appear to
be that big. But theyre coming against
December 2011 insight 9

2012 global energy outlook - oil

a background of other re neries shutting or threatening to shut (for example, Sunoco and ConocoPhillips in
the Philadelphia area.) Given that, its
notable that both Valero (at its McKee
re nery in Texas, one of the biggest
re neries consuming WTI from Cushing) and Tesoro (at Mandan, North
Dakota, not far from the heart of the
Bakken) both announced expansions
this year.
Whats going to end this spread? As
recently as September, analysts were
expecting this gigantic Brent-WTI
spread to stick around awhile. It could
even get wider; Citi analysts predicted
in July that it could hit $40/b sometime in 2012. But that all changed in
November. In a rapid series of events,
the Obama Administration delayed a
decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline
until early 2013, and just a few days
later, ConocoPhillips sold its 50%
stake in the Seaway crude pipeline between Cushing and the Gulf Coast to
Enbridge Energy Partners.
With that development came the
news that the Seaway line would be
reversed, and would carry crude from
Cushing to the US Gulf. That will
give an exit for some of the Cushing
inventories, and its making predictions of a $40 Brent/WTI spread look
way off the mark. The spreadalready narrowing in part because of
the movement of oil by rail at a level
far beyond what anybody had predictedimmediately plummeted and
in mid-November had fallen to near
the $9/b level.
Will this kill the revival in railcar oil?
Panelists on the rail forum at the Platts
Pipeline conference earlier this year
said, no. They argued that the startup of pipeline capacity to move crude
out of Cushing to the Gulf Coast wont
kill their business, even if the Brent/
WTI spread narrows. The growth in
US liquids and Canadian oil sands just
appears too relentless for there to be
enough pipeline capacity to handle all
that growth; theyre obviously biased,
but they were unanimous in their belief that rail is back to stay. That belief
is now being put to the test.
10 insight December 2011

Natural Gas Versus Crude

A lot of traders in 2009 bet that
natural gas and crude would get back
to a more normal relationship, and
that it too would be back to stay.
It didnt happen. Measuring natural
gas at the NYMEX Henry Hub delivery point as a percentage of WTI and
Brent prices reveals a double-digit
gure through the rst two months
of 2009. But then it began its long
slide. For the rst nine months of this
year, that percentage was a little less
than 4.5% for natural gas to WTI, and
about 3.75% for Brent.
As a result, 2011 will go down as
the year in which a few companies
started to put their cash down on that
spread staying wide. The list of petrochemical producers looking to add
ethylene cracking capacity, using the
steady and cheap supply of ethane
coming from shale gas plays, got longer as the months went by. Williams
Dow Chemicals Phillips and
moreall of them announced an intent to expand.
But the most intriguing declaration
was the June announcement by Shell
that it intended to build an ethylene
cracker in the Appalachian region, using ethane coming out of the Marcellus Shale as a feedstock. Thats Appalachia, where the steel mills all closed,
where the coal mines were losing out
to cleaner coal in other parts of the
country and the world, in short a region that had no blue-collar future.
And now three states in the general
vicinity of PittsburghPennsylvania,
West Virginia and Ohioare vying
to become the home of a new petrochemical plant in a region whose
manufacturing days were supposed
to be behind it.
Its a development whose foundation can be found in an otherwise
nondescript chart on the Energy Information Administrations data page,
among numerous other categories.
It has the title of US Net Imports of
Naphtha for Petrochemical Use. And
its the one categoryso farwhere
you can see the shale gale in the US
muscling aside petroleum.

2012 global energy outlook - oil

If the price of naphtha and ethane
were both zero, theres no debate: an
ethylene cracker would use naphtha
as a feedstock, because it has preferential qualities. The chart shows the US
turning its back on naphtha as a feedstock. What you dont see, but which
everybody knows, is that its ethane
replacing it. And its the economics
driving that chart of imports that is
also driving the ethylene expansion
in the US, seeking to use that ethane
as a competitive edge against non-US
crackers, who are mostly stuck with
higher-priced naphtha as a feedstock.
Theres other anecdotal evidence
of gas replacing petroleum here and
there; using Compressed Natural Gas
in trash trucks seems to be the current rage. But the rst Gas-to-Liquids
plant to be announced in the US in
Septembera Sasol plant in Louisianamay be part of a new wave of
GTL projects, which, if successful,
could see an enormous displacement
of petroleum by natural gas.
It has been a big year for GTL. Shell
nally opened its giant Pearl GTL
plant in Qatar, placing a bet that the
cheap gas it gets from that countrys
enormous supplies, combined with
the elevated price of oil, could make
its multi-billion dollar investment
pay off. But the costs of GTL are im-

mense. The Sasol plant didnt come

with an announced price tag, but a
plan by Sasol and Talisman Energy to
build a GTL plant in western Canada
could cost $10 billion for a little less
than 100,000 b/d of capacity, though
the estimated cost could also be as
low as $6 billion.
All GTL projects produce a zero sulfur liquid that is to be blended with
distillates such as jet fuel and diesel.
So comparing the costs of a GTL plant
with the cost of a re nery, which
makes distillates as well as lowerpriced products such as gasoline or
fuel oil, is a telling point of reference.
And heres what it tells: if the Talisman joint venture is built and costs
the higher end of the construction estimate, thats about $100,000 per barrel of capacity. Meanwhile, in sales of
US and UK re neries this year, that
corresponding gure, according to
Raymond James, has been as low as
about $1,300/b, and no higher than
$3,375/b.
How is that possible? Cheap natural
gas if it stays cheap. But the fact
that companies are even considering
building GTL plants, when re neries
can be had for a fraction of the cost,
shows that there clearly are people
out there who see the gas-to-crude
spread as a new normal.

1. US naphtha imports for petchem use.

thousand b/d

220

170

120

70

20
Jan-04

Jan-05

Jan-06

Jan-07

Jan-08

Jan-09

Jan-10

Jan-11

Source: EIA
December 2011 insight 11

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gas markets

Shale Replaces LNG as

Gas Consumers Savior
William Powell, Editor, International Gas Report

Japan has been sucking in LNG to replace lost nuclear

output, driving spot prices for natural gas back up to
parity with long-term oil-indexed contractsa level too rich
for Europe. Instead, Europe is turning to shale to reverse
its addiction to gas imports, in an attempt to emulate the
glorious isolation in which North America nds itself
a low-priced gas island amidst rising global markets.

2011 has been a remarkable year for

the normally steady-state world of gas
in Europe and Asia. The upsets began
with revolution in major gas exporting countries in North Africa, followed
by a major upheaval in global coal, gas
and carbon markets in the aftermath
of the catastrophic tsunami in Japan,
and ended with a series of encouraging
shale well results in Poland and the UK.
These could have a dramatic impact on
European pipeline projects and the security of supply debate that hinges on
European dependence on Russian gas.
Russia, meanwhile, has just started up
the rst of its Ukraine bypass pipelines,
bringing gas directly to Germany for
the rst time.
There has been little of comparable
interest on the other side of the globe.
For North Americans, another year of
splendid isolation from the global market is drawing to a close with another
seemingly in the cards. An endless
stream of unconventional gas means

that consumers in the US and Canada

continue to enjoy some of the lowest
natural gas prices in the world. A lack of
liquefaction capacity prevents producers from capturing arbitrage opportunities elsewherea problem that may be
addressed. The operator of at least one
of the USs near-idle LNG import terminals is seeking permission to re-engineer it to take Henry Hub gas, liquefy it
and export it abroad.

Spot LNG
The drama being played out in Europe and Asia concerns the rise in crossbasin trade in LNG. This has created an
almost genuinely competitive market
as spot cargoes from the Atlantic Basin
and the Middle East undercut the delivered cost of pipeline gas in Europe.
Until March 11, there was little difference: Japan and Korea were paying
roughly the same for Atlantic LNG as
European customers, plus or minus the
cost of shipping from one basin to the
December 2011 insight 13

2012 global energy outlook - gas markets

other. Both spot markets were offering
prices much lower than those prevailing under European or Japanese longterm contracts.
However, the disaster in Japan in
March quickly put the price of spot
LNG for delivery in Asia on an upwards
trend, to the point where it has exceeded the equivalent price of European spot
gas. Even nuclear plants that were not
hit by natural forces suffered, as Japans
nervousand now retiredprime minister told major Japanese utility Chubu
to close down its 3.5 GW Hamaoka
planta decision based on the precautionary principle. The effect of Japans
nuclear closures sent buyers scrambling
for replacement oil, coal and LNG. But
the structure of integrated upstream
LNG projects does not allow much exibility for disasters on this scale, leading
to a shortage of spot gas.
By end-September, spot deliveries
for December at Japanese and Korean
ports were approaching or exceeding
prices based on long-term contracts
indexed to oil. Some companies have
been able to increase their contractual
purchase rights, in the same way they
exercised their downward quantity
clauses when there was an oversupply
of gas on the market.

This is not a battle Europe can win.

There is no pipeline gas in Japan or Korea to speak of, nor are there competitive markets in gas supply. High-priced
cargoes add to the weighted average
cost of gas that is clawed back from utilities, which in turn can pass the cost on
to their customers.
The buyer in Europe has to hedge exposure differently. Storage is one solution: a cargo of LNG that is bought in
October for delivery in November to
make use of ship-or-pay terminal capacity might be vaporized and injected
into storage and not be withdrawn until the peak demand days of January.
Other cargoes are taken to Zeebrugge.
The terminal has been recongured so
that it can reload an empty vessel for
redelivery to Asia. Traders say this circumvents the Qatari policy of not selling cheap spot LNG into oil-indexed
Asia, since the cargo has initially been
sold to Europe.

Precautionary Principle
Europe itself was not immune to the
precautionary principle. German Chancellor Angela Merkel shut down seven of
Germanys oldest nuclear plants with almost immediate effect following Japans
Fukushima disaster. The closure of the

1. US gas prices: the inuence of shale.

$/MMBtu
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2

11/07 3/08
Source: Platts

14 insight December 2011

7/08

11/08

3/09

7/09

11/09 3/10

7/10 11/10

3/11

7/11

2012 global energy outlook - gas markets

others in 2022 is costing operators 32
billion ($45 billion) at net present value
and 0% interest rates in foregone prots,
according to preliminary calculations by
a senior economist at the OECD Nuclear
Energy Agency, Jan Horst Keppler.
But the gains for gas could be considerable. Nuclears replacement with wind,
coal and gas will require some juggling
with the countrys carbon emissions targets and the willingness of German taxpayersstill groaning under the weight
of the governments commitment to
support the euroto pay for expensive
and intermittent sources of renewable
energy. Gas is cheaper than wind and
lower in emissions than coal. But that is
not a problem for now, at least.
Heavily encumbered with gas that
they do not need, but must nevertheless
pay for under their long-term contracts,
Europes gas merchants have sought an
end to oil indexation, but to little effect
and, as winter approaches, they might
be glad of this as spot prices rise again.
The oil link has long been a bone of contention, but mainly with regulators and
economists at one step removed from
the market and unable to appreciate just
how illiquid the gas market is in continental Europe.
It is much safer to hedge gas price exposure against very heavily-traded and
highly-transparent oil product markets.
As Russias Gazprom is fond of pointing

out, no one player can manipulate the

oil price, the unspoken assumption being that between the two of them Norways Statoil and Gazprom could send
prices very high by withholding a modest
amount from the market. As it stands, the
shrinking discount of spot prices to term
could well vanish and even turn into a
premium, if there are enough cold snaps
or supply reductions over the winter.
Still recovering from recession, rather
than bemoan it as a catastrophe, gas
traders in Italy felt some relief when the
Green Stream pipeline from Libya was
taken out of action in March as a result
of Libyas civil war. The effect was not to
choke off supply in Italy, as would have
happened at a time of economic prosperity, but rather to allow some of the oversupply to be absorbed at a higher price
than otherwise would have been the case.
Norways Statoil has acceded to requests from its buyers to move more of its
long-term gas to spot market indexation,
but has also reduced exports to Europe,
especially through the Langeled pipeline
that brings Ormen Lange gas to the UK,
as analysts say it is pursuing a value not
volume strategy. Gazproms position is
different. So far it has rejected requests
for direct contract renegotiation. It sees
the acquisition of downstream assets in
the power sector as a means to capture
more of the gas value chain, and it is
in talks with German utility RWE on a

2. European gas continues to follow crude.

$/MMBtu

$/b

13

130
125

12

120
115

11

110
105

10

100
9

95
90

8
Zeebrugge gas

85

Dated Brent ($/b)

80

7
1/11

2/11

3/11

4/11

5/11

6/11

7/11

8/11

9/11

Source: Platts
December 2011 insight 15

2012 global energy outlook - gas markets

deal of this kind. On a similar theme,
Algerian gas supplier Sonatrach is taking
equity in a customer, Spains Gas Natural, which also nds itself in a relatively
weak negotiating position.
Another major German utility, E.ON,
suffering under the weight of its multi-billion euro take-or-pay gas commitments, is
being forced to restructure and develop its
business outside Europe. E.ONs gas unit
Ruhrgas itself might be sold off, perhaps
to a pension fund for which a low, but
secure rate of return will be acceptable.
Ruhrgas would live out the remainder
of its days as a closely-regulated pipeline
company, while its commercial assets and
liabilities are incorporated under E.ON.

Shale Upheaval
But while utilities and external suppliers grapple with competition between
LNG and pipeline gas, September saw
two companies, one in Poland and one
in the UK, announce successes with
shale gas. It is too early to make any rm
predictions about the production rates
and costs as not enough wells have been
drilled, but on the face of it, the volume
of gas in place is enough to justify optimism about both countries security of
supply, and even possibly their neighbors security of supply too.
Cuadrilla is sitting on almost 6 Tcm
of resources in northwest England, it
believes, which at a 15% recovery rate
is not far short of 1 Tcm. If the cost of
production is low enough, the impact on

the UK economy would be signicant,

reducing energy bills and improving
the countrys balance of payments and
its tax revenues. Compressed natural gas
lling stations might even start to dot
the landscape.
This is, of course, dependent on the
extent to which drilling is allowed to
proceed. Cuadrilla does not expect to
submit a development plan to the government until the middle of next year.
The anti-shale lobby is likely to object,
raising environmental concerns that
could impact on UK regulation of the
nascent industry.
The story in Poland and Ukraine is if
anything more exciting. In addition to
all the other benets there would be
considerable satisfaction in no longer
being dependent on Russian gas. Just as
Gazprom makes another bid for control
over the countrys vast pipeline network,
Ukraine has signed a slew of memoranda
with companies like ExxonMobil, Shell,
Eni and Halliburton, covering shale and
other types of gas. At the same time
it has started up the rst of the Nord
Stream pipelines to bring gas direct to
Germany under the Baltic Sea, bypassing all transit states.
Politics and gas have long gone hand
in hand where Russia and its former satellites are concerned: if self-sufciency
in gas allowed Ukraine to reform its energy sector along market-oriented lines,
then that truly would mark the end of
the old order.

3. Non-oil linked gas prices.

$/MMBtu
20
18

UK National Balancing Point

Japan-Korea Marker (spot LNG)

16
14
12
10
8
6
1/11

Source: Platts
16 insight December 2011

2/11

3/11

4/11

5/11

6/11

7/11

8/11

9/11

10/11

2012 Edition

WORLD ENERGY
HARNESS THE GLOBAL ENERGY LANDSCAPE
Platts newly updated World Energy, 2012 edition wall map
presents core components of the global energy market in
striking detail and vivid color.
Expanding upon previous editions, the map highlights major
power producing countries and global energy consumers set
in the context of key infrastructure such as LNG terminals,
oil reneries, oil and LNG ports, oil pipelines, and coal export
terminals. This map also provides a sophisticated world
base-map showing generalized LNG and oil shipping routes,
areas with concentrations of major oil elds, shale regions and
major coal elds.

ADDITIONAL MAP FEATURES:

Countries colored by energy-consumed
Graphs depicting the 30 highest power generating
countries with existing and planned generation mix
Charts and graphs representing key energy-related
statistics such as:

World oil exporters and importers

World energy use by fuel, 19802030
World net electric power generation by fuel,
19902030

World electricity generation by fuel, 20052030

And many more!

FOR MORE DETAILED

INFORMATION AND A LIST
OF AVAILABLE MAPS:
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coal

Recession Proof Coal

James OConnell, Managing Editor, International Coal

OECD economies appear to be on the brink of another

recession. Shares are plummeting; currencies and countries
are in turmoil; ratings downgrades are a near-weekly event.
Yet some commodities are proving remarkably resilient,
not least thermal coal. Indian rather than Chinese demand
is the driver, while Indonesian talk of a ban on coal with
a low caloric value, if implemented, would throw
export markets into turmoil.

If the Asian growth story is crucial

to understanding oil markets, it is
even more fundamental for thermal
coal. Asian growth is taken as a constant by analysts. Even with coal in
seemingly terminal decline as part
of the US and European power mix,
bankers Credit Suisse were prepared
recently to declare that any weakness in Atlantic demand conditions,
resulting from a US/EU recession,
can be readily soaked up by Pacic
demandwith India and South East
Asian growth and Japanese recovery
playing their part alongside Chinese
domestic thermal supply constraints.
This statement assumes that Asian
demand for coal is essentially detached
from the general economic path of the
world economy. It assumes that China
can maintain its rapid rate of economic
growth, alongside its demand for thermal coal, in the midst of OECD recession, and that India can meet its utility
and port development targets. This infrastructure is critical to the countrys
ability physically to receive the coal im18 insight December 2011

ports it power stations demand. At the

same time, there is the return of Japan
to the physical coal market to consider,
as well as nascent Indonesian plans to
regulate the amount of low caloric
value coal it is prepared to export. All
in, it doesnt seem a bad call.

Chinese Imports
Chinas thermal coal supply picture
has altered radically in the last decade
from a production base of about 1.4 billion mt in 2002 to output of over 3.3
billion mt in 2010. Despite this growth,
it still cannot produce enough, turning to seaborne markets and the two
exporting mammoths of Indonesia and
Australia in particular to ll the gap.
Consumption has grown over the same
period from 1.3 billion mt in 2002 to
over 3.45 billion mt in 2010. Indeed, as
Credit Suisse suggests: Chinas supply
constraints are the industrys unxable decade-long problem.
This is despite Chinas major redevelopment programs, for example the
way it has consolidated a sprawling

2012 global energy outlook - coal

industry dominated by thousands of
undersized coal mines. From 10,000
small mines each producing less than
300,000 mt a year of coal just two
or three years ago, the country now
has less than 3,000 mines each with
a minimum output of 1 million mt/
year. This program is set to continue
until 2015 when China plans to have
ten companies each producing over 1
billion mt/year and a further ten with
output in excess of 500 million mt, together accounting for just under twothirds of domestic output.
The efciencies this should deliver
suggest one means of lessening the
countrys import dependence. Imports
will continue to play a key role, but runaway growth will be limited by Chinas
ability to boost domestic output. China
has swung from a net exporter of several million tons in 2008 to a net importer of over 100 million mt in 2009
and about 140 million mt in 2010.
But Societe Generale in early October said it believes Chinese coal imports could fall back below 100 million mt in 2012 and could be as low
as 90 million mt. This compares with
an annualized rate of 156 million mt
based on 104 million mt of imports
in the year to August. The most recent trade data (September 2011) also
shows that China is not immune to
the travails of the global economy. Its
September trade surplus fell to $14.5
billion from $17.8 billion in August,
and while exports remain at a traditional historic high, analysts are suggesting this could be further evidence
of a slowing rate of growth.
Barclays Capital suggests that while
demand is likely to be greater than
supply in 2012, we do not expect Chinese coal imports to exceed this years
levels and would also expect a declining trend in overall net imports from
here on. It adds: While Chinese coal
demand is set to continue to experience signicant growth (another 300
GW of power generating capacity by
2015), the investment in domestic
production and transportation infrastructure could outpace that growth
in the coming years. While this is un-

likely to shift China from being a net

importer, the trend of growth could
be reversed over the next couple of
years and should stem any future increase in Asian prices. Barclays does
stress that this is a short to mediumterm forecast, with the likelihood that
Chinese imports will start to increase
from mid-decade, but it is interesting
that China is not the main motor of
Asian coal demand when it comes to
the seaborne market.

Indian Demand
In contrast, India is beset by domestic
production and infrastructural issues.
Production is stagnant for the most
part and, while there is an abundance
of materialthe 2009 Geological Survey of Indias coal inventory estimated
a 277 billion mt resourceonly 40%

China has swung from a net exporter of several

million tons in 2008 to a net importer of over
100 million mt in 2009 and about
140 million mt in 2010.
or 106 billion mt are proven reserves.
Alongside quantity, India has quality issues with domestic coal having a lower
caloric value than that of major coal
exporters like South Africa, Indonesia
and Australia. Poor communication
between the rail sector and miners,
shortages of rail wagons and major delays in granting mining licences means
that domestic production is falling well
short of target.
Recognizing these problems early
on, and the likelihood of dependence
on imported coal, the current generation of new power plants have been
located at or close to major seaports.
Quoting government targets, Standard
Chartered suggests that India hopes
to grow its power generation capacity
by 14% per annum till 2012, increasing its capacity from 170 GW in 2010
to 220 GW in 2012 (Standard Chartered forecast 198 GW). If India meets
even half of its power generation targets, the thermal coal market would
face huge problems.
December 2011 insight 19

2012 global energy outlook - coal

By the end of the 2011-12 scal year,
the government expects to add over 14
GW of incremental thermal capacity,
much of this coal-red. For the 2010-11
scal year, the target was 13 GW and the
success rate was 60%, or 9 GW. Even if
below target, this equates to additional
thermal coal demand of 40 million mt.
Indias problems have been a long
time coming. In late 2010, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and
Resource Economics concluded that:
Assuming India sources 60% of the
coal it requires from its own mines, it
would still need to build an additional
106 million tons of coal capacity in the

... the bigger picture is Indias rst real M&A

successes overseas and the integrated model
that is being adopted by Indias private developers.
next ve years. This is double Australias planned expansion over the same
period and over two-thirds of Indonesias planned growth.
At the time, Indias state-led initiatives to acquire properties overseas were
going badly. Despite a huge war chest,
India was being beaten to the punch
every time by a swifter moving, usually
Chinese-led consortium. However, that
has changed with major private companies like Adani, GVK and Lanco Infratech seizing the initiative and committing to invest tens of billions of dollars
in Australian and Indonesian projects
at various stages of development. This
investment is crucial to delivering the
coal imports India needs.
Adanis acquisition of a 99-year lease
for the Australian port of Abbot Point
for $2 billion in May, in addition to the
$10 billion laid out for its Carmichael
Coal Mine and Rail project, was a huge
leap forward. Industry experts are also
delighted that it is showing its stateowned and private consortia compatriots the way forward by adopting an integrated model, retaining control of all
stages of the logistics chain from mine
to port to power plant. Adani even
owns the Capesize vessels on which the
coal will be transported to Mundra on
20 insight December 2011

Indias south west coast.

The company hopes to complete
all the paperwork for the Carmichael
mine deal by end-2012 in order to begin operations in 2014. In ten years
time, this should be a 60 million mt/
year mine; output until then is estimated at 7-8 million mt/year. The project is expected to have a total mine life
of 150 years.
GVK Power and Infrastructure consortium have also hit the headlines
with a $1.3 billion investment in the
Hancock group. The deal involves three
thermal mines in Australias Galilee basin and a rail and port project. Recent
indications from the company suggest
a total spend of $6 to 7 billion over the
lifetime of the project. GVK is looking
to sell off minority stakes in some of its
units to offset some of the costs of the
acquisition. Like Adani, the mines are
expected to come online in 2014, producing about 30 million mt of coal a
year within a short period of time.
Meanwhile, Lanco Infratech has invested around $750 million to secure
access to export-grade thermal coal in
Western Australia with the acquisition
of Grifn Coal. It has run into some local trouble recently with its decision to
conclude a unilateral coal supply contract with the Bluewaters power plant.
The ofce of Western Australia premier
Collin Barnett has said it could withhold export licenses, if Lanco Infratech
fails to live up to its promises.
There are always likely to be some
teething problems with such huge
projects, but the bigger picture is Indias rst real M&A successes overseas
and the integrated model that is being
adopted by Indias private developers.
Mundra port and its associated special
economic development zone are majority owned by Adani. The port, the largest privately-operated port in India, is
expected to handle around 20 million
mt of coal imports this year, up 30%
on 2010 gures. An estimated 9 GW of
additional power capacity is slated to
come on-line around Mundra over the
next couple of years, providing the nal link in the chain. India continues
to produce about 10% less electricity

2012 global energy outlook - coal

than it currently requires, suggesting its
adventures in the M&A marketeconomic slowdown or notlook unlikely
to conclude anytime soon.

Indonesian Coal Ban

Adani is also investing $1.6 billion
in a port and rail project in Indonesia,
where the current topic of debate is the
possible implementation of an export
ban on thermal coal with a low heating value. The Indonesian energy authorities are still in the process of consulting coal market players regarding
a proposed regulation requiring mine
owners to improve the value of their
coal through upgrading technologies;
the regulation could ultimately result
in a ban on the export of coal below a
certain heating value.
In September, ASX-listed Realm Resources said that the Indonesian energy
ministry had circulated an advanced
draft of a proposed decree on Value
Added Upgrading of Minerals and Coal
through Processing and Rening Activities. In its current form, the proposed
regulation states that by January 2014
it will no longer be possible to export
Indonesian coal with a caloric value
of 5,100 kcal/kg GAD. This ban could
remove in the region of 120-130 million mt of coal a year from the market,
roughly half the countrys total exports, at least temporarily throwing the
entire seaborne trade into disarray.
It would also, of course, present opportunities for producers based elsewhere. Investment bank Dahlman Rose
& Co. said in a late third-quarter report
that: buyers looking to replace the
lower Btu [Indonesian] coal could turn
to the [US-based] Powder River Basin
(8,400 to 8,800 Btu/lb), which could
begin to bring on export terminal capacity in that time frame.
Additionally, Dahlman Rose expects
South African coal to be bid away to
Asia even more, raising the price in the
Atlantic Basin and beneting exporters from both the Appalachian regions
(11,500 to 13,000 Btu/lb) as well as the
Illinois Basin (10,500 to 11,500 Btu/
lb). This heating value would be more
akin to higher quality Australian coal.

The producers that could benet from

the Powder River Basin perspective
could be Arch Coal, Cloud Peak Energy
and Peabody Energy.
From the US east coast, Alpha Natural
Resources and CONSOL Energy both
have export terminal capacity advantages, with Dahlman Rose adding that
the latter also has a low production
cost position. Additional freight costs
must be factored in and it will take longer for vessels to reach their destination,

... [Indonesias] ban could remove in the region

of 120-130 million mt of coal a year from the
market ... at least temporarily throwing
the entire seaborne trade into disarray
but set-tonnage contracts pegged to a
daily thermal coal assessment process
could improve the nancial risk management. For now though, Indonesian
coal producers are lobbying the government to implement any future ban in
stages and for a staggered introduction
of the coal upgrading requirement.

Japans Return
Adding to the supply-demand pressure over the next six to twelve months
will be Japans return to the market as
its coal-red plants ramp back up to capacity after the natural disaster it suffered in March 2011. A late August report from Deutsche Bank estimates that
the short-term fuel replacement mix
could see a nuclear-compensation factor comprising 59% LNG and 35% coal,
with the remainder consisting of heavy
fuel oil and crude oil.
Deutsche Bank estimates an additional consumption requirement of
1.6 million mt/month of coal based
on a worst-case scenario of the affected nuclear reactors remaining off
line, although it does indicate that
the full realization of this scenario
is unlikely. From a seaborne or total
global production stand-point, even
an additional Japanese utility requirement of 12-15 million mt in the short
term would place further pressure on
Asias supply side.
December 2011 insight 21

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power

European Power:
Recovery Postponed
Henry Edwardes-Evans, Editor, Platts Power in Europe

Europes utilities face rising costs for new power plants,

a lack of demand and a shrinking contestable markethardly
a recipe for investment. The EUs Large Combustion Plant
Directive will close a large chunk of base load capacity,
a process to be followed by a succession of nuclear
shutdowns. Recession is masking a looming capacity crisis.
With European banks at the center of
a second economic crisis in four years,
there is little for central power plant developers to do except debate eurozone
woes until a recovery comes along.
Utilities can formulate plans and argue
positions, but in the end they are helpless in the face of forces beyond their
control. Demand, feedstock prices,
carbon prices, market design, access to
funding, technology choicenothing
is going their way.
Yet this is only one side of the storythe deregulated side, where market signals are so discouraging. On the
regulated side, Europe is undergoing
an engineering revolution. Subsidized
wind and solar power have boomed, to
the extent that spot power markets are
frequently driven by the weather rather
than demand.
Renewables are not the only regulated success story. There is steady investment in transmission and distribution
networks, subsea interconnection is
strengthening and several EU member
states are committed to rolling out mil-

lions of smart meters in the period to

2020. This vital rst stage in an intelligent local grid encompassing distributed energy systems is going to shake
the sector up, opening the way to new
entrants frustrated for so long by vertically-integrated oligopolies.
The steady growth in renewables and
creeping demotion of thermal plant to
a supporting role have helped the EU
towards its climate change goals. Recession has eased the supply concerns that
had been building during the boom
years. With EU demand still well below 2008 levels, reserve margins are
comfortable, nuclear availability has
been impressive over the summer despite Germanys enforced closures, and
member states are making efforts to improve energy efciency.

Imminent Closures
However, serious problems begin to
emerge when the observer lifts his or
her gaze beyond the next year or two
as nuclear and coal plant closures begin to accelerate from 2013. The Large
December 2011 insight 23

2012 global energy outlook - power

Combustion Plant Directive and compulsory auctioning of carbon allowances under Phase 3 of the EUs Emissions Trading System is going to push
a fair amount of coal and oil plant off
the bars in short orderat least 12 GW
in Germany, and 12 GW in the UK.
This is by around 2015. Then, in 2018,
four big nuclear plants in the UK are
due to come ofine and Germanys full
nuclear eet is going to be closed by
the early 2020s, with no direct replacements in sight.
With new coal capacity a near-impossibility until carbon capture and storage is viable, that leaves gas-red plant,
wind, solar and biomass with the lions
share of balancing central plant closures to 2020-2025. As Platts new plant
data shows, combined cycle capacity
with all consents grantedvastly outranks all other technologies, but the
amount in construction has inevitably
slowed this year because of a shrinking
contestable market and poor margins.
The element of trepidation in taking
a nal investment decision on gas-topower projects was summed up by Statkrafts Jurgen Tzschoppe as work got
underway on the Norwegian utilitys
Knapsack II CCGT in July: How much
new capacity will Europe need? Will
more ambitious CO2 targets be set, or
will Europe be content with an aging,
inefcient power plant eet as a bridge
to a renewable future? Our expectation is that in the future, the market
will reward providers that offer exible
capacities, and will not discriminate
against investments already made at
this stage, he said.

Certainly there is a growing consensus that the market must work

out ways to reward gas plant exibility given the projected growth in
intermittent sources. The European
Wind Energy Association reports that
the EU is on track to meet 15.7% of
its electricity demand from wind by
2020. This would see some 230 GW of
wind plant operating by 2020 under
a conservative baseline scenario, up
from todays 84.3 GW (meeting 5.3%
or 182 TWh of demand).
The associations expectation is that
nearly 60 GW of wind capacity will be
added over the next ve years. This, it
notes, is more conservative than three
independent market assessments, by
EER (62.2 GW over the next ve years),
MAKE Consulting (66.2 GW) and BTM
Consult (85.2 GW). Add solar PV, biomass co-ring and resurgent hydro to
complete the dynamic picture for renewables, the contribution of which
pushed beyond 20% of German energy production in rst-half 2011, while
wind alone covered 17.2% of Spanish
demand over the same period.

Decarbonization Cost
Continuing this trend is going to be
expensive given the steep capital cost
hikes seen in recent projects. German
offshore wind developer WPD in late
September applied for European Investment Bank funds to support its Butendiek project. WPD is seeking 450
million ($608.37 million) towards the
1.29 billion cost of the 288 MW facilityor 4,479 per kW installed. That
compares with 3,000/kW installed for

1. Platts year ahead base power assessment (/MWh).

70
60

70
65
60

50
40
United Kingdom
Netherlands
France
Germany
Spain
30
Sep-09 Dec-09 Mar-10 Jun-10 Sep-10 Dec-10 Mar-11 Jun-11 Sep-11

Source: Platts
24 insight December 2011

55
50
Jun-11 Jul-11 Aug-11 Sep-11

2012 global energy outlook - power

Vattenfalls 300 MW Thanet offshore
wind farm, which became fully operational in September 2010.
Much of the hike relates to risk and
cost of capital. New CCGT investment
costs ranged between 400-1,000/kW
installed pre-crash. Now, whether it be
nuclear or offshore wind, solar PV or in
future coal with CCS, everything costs
at least 3,000/kW, often much more.
Utilities are reluctant to take on this
level of risk.
A temporary suspension in September this year of just one projectRWEs
1,600-MW Eemshaven coal-red plant
in the Netherlandsposed a genuine
threat to the companys overall nancial position. Some 2.9 billion had
already been sunk into construction
before a legal intervention halted certain works from continuing. As one
analyst commented, a 2.9 billion
stranded asset is not small fry for a 15
billion market cap company. Luckily
for RWE, the project now seems back
on track, but this is by no means an
isolated example.
To regulatory risk can be added technology risk. West European efforts to
diversify gas/wind-heavy newbuild
programs with the addition of some
coal-red MWs have been beset by
boiler issues this year. In May, Austrias
EVN announced a delay in the commissioning of the 790 MW Walsum
plant, initially expected for mid-2011.
The company expects commissioning

to be delayed by one to two years after leaks in boiler welds occurred during the pickling process, when acids are
used to clean the boiler walls.
Walsum is one of several plants in construction where T24 steel, supplied by
Vallourec-Mannesmann, is used in the
boiler membrane walls. Hitachi Power
Europe is the boiler supplier at Walsum
and at new German units at Moorburg,
Wilhelmshaven and Boxberg, all of
which are experiencing delays of one
sort or another. Separately, RWEs two
800 MW units at Hamm-Uentrop have
had their fair share of boiler problems
(EPC contractor: Alstom), and these are
now scheduled to come online in 2013,
having been due mid-2011/early 2012.
But what would nuclear developers
TVO and EDF give to limit their new
project delays in Finland and France to
one or two years? Both are now pushing beyond four. On July 20, EDF said
it would start selling power from its
1,650 MW EPR nuclear unit at Flamanville-3 in 2016, two years past the 2014
date for commercial operation that the
utility announced last year and four
years after the original online date.
That is almost as long as the delay to
TVOs Olkiluoto 3 plant in Finland.
In July, contractor Areva-Siemens reported O-3 completion in 2012, with
commissioning taking eight months
thereafter and regular operation only
in second-half 2013. Construction
work began in late 2005.

2. West Europe: in construction or permitted.

Status

Type

GW

Number

AD

CCGT

35.7

60

UC

CCGT

15.1

25

AD

Coal

1.5

UC

Coal

14.9

16

AD

Offshore wind

14.5

58

UC

Offshore wind

2.6

AD

Other

16.0

285

UC

Other

15.0

126

AD - advanced development, all consents granted; UC - under construction

Source: Platts Powervision

December 2011 insight 25

2012 global energy outlook - power

EDF said its EPR was now estimated
to cost 6 billion versus 5 billion in
the 2010 estimate and 3.3 billion in
2005. In Finland, Arevas provisions
on O-3 take total potential losses to
2.7 billion on a 3.2 billion contract.
Somewhat late in the day, EDF is to introduce a new approach to organization of the Flamanville-3 project that
includes improved scheduling, regular
public site meetings to assess progress,
new management and oversight practices, and new coordinating committees with contractors. This would give
valuable feedback and a tried and tested approach to organization for future
EPR reactors, particularly in the United
Kingdom, where the company plans to
build four EPRs. On current form, 2022
might be seen as the earliest date for a
new UK reactor to come into service,
given EDFs 2018 target date.

No Appetite for Risk

Moreover, a lot can happen in ten
years, and many in the world of nance
believe no new nuclear will be built in
the UK without direct, unequivocal
state supportsomething the current
government refuses to countenance.
Even the utilities are wobbling. Scottish
and Southern Energy in late September dropped out of the NuGeneration
nuclear consortium, selling up its 25%
stake to partners GDF Suez and Iberdrola. SSE has concluded that, for the time
being, its resources are better deployed
on business activities and technologies
where it has the greatest knowledge
and experience, the company said. It
is putting all its efforts into wind power
with exible gas as backup.
Another no-go area for banks is carbon capture and storage, creating
headaches for those trying to get precommercial demonstrations up and
running. European proponents of CCS
now acknowledge that at best, four to
six demonstrations will be up and running by 2015, down from the original
dozen (the EIB is currently looking at
13 proposals ahead of EU funding decisions in 2012).
The EU, the US and Canada have led
the way with public funding, with Can26 insight December 2011

ada lining up $2 billion, the US $3.5

billion and the EU potentially 4 billion
via the NER-300 auction of CO2 allowances, having already disbursed some
1.05 million through the European
Economic Recovery Program. However,
even with support from these funds,
project developers say national governments must contribute to the 1 billionplus cost of a 300 MW demonstration if
they are to be built.
If we only have these [EU] funds Im
not sure projects are going to go ahead,
Alstom Powers Joan MacNaughton
said at a Platts CCS conference in London earlier this year. Even in the UK,
where support was strongest, we have
a commitment to support three more
projects [beyond Scottish Powers Longannet], but that funding is under review, she said.
And the cost estimates are rising.
One developer told Platts that his large
continental project with underground
storage plans was now estimated to cost
1.5 billion. At present he could expect
around 500 million from subsidies in
a best case scenario. This is not the
50/50 split weve looked for, he said.
Unless the utility can see a big pot of
gold at the end of this, it will not invest
in these conditions.
Overall, Europe is about to lose
swathes of central baseload capacity
because of tougher air quality laws, enforced nuclear closures and the creeping decrepitude of a veteran coal eet.
The economic malaise is masking a
looming capacity squeeze because demand remains below historic peaks.
Wholesale prices in the contested
market indicate a mild recovery, but
remain insufcient to cover the capital costs and risks of nuclear, coal and
CCS options.
Developers and national governments
have done their best to communicate
the need for low carbon investment to
complement renewables, but there appears to be little appetite amongst the
banks to hear the message. This leaves
the European power sector in a holding
pattern waiting for economic recovery,
while the threat of renewed recession
hangs overhead.

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shale gas

Prices and Prots:

US Shale Gas
Bill Holland, Associate Editor, Gas Daily

Despite warnings that the US shale gas industry is a giant

Ponzi scheme, major oil companies continue to make major
investments. Its certainly true that US natural gas prices have
fallenthe product of shale gass own successbut prots
and costs vary widely between plays and are dependent
on a number of variables. Key to the debate over future
prots is whether decline rates are linear or hyperbolic.

Reading the headline news about

shale gas (and now shale oil) out of the
US, one could not be faulted for thinking theres more than just a little schizophrenia in the public perception of
shale plays. Consider: in June, the New
York Times, which is no friend to the energy industry, but equally no slacker in
the fact gathering business, ran a series
of articles relaying the doubts of some
investment analysts, US Energy Information ofcials (turned out to be an
intern) and petroleum researchers.
Shale is a Ponzi scheme, the headline blaredafter billions of dollars
have been spent on investments in
joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions, such as ExxonMobils $41 billion takeover of Fort Worth shale gas
producer XTO Energy. Unconventional
shale wells are more expensive than advertised, sources said, they wont recover as much gas (or oil) as claimed, and
the smaller independents who began
28 insight December 2011

the shale gale that is an alleged game

changer for US energy are just drilling
until they can unload their positions
on the next available sucker.
And then the New York Times quotes a
source saying shale gas is just like Enron, the ultimate put-down in the US
energy industry. With, or rather despite,
this warning, Anglo-Australian mining
company BHP Billiton a month later
paid $12.1 billion for Houston-based
shale oil and gas producer Petrohawk
Energy, another takeover of a shale independent by a deep-pocketed major.
Whats going on?

Production Boost
What is undeniable is that something
has changed in US gas and oil production, a change that became evident in
2008 for gas and in 2009 for oil, according to US Energy Information Administration data. By 2010, the US was producing more gas than ever before, 21.5 Tcf a

2012 global energy outlook - shale gas

year, a 19% increase over 2005, and, after years of decline, onshore oil production had increased 5% over 2005 levels,
to 2 billion barrels a year.
Shale is the driver for both. In 2008,
the EIA said shale accounted for 11% of
the 20.1 Tcf of gas produced in the US,
with 7% of that production replacing
retiring conventional gas and 4% adding to the US gas supply. In 2009, overall US gas production grew 2% to 20.5
Tcf; 17% of that gas was from shale.
The shale gale repeated itself in 2010,
according to other estimates, shale accounted for 25% of the 21.5 Tcf produced that year.
For oil, US onshore production continued a decades-long decline until
2009. While the EIA does not yet produce separate shale oil production volumes, most of the increase in output
in 2010 is coming from North Dakotas
Bakken Shale. The states mineral agency reports that, in 2010, Bakken wells
produced 100 million barrels of oil,
double that seen at the birth of the play
three years ago, almost single-handedly
boosting US onshore oil production to
2 billion barrels/year, a 108 million barrel gain since 2005.

Prices and Prots

The natural gas revolution brought on
by extracting gas from shale formations
was born in a US market chronically
short of natural gas. Prices ranged from
$6/Mcf to $8/Mcf with annual spikes

in demand that could double prices in

both the winter heating season and the
summer hurricane season. Those prices have gone, begging the question of
whether shale gas can survive its own
success. Can producers coax enough
natural gas out of the dense, impermeable shales to make money when prices
seem stuck around $4/Mcf precisely because of shale gass success?
Simply getting the hydrocarbons out
of the ground doesnt necessarily mean
immediate prots, or indeed ever profits. But in the price environment in
which shale evolved, the link between
increased production and prots was
clear. This is a link that some wish nancial analystswith their laser-focus
on production and reserve growth
would now break.
Energy consulting rm Wood Mackenzies Global head of Consulting, Neal
Anderson, said in August that after $90
billion in joint ventures and acquisitions, these stock analysts should stop
pumping up the prospects of shale. The
equity analyst community has played
a key role in helping fuel the shale gas
M&A market, acting as chief cheerleader for shale gas plays, he wrote in the
Oil & gas Financial Journal in August.
Their enthusiasm for reserve bookings
and production growth has only recently been replaced with a focus on value,
namely an analysis of which companies
are actually making money, as opposed
to recycling money.

1. Annual US natural gas production.

Tcf
25
Total gas

Shale gas

20

15
10

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Source: EIA, 2010 data analysts estimates

December 2011 insight 29

2012 global energy outlook - shale gas

Anderson said the irony of the multibillion M&A market for shale gas is that
money isnt being made by big companies swooping in and taking out smaller rms, its being made by the smaller
rms that got into the shale plays rst.
According to his analysis, operators are
making less than 10% prots on shale
plays as they increasingly bid up the
price for the service they needhydraulic fracturingto get the gas owing.
But unlike Wood Mackenzies nationwide analysis, a deeper look by FBR Capitals research department shows that
prots, like the individual geology of
shale plays, varies widely. While some
plays tread water at $4/Mcf gas, others
still pay out. Some plays make money
for their operators at prices as low as $3/
Mcf, but some wont begin to pay out
until gas prices get above $5/Mcf. At $6/
Mcf everybody sees a comfortable margin, while some will see prots that are
double or triple their costs.

Shale Variables
There are numerous variables that
feed into this prot equation for shales:
leasing costs, lifting costs, location and
hedging programs. The two latter factors are particularly important and can
result in realized prices well above the
US nationwide proxy of the NYMEX futures contract.

US independents have a decided edge

in that most were rst movers in particular plays and leased large amounts
of acreage at prices well below those
paid by the supermajors and national
oil companies such as Norways Statoil
and Chinas CNOOC that came later to
the game. While the ExxonMobil-XTO
merger pushed prices to $10,000/acre
in some plays (Statoil and Reliance in
the Marcellus for instance), the sellers, Chesapeake and Atlas (later purchased by Shell), paid a fraction of that
amount, often less than $50/acre. In
the Marcellus, which even for dry gas
remains protable, nding and development costs for the pioneersRange
Resources, Chesapeake, EQTare all
less than $1/Mcf.
Drilling vertically is the xed cost
to shale exploration and is a function
of depth. Because the barely protable
(or money-losing for some) Haynesville
Shale in Louisiana is 4,000 to 6,000 ft
deeper than other shales, its well costs
are higher, often much higher. A $3
million Barnett well that is roughly
comparable to a $5 million Marcellus
well becomes a $10 million well in the
Haynesville, owing to the time and expense of drilling another mile deeper.
Increasing drilling efciency reduces
costs. Shale drillers have become ever
better at quickly sinking wells, drill-

2. US oil production.
Billion barrels
2,500,000
Onshore

Offshore

2,000,000

1,500,000

1,000,000

500,000

2005

Source: EIA
30 insight December 2011

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2012 global energy outlook - shale gas

ing out horizontal laterals and fracking
those horizontal spokes, so much better
that in most plays the pipeline and processing infrastructure struggles to keep
up. In the Marcellus Shale hundreds of
drilled wells are reported to be awaiting
completion (fracking) or connection to
a pipeline each quarter.
Location narrows prots in the
Haynesville and the Barnett when
compared with the Marcellus. Most
Marcellus gas can be sold into the higher-priced markets of the urban northeast US, while Texas and Louisiana gas
competes with conventional and offshore gas at highly liquid trading hubs
such as the Houston Ship Channel and
Henry Hub. Prices in the northeast US,
particularly the New York city-gates,
are routinely $1/Mcf higher than the
days NYMEX futures price for delivery
to Henry Hub).
Hedginglocking in futures prices
with buyers through swaps and collarsalso helps shale producers keep
their realized prices high. The US top
shale producer and number two natural
gas producer, Chesapeake Energy, has
been particularly adept at keeping its
realized prices higher than the NYMEX
benchmark. The company adds millions of dollars to the well head price
of its gas through hedging, although
sharp reversals in prices, as occurred
in 2008 when gas prices plunged from
record highs, can deeply dent the companys results when it has to mark its
books to market every quarter.
For Chesapeake and other independents, hedging routinely adds $1/Mcf

to their realized sales prices. But, as gas

prices stay below $5/Mcf and remain
stable there, it is becoming harder and
harder to nd customers willing to lock
in higher futures prices.
Shale gas critic Art Berman, quoted
extensively by the New York Times and
others, uses 2009 well data from both
the Haynesville and the Barnett shales
(and operators Chesapeake and Devon) to show that the promise of shale
is wildly overestimated by producers.
Shale gas wells produce at very high
rates for the rst 12-18 months of their
lives, but then decline rapidly. Flows
are often reduced 66% from the initial
production rate to an inection point.
What happens at that point is where
critics like Berman and producers part
ways. Berman says the 2009 data shows
that the decline of the well post inection is along a linear slope, constantly
and inexorably down, until after 10
years the well is played out.
Since the rst years high rate pays
for the well, the shape of the tail determines it estimated ultimate recovery
(EUR) over its life, and thus the eventual protability of the project. Bermans linear tail results in EURs that
are half, by his calculation, what shale
producers are telling themselves and
their investors.
Bermans views have been well
known in the industry for years and he
is a frequent speaker on the conference
circuit, but when his analysis found a
nationwide audience in the New York
Times, the news prompted US politicians to call for the US Securities and

3. US shale playsinternal rates of return

$4/Mcf

$5/Mcf

$6/Mcf

Projected change in rig

count through 2015

5.50%

4.30%

26.80%

26.80%

Barnett Gas

13.60%

24.30%

37.60%

-55% to 25

Fayetteville Gas

32.50%

58.80%

95.30%

-10% to 25

Marcellus Dry Gas

62.20%

123.30%

226.20%

+100% to 100

Marcellus Wet Gas

70.10%

120.40%

196.10%

+100% to 100

Eagle Ford Wet Gas

60.60%

101.40%

159.50%

+705% to 166

Haynesville Gas

Source: Company reports via FBR Research

December 2011 insight 31

2012 global energy outlook - shale gas

Exchange Commission to investigate
the reserve reporting and production
numbers of shale gas producers. The
SEC launched a fact nding probe
this summer that involved subpoenas
for data from several small US independents. The subpoenaed rms pledged to
cooperate fully.
The shale gas independents dont
think they have anything to hide.
Where Berman and others think old
well data shows a linear drop, they
point to mounds of data on shale wells
dating back a decade. These, they say,
show that the production decline is
hyperbolic, not linear. Instead of dropping off at a constant rate after the
initial ush of high production, the
decline curve bends slightly up from
linear and trails off slowly over the
next 20-30 years, justifying their EUR
numbers and projected prots. After
all, they say, the well pays for itself in
the rst year. Every other year after is
pure prot.
They are also happy to note that
many of Bermans predictions have
been wrong. Gleefully, they point out
that, in 2008, Berman predicted that
production from the Barnett Shale
would top out at 6 Tcf. The play has
produced 9.6 Tcf worth of gas through
this year and still produces 5.6 Bcf/d.

Liquid Focus
Healthy prots are being made at
$4/Mcf gas prices in the Marcellus (a
combination of cheap leases, lower
costs and proximity to high-priced
markets), but those prots get slimmer

(although they exist) in Texas Barnett

and Arkansas Fayetteville. Haynesville prots are the thinnest; again, a
function of the extra vertical length
Haynesville wells require before they
can turn to the horizontal plane and
penetrate the shale.
US gas producers know that low natural gas prices make their current efforts
unprotable in some locations. They
are beginning to shift more and more
of their rigs to wetter, oilier prospects
such as South Texas Eagle Ford Shale
and shale oil plays in the Rocky Mountains that appear similar to the wildly
successful Bakken Shale of North Dakota. Chesapeake plans to have 75% of its
spending and drilling rigs redeployed to
the liquid plays. Gas liquids and crude
get sold at much higher prices than the
associated gas.
The remaining rigs drilling for gas
will be focused on wells that hold
cheap leases in places like the Haynesville Shale to create the minimal production necessary for compliance with
lease terms. Drillers in currently marginal plays like the Haynesville view
continued drilling as a purchase of a
gas future and a cheap way to maintain
their claim to billions of cubic feet of
gas that can be booked as reserves.
This suggests that the recovery in US
onshore oil production has some legs.
Announcing the change in direction
during a conference call in rst-quarter
2011, Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon was characteristically ebullient:
We are going to do for oil what we have
done for natural gas, he declared.

4. Exponential, hyperbolic and harmonic declines.

b=1
b=.5
b=.1
exp

Flowrate

Harmonic
Hyperbolic
Exponential
Time
Source: Fekete Associates, Calgary

32 insight December 2011

emissions

Climate, Kyoto and

National Security:
the Outlook for Durban
Frank Watson, Editor, Emissions Daily

A key question for the climate talks in Durban is the future

of the Kyoto Protocol. As it exempts developing economies
from legally binding emissions targets, some developed nations
believe it has outlived its usefulness. More action is needed,
they argue, but they are reluctant to act alone. In the
meantime, levels of atmospheric carbon continue to rise,
suggesting adaptation rather than prevention will become
the order of the day.

South Africas busiest port, Durban,

will get busier than usual in November
and December when thousands of lobbyists, climate negotiators, green campaigners and the worlds press converge
on the city. Heads of state and their
top negotiators will once again gather
under the UN umbrella in an attempt
to thrash out an accord to protect the
worlds climate from rising greenhouse
gas emissions.
The challenges at Durban are as great
as they have ever been. Only limited
progress was made in Copenhagen in
2009, and again in Cancun in 2010,
with countries formalizing various
pledges to cut emissions according to
their capabilities, and agreeing to provide up to $100 billion per year in cli34 insight December 2011

mate adaptation funding for poorer

countries by 2020.
Among the varied components of the
Durban talks, such as climate funding,
carbon markets, forest protection measures and agreement on how to monitor
and report emissions fairly, is a crucial
stand-out issue for this years gathering; the future of the landmark Kyoto
Protocol. Kyoto was an offshoot of the
UN Framework Convention on Climate
Changethe pact signed by more than
190 countries in 1992 in a bid to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
By the mid-1990s it was clear that
the efforts being made internationally
under the UNFCCC were insufcient,
and a group of 37 industrialized na-

2012 global energy outlook - emissions

tions agreed at a meeting in 1997 in
Kyoto, Japan, to go further and set a
collective, legally-binding greenhouse
gas emissions reduction target of 5.2%
for the period 2008-12, against a 1990
baseline. However, Kyoto covered only
around 27% of global emissions, leaving China, India and other fast developing major economies free of binding
emissions reduction obligations. It was
also never ratied by the USlargely
because of those exemptions.
Kyotos rst commitment period expires at the end of 2012, and no agreement has yet been made to renew it.
A powerful negotiating block of fast
emerging economiesBrazil, South
Africa, India and China, the so-called
BASIC group, want to preserve Kyotos
theme of binding targets for industrialized countries only. In stark contrast,
Japan, Canada and other big industrialized economies do not.
For its part, Europe has pledged a
20% emissions cut by 2020 and has
said it will go deeper to 30%, if other
industrialized nations take on comparable targets. Given these vastly differing stances on how to address climate change, observers are watching
to see what the big emerging economies can offer to persuade Europe to
keep Kyoto alive.

National Security
To understand Europes willingness to restrict the carbon emissions
of its own industries, it is necessary to
look back to 2007 when the European
Council asked the European Commission and the EUs High Representative,
then Javier Solana, to conduct a joint
assessment of the threat to EU national security posed by climate change.
The report they handed back to the
Council in the spring of 2008 pulled
no punches. The dossier spelled out
the clear threats posed by the rising
global atmospheric concentration of
CO2, based on analysis of leading scientic study.
The ndings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change demonstrate that even if by 2050 emissions
would be reduced to below half of

1990 levels, a temperature rise of up

to 2C above pre-industrial levels will
be difcult to avoid, the report said. A
seemingly innocuous 2C global temperature hike could be pushing the
boundaries of what is safe, according to
scientists. Such a temperature increase
will pose serious security risks that
would increase if warming continues,
the report continued.
Food and fresh water insecurity featured prominently as agents that could
spur internal and cross-border conict.
Unmitigated climate change beyond
2C will lead to unprecedented security
scenarios as it is likely to trigger a number of tipping points that would lead
to further accelerated, irreversible and
largely unpredictable climate changes,
the report warned.
Climate change is best viewed as a
threat multiplier which exacerbates
existing trends, tensions and instability. The core challenge is that climate
change threatens to overburden states
and regions which are already fragile
and conict prone. It is important to
recognize that the risks are not just of
a humanitarian nature; they also include political and security risks that
directly affect European interests, the
report said.
Europe is not alone in recognizing
these threats. The US Department of
Defense is already building climate
change into its strategic planning, and
US Navy ofcials in 2010 said they
were factoring in signicant sea level
increases this century into their coastal
infrastructure projects. Just one example of why this issue matters to the US
military is the tiny Indian Ocean island
of Diego Garciaa low-lying island
hosting a strategic airstrip which could
be lost to rising sea levels.
A widespread understanding of the
perils of a world with 2C or more of
warming was a key factor in the inclusion of a formal agreement at the
Cancun talks to keep this temperature
increase as the maximum permissible
limit. The agreed texts also include the
possible consideration of a more stringent upper limit of 1.5C of warming,
based on newer scientic information.
December 2011 insight 35

2012 global energy outlook - emissions

Durban Goals
The threat of climate change is being
taken seriously at the highest levels of
government, but the negotiations under
the UN process have become mired in
political horse-trading because of differences in opinion over matters such as
historic liability for CO2 emissions and
the various capabilities of governments
to deal with the problem at the same
time as safeguarding economic growth.
At the same time, any CO2 emissions
cuts in Europe are being eclipsed by rising emissions elsewhere, particularly in
China where the rate of GDP growth
has been close to double digits for
years. Thats why efforts have to be coordinated at a global level, says the UN.
At a meeting in New York September 19, UNFCCC Executive Secretary
Christiana Figueres spelled out four
goals for the upcoming talks:
First, she said, progress must be
made on the political question of a
second commitment period under
the Kyoto Protocol and a clear decision on how the global collective effort to reduce emissions will go forward and how that will be done in
a transparent manner, with greater

ambition growing over time.

The second goal is to dene the rules

for a review of national climate action measures that countries agreed

to engage in under the Cancun
Agreements, starting in 2013. The
rules need to be decided on prior
to 2013, and the review would then
consider the adequacy of the efforts
of countries at that time with respect to the science.
The third goal is clarity on climate
nance, where the UN hopes to see
approval on the design of a Green
Climate Fund, as well as a ramping
up of climate nance to the $100
billion a year by 2020 that was
agreed to under the Cancun Agreements in 2010.
The fourth goal is to make operable
a new technology transfer mechanism, again agreed to in Cancun, as
well as the Adaptation Committee
which is the body that UNFCCC
signatory countries have developed
to oversee climate adaptation efforts around the world.
Given the range of actors and interests involved, whether agreements can
be reached is another matter. Envi-

1. Globally averaged marine surface annual mean data.

CO2 (ppm)
400
390
380
370
360
350
340
330
320
310
1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 2004 2006 2008 2010
Source: US National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration

36 insight December 2011

2012 global energy outlook - emissions

ronmental groups agree that progress
could be made on a number of issues.
Wendel Trio, director of Climate Action Network Europe, sees little chance
of big breakthroughs this year, but he
does see potential for movement on key
topics. I believe there are three issues
which will be crucial in the Durban
conference. The future of the Kyoto
Protocol is for sure one of these, he
said. Developing countries, as indicated once again recently in the declaration from the BASIC ministers, will put
a lot of pressure on the EU to agree to a
second commitment period.
For the big developing countries,
keeping the Kyoto Protocol is the easiest way to ensure the rewall between
developed and developing countries,
and they assume that if the EU keeps it
alive, some other, less important, countries will follow: Norway, Switzerland,
Ukraine, New Zealand and potentially
also Australia. Although the last is doing everything it can to not be put in
that position, said Trio.
The EU is willing to go for a second
commitment period although it is discussing whether that should be a political agreement only, without calling
for ratication but keeping the rules,
or whether the EU should give their
support to amending the Kyoto Protocol and going for a ratication of these
amendments, while already applying
what is agreed, he said.
Trios other key issues for Durban
are climate adaptation and nance.
It is clear that historically adaptation
has had less attention than mitigation
and the African countries are doing everything they can to make Durban all
about adaptation. South Africa as COP
[Conference of Parties] president, with
all its geopolitical interests, will have to
show they support this, so one can expect progress to be made on issues such
as national Adaptation Plans, the Adaptation Committee and loss and damage, he said.
On the nance side, Trio expects
movement on climate funding, although he said agreement to provide
funding for poorer countries has already been vaunted as progress in pre-

vious UN climate negotiations. I do

hope negotiators will not be able to
sell the Climate Fund as progress for
the third COP in a row as they did it
already in both Copenhagen and Cancun, he said.

Carbon Market Outlook

Whether a new post-Kyoto deal is
struck or not, or whether the treaty is
amended or abandoned altogether, fossil fuels will remain the main means of
meeting growth in global energy demand. Oil, natural gas and coal represent abundant sources of stable, reliable
energy, even if their combustion has created a global environmental problem.
Renewables have proven effective in
providing clean energy, but mostly require subsidies in the form of generous
feed-in tariffs that, in the long term,
are considered unsustainable. Nuclear
energy provides the dependable high
voltage baseload power that many industrialized and advancing economies
need, but raises an entirely different set
of environmental concerns, as highlighted in March this year by Japans
Fukushima crisis and previous atomic
disasters elsewhere.
In terms of making the cost of carbon explicit, governments still appear
to favor market-based approaches to reducing emissions, while providing safe,
secure, reliable energy; carbon markets
could see major growth as a result. Even
in the absence of a post-Kyoto pact, the
value of the global carbon market has
surged from $11 billion in 2005 to $142
billion in 2010, although this phenomenal growth trend came to a grinding
halt in 2010, in part because of climate
policy uncertainty over the post-2012
era, according to the World Bank.
The central attraction of cap-andtrade is its ability to deliver emissions
reductions at lowest cost. Put a price on
carbon and unleash the forces of cleantech innovation, say its advocates. But
even this most business-friendly of environmental policy tools still has its detractors within some economic sectors
and regions. Critics argue that regional
attempts to put a price on carbon tend
to distort competition between regions,
December 2011 insight 37

2012 global energy outlook - emissions

forcing regulators to tweak the rules to
prevent businesses from moving their
operations into areas where carbon is
yet to be priced.
Carbon emissions cap-and-trade programs are already under way in Europe,
America (regionally), and New Zealand.
China is proposing a carbon trading
system for several cities and provinces,
which may be expanded to become a
nationwide program in 2015. Similar efforts are under way in Australia, South
Korea and other major economies.
The worlds second largest carbon
market, the UNs Clean Development
Mechanism, is subject to policy uncertainty after 2012, although the mechanisms main life support-machine
continues to be demand for its carbon
offset credits from the EU Emissions
Trading System, which is enshrined in
EU law until 2020 and beyond.
Nevertheless, it is clear that countries
are moving at different speeds, and at
the European level, the waters have
been further muddied by a lawsuit
brought against the European Commission by the US aviation industry over
the EUs move to include CO2 emissions
from ights originating outside of the
EU in its carbon trading program, as
well as similar opposition among Chinese aviation companies.
At the corporate level, responses to
the climate issue are equally disparate,
reecting the still fragmented nature
of international climate policy. Where
cap-and-trade has been enacted, companies buy and sell carbon credits to
help meet CO2 reduction targets. Other
nations have opted for carbon taxes,
voluntary targets or other emissions reduction measures.
In the short-term, most companies affected by climate policy are still focused
on bottom line impacts from carbon
taxes or cap-and-trade. But for some
sectors, longer-term nancial liabilities
may be incurred from direct physical
climate impacts. Major global reinsurance groups, for example, are already
grappling with the economic implications of climate change for their sector, in view of their rising exposure to
large-scale climate related loss events.
38 insight December 2011

Global reinsurance group Swiss Re

says economic losses from climaterelated disasters are on the rise, with
insured losses alone jumping from $5
billion to $27 billion over the last 40
years. Without further investments
in adaptation, climate risks could cost
some countries up to 19% of annual
GDP by 2030 and set back years of development gains, the company warns.
Business Europe, a major lobby group
representing 20 million companies in
35 countries, supports the EU carbon
trading system, but is keen to ensure
that companies competitiveness is
maintained. The group has said it wants
a truly global and balanced climate
agreement, including the worlds major
emitters, as well as facilitation, reform
and expansion of the Kyoto Protocols
exible mechanisms (Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation) to make a contribution to climate
protection. Business Europe has said
that climate change can only be successfully tackled if the EUs major economic
partners get involved, and that the EUs
current 20% emissions reduction target
by 2020 should not be increased in the
absence of international progress.
Durban, then, may see some small
steps toward a new global climate protection deal, but the scale of the challenge should not be underestimated:
despite worldwide efforts, the global
atmospheric concentration of CO2 is on
the rise. In 2008-2009, the world suffered the worst global economic downturn in living memory, cutting demand
for everything from power to cement,
steel and bricksall of them CO2 intensive industries.
Yet globally this severe recession
didnt even make a dent in the rising
global CO2 trend, according to global
CO2 data published by the US National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It is hard to avoid the conclusion
that reducing global CO2 levels will require coordinated international action
by governments, industry and civil society, on a level hitherto unseen. Whether
world leaders can show that level of ambition, while public nances are severely
stressed, remains doubtful.

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Russia

Russia Embraces Asian

Energy Demand
Nadia Rodova, Managing Editor, Moscow

Russia, the worlds largest producer of oil and second largest

producer of natural gas, is increasingly looking to the rapidly
developing Asian region to diversify its export markets and
develop its own remote eastern regions. The countrys
ambitious plans require an amenable business environment
capable of stimulating massive investment, but long-term
condence in Russias policy stability remains elusive.

Russias crude production is forecast

to grow nearly 1% year-on-year to 10.18
million barrels/day in 2011, strengthening further the countrys position
as the world biggest producer of crude
oil. However, maintaining this output,
or indeed expanding it, remains problematic as the countrys traditional producing regions decline. To compensate,
Moscow is focusing on the development of new areas, such as East Siberia, the countrys Far East and offshore
reserves in the Arctic. Russias authorities hope that these new provinces will
allow production to plateau at todays
levels for the next ten years.
Russia is also the worlds second-biggest gas producer. Gas output is expected to reach a record 671 Bcm in 2011,
up 3.1% year-on-year, breaking the previous record high of 665 Bcm achieved
in 2008. According to Russias economy
ministry, internal and international demand for gas recovered at a robust rate
40 insight December 2011

in the rst half of the year.

As a major hydrocarbons producer,
Russia is also one of the worlds biggest
exporters of both oil and gas, sending
nearly half of its entire output to international markets, mainly Europe. But it
is Asia that is the epicenter of future demand growth. Moscow is seeking to exploit the geographical proximity of its
new production basins to Asias rapidly
developing markets.

Eastern Pipelines
In late 2009, Russia commissioned
the rst 2,757-kilometer section of
the East Siberia-Pacic Ocean pipeline, through which it currently sends
600,000 b/d of crude oil to Asian markets: 300,000 b/d via ship from the Pacic coast and 300,000 b/d to China
through a spur pipeline. ESPO supplies
are to grow to 1 million b/d once the
second 2,045-kilometer leg of the route
is completed by end-2012, two years

2012 global energy outlook - Russia

earlier than initially planned.
This will support Russias bid for
ESPO blend to become a regional Asian
benchmark. The grade is proving popular with reners throughout Asia, but
has also been sold into Hawaii and the
US West Coast. ESPO now trades at a
higher price than Urals, Russias main
export blend, making access to the pipeline attractive to producers. Having initially traded at a discount, ESPO traded
at a record high premium of $6.30/barrel to Platts front-month Dubai crude in
September. ESPO crude benets from a
so-called through tariff, which is significantly lower in comparison with standard tariffs on other Russian pipelines,
for example those to Europe.
In the gas sector, the state-run gas
monopoly Gazprom is also shifting its
focus to Asia-Pacic and hopes to see
the region account for 13% of its total
pipeline exports by 2030. Currently all
Russian pipeline gas goes to Europe. The
EU will remain Russias main market
for pipeline gas, taking more than 30%
of total Russian gas exports by 2030,
but the scale of our business and proj-

ects in the Far East is such that South

Stream [a proposed gas pipeline across
the Black Sea to Europe estimated to
cost around $20 billion] is a mediumsized project in terms of investments,
Gazprom deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said in September.
But it is LNG that will really help
Russia diversify its gas export markets.
Gazprom hopes to capture about 14%
of the world LNG market by 2030. The
company is considering the construction of new LNG capacity at the existing Sakhalin 2 project, boosting output
by 5 million mt/year from 9.6 million/
mt currently. In addition, the list of
new LNG facilities at various stages of
planning and development includes a
7.5 million mt/year LNG plant within
the giant Shtokman eld in the Barents
Sea, the 15 million mt/year Yamal LNG
project in the north and a 10 million
mt/year plant near Vladivostok on the
Pacic coast.
Gazprom sees the eastbound projects
as all the more attractive because Chinas demand for gas is forecast to exceed that in Europe by 2030. The com-

1. Russias near-term crude oil output and exports.

Forecast
2012

2013

2014

2010-14, %

Low
Low
Low
Low
2011
growth
Base
growth
Base
growth
Base
growth
Base
2010 (estimate) scenario scenario scenario scenario scenario scenario scenario scenario
Crude output,
million mt
504.9

509.1

498

510

498

510

495

510

98

101

Crude exports,
million mt
250.3

244.5

220.6

244.6

217.6

243.6

213.6

243.6

85.3

97.3

Source: Ministry for Economic Development

2. Russias near-term gas output and exports.

Forecast
2012

2013

2014

2010-14, %

Low
Low
Low
Low
2011
growth
Base
growth
Base
growth
Base
growth
Base
2010 (estimate) scenario scenario scenario scenario scenario scenario scenario scenario
Crude output,
Bcm

649

Crude exports,
Bcm
177.9

671

682

697

706

725

716

741

110.3

114.2

198.2

200.2

211.8

219.2

233.1

223

240.7

125.4

135.3

Source: Ministry for Economic Development

December 2011 insight 41

2012 global energy outlook - Russia

pany has intensied talks on future gas
supplies with China, South Korea, and
Japan, among other Asian countries.
Gazprom has inked an agreement
to supply 30 Bcm/year of Russian gas
to Chinas CNPC and hopes to agree a
price formula for the gas by years end.
However, the talks are proving difcult
and the partners have already missed a
July deadline for signing the nal contract. Under an initial memorandum
of understanding signed in 2006, the
two companies agreed to build two gas
pipelines, dubbed the Altai system, for
shipments of 30 Bcm/year of gas from
western Siberia and 38 Bcm/year from
eastern Siberia.
Another eastbound project under
discussion is the supply of up to 12
Bcm/year of gas to South Korea. The
talks with Seoul, which rst started in
2004, gained momentum this year, after Pyongyang agreed to consider the
construction of a gas pipeline across
North Korea to South Korea. However,
the project remains fraught with political risk, owing to the difcult relationship between South and North
Korea, as well as UN sanctions on

Pyongyang as a result of its controversial nuclear program.

The Fukushima nuclear disaster is
also expected to increase gas demand
in Japan over the long term and has
already done so this year. Japan is the
worlds biggest purchaser of LNG and
the largest customer of Russias only
LNG plant on Sakhalin Island. Given
potential demand in Asia for both LNG
and pipeline gas, Gazprom is spending
billions of dollars exploring the hardto-access reserves in Russias eastern
regions and offshore Sakhalin Island
in an effort to secure a resource base to
supply the region.

The Northern Sea Route

Possibly the most challenging new
area for development is the Arctic,
which Russia sees as a key area of oil
and gas production growth. Moscow
estimates initial recoverable resources
in the region at 100 billion mt of oil
equivalent, of which about 80% is gas.
The Arctic, with its harsh and challenging climate, ice-covered waters and
constantly changing weather, could
also become a key transport route, re-

3. Arctic sea routes.

J APAN

North Pacic
Ocean

Bering Sea
Sea of
Okhotsk

Northwest Passage
UN I TED
S TATES

Beaufort
Sea

Chukchi
Sea
East
Siberian
Northern Sea Route
Sea
Laptev
Sea

CANADA
Arctic Ocean

R US S IA
Hudson
Bay

Kara
Sea
Bafn
Bay
Davis Strait
G R EEN LAN D

Labrador
Sea

Source: UNEP
42 insight December 2011

Barents
Sea
Greenland
Sea

Norwegian
Denmark Strait
Sea
I C ELAN D
N O RWAY F IN LAN D

2012 global energy outlook - Russia

ducing signicantly voyage distances
between Europe and the Pacic basin.
We intend to turn it into one of the
key trade routes of international signicance and scale, which will be able
to compete with traditional international corridors, Russias Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a forum on
the Arctic in late September. This is
the shortest route between the major
markets of Europe and the Asia-Pacic
regions, practically one-third shorter
than the traditional southern route
[via the Suez canal] and it should
compete with others in transportation
costs, safety and quality, he said.
But it is easier to say than do. Establishing the Northern Sea Route as a safe,
commercial maritime route requires
large-scale investment in a range of
challenging technologies. Safe passage
requires the agreement of internationally-accepted rules and regulations concerning shipping standards and navigation; a reliable satellite-based system
for monitoring ice ows and ships, and
the development of ports, airports and
oil spill response and rescue services
all along the route. It remains unclear
at the moment where the money to
achieve this will come from. As a rst
step, Russias budget allows for Rb38 billion ($1.21 billion) until 2014 for the
construction of three nuclear and six
diesel ice-breakers for the route till 2020.
The Northern Sea Route is becoming
more navigable as the Arctic ice cover
recedes and thins. Independent Russian
gas producer Novatek last year sent the
rst Aframax tanker across the Arctic in
what was the rst ever voyage by a large
vessel along the Northern Sea Route to
prove that commercial navigation in
the region is possible. Novatek expects
to take the nal investment decision for
the $15-20 billion LNG project on the
northern Yamal Peninsula by end-2012
and build the rst LNG train, with capacity of 5 million mt/year, in 2016.
This year, a 162,000 dwt Suezmax tanker made the transit, registering two new
records. We sent the biggest tanker that
has ever sailed through this route, and
it passed the route faster than any other
tanker previously, Evgeny Ambrosov, an

executive vice president of Russias biggest

shipper Sovcomot said in late September. The tanker made the transit through
an icebound section of the route from
the Novaya Zemlya island in the Arctic
Ocean to Cape Dezhnev, the northeastern-most point of Eurasia on the Chukchi
Peninsula, in a record seven days.
The entire route from Murmansk on
the Barents Sea to Thailandthe destination for the cargo of gas condensate
took 26 days, at least ten days less than
the time it would have taken via the
traditional Suez Canal route. Novatek
estimates that the use of the Northern
Sea Route will save the company 1015% on transport costs. However, this
excludes expenditure on the ice-breakers that are to take tankers through the
ice-bound section of the route.
Russias authorities appear ready to
subsidize its ice-breaking services to
make the route economic. The state-run
Rosatom agency, the nuclear ice-breakers owner, has implemented more exible service fees, making transport costs
comparable with the costs for taking
the traditional route via the Suez Canal,
according to Ambrosov. Even so, passage is only likely to be possible for between four and six months of the year.

Internal Challenges
However, in addition to the push
into more remote areas, Russias oil
and gas industry faces another challenge closer to home. According to
analysts at UBS, Whatever the global
economic situation is, there are some
critical points in Russias internal policy, and rst of all lack of condence
that the authorities are able to maintain stable rules of the game for any
reasonable period of time.
The stability of the business environment is crucial for new projects that unlike the declining old elds are mainly
located in remote, undeveloped regions,
requiring massive investments in infrastructure and cutting-edge technology.
The high tax burden is not as crucial
as stability; give us at least ve years of
stability, a top-ranked ofcial within a
western oil major told government representatives recently at a roundtable.
December 2011 insight 43

2012 global energy outlook - Russia

Based on past practice, even if an
agreement on a projects scal terms
is reached, it cannot be relied upon to
persist as the government has shown
a willingness to change the terms if it
needs to raise more money. Government expenditure remains heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues. The
business climate is also suffering from
noticeably increasing corruption, bureaucracy, selective justice and high

Under the current tax regime virtually all

offshore projects are unattractive for
development. Although the government has
signaled that it is ready to provide the
necessary support, it remains to be seen
if these intentions will be realized,
and whether they will be sustained.
and often ineffective state involvement
in the economy, as well as constantly
changing regulations.
But the potential still outweighs the
risk. There is also clear evidence of improved investor sentiment toward the
Russian oil and gas sector as increasing
number of foreign majors are willing to
invest. Russia still offers lower risks and
a safer environment than a number of
other oil and gas producing countries,
Frances Total CEO Christophe de Margerie said in April, referring to the recent upheavals in the Middle East and
North Africa.
Total bought a 12.09% stake in Novatek in April and is currently nalizing the purchase of a 20.5% stake in
Novateks Yamal LNG project. Novatek
is likely to invite at least two more foreign partners to Yamal LNG, with the
likes of Shell, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and investors from Asia and the
Middle East, including Qatar, said to
have expressed interest.
Moreover, in August, ExxonMobil
teamed up with Russias biggest oil producer Rosneft to develop offshore reserves
in Russias Arctic and southern Black Sea.
The partnership should also see Rosneft
take part in some of ExxonMobil projects
44 insight December 2011

in the US and other countries. Rosneft

sealed the deal, after a similar deal with
BP, which included a $16 billion share
swap, failed, owing to a conict between
BP and its Russian shareholders in the
TNK-BP joint venture.
In addition, Russias Bashneft is considering extending an invitation to Indias
ONGC to participate in the development
of its giant Trebs and Titov oil project
in northwestern Timan-Pechora region.
ONGC is also discussing the possible
purchase of a 25% stake in Bashneft.
Greater cooperation with international majors means that Russian companies can share the exploration risk and
gain precious experience in developing
hard-to-access reserves. It will also help
Russias oil companies expand internationally as the agreements with foreign
companies often envisage joint projects
in third countries.
But the presence of a foreign partner
is not always a guarantee of success, according to analysts with Renaissance
Capital bank, who note lengthy delays
to the Shtokman gas project in the Barents Sea being undertaken by Gazprom,
Total and Statoil and the failed strategic
partnership between Lukoil and ConocoPhillips. In February, ConocoPhillips
completed the sale of its entire 20%
stake in privately-owned Lukoil, which
it had owned since 2004, because the
US major decided the better opportunities in Russia were reserved for staterun companies Gazprom and Rosneft.
Capital-intensive projects, for which
Russian and foreign companies combine their efforts, need to win government support and secure special tax incentives. Under the current tax regime
virtually all offshore projects are unattractive for development. Although the
government has signaled that it is ready
to provide the necessary support, it remains to be seen if these intentions will
be realized, and whether they will be
sustained. Even with Russias vast energy resources and geographical proximity to the worlds fastest growing energy
markets, many questions remain over
the speed and scale of development of
the countrys more remote hydrocarbon resources.

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renewables

Winners and Losers

Emerge for
Renewable Energy
David R. Jones, Editor, Platts Renewable Energy Report

The sorting out has begun for the renewables industry,

with some companies thriving while others fall by the
wayside. At the same time, renewable energy is gaining
in competition with nuclear power, but faces tough
challenges from natural gas.
Renewable energy over the past decade has enjoyed phenomenal success,
with sectors like wind and solar power
expanding installed capacity at rates of
30-50% each year. Wind turbine makers, solar panel manufacturers, biomass
pellet producers and other supply-chain
companies, along with project developers, have shared in the good times, with
plenty of prosperity to go around.
Renewables have developed in major
industrial countries like Germany, Japan
and the United States as part of larger
energy mixes, a variable-output complement to baseload power sources such as
coal and natural gas. But heading into
2012, renewable energy is entering a new
phase, with winners and losers emerging both within renewable energy sectors and as part of larger energy markets.
Renewables are no longer just one energy
source among many; some have become
direct competitors with fossil fuels.
Renewable energy, bolstered by longterm government support policies in
many countries, has weathered tough
46 insight December 2011

economic times and volatile debt markets since the nancial crisis rst hit in
2008. Some renewables sectors appear
poised for continued success, although a
new bout of nancial instability casts a
pall over the industry. Despite the current situation, the general sense is that
renewables are still doing pretty well,
said IHS Senior Analyst Marianne Boust.
Projects are still getting built. But there
are regional discrepancies.
Some mature markets, like those in the
EU, continue to grow, fueled by policies
requiring EU member states to secure a
set amount of their energy from renewable resources by 2020. The targets differ
from country to country, but the overall support is there, Boust said. Even
EU members with shaky economies like
Greece, Ireland, Italy and Portugal will
maintain their support for renewables,
she said. Indeed, she added, Greek policy-makers view renewable energy as an
important source of jobs and economic
development amid a slumping economy.
Along with steady growth in Euro-

2012 global energy outlook - renewables

pean renewable strongholds like Germany, new markets are also opening up
in east Europe and Central Asia. Wind
power capacity could expand 400-600
MW annually in countries like Poland,
Romania and Turkey, according to IHS
analyst Marc Muhlenbach. In contrast,
the US renewables market has stalled,
particularly the wind-power industry,
and could spiral downward in 2012.
The key federal renewables policythe
Production Tax Credit, which provides
an ination-adjusted 1.9 tax credit for
electricity generated from renewable
sourcesis set to expire at the end of
2012. With cost-cutting high on the
agenda of many US federal lawmakers,
the PTC might not be renewed, which
could send the nations renewables development, particularly wind-farm construction, into a tailspin.
This would continue the boom-andbust cycle that has plagued the US wind
industry for years as Congress periodically
allows the PTC to expire, only to renew it
after US wind power development sputters
and halts. Six months ago, we wouldnt
have doubted it would be extended,
Boust said. Now were not so sure.
Without a broad federal renewables
policy, the industry relies on state renewable portfolio standards requiring
electricity retailers to obtain a portion of
their power from renewable energy. Yet
as a September analysis by Standard &
Poors notes, many utilities in the west-

ern US have made rapid progress toward

meeting their near-term RPS goals, and
wind build-out is expected to slow down
as a result ... This dynamic, if combined
with the potential expiration of the wind
PTC at the end of 2012, may result in a
sharp decline in wind project development, according to the study, Regulatory
And Political Headwinds May Slow Renewable Energy Growth.
Wind project activity and orders for
2013 and beyond are scant because of
the lack of a predictable business environment, causing layoffs and even bankruptcies in American manufacturing
plants and the supply chain, the American Wind Energy Association warned.
These struggles for US wind manufacturers will only worsen if Congress were
to allow the tax credit to expire.
As a result, the US wind energy industry, once the world leader, now ranks No.
2 in installed capacity behind China. Like
other Asian countries, China has emerged
as a key center for renewables generation
capacity and technology manufacturingthough warning signs are ashing
for the booming Chinese market too.

The Solar PV Shakeout

Perhaps no renewables sector better
illustrates the industrys winners and
losers than solar photovoltaics. On the
one hand, plunging prices for PV equipment have made solar energy more affordable than ever for consumersand

1. US PV installations, 2010-Q2 2011.

Installations (MWdc)
400
350

Residential
Utility

Non-Residential

360.8
314.3

300

268.0

250
200

186.5

187.3

Q2 2010

Q3 2010

152.0
150
100
50
Q1 2010

Q4 2010

Q1 2011

Q2 2011

Source: Platts
December 2011 insight 47

2012 global energy outlook - renewables

more lucrative for developers, who can
maintain attractive pricing for rooftop
systems even as US states and EU countries cut their incentive programs. PV
panel prices are dropping so quickly, the
Standard & Poors analysis points out,
that the price of $1 per watt, recently
predicted for 2015, now looks likely by
the end of 2011.
In Europe, the cost of generating electricity from PV has plummeted 50%
over the past ve years. In a variation
of Moores Law for personal-computer
price reductions, over the last 20 years,
the price of PV modules has dropped
20% every time the cumulative sold
volume of PV modules has doubled, the
European Photovoltaic Industry Association notes. Importantly, there is a huge
potential for further generation cost decline: around 50% until 2020, according to a 2011 EPIA study. The cost of PV
electricity generation in Europe could
decrease from a range of 0.16-0.35 /
kWh in 2010 to a range of 0.08-0.18 /
kWh in 2020, depending on system size
and irradiance level.
As a result, the US and European markets continue to thrive. US grid-connected PV installations in second-quarter
2011 grew 69% over the same period in
2010, bringing the countrys installed
solar capacity to more than 3.1 GW. In
addition, new territories for PV are surfacing; the state of New Jerseys commercial PV installations exceeded Californias for the rst time in 2011.
The US remains poised to install 1,750
MW of PV in 2011, double last years total, enough to power 350,000 homes, according to the US Solar Energy Industries
Association. Further expansion is likely
through the largest PV initiative to date
in America, set to be conducted by SolarStrong, that would double the number of
residential solar PV installations in the US
to 320,000 arrays.
On a global scale, the PV market has
reached a cumulative installed capacity of 40 GW, with 16.6 GW of capacity
added in 2010. And in sunny climates
like the southern Mediterranean, PV
power generation is rapidly approaching
the long-sought grid parity at which it
can compete with conventional power
48 insight December 2011

sources without government subsidies.

Yet, at the same time, PV manufacturers
like Solyndra, Evergreen Solar and Spectrawatt have gone bankrupt, while others
like SolarWorld and Solon have shuttered
their solar module factories. PV supply is
far outpacing demand. Plummeting prices are the result not just of technological
advance but of producer prot margins,
creating the paradox noted by S&P that
the bankruptcies were caused by falling
panel prices, which is actually positive
for the future prospects of solar power.
S&P cites Chinas propping up of its
large PV producers through cheap nancingeven in the face of excess
industry supplyas a key element in
equipment price reductions. US Senator Ron Wyden has charged the Chinese
government with illegally subsidizing
its domestic PV industry in violation of
international trade rules. However, S&P
has voiced strong doubts as to whether
Chinese banks will be willing to sustain
the countrys PV producers indenitely,
noting that companies like JA Solar are
already starting to cut output.
Despite the industry shakeout, entrepreneurs continue to target opportunities upstream in PV production. For
instance, Qatar Solar Technologies said
October 4 that it planned to construct
a $1 billion polysilicon production facility in Qatar. The plant, scheduled to
open in the second half of 2013, would
manufacture 8,000 metric tons per year
of high-purity, solar-grade polysilicon
for use in PV modules.

Renewables vs Conventional Fuels

The March catastrophe at Japans Fukushima nuclear complex triggered
renewed opposition to nuclear power
in Europe. Under a policy in Germany
issued by the conservative coalition
government in June, all nuclear power
plants will be closed within ten years,
and renewables share in the nations
electricity supply is to double from the
current 17% to 35% by 2020.
Though much of Germanys power
shortfall will be replaced by natural
gas and coal in the short term, offshore
wind power is also set to benet. Offshore wind farm operators will see their

2012 global energy outlook - renewables

guaranteed above-market rate of 0.15/
kWh cut only from 2018, three years
later than the government planned, and
a so-called sprinter bonus for projects
up and running by 2015 will remain in
place beyond 2015.
Two other major industrial powers,
Japan and Italy, are also turning away
from nuclear power and slowly towards
renewables in the wake of the Fukushima accident. Italian voters this year rejected an effort by the government to resume nuclear plant construction, while
the Japanese government has pledged to
make renewable energy a cornerstone of
its post-Fukushima energy strategy.
In the US, renewable energy is increasingly locked into direct competition
with natural gas. Though on a technical side the two energy sources continue
to be used in complementary fashion,
with baseload gas balancing out variable
sources like wind and solar, the shale
gas boom has forced down US gas prices. Utilities that once viewed renewable
energy supplies as a hedge against volatile gas prices have less incentive to buy
power from wind farms or to nance
solar PV installation. Theres stiff competition from conventional sources for
renewables in US markets, Boust said.

Looking Ahead
New renewables markets are emerging
in developing countries as governments
in Bangladesh, the Philippines, South
Africa, Thailand and the Pacic Islands
set policies designed to cut their reliance
on fossil fuels. In addition, a new type of
renewable energy market is set to begin
in Scandinavia next year: Norway and
Sweden in January will launch the rst
cross-border system for trading green
energy certicates.
At the same time, burgeoning renewables markets in Brazil and India are on
course for further expansion. In Brazil,
the renewables industry, which racked up
sales for 2.7 GW of generation capacity as
part of two federal power auctions in August, stands to make further gains with
new electricity auctions in 2012. India,
too, is committed through national programs to major renewables expansion. Its
National Solar Mission initiative has es-

tablished the target of bringing 22 GW of

solar PV capacity on line by 2022, though
local content requirements have discouraged the entry of some foreign producers.
The federal government has also established a similar program for biomass
expansion, and wind energy currently
amounts to about 13 GW of capacity,
with further expansion planned. Combined with solar power and small hydropower programs created by the countrys
powerful state governments, India appears primed to retain its position as a
leader in clean-energy growth.
China in recent years has leapfrogged
to the top ranks of renewable energy
markets, surpassing the US in installed
wind capacity that now exceeds 42
GW. IHS Muhlenbach said China remains the powerhouse of wind energy growth with more mature markets
approaching saturation. However, the
Chinese market, particularly for wind
energy, could be headed for a slowdown.
Market analysts V/B Research reported
in October that nancing for Chinese
wind projects had fallen 14% to $6.3 billion quarter-on-quarter based on fears
of over-expansion. The decline is a direct consequence of measures taken by
Chinas government to curb the countrys rapid expansion of wind capacity.
There are growing concerns regarding
over-supply of turbines in the domestic
market and the fact that large amounts
of constructed wind capacity remains
unconnected to the grid, V/B Research
said. In response, the central govern-

Key trends in renewable energy

A focus on energy security makes

renewable energy more attractive
Solar PV producers struggle even as the
technology approaches grid parity
More non-energy companies invest
in renewable energy projects
Concerns grow about availability
of rare earth metals
December 2011 insight 49

2012 global energy outlook - renewables

ment has imposed heavy cuts to wind
installation targets and asserted control
over approval of projects smaller than 50
MW, which had previously been the preserve of local authorities.
And as markets change, both commercial and political perspectives on renewable energy continue to evolve. Such
corporate giants as Siemens, GE and Martifer in the recent year have committed
major resources to renewable energy as
project developers and equipment producers. More non-energy companies are
entering the renewables eld; German
conglomerate BayWa is acquiring renewables companies to add to its broader corporate roster; while Google said in June it
planned to create a $280 million fund in
partnership with PV developer SolarCity
to nance residential solar projects.
In the political arena, commitments
to renewables development are broadening from concerns about pollution and

Emerging markets for renewable energy

The Philippines: A law approved in June

establishes national goals for renewables
development
Thailand: A newly-elected democratic
government appears set to continue
the countrys solar PV growth
Bangladesh: A new national policy looks
to use solar power to expand electricity
supplies to villages
Pacic Islands: With some countries
spending 30% of their GDP for generator
fuel, solar, biomass, wind and geothermal
resources all offer opportunities
South Africa: The countrys rst tender
for renewables gives independent power
producers the chance to challenge the
power-market dominance of the countrys
state-owned utility Eskom
50 insight December 2011

climate change to encompass energy security. Cyprus, for example, accelerated

its solar energy development this year
following an accident that crippled the
island nations main source of power, a
plant at a naval base.
In Israel, demands are growing for expanding wind and biomass power as disruptions in gas supplies from neighboring
Egypt have left the country scrambling
to meet power-production requirements,
while Bangladesh, with few energy resourcessave for the some of the worlds
greatest solar radiationplans to use PV
to meet its goals for village electrication.
In addition, concerns about the availability of rare earth metals are a source
of major discussion in the wind industry,
Muhlenbach said. Though not especially
rare, many rare earths vital for producing
wind turbines, solar panels and batteries
are currently almost solely available from
China, which has demonstrated its willingness to withhold rare earth deliveries to
Japan in a dispute unrelated to the metals.
Changes in technology are taking hold.
New types of wind turbines are being developed that are designed to take advantage of areas with low wind speeds compared with prime wind spots, Muhlenbach
said. Theyre moving toward longer rotors and larger towers, he said.
Continued growth in established renewables markets, along with openings in developing countries, show that clean-energy has yet to enter a period of cut-throat
competition, either among renewables
project developers or in battles for markets with other energy resources. There are
still plenty of energy production contracts
to support a broad market encompassing
many types of resources, even with energy
use stagnating or falling in most countries
as the global economic slump drags on.
However, the split between PV equipment producers and developers, as well
as the clash between renewable resources
and conventional fuel sources in securing shares of utilities energy mixes, indicate that the renewables industry could
be undergoing fundamental change. Renewable energy, long considered a winwin situation for utilities, developers
and national economies, is increasingly
becoming a zero-sum game.

Sustainable supply chain solution

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petrochemicals

Petchem Markets
Adjust to Changing
Feed Slate
Jim Foster, Senior Editor, Platts Petrochemicals Analytics

US olen production is undergoing a step change as lighter

feedstocks from the numerous North American shale gas plays
make their way into the slate. Inexpensive Natural Gas Liquids
are pushing naphtha feedstocks aside, leading some observers
to tout these developments as a renaissance for the US
petrochemicals industry.
While a renaissance certainly appears
to be underway in US petchems, not
everyone is raising a glass and toasting the growing inuence abundant
ethane is having in the US olens markets. The change in feedstock is impacting output, shifting prices for a whole
range of petrochemical products, to the
extent that international trade patterns
are changing.
Butadiene buyers have recently faced
record-high priceswhen they have
been able to nd any material at all in
a seemingly perpetually-tight spot market. Domestic US propylene prices have
climbed so high that the US export market for polypropylene has been decimated. And even those who could benet the
most from a switch to lighter feedstocks
could see margins shrink as ethane prices
start to decouple from natural gas.
The abundance of shale gas in the
United States has already caused natural gas prices to decouple from crude;
52 insight December 2011

natural gas has trended lower while

crude has trended higher. That decoupled relationship between crude and
natural gas has pushed olens producers in the US to use natural gas as their
preferred feedstock.
Historically, US crackers used 70%
ethane feedstock and 30% naphtha, according to a report by Chemical Market Resources Inc. The shale gas plays
have changed the feedstock dynamics
to 87% ethane and 13% naphtha. That
change in feedstocks has reduced propylene production in crackers by more
than 50%. It has also tightened supplies
of crude-C4s and butadiene in the US.
The effect tightening butadiene supplies have had on US markets is evident
in the pricing. The US spot butadiene
price climbed to record highs in June
this yearnearly $2,000/mt (about
60%) above the previous record set
during the energy run-up of 2008. The
situation was similar around the globe,

2012 global energy outlook - petrochemicals

with both Asian and European butadiene prices hitting record levels as supplies tightened. At the time, tight butadiene supplies were exacerbated by a
signicant run-up in the price of natural rubber, boosting demand for synthetic rubber downstream.
Even with that higher demand, US
butadiene derivative production has
been scaled back because of a lack of
feedstock. One US butadiene buyer estimated the amount of butadiene being consumed in the US at just over 1.8
million mt annually. Thats what were
using because thats what is available to
use, the source said. What would the
demand be if there was more material
available? I dont know. The [butadiene] derivative rate in the US is near
60% now. In the past weve run at 70%.
Theres a chance that those derivative
rates would climb 10 percentage points
if there was more material available.
His estimate puts the total butadiene consumption capacity in the US
at near 3 million mt annually. A 70%
derivative rate would put US butadiene
demand near 2.15 million mt annuallyabout 300,000 mt above what is
currently available.
Since reaching the record highs in
June, global butadiene prices have
been correcting lower. However, most
market participants expect butadiene

supplies to remain limited and prices

to remain relatively strong when compared with historic norms because of
the shift in feedstocks.
With US butadiene consumers facing
high prices, production options once
thought unprotable are starting to be
discussed. In August, TPC Group announced it was performing a detailed
engineering study of on-purpose butadiene production. TPCs plan would utilize
an existing idled dehydrogenation unit
at the companys Houston plant. The
unit would use butane as the primary
feedstock, an NGL found in the US shale
gas plays, which could provide an abundant, low-cost feedstock for the plant.
One US-based butadiene trader,
though, said the process could be expensive. The problem is it costs a lot,
he said of on-purpose butadiene production. It takes a lot of butaneabout
2 pounds for each pound of butadiene.
But if butane prices fall because of shale
gas, this is possible.
Butane can also be used in gasoline
blending, Michael Bloesch, TPCs vice
president of strategic initiatives, said.
But there could be less demand from
that market, resulting in more onpurpose butadiene feedstock. We see
likely less gasoline blending in the future, Bloesch said. That makes the
natural home for butane as a cracker

1. US Ethylene/Propylene prices.
100
Ref Grd Propylene Dlvd Houston

Ethylene FD USGC Cts/Lb

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
1/09 3/09 5/09 7/09 9/09 11/09 1/10 3/10 5/10 7/10 9/10 11/10 1/11 3/11 5/11 7/11
Source: Platts
December 2011 insight 53

2012 global energy outlook - petrochemicals

feed, for exports or for our process.
The cracker feed option for butane is
less likely in the current low-cost ethane environment, making exports or
converting butane domestically more
likely. The TPC project will produce
600 million pounds (272,158 mt) a year
of material, and could be expanded if
demand increases, Bloesch said. The
feasibility report on the project is expected to be completed in early 2012.
There also is a possibility that butadiene demand in the US may not recover
to historically normal levels, a butadiene trader said. Demand destruction is
real in the butadiene market, he said.
Tire plant closures are a concern.
Some of the butadiene demand is also
being eroded by recycling, he added.
A lot of [the demand destruction] is in
efciencies in the regrind market, he
said. Butadiene at $4,000 a ton is a real
incentive for regrind. He also said he
has seen ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene
styrene) producers losing market share
to polystyrene and expandable polystyrene. And there has been a drop in butadiene going into the SBL (latex) market.
We hear of it, but we have not seen
it, Bloesch said of demand destruction.
ABS has the most substitutions and SBL
might suffer if there is a drop-off in paper coating. But SBR (styrene butadiene
rubber) and PBR (polybutadiene rubber) do not have many substitutions,
Bloesch said.

International Markets
Another possible source for butadiene
would be foreign markets, said Robert
Bauman, a consultant with Polymer
Consulting International. South Korea is known for its exports. If I were
in Korea, Id be looking at what shortages there will be in the US and focus
on those, Bauman said.
As butadiene prices in the US climb,
Korean polyethylene producers could
be faced with limited export opportunities to Latin America, Bauman said.
The switch to lighter feed stocksthe
reason for the tightening butadiene
supplywill result in a dramatic increase in ethylene production.
According to the CMR report, nearly
54 insight December 2011

4 million mt per year of new ethylene

production has been announced in response to the shale gas plays. These include 1 million mt/yr for Braskem in
Mexico, 1 million mt/yr from a new Dow
Chemical cracker, about 900,000 mt/yr
from Nova in Canada, 450,000 mt/yr
from an expansion at Formosa Plastics,
300,000 mt/yr from Dow restarting a St.
James cracker and 230,000/yr mt from
debottlenecking at Westlake.
There is also the potential for three
other new crackers to bring the total of
new ethylene capacity in the US to 7 million mt/year, according to the CMR report. US domestic demand for ethylene
derivatives was just below 32 million mt
in 2010 with nearly 4.8 million mt (14%)
exported, according to the report.
By 2016, that demand is expected
to climb to 39.3 million mt. There is
enough capacity to meet domestic demand and still have some exports, according to the CMR report. Therefore,
essentially 100% of the new ethylene
capacity will be for derivative exports.
When polyethylene in the US gets long
the US is expected to dominate the
Latin American polyethylene market,
Bauman said.
In December, high density polyethylene (HDPE) cargoes moving from South
Korea to Chile spiked nearly 300% yearon-year to 2,296 mt. South Korean producers also moved 667 mt of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and 108 mt
of linear LDPE to Chile over the same
period, compared with none for either
grade in December 2009, according to
Platts research. Parcels moving from
South Korea to Peru also climbed in December, with 1,723 mt of HDPE exports
compared with 123 mt in the same
month of 2009. South Korean producers also sold 125 mt of LDPE to Peru in
December, compared to none in 2009.
Those opportunities, though, could
dry up for Korean exporters as US polyethylene production ramps up during
the next three to ve years. Instead,
Korean producers could cut polyethylene production, and focus on exporting butadiene to the US, Bauman said.
Koreas strategy could be responding
to those shortages in the US, Bauman

2012 global energy outlook - petrochemicals

said. Most likely, the crude C4s and
other heavies are going to be sourced
from outside the US. Theres an opportunity there.
As of now, there are no ofcial plans
for South Korean producers to increase
butadiene production to ll export
demand to the US, according to one
US-based butadiene trader. That certainly is an interesting idea, he said. I
havent heard of that happeningbut
it is feasible. But it will depend on how
they are committed to C4 and propylene. There certainly is a shortage of C4s
globally at this point.
A South Korean butadiene producer said he expects Asian producers to
shift from ethylene to heavier materials as the Latin American opportunities dwindle. Korean crackers are no
[longer] competitive with C2 and C3
[because of] US and Middle East gas extraction, especially ethylene, the Korean producer said. [The] polyethylene
spread is so poor that many crackers
are just expecting compensations from
mixed C4 and butadiene.
Its more likely that polymers from
Asia will be shipped to the US, he said.
In my view [Asian producers] will
move more butadiene from Korea to
the US for a while, he said. But as
time goes on they will nd out that to
move polymers is more efcient than
to move monomers. Butadiene is a gas
monomer. Its logistics cost is high, and
there is limited shore storage in the US.

Propylene Shortages Expected

The shift to lighter feed stocks reduces the amount of propylene available
in US markets. Also, a larger percentage
of propylene is being produced at reneries, which potentially could be diverted into the gasoline pool instead of
to petrochemical plants. The tightness
in the US propylene market, relative
to the ethylene supply, is illustrated in
the growing premium propylene commands over ethylene. Since the start of
2009, there have been only a few brief
periods where ethylene prices were
higher than propylene.
According to the CMR report, about 1.5
million mt/yr of new propylene capacity

will be needed to replace the capacity

lost to the NGL shift. At a 3% growth
rate for propylene derivatives, another 2
million mt/year of new propylene capacity will be needed to meet 2015 projected
propylene derivative demand.
Tightening
propylene
feedstock
could push polypropylene prices high
enough to make some consumers consider switching to HDPE for injection
molding and thermoforming, and possibly polystyrene and polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) for thermoforming,
according to the CMR report. The overall drop in polypropylene demand from
swapping to HDPE, polystyrene and
PET could total 12% the report said.
A US-based polymer and resin distributor said polyethylene certainly could see
an uptick in demand from higher polypropylene prices. Polystyrene, though,
was unlikely to be impacted. Im really not expecting polystyrene demand
to increase, the distributor said. But
polypropylene certainly can expect to
lose out to polyethylene. There is some
talk that polystyrene could be a more
stable-priced product ... But I think that
might have been overstated.
The more likely scenario, he said,
was that stronger propylene and polypropylene prices would result in more
on-demand propylene production in
the US. Weve already heard of some
announcements, he said. Dow has
announced. But announcing doesnt
mean doing. We can believe those projects are happening when they start
moving the dirt.
Dow said it will construct a propane
dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in the US
at its Freeport, Texas site. It is scheduled
to start production in 2015. The company is also considering a second propylene plant to start up in 2018. PDH economics are very protable right now,
the resin distributor said. If youre using a new technology, there is money to
be made producing through PDH.
The news of Dows PDH plant plan
was followed by the company signing
a denitive agreement to sell its global
polypropylene business to Braskem for
$340 million. The divestiture of the
polypropylene business was consistent
December 2011 insight 55

2012 global energy outlook - petrochemicals

with Dows long-term strategic business
model, chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris said. We are dampening volatility
and putting our propylene into highvalue end uses, Liveris said. You can
assume that by doing this deal, we are
liberating ourselves to do that. We are
taking what we make into our valueadded, high-end uses like acrylics and
epichlorohydrin and propylene oxide.

Polypropylene Exports Hit

Higher propylene and polypropylene
prices in the US will also impact trade
ows, the resin distributor said. In
North Americaand remember, this is
a North American issue, not global
polypropylene [production rates] will
be hurt by this, he said. And the US
material is going to have to compete
with the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
According to CMR, about 15% of polypropylene production is for export. And
as domestic prices climb, production
of polypropylene for export will drop.
Polypropylene exports (about 1 million
mt/year) will decrease dramatically due to
the high cost of propylene, according to
the CMR report. This will tighten global
supply and raise Asian export prices.
Another option to offset the cut in
propylene production would be con-

verting methane to propylene (MTP)

though that option seems unlikely,
according to Bauman. Lurgi is doing
MTP in Trinidad, Bauman said. It
makes sense there. I dont think it
makes sense in the US. There is a lot of
water involved, creating a lot of garbage
water. The MTP process would make
more sense in regions with less stringent environmental regulations, Bauman suggested, specically citing China, the Middle East and Latin America.
Jerry Oliver, vice president of sales and
business development for Air Liquide
which owns Lurgisaid MTP technology is feasible and being considered in
North America. The company already
has already constructed four gas-based
methanol plants globally, including
one in Malaysia, as well as the one in
Trinidad. The capacity of those plants
about 5,000 mt/dayis enough to feed
a 500,000 mt/year MTP unit.
The company has two coal-based MTP
plants in China. One is mechanically
complete but still being commissioned.
The other is operational, though not at
full capacity because the coal gasication does not provide enough feedstock
to run at 100% capacity.
Gas-based production of methanol, which would be used to feed the

2. Ethane decouples from natural gas.

250
Natural Gas

Ethane

200

150

100

50

1/09 3/09 5/09 7/09 9/09 11/09 1/10 3/10 5/10 7/10 9/10 11/10 1/11 3/11 5/11 7/11
Source: Platts
56 insight December 2011

2012 global energy outlook - petrochemicals

MTP process, does produce signicant
amounts of waterestimated to be between 900,000 and a million mt annually. However, Oliver stressed that
the water should not be considered
garbage water. The feasibility of using MTP in the US or Canada will depend on feedstock advantages, not the
generation of water, Oliver said. With
natural gas priced between $4 and $5/
MMBtu, MTP would provide a signicant feedstock advantage, Oliver said.
How long are we going to stay [at that
price]? Oliver asked. As long as you
have the advantage, and can sustain
that for three to four years, these projects can work.
Propane dehydrogenation (PDH) is
linked to a crude oil feedstock price.
Crude oil will in turn drive the price
of propylene. Propylene prices appear
to be tied to crude, since the classical
production technologies (FCC, naphtha crackers and PDH) are fed by crude
based/crude related feedstocks, according to Ingo Litzenberger from Air Liquide. With regard to PDH, which lives
from the spread between propane and
propylene, the feedstock costs [propane] are about 80% of the production
cost, whereby for MTP the feedstock
costs [natural gas] are only about 25%.
Consequently, MTP is favored by high
crude price scenarios, whereby PDH is
favored by low crude prices.

Shale Goes International

While butadiene and propylene could
experience tightness because of the shift
to lighter feedstocks, the abundance of
ethylene and polyethylene may become
just as problematic for olens producers, consultant Bauman said. While
natural gas prices have decoupled from
crude oil prices, which makes the shale
gas plays attractive as a low-cost energy
source, ethane prices have also been decoupling from natural gas.
That decoupling is expected to shrink
margins as demand for ethane pushes
up its price relative to natural gas, eating into the cost advantage that US ethylene and polyethylene producers seek
from shale. I certainly wouldnt want
to be in the polyethylene business in

the US in 2016, Bauman said. Prices

are going to be low. Margins are going
to be tight. High-priced production will
have to be cut.
There could also be competition from
other regions as the shale gas revolution spreads globally. The last time
there was something similar [in scale]
was the very rst oil crisis, in the 1970s.
That was a turning point. The Middle
East nally realized what they had
and they realized they didnt need to
be selling (oil) for $4 a barrel.
At that time, oil companies started to
ock to the Middle East, just to ensure
oil supply, Bauman said. Mobil placed
a PE plant in the Middle Eastjust as a
courtesy to the Saudi governmentso
they could be guaranteed they had access to oil. At the time, it was Mobils
most valuable property.
The step-change US petrochemical
companies face because of shale gas
could be as big as those seen in the
energy industry in the 1970s, he said.
(Shale gas) may be as big, once it matures. People here are only focusing on
the US. There is also shale gas in North
Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America.
The US is going to be the source of technology for those plays.
A new cracker could be built in Poland to feed ethylene and polyethylene into Europe, Bauman said. That
would result in higher-priced facilities
in Europe being shut down. There already was a threat to the higher-priced
European polyethylene production
from lower-cost Middle East supplies.
The higher-priced production units
will likely start to shut down between
2017 and 2020, Bauman said. Thats
when we expect to see the real international impact.
As more countries explore for shale
gasand nd the same benets and
concerns currently being experienced
in the USthe need for on-purpose
butadiene and propylene is expected
to increase, TPCs Bloesch said. The result of the global shale gas plays would
be net less butadiene and propylene,
he said, resulting in a strengthening
of on-purpose butadiene [and propylene production].
December 2011 insight 57


 


Congratulations to the 2011 Award of Excellence Winners.

Each year Platts Global Energy Awards honors select groups of companies for their strategic
contribution to energy. Finalists in categories that have the potential for making a signicant
impact on the new energy economy by creating new jobs and paving the way for the next best
technological solutions will receive the Award of Excellence in 2011.
The 2011 Award of Excellence winners are:
Operational Excellence
Rising Star Award - Company
C3
CoaLogix
Element Markets, LLC
On-Ramp Wireless
Prometheus Energy Group
SeaMicro
SolarReserve

Leading Technologies
Sustainable Technology Innovation
of the Year
DB Sediments GmbH
GreenVolts
LanzaTech
Lennox Industries Inc.
Petra Solar
PyroPhase
SolarReserve
Space-Time Insight / California ISO
SPG Solar, Inc.
Virent Enery Systems, Inc.

Principal Sponsor

Co-Sponsors

720-548-5478 www.GlobalEnergyAwards.com

solar

New Era for

Renewables Finance
Swami Venkataraman and Andrew Giudici, Directors,
Standard & Poors Ratings Services

Capital cost declines have brought the wind and solar

industries much closer to grid parity, but the renewables
sector faces a plethora of risks in the next few years,
including the expiry of subsidies and the need for new
sources of capital. Given these conicting pulls, growth
will almost certainly slow in 2012 and longer-term
growth rates for renewables remain somewhat murky.

Brisk growth in renewable energy

over the past several years brought
the 2010 installed base of new renewable electricity to 55 GW in the US, up
from 23 GW at the end of 2006. Capital costs have declined sharply. Wind
turbines have fallen to about $1,000
per kilowatt (kW) from $1,500-2,000/
kW a few years ago. Solar panel prices
are decreasing with such rapidity that a
price of $1 per watt, recently predicted
for 2015, now looks likely by end-2011.
Yet, despite this enormously positive
long-term economic trend, renewable
energy may see turbulence over the
next year or two.
The foremost challenge arises from
the bleak scal forecast for the US and
Europe. The current environment of
budget austerity and sovereign debt
crises make it difcult to sustain subsidies for renewable energy. In the
US, three major incentives are expir-

ing or have expiredthe Department

of Energy loan guarantee program,
which ended September 30; Production Tax Credits for wind generation,
which expires end-2012 and may
not be renewed; and the US Treasury
cash grant for Investment Tax Credits. While the elimination of the cash
grant does not remove the ITC itself
for solar projects, it makes access to
tax equity a major factor in nancing
as opposed to the ease of using the
cash grant. Other forms of policy support, such as state incentives and Renewable Portfolio Standards, may also
be called into question.
In Europe, political commitment
to renewable energy remains strong,
mainly due to the EUs 20% by 2020
target for renewables. However, the
experiences in Spain, the Czech Republic, and Italy indicate the risks of
a backlash to generous subsidies. If the
December 2011 insight 59

2012 global energy outlook - solar

sovereign debt crisis spreads or worsens, it is possible that renewable subsidies may be affected as countries enact
austerity measures. Feed-in tariffs in
the Canadian province of Ontario also
barely survived a threat of elimination
in recent elections.

Muted Demand Response

Wind and solar demand in 2011 have
not responded to falling capital costs.
While some have speculated that ongoing price declines prompted buyers to
postpone orders to get even better prices later, many other factors are at work.
Utility scale projects in the US need
to negotiate Power Purchase Agreements and obtain permits, which takes
time. The impact of falling prices has
indeed been observed in recent utility requests for proposals where PPA
prices for solar PV have reached $100/
MWh and lower. Many utilities in the
western US (and in the Northeast for
solar) have made rapid progress toward
meeting their near-term RPS goals,
and demand is lower as a result. Slower
economic growth in the US and Europe has meant slower growth in power demand that, in conjunction with
low natural gas prices, have depressed
demand for renewables that might be
expected as a result of portfolio targets
in a growth environment.
In Europe, Italy and Germany will
both be much smaller solar markets

this year. Changes in Italian regulation is certainly a factor, but falling

panel prices still imply strong rates
of return for projects. Instead, panel
demand is sluggish, owing to a lack
of access to nance. However, not all
developments are negative for renewables. Post Fukushima, Japan passed
a law requiring 20% of its energy to
come from renewables by 2020. This is
expected to create ongoing demand of
3 GW per year. Germanys decision to
shut down all nuclear reactors by 2022
is positive, but only incrementally because its current solar run rate is very
strong and because much of the nuclear capacity needs to be replaced by
other base-load options.
Another positive for demand has
been rooftop installations, where falling panel prices have offset declining
state-level incentives in the US. Today,
rooftop systems are competitive in
about 12 to 15 US states and are rapidly
approaching parity in several others
as panel prices fall. However, installed
costs for rooftops will decline more
slowly than utility scale projects, owing
both to lower volumes and signicant
start-up and marketing costs in each
US state or European country, as well as
the need to comply with literally hundreds or even thousands of local building and re codes. Awareness of solars
competitiveness has also lagged among
retail customers.

1. Historical sources of tax equity.

$ billions
8
7

Tax Equity
Projected Tax Equity
Treasury Grant
Projected Incr. 2011 grant

6
5
4
3
2
1

2005
2006
Source: Standard & Poors

60 insight December 2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

YTD 2011 2011 est 2012 est

2012 global energy outlook - solar

Falling Capital Costs
Excess supply and economies of scale
are responsible for this tremendous decline in wind and solar capital costs.
For solar panels, pricing from Tier 1
manufacturers (the highest priced tier)
reached about $1.20 per watt in the
second quarter of 2011, compared with
almost $4 per watt in early 2008 and
$1.75 per watt as recently as the fourth
quarter of 2010. Low prices may be bad
for panel manufacturers, but only partially, as this decline helps solar generation approach grid parity.
However, are these declines sustainable? Chinese manufacturers have been
the primary driver of price declines.
They have expanded production capacity enormously and continue to fully
utilize their plants despite lack of demand. Global production capacity is
currently about 30 GW, while 2011 demand is expected to be about 15 GW.
Although a few small players have gone
bankrupt (Solyndra, Evergreen Solar,
and Spectrawatt) and others have cut
output (QCells, REC), production has
consistently and substantially outstripped demand in 2011, resulting in a
large increase in inventories across the
supply chain, mainly in China. This
massive increase in working capital has
been nanced by Chinese banks.
The generous access to virtually zero-cost debt is being used by Chinese
solar companies to achieve economies
of scale, offer extended credit terms
to customers to augment their already
industry-leading cost positions, and to
gain market share. If the decline in panel prices was driven mainly by economies of scale and not accompanied by
an industry-wide accumulation of inventory fueled by cheap, state-directed bank lending, such price declines
might be sustainable. However, assuming such bank lending must eventually
stop (a normally rational assumption),
the production cuts and bankruptcies
that will accompany such action will
likely stabilize or raise prices. Some production cuts are already beginning to
be seen at companies such as LDK Solar
and JA Solar.
The wind turbine business is also see-

ing falling capital costs, with global capacity at 10 GW to 15 GW compared

with installations at only 4 GW to 5
GW per year since the 2008 nancial
crisis. Turbine prices have declined to
about $1,000 per kW today from about
$1,500 to $2,000 per kW, partially also
due to improving turbine efciencies.
Chinese producers have also entered
this market, although they dont yet
dominate it like solar panels.

New Financial Architecture

The expiry of incentives, turmoil in
European banking markets and the
need for new sources of capital will
force renewable energy developers to
seek new sources of tax-friendly, competitive nancing. Tax equity investors,
generally large nancial institutions or
utilities, have played a critical role in
the growth of the US renewable indus-

If the decline in panel prices was driven mainly

by economies of scale and not accompanied
by an industry-wide accumulation of inventory
fueled by cheap, state-directed bank lending,
such price declines might be sustainable.
try over the last decade because project
developers generally do not have the
appetite to fully utilize the tax benets.
The nancial crisis sharply reduced the
taxable income of banks and nancial
institutions, in addition to eliminating
some prominent players. The American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2008
introduced the 1603 cash grant that allowed project developers to monetize
their ITCs in the form of direct cash
grants from the treasury. The program
has been very successful, accounting
for over 50% of tax equity in the US.
Besides relieving developers from
having to look for tax equity, the cash
grant also allows developers to avoid
cash sweeps of 90-95% typically associated with tax equity structures. This allows developers to access the high-yield
bond and institutional loan markets to
raise debt at the parent level (with cash
distributions from projects used to pay
December 2011 insight 61

2012 global energy outlook - solar

debt service), dramatically expanding
the pool of capital available to spur additional project development.
However, the cash grant program
looks unlikely to be extended beyond
the end of 2011. Some cash-rich corporations, notably Google, have become
tax equity investors and more could
enter, although their expected rates of
return will likely be greater than those
of banks.
In the larger scheme of things, access to tax equity for renewable projects would benet from standardization in a manner similar to low-income
housing nancing investments. The
low-income housing industry is well
established, the cash ow proles and
risk-reward tradeoffs are well under-

Securitization has the potential to emerge

as a very large and cost-effective source
of capital that might revolutionize distributed
rooftop solar generation.
stood, and transaction structures have
become highly standardized over the
years. This attracts many more investors (than just banks) and also keeps
pricing attractive given an adequate
supply. Renewables are yet to achieve
the stability and standardization required to attract non-nancial investors in large numbers.
The renewable industry has also expressed its wish that renewable assets
be included as a category in which Master Limited Partnerships and Real Estate
Investment Trusts are allowed to invest.
MLPs, which are currently allowed to
invest in oil and gas infrastructure assets and REITs, which generally own
buildings and rental property, would
not only be able to monetize tax benets by passing them along to their
members, but could also provide a lower cost of capital because they are nontaxable entities themselves. Both invest
in long-lived physical assets that generate steady cash distributions, a prole
that contracted renewable projects are
well placed to meet. Both are often publicly listed and can raise capital from a
62 insight December 2011

broad class of investors.

The renewable industry has argued
that the exclusion of renewables from
MLPs was simply a matter of the historically undeveloped state of the renewable industry when MLPs were rst created. Similarly, the ongoing malaise in
real estate is causing REITs to evaluate
adding other asset classes, such as power assets. However, both structures need
legislative changes at the federal level,
highly unlikely in the near future.

Debt Financing for

Renewable Projects
A combination of Basel III expectations (which raise capital requirements
for longer tenor loans), and the ongoing sovereign-linked banking crisis of
solvency and liquidity in Europe has
caused a number of banks to withdraw
entirely from project nancing. Even
availability of construction nancing
has been affected, and the terms for
long-term, take-out nancing are onerous. Projects are being delayed or abandoned, contributing to the lack of demand response to reduced prices. This
is especially critical since European
banks have been the mainstay of solar
project nancing (including in the US).
There has been talk about Chinese
banks lending to projects that use Chinese solar panels or wind turbines, although there has not been much evidence that it has actually occurred as
yet. Chinese banks are already overextended through providing inexpensive
credit for panel manufacturers capital
expansion and working capital needs,
and currently appear unwilling to
make long-term loans to projects on a
non-recourse basis.
This outlook for bank lending necessitates the creation of a broader project nance market for solar with institutional
investors. Large solar PV projects are eminently nanceable through the project
nance bond markets though acceptance of a new asset class may be slower.
To the extent that perceived technology
risks may be hampering a large-scale
project nance bond market for solar
power, insurance-based structures have
been proposed, some of which indem-

2012 global energy outlook - solar

nify the project for panel degradation
risk while other proposals would also assume certain operational risks.

Solar Securitization
Securitization has the potential to
emerge as a very large and cost-effective
source of capital that might revolutionize distributed rooftop solar generation.
Over time, as tax incentives decline,
contractual receivables as a percent of
system value will increase in comparison with tax benets. For example, if
the ITC declines to 10% in 2016, then
receivables will provide 70% of a systems value by 2016, with 10% from
the ITC and 20% from depreciation.
Solar then becomes a cash ow-driven
investment instead of a tax-driven one,
well-suited for securitization.
Leases and PPAs with various offtakers would be aggregated and used
as collateral for a structured security.
Securitization could result in lower nancing costs for high-yield companies
because investors do not rely on the
creditworthiness of the issuing entity
to recover their investments. Rather,
the collateral pool generates cash ows
that are used to pay interest and principal obligations.
One of the key credit risks in solar
securitization is offtaker creditworthiness. Traditional mortgage analysis
could be used to determine the default
probability for each residential PPA or
lease agreement. Evaluating a residential off-takers credit statistics provides
insight into their ability to make their
PPA or lease payments, while a property
evaluation provides insight into the offtakers nancial incentive to stay in the
home. For example, if a borrower only
has a small amount of equity in his or
her property, he or she may have little
incentive to stay in the home if prices
deteriorate. The creditworthiness of
small businesses and commercial entities are determined using traditional
credit analysis.
In order to incentivize an off-taker
to enter into a long-term PPA or a lease
agreement, many issuers will sell solar power at a 10% or greater discount
from prevailing utility rates. Many off-

take agreements include annual escalators, which will increase the rate for
solar electricity each year. While the
escalator protects the transaction from
rising prices, it also adds risk that future PPA or lease rates could exceed the
then-prevailing retail rate. If retail rates
fall signicantly below the PPA or lease
price, off-takers may attempt to renegotiate their agreements, which could
lessen future cash ows.
Operation and Maintenance services
are usually provided by solar companies that have developed computerized
monitoring software to track the performance of each solar system. While
most solar systems do not require signicant upkeep, problems do arise that
need to be addressed on a periodic basis. Because of the size and scope of the
collateral pool supporting most solar
securitizations, there are only a handful of companies that can handle such
a diversied portfolio.
The lack of large companies that can
provide O&M services on a national
level increases the credit risk prole of
the transaction because it may be difcult to replace the original provider in
a short period of time. As such, it is important to assess the O&M fee to ensure
that it would be sufcient to attract a
new provider in a period of distress.
Solar securitizations benet from
geographically dispersed assets, which
reduce the transactions overall operating risk. However, many securitizations may include a ramp-up feature,
which allows the collateral pool to develop over time. While this feature is
not uncommon in some asset classes,
there is risk that the collateral pool may
not be as well diversied as originally
expected. This could occur if certain
installations become uneconomical as
state and federal incentives are not renewed. Somewhat mitigating this risk
is the fact that proceeds that would
have been used to purchase additional
PPAs or leases would be used to repay
debt if installations cease. However,
concentration risk would increase because the transaction would rely on a
smaller number of off-takers to meet its
debt service obligations.
December 2011 insight 63

top 250 global energy companies

Asia Forges
Ahead
Ross McCracken, Editor,
Platts Energy Economist

Platts Top 250 Global Energy

Company Rankings reviewed.

2010 was a year of recovery, but for

some more than others. Oil may have
bounced back, but the energy complex as a whole was marked by distinct
disparities between commodities and
regions. But if there is one consistent
factor, it is that Asia steals the show.
Whether coal, gas, oil or electricity, recession or boom, Asia-Pacics rate of
consumption growth outstrips all other
regions by a substantial margin.
At the heart of this is one of the
worlds largest mass migrations in history, from countryside to city. Even if
Chinas population growth may have
slowed, it expects to add 16 million
urban dwellers a year out to 2020, creating huge new demand for energy.

Platts Top 250 Global Energy

Company Rankings measures
nancial performance by examining each companys assets,
revenue, prots and return on
invested capital. All ranked companies have assets greater than
(US) $3 billion. The underlying
data comes from S&P Capital
IQ, a Standard & Poors business
(like Platts, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies).
64 insight December 2011

Urbanization across non-OECD AsiaPacic is one of the key driving forces

behind the regions rapid growth in energy consumption, so it is no surprise
that in the Platts 250 Asian companies
are once again to the fore.
However, companies ability to benet from Asias growth depends on
location, activity type and market.
While crude, coal and to some extent
LNG benet from international pricingand thus from Asian growthgas
and power markets are more regionally
based. Higher feedstock prices make
prots for some, but represent costs
to others. In Asia too, the impact of
growth in energy demand is differentiated. Oil reners and power producers
often nd themselves caught between
the rock of international feedstock prices and the hard place of regulated domestic markets.

Recovery and Decline

World oil demand in 2010 grew by
3.1% on year to 87.382 million barrels a day, surpassing its former peak
in 2007 and more than reversing the
previous two years of contraction. Rising demand was accompanied by rising
prices: Platts physical crude benchmark
Dated Brent averaged $79.50/barrel in
2010, its second-highest annual average
ever and a big step up from the $61.67/b

top 250 global energy companies

average seen in 2009. Asia saw the fastest on-year growth in demand, at 5.3%,
as opposed to Europes anemic 0.1%.
World gas consumption jumped by
7.4% on year in 2010 to 3,169 billion
cubic meters, also reversing the contraction of 2009 and reaching a new
peak. Although demand rose in all regions, the pricing picture amply demonstrated the benets to consumers of
gas-to-gas competition, and by contrast
the benets of its absence to producers.
It also illustrated the almost complete
disconnection of the US gas market
from trade in LNG and thus the severing of international gas price transmission mechanisms.
In the US, gas prices at Henry Hub averaged $4.09/MMBtu over 2009, rising to
only $4.4/MMBtu in 2010 as supply from
shale plays kept overall gas supply well
above demand. This has caused a shift
in drillers attention from shale gas itself
to liquids production. By contrast, gas
prices at the UK National Balancing Point
jumped from an average of $4.775/MMBtu in 2009 to $6.575/MMBtu in 2010.

But the runaway gas markets were,

rst, spot LNG prices in the Asia-Pacific market, which increased 46.2% on
year from an average of $5.28/MMBtu
in 2009 to $7.72/MMBtu in 2010, and
second, long-term oil-linked gas contracts. Although these rose less than
spot prices, they achieved the highest
absolute values, averaging, in Europe,
$9.0058/MMBtu in 2010, up from
$7.4038/MMBtu in 2009.
World coal consumption jumped
7.6% on year to 3,555.8 million tons of
oil equivalent (mtoe) in 2010, driven
by Asian demand. While this is also an
all-time global high, the regional variation is stark. Coal consumption in Europe is in long-term decline. Although
consumption rose by 4.4% in 2010, and
steam coal prices delivered to Northwest
Europe jumped 39.6%, coal use remains
well below pre-nancial crisis levels.
A similar trend is emerging in newly
gas-rich North America. US steam coal
prices on NYMEX averaged $61.60/
short ton over 2010, up 26.3% from
2009. But again, while North Ameri-

1. Fastest growing Asia companies.

Cairn India Ltd

India

E&P

3-year
CGR %
116.5

PTT Aromatics & Rening Plc

Thailand

R&M

49.6

217

YTL Power International Bhd

Malaysia

DU

48.9

209

China Resources Power Holdings Co Ltd

Hong Kong

IPP

42.4

149

YTL Corp Bhd

Malaysia

DU

40

227

China Yangtze Power Co Ltd

China

IPP

35.8

112

GD Power Development Co Ltd

China

IPP

32.7

180

Shanxi Xishan Coal and Electricity Power Co Ltd

China

C&CF

29.5

192

Rank Company

Country

Industry

Platts
Rank
120

Shanxi Lu'an Environmental Energy Development Co Ltd

China

C&CF

29.1

159

10

Reliance Infrastructure Ltd

India

EU

28.8

232

11

Adaro Energy Tbk Pt

Indonesia

C&CF

28.7

238

12

Huaneng Power International Inc

China

IPP

28.1

127

13

Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd

China

C&CF

28.1

100

14

China Longyuan Power Group Ltd

China

IPP

26.9

247

15

Banpu Pcl

Thailand

C&CF

26.3

151

16

CNOOC Ltd

Hong Kong

E&P

26.2

15

17

China Coal Energy Co Ltd

China

C&CF

25.1

97

18

Reliance Industries Ltd

India

R&M

24.7

24

19

Bumi Resources Tbk Pt

Indonesia

C&CF

24.5

226

20

Gail (India) Ltd

India

GU

23.1

109

Fastest Growing is based on a three year compound growth rate (CGR) for revenues. The compound growth rate (CGR) is based on the companies revenue
numbers for the past four years (current year included). If only three years of data was available then it is a two year CGR. All rankings are computed from
data assessed on June 1, 2011.

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

December 2011 insight 65

top 250 global energy companies

Platts
Rank
2011 Company
1
Exxon Mobil Corp

State or country
Texas

Region
Americas

Return on
Assets
Revenues
Prots
invested capital 3-year Industry
$ million Rank $ million Rank $ million Rank ROIC % Rank CGR% code
302,510
5 341,578
2
30,460
2
18
13
-2
IOG

Americas

184,769

13

189,607

19,024

16

20

-2

IOG

330,261

118,401

12

32,443

13

39

14

IOG

Chevron Corp

California

Gazprom OAO

Russian Federation EMEA

PetroChina Co Ltd

China

Asia/Pacic Rim

254,914

220,177

21,034

12

41

21

IOG

Total SA

France

EMEA

206,640

11

189,153

14,234

13

35

IOG

Royal Dutch Shell plc

United Kingdom

EMEA

322,560

368,056

20,127

11

54

IOG

ConocoPhillips

Texas

Americas

156,314

15

175,752

11,358

12

46

IOG

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp China

Asia/Pacic Rim

153,143

16

281,981

10,788

11

49

17

IOG

OJSC Rosneft Oil Company Russian Federation EMEA

93,829

21

61,942

25

10,400

10

14

30

IOG

10

Lukoil Oil Company

Russian Federation EMEA

84,017

27

104,956

15

9,006

12

13

34

IOG

11

Statoil ASA

Norway

EMEA

119,203

19

89,523

17

6,473

16

12

47

IOG

12

Petrobras-Petroleo Brasilier Brazil

Americas

328,193

125,937

10

20,779

84

IOG

13

E.ON AG

Germany

EMEA

219,815

10

125,833

11

9,007

11

78

11

EU

14

Repsol YPF SA

Spain

EMEA

97,241

20

74,779

20

6,319

17

11

56

IOG

15

CNOOC Ltd

Hong Kong

Asia/Pacic Rim

50,464

47

27,280

52

8,175

14

24

26

E&P

16

Eni SpA

Italy

EMEA

189,590

12

132,663

8,507

13

89

IOG

17

RWE AG

Germany

EMEA

133,828

18

68,593

21

4,454

24

10

67

DU

18

JX Holdings Inc

Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

77,058

28

114,941

13

3,719

30

10

61

R&M

19

Endesa SA

Spain

EMEA

89,990

24

40,157

34

5,560

21

10

60

20

EU

20

TNK-BP Holdings

Russian Federation EMEA

30,881

91

40,280

33

6,540

15

26

IOG

21

Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd India

Asia/Pacic Rim

42,881

59

25,888

56

4,943

22

18

14

E&P

22

China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd China

Asia/Pacic Rim

52,454

39

22,165

64

5,729

20

14

32

23

C&CF

23

Ecopetrol SA

Colombia

Americas

37,626

66

22,613

63

4,389

25

98

23

IOG

24

Reliance Industries Ltd

India

Asia/Pacic Rim

68,061

32

58,508

27

4,247

26

83

25

R&M

25

Centrica plc

United Kingdom

EMEA

31,732

85

35,405

37

2,957

36

19

11

11

DU

26

Scottish and Southern Energy plc United Kingdom

EMEA

35,314

73

44,738

30

2,376

43

15

25

23

EU

27

Occidental Petroleum Corp California

Americas

52,432

40

19,045

69

4,569

23

12

45

IOG

28

PTT Plc

Thailand

41,195

61

61,784

26

2,702

37

77

IOG

29

Gazprom Neft JSC

Russian Federation EMEA

32,064

83

30,301

46

3,148

33

12

42

14

IOG

30

Marathon Oil Corp

Texas

50,014

50

67,113

23

2,568

40

92

IOG

31

Exelon Corp

Illinois

Americas

52,240

41

18,644

71

2,563

41

10

66

EU

32

GDF Suez

France

EMEA

265,503

113,751

14

6,216

18

183

21

DU

33

National Grid plc

United Kingdom

EMEA

76,388

29

22,647

62

3,409

31

104

DU

34

Enel SpA

Italy

EMEA

241,628

96,872

16

5,911

19

187

19

EU

35

Surgutneftegaz

Russian Federation EMEA

46,682

53

17,640

77

3,894

28

73

IOG

36

Hess Corp

New York

Americas

35,396

72

33,862

40

2,125

47

10

72

IOG

37

BG Group plc

United Kingdom

EMEA

50,299

49

17,166

81

3,383

32

10

71

IOG

38

Iberdrola SA

Spain

EMEA

134,725

17

40,976

32

3,866

29

157

20

EU

39

Dominion Resources Inc

Virginia

Americas

42,817

60

15,197

88

2,963

35

11

57

-1

DU

40

Imperial Oil Ltd

Canada

Americas

21,246

127

23,494

59

2,197

46

17

18

IOG

41

AK Transneft OAO

Russian Federation EMEA

50,767

45

11,759

111

4,033

27

10

68

20

S&T

42

Indian Oil Corp Ltd

India

Asia/Pacic Rim

40,850

62

67,824

22

1,724

55

114

14

R&M

43

EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG Germany

EMEA

50,668

46

23,664

58

1,576

60

91

EU

44

Suncor Energy Inc

Canada

Americas

72,439

31

35,692

36

2,673

38

166

27

IOG

45

Sasol Ltd

South Africa

EMEA

22,925

120

17,305

79

2,256

45

14

28

IOG

46

Apache Corp

Texas

Americas

43,425

58

12,183

109

3,032

34

76

E&P

47

CEZ As

Czech Republic

EMEA

31,822

84

10,548

120

2,575

39

13

36

EU

48

Vattenfall AB

Sweden

EMEA

87,594

26

31,458

43

1,914

52

174

14

EU

49

Southern Co

Georgia

Americas

55,032

37

17,456

78

2,040

49

133

EU

50

NextEra Energy Inc

Florida

Americas

52,994

38

15,317

87

1,957

50

124

EU

Asia/Pacic Rim
Americas

Notes: C&CF = coal and consumable fuels, DNR = data not reported, DU = diversied utility, E&P = exploration and production, EU = electric utility, GU = gas utility, IOG = integrated oil and gas, IPP = independent
power producer and energy trader, R&M = rening and marketing, S&T = storage and transfer. All rankings are computed from data assessed on June 1, 2011.

66 insight December 2011

top 250 global energy companies

Platts
Rank
2011 Company
51 Coal India Ltd

State or country
India

Return on
Assets
Revenues
Prots
invested capital 3-year Industry
Region
$ million Rank $ million Rank $ million Rank ROIC % Rank CGR% code
Asia/Pacic Rim 18,015 140
11,057 117
2,392
42
31
2
13
C&CF

52

Devon Energy Corp

Oklahoma

Americas

32,927

80

9,940

126

2,333

44

10

62

-4

53

OMV AG

Austria

EMEA

37,964

65

31,405

44

1,240

83

132

IOG

54

Tatneft OAO

Russian Federation EMEA

20,281

129

15,664

86

1,563

62

11

52

10

E&P

55

Formosa Petrochemical Corp Taiwan

Asia/Pacic Rim

15,761

149

23,336

61

1,348

75

12

44

-6

R&M

56

SK Innovation Co Ltd

Korea

Asia/Pacic Rim

27,005

101

47,147

28

989

98

116

R&M

57

Gas Natural SDG SA

Spain

EMEA

65,195

34

26,432

54

1,617

58

198

25

GU

58

NTPC Ltd

India

Asia/Pacic Rim

30,228

93

12,638

105

2,059

48

99

14

IPP

59

Public Service Enterprise Group Inc New Jersey

Americas

29,909

95

11,793

110

1,557

63

80

-3

DU

60

Kansai Electric Power Co Inc Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

89,986

25

33,044

42

1,469

67

215

EU

61

EDP Energias De Portugal SA Portugal

EMEA

58,216

36

19,081

68

1,453

69

186

EU

62

Bashneft OJSC

Russian Federation EMEA

14,991

154

13,341

98

1,429

70

13

37

58

E&P

63

Fortum Oyj

Finland

EMEA

31,580

87

8,478

138

1,750

54

85

12

EU

64

EDF

France

EMEA

345,880

87,746

18

854

109

241

EU

65

YPF SA

Argentina

Americas

11,402

183

11,084

116

1,453

68

28

15

IOG

66

Chesapeake Energy Corp

Oklahoma

Americas

37,179

68

9,366

128

1,774

53

125

E&P

67

Saudi Electricity Co

Saudi Arabia

EMEA

50,905

44

7,437

150

608

138

12

43

10

EU

68

Entergy Corp

Louisiana

Americas

38,685

64

11,488

112

1,270

81

120

EU

69

Valero Energy Corp

Texas

Americas

37,621

67

81,342

19

923

103

188

-5

R&M

70

Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd

Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

30,994

90

43,656

31

724

125

142

-2

R&M

71

Canadian Natural Resources Canada

Americas

44,050

57

12,730

104

1,687

56

173

E&P

72

Compania Espanola de Petroleos SA Spain

EMEA

16,500

146

29,818

47

854

110

88

IOG

73

Edison International

California

Americas

45,530

56

12,409

108

1,304

80

148

-2

EU

74

Tokyo Gas Co Ltd

Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

22,523

123

18,316

72

1,139

88

111

GU

75

Veolia Environnement SA France

EMEA

74,064

30

46,841

29

814

112

226

DU

76

Inpex Corp

Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

32,995

79

11,251

114

1,535

64

140

-8

E&P

77

Chubu Electric Power Co Inc Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

65,635

33

27,808

51

1,009

95

220

-1

EU

78

PG&E Corp

Americas

46,025

54

13,841

97

1,113

89

164

DU

79

Eletrobras-Centrais Electricas Brasileiras SA Brazil

Americas

92,721

22

16,191

84

1,327

78

225

EU

80

Polski Koncern Naftowy Orlen SA Poland

EMEA

18,609

137

28,284

49

803

115

109

R&M

81

TonenGeneral Sekiyu Corp Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

11,163

189

28,617

48

511

157

17

17

-8

R&M

82

American Electric Power Co Inc Ohio

Americas

50,455

48

14,427

92

1,214

86

189

EU

83

Cia Energetica de Minas Gerais Brazil

Americas

21,180

128

7,596

147

1,333

76

10

64

10

EU

84

Duke Energy Corp

North Carolina

Americas

59,090

35

14,272

93

1,317

79

210

EU

85

Husky Energy Inc

Canada

Americas

30,076

94

18,074

75

1,166

87

161

IOG

86

Murphy Oil Corp

Arkansas

Americas

14,233

160

23,401

60

798

116

81

IOG

87

Encana Corp

Canada

Americas

35,152

74

8,827

133

1,492

65

151

-25

E&P

88

SNAM Rete Gas SpA

Italy

EMEA

28,423

98

4,679

185

1,489

66

87

25

GU

89

Consolidated Edison Inc

New York

Americas

36,146

70

13,325

99

1,003

96

175

DU

90

Tenaga Nasional Bhd

Malaysia

Asia/Pacic Rim

24,469

109

9,772

127

1,032

93

113

EU

91

S-Oil Corp

Korea

Asia/Pacic Rim

9,285

202

18,141

74

619

134

13

33

11

R&M

92

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co Iowa

45,668

55

11,127

115

1,238

84

193

-3

DU

93

Federal Grid Co of Unied Energy System JSC Russian Federation EMEA

31,163

88

3,721

202

1,946

51

108

20

EU

94

Enersis SA

Chile

Americas

27,792

99

12,596

106

991

97

149

10

EU

95

CLP Holdings Ltd

Hong Kong

Asia/Pacic Rim

23,065

119

7,513

149

1,329

77

106

EU

96

Woodside Petroleum Ltd

Australia

Asia/Pacic Rim

20,196

131

4,193

194

1,575

61

10

70

E&P

97

China Coal Energy Co Ltd

China

Asia/Pacic Rim

18,592

138

10,708

119

1,038

92

107

25

C&CF

98

Galp Energia SGPS SA

Portugal

EMEA

13,153

165

18,936

70

594

141

82

IOG

99

KazMunaiGas Exploration and Production JSC Kazakhstan

EMEA

9,830

194

4,149

195

1,597

59

19

10

E&P

100

Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd China

Asia/Pacic Rim

11,207

187

5,235

176

1,354

74

15

22

28

C&CF

California

Americas

E&P

Notes: C&CF = coal and consumable fuels, DNR = data not reported, DU = diversied utility, E&P = exploration and production, EU = electric utility, GU = gas utility, IOG = integrated oil and gas, IPP = independent
power producer and energy trader, R&M = rening and marketing, S&T = storage and transfer. All rankings are computed from data assessed on June 1, 2011.

December 2011 insight 67

top 250 global energy companies

Platts
Rank
State or country
2011 Company
101 PTT Exploration and Production Plc Thailand
Canada

Return on
Assets
Revenues
Prots
invested capital 3-year Industry
Region
$ million Rank $ million Rank $ million Rank ROIC % Rank CGR% code
Asia/Pacic Rim 11,286 185
4,617 186
1,357
73
17
16
15
E&P
22,810

121

12,898

103

987

99

138

-20

IOG

EMEA

8,712

210

17,168

80

483

163

17

19

R&M

Novatek OAO

Russian Federation EMEA

10,197

192

3,914

198

1,358

72

19

12

24

E&P

Enbridge Inc

Canada

Americas

31,095

89

15,040

89

964

100

197

S&T

106

CPFL Energia SA

Brazil

Americas

12,659

170

7,100

152

908

104

11

51

EU

107

Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA Poland

EMEA

18,727

136

6,932

155

1,012

94

102

-4

EU

108

Transcanada Corp

Canada

Americas

48,096

52

8,018

142

1,265

82

212

-3

S&T

109

Gail (India) Ltd

India

Asia/Pacic Rim

8,886

207

7,727

145

885

105

14

31

23

GU

110

PPL Corp

Pennsylvania

Americas

32,837

81

8,521

137

955

101

170

EU

111

Empresa Nacional de Electricidad SA Chile

Americas

12,896

169

4,888

182

1,088

90

12

48

12

IPP

112

China Yangtze Power Co Ltd China

Asia/Pacic Rim

24,231

110

3,287

209

1,236

85

86

36

IPP

113

FirstEnergy Corp

Ohio

Americas

34,805

76

13,253

100

784

118

199

EU

114

Alpiq Holding AG

Switzerland

EMEA

21,663

125

14,539

90

655

129

152

EU

115

Polish Oil And Gas Co SA Poland

EMEA

12,485

173

7,205

151

831

111

10

65

IOG

116

Anadarko Petroleum Corp Texas

Americas

51,559

42

10,842

118

761

120

223

-1

E&P

117

Progress Energy Inc

North Carolina

Americas

33,054

78

10,190

123

860

108

195

EU

118

BP plc

United Kingdom

EMEA

272,262

297,107

-3,719

249

-3

249

IOG

119

Spectra Energy Corp

Texas

Americas

26,686

103

4,945

180

1,043

91

136

S&T

120

Cairn India Ltd

India

Asia/Pacic Rim

10,285

191

2,262

227

1,394

71

15

24

117

E&P

121

Plains All American Pipeline LP Texas

Americas

13,703

161

25,893

55

505

160

139

S&T

122

Peabody Energy Corp

Americas

11,363

184

6,860

156

777

119

11

59

14

C&CF

123

Eletropaulo-Metropolitana Eletricidade de Sao Paulo SA Brazil

Americas

7,193

228

5,726

171

796

117

22

11

EU

124

Xcel Energy Inc

Minnesota

Americas

27,388

100

10,311

122

752

121

181

DU

125

GS Holdings Corp

Korea

Asia/Pacic Rim

26,037

104

37,107

35

448

174

211

16

R&M

126

Public Power Corporation SA Greece

EMEA

23,293

114

7,825

144

751

122

150

EU

127

Huaneng Power International Inc China

Asia/Pacic Rim

34,464

77

15,672

85

533

152

218

28

IPP

128

OMV Petrom SA

Romania

EMEA

12,106

177

5,932

165

701

128

10

63

15

IOG

129

Sempra Energy

California

Americas

30,283

92

9,003

130

749

123

190

-8

DU

130

Acea SpA

Italy

EMEA

9,173

205

3,340

208

868

107

18

15

DU

131

Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

182,065

14

64,048

24

-14,881

250

-13

250

-1

EU

132

Mol Hungarian Oil and Gas Co Hungary

EMEA

24,194

111

21,041

65

509

159

204

18

IOG

133

Interregional Distribution Grid Companies Holding JSC Russian Federation EMEA

7,128

229

134

250

1,618

57

25

134

Ultrapar Participacoes SA Brazil

Americas

8,199

216

25,085

57

452

172

98

29

S&T

135

DTE Energy Co

Americas

24,896

107

8,557

136

630

132

171

DU

136

Kyushu Electric Power Co Inc Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

51,522

43

17,729

76

343

193

238

EU

137

Korea Electric Power Corp Korea

Asia/Pacic Rim

92,035

23

34,611

39

-63

246

245

11

EU

138

Eskom

South Africa

EMEA

36,058

71

10,080

124

539

151

222

21

EU

139

Cosmo Oil Co Ltd

Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

19,442

134

33,065

41

345

191

209

-8

R&M

140

Osaka Gas Co Ltd

Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

17,693

142

14,163

94

548

148

191

-1

GU

141

Canadian Oil Sands Trust

Canada

Americas

7,243

227

3,162

213

881

106

14

29

-1

E&P

142

Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd India

Asia/Pacic Rim

15,385

152

30,484

45

375

183

196

11

R&M

143

Bharat Petroleum Co Ltd

India

Asia/Pacic Rim

14,805

155

27,254

53

360

187

192

R&M

144

Caltex Australia Ltd

Australia

Asia/Pacic Rim

5,639

240

18,163

73

308

201

75

-1

R&M

145

Power Assets Holdings Ltd Hong Kong

Asia/Pacic Rim

11,921

179

1,334

242

925

102

10

69

-6

EU

146

Tractebel Energia SA

Brazil

Americas

8,111

217

2,421

225

715

127

14

26

10

IPP

147

Sunoco Inc

Pennsylvania

Americas

13,297

163

34,915

38

257

218

178

-6

R&M

148

Moscow United Electric Grid OJSC Russian Federation EMEA

8,361

214

3,743

201

575

145

13

38

42

EU

149

China Resources Power Holdings Co Ltd Hong Kong

Asia/Pacic Rim

18,391

139

6,248

163

631

131

167

42

IPP

150

Noble Energy Inc

Americas

13,282

164

2,904

217

725

124

95

-2

E&P

102

Cenovus Energy Inc

103

Turkiye Petrol Ranerileri AS Turkey

104
105

Missouri

Michigan

Texas

Americas

EU

Notes: C&CF = coal and consumable fuels, DNR = data not reported, DU = diversied utility, E&P = exploration and production, EU = electric utility, GU = gas utility, IOG = integrated oil and gas, IPP = independent
power producer and energy trader, R&M = rening and marketing, S&T = storage and transfer. All rankings are computed from data assessed on June 1, 2011.

68 insight December 2011

top 250 global energy companies

Platts
Rank
2011 Company
151 Banpu Pcl

State or country
Thailand

Return on
Assets
Revenues
Prots
invested capital 3-year Industry
Region
$ million Rank $ million Rank $ million Rank ROIC % Rank CGR% code
Asia/Pacic Rim
6,385 234
2,123 232
804 114
16
21
26
C&CF

Australia

Asia/Pacic Rim

23,272

117

8,302

140

595

140

208

11

Asia/Pacic Rim

9,344

201

2,492

224

718

126

11

58

11

GU

4,616

187

806

113

205

S&T
S&T

IOG

152

Origin Energy Ltd

153

Hong Kong & China Gas Co Ltd Hong Kong

154

El Paso Corp

Texas

Americas

25,270

105

155

Energy Transfer Partners LP Texas

Americas

12,150

176

5,885

167

617

135

134

-5

156

Tohoku Electric Power Co Inc Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

49,594

51

20,386

66

-402

248

-1

248

-2

EU

157

NRG Energy Inc

New Jersey

Americas

26,896

102

8,849

132

477

165

216

14

IPP

158

ONEOK Partners LP

Oklahoma

Americas

7,920

220

8,676

135

473

168

94

14

S&T

159

Shanxi Lu'an Environmental Energy Development Co Ltd China

Asia/Pacic Rim

4,519

246

3,219

212

516

155

22

29

C&CF

160

Southwestern Energy Co

Texas

Americas

6,017

239

2,611

222

604

139

15

23

28

E&P

161

Companhia Paranaense de Energia Brazil

Americas

11,272

186

3,999

197

583

144

97

EU

162

Datang International Power Generation Co Ltd China

Asia/Pacic Rim

32,433

82

9,116

129

372

184

231

23

IPP

163

RusHydro JSC

Russian Federation EMEA

164

Neste Oil Oyj

Finland

EMEA

165

Showa Shell Sekiyu KK

Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

166

Esso Saf

France

EMEA

167

AES Corporation

Virginia

Americas

168

CenterPoint Energy Inc

Texas

Americas

169

Terna SpA

Italy

EMEA

170

Cimarex Energy Co

Colorado

Americas

171

Nexen Inc

Canada

172

Enel Green Power SpA

Italy

173

ONEOK Inc

174

23,279

116

14,002

96

351

188

228

106

9,582

200

14,470

91

308

200

143

-4

R&M

14,687

156

27,989

50

190

235

194

-9

R&M

5,326

241

16,942

82

199

234

79

R&M

40,511

63

16,647

83

-86

247

247

IPP

20,111

132

8,785

134

442

175

201

-3

DU

15,492

151

2,064

234

628

133

126

EU

4,358

250

1,713

239

575

146

19

E&P

Americas

22,616

122

5,799

169

569

147

207

-4

E&P

EMEA

18,880

135

2,856

218

609

137

156

IPP

Oklahoma

Americas

12,499

172

13,030

102

335

195

177

-1

GU

Verbund AG

Austria

EMEA

16,234

147

4,306

192

540

150

169

EU

175

Wisconsin Energy Corp

Wisconsin

Americas

13,060

167

4,202

193

454

171

128

DU

176

Korea Gas Corp

Korea

Asia/Pacic Rim

22,520

124

20,020

67

184

237

234

17

GU

177

A2A SpA

Italy

EMEA

17,773

141

7,975

143

415

176

202

-5

DU

178

Chugoku Electric Power Co Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

34,850

75

13,055

101

21

244

244

EU

179

Talisman Energy Inc

Americas

24,976

106

6,763

157

406

177

224

-4

E&P

180

GD Power Development Co Ltd China

Asia/Pacic Rim

23,107

118

6,126

164

361

186

203

33

IPP

181

Gasunie

Netherlands

EMEA

15,979

148

2,205

229

611

136

158

GU

182

Thai Oil Pcl

Thailand

Asia/Pacic Rim

4,835

244

10,352

121

293

206

100

R&M

183

Iberdrola Renovables SA

Spain

EMEA

37,165

69

3,018

214

485

162

227

33

IPP

184

Red Electrica Corp SA

Spain

EMEA

11,911

180

1,906

235

525

153

105

11

EU

185

CONSOL Energy Inc

Pennsylvania

Americas

12,071

178

5,163

179

347

189

130

13

C&CF

186

Empresa De Energia De Bogota SA Colombia

Americas

6,479

232

502

248

589

142

11

55

27

GU

187

Companhia De Transmissao De Energia Eletrica Paulista Brazil

Americas

4,375

248

1,332

243

480

164

14

27

20

EU

188

Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd Bermuda

Asia/Pacic Rim

8,264

215

362

249

647

130

90

15

EU

189

Light SA

Brazil

Americas

6,056

238

3,843

200

340

194

11

53

14

EU

190

Tata Power Co Ltd

India

Asia/Pacic Rim

8,832

208

4,009

196

460

170

112

19

EU

191

Hellenic Petroleum SA

Greece

EMEA

9,866

193

11,414

113

242

220

162

R&M

192

Shanxi Xishan Coal and Electricity Power Co Ltd China

Asia/Pacic Rim

4,456

247

2,546

223

397

178

12

40

29

C&CF

193

Neweld Exploration Co

Texas

Americas

7,494

226

1,883

237

523

154

74

E&P

194

Edison SpA

Italy

EMEA

23,743

112

14,066

95

28

243

243

IPP

195

Acciona SA

Spain

EMEA

29,478

96

8,433

139

225

228

232

-8

EU

196

CMS Energy Corp

Michigan

Americas

15,616

150

6,432

160

363

185

200

DU

197

Northeast Utilities

Massachusetts

Americas

14,522

158

4,898

181

388

180

176

-6

EU

198

Elia System Operator SA

Belgium

EMEA

8,489

212

1,265

245

541

149

93

10

EU

199

AGL Energy Ltd

Australia

Asia/Pacic Rim

9,263

204

6,431

161

346

190

145

21

DU

200

SCANA Corp

South Carolina

Americas

12,968

168

4,601

188

376

182

165

DU

Canada

EU

Notes: C&CF = coal and consumable fuels, DNR = data not reported, DU = diversied utility, E&P = exploration and production, EU = electric utility, GU = gas utility, IOG = integrated oil and gas, IPP = independent
power producer and energy trader, R&M = rening and marketing, S&T = storage and transfer. All rankings are computed from data assessed on June 1, 2011.

December 2011 insight 69

top 250 global energy companies

Platts
Rank
2011 Company
201 Powergrid Corp Of India

State or country
India

Return on
Assets
Revenues
Prots
invested capital 3-year Industry
Region
$ million Rank $ million Rank $ million Rank ROIC % Rank CGR% code
Asia/Pacic Rim 17,191 143
1,896 236
588 143
4
184
23
EU

Canada

Americas

7,920

221

2,111

233

512

156

96

-3

C&CF

31,595

86

5,681

172

277

214

236

36

DU

Americas

19,939

133

6,422

162

295

205

213

-7

DU

Pioneer Natural Resources Co Texas

Americas

9,679

198

1,803

238

475

167

110

E&P

206

Electric Power Development Co Ltd Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

24,772

108

7,587

148

234

223

235

IPP

207

Santos Ltd

Australia

Asia/Pacic Rim

14,676

157

2,167

230

486

161

172

-3

E&P

208

Canadian Utilities

Canada

Americas

9,720

197

2,642

221

476

166

141

DU

209

YTL Power International Bhd Malaysia

Asia/Pacic Rim

11,203

188

4,333

191

390

179

168

49

DU

210

Shikoku Electric Power Co Inc Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

16,986

145

7,064

153

282

212

217

-1

EU

211

UGI Corp

Pennsylvania

Americas

6,374

235

5,591

173

261

217

103

GU

212

Kinder Morgan Inc

Texas

Americas

28,908

97

8,191

141

-41

245

246

-8

S&T

213

Brookeld Infrastructure Partners LP Bermuda

Americas

13,109

166

634

247

467

169

153

214

Enagas SA

Spain

EMEA

9,819

195

1,322

244

449

173

123

GU

215

Ameren Corp

Missouri

Americas

23,515

113

7,638

146

139

240

240

DU

216

NHPC Ltd

India

217

PTT Aromatics & Rening Plc Thailand

218

Energias Do Brasil SA

219

Tauron Polska Energia SA Poland

220

Pinnacle West Capital Corp Arizona

Americas

221

Grupa Lotos SA

222
223

202

Cameco Corp

203

Abu Dhabi National Energy Co PJSC United Arab Emirates EMEA

204

NiSource Inc

205

Indiana

Brazil

Asia/Pacic Rim

11,707

181

1,093

246

510

158

155

15

IPP

Asia/Pacic Rim

5,055

243

8,902

131

206

231

137

50

R&M

Americas

8,085

218

2,973

215

344

192

118

EMEA

8,524

211

5,210

177

291

209

147

12,363

175

3,264

210

330

197

163

-3

EU

6,453

233

6,663

159

230

224

129

14

R&M
E&P

Poland

EMEA

Energen Corp

Alabama

Americas

International Power plc

United Kingdom

EMEA

224

OGE Energy Corp

Oklahoma

Americas

225

Essar Energy plc

United Kingdom

EMEA

226

Bumi Resources Tbk Pt

Indonesia

Asia/Pacic Rim

227

YTL Corp Bhd

Malaysia

Asia/Pacic Rim

15,244

228

Rabigh Rening & Petrochemical Co Saudi Arabia

EMEA

12,600

229

AES Elpa SA

7,791

230

Hokkaido Electric Power Co Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

20,207

231

Hokuriku Electric Power Co Japan

Asia/Pacic Rim

232

Reliance Infrastructure Ltd India

Asia/Pacic Rim

233

EOG Resources Inc

Texas

234

Alliant Energy Corp

Wisconsin

235

El Paso Pipeline Partners LP Texas

236

Fortis Inc

237

MDU Resources Group Inc North Dakota

238

Adaro Energy Tbk Pt

Indonesia

239

Pepco Holdings Inc

District of Columbia Americas

240

Integrys Energy Group Inc Illinois

241

Mosenergo Ao

242

AGL Resources Inc

243
244

Brazil

Canada

EU

Americas

Americas

EU
EU

4,364

249

1,579

240

291

208

11

50

23,289

115

5,280

175

229

225

233

13

IPP

7,669

224

3,717

203

295

204

120

-1

DU

12,474

174

10,006

125

202

233

221

200

R&M

8,773

209

4,370

190

311

199

159

24

C&CF

153

5,320

174

274

215

219

40

DU

171

12,503

107

56

242

242

168

R&M

222

5,778

170

222

230

143

11

EU

130

6,756

158

143

239

239

EU

17,002

144

5,896

166

228

227

229

EU

8,436

213

3,220

211

334

196

146

29

EU

21,624

126

5,853

168

161

238

237

12

E&P

Americas

9,283

203

3,416

207

308

202

160

DU

Americas

6,177

237

1,344

241

378

181

117

130

S&T

Americas

13,321

162

3,643

205

311

198

214

11

EU

Americas

6,304

236

3,910

199

244

219

127

-3

DU
C&CF

Asia/Pacic Rim

4,743

245

2,771

220

267

216

101

29

14,480

159

7,039

154

139

240

230

-9

EU

9,817

196

5,203

178

224

229

180

-20

DU

Russian Federation EMEA

9,143

206

4,867

183

290

210

185

23

EU

Georgia

Americas

7,518

225

2,373

226

234

222

115

-2

GU

QEP Resources Inc

Colorado

Americas

6,785

230

2,246

228

283

211

119

E&P

MVV Energie AG

Germany

EMEA

5,230

242

4,544

189

187

236

122

14

DU

245

NSTAR

Massachusetts

Americas

7,934

219

2,917

216

238

221

135

-4

DU

246

EVN AG

Austria

9,678

199

3,706

204

279

213

179

EU

247

China Longyuan Power Group Ltd China

11,485

182

2,135

231

303

203

182

27

IPP

248

BKW Energie AG

Switzerland

EMEA

7,704

223

2,798

219

229

226

131

EU

249

Atmos Energy Corp

Texas

Americas

6,764

231

4,790

184

206

232

154

-7

GU

250

Atco Ltd

Canada

Americas

10,571

190

3,426

206

291

207

206

DU

Americas

EMEA
Asia/Pacic Rim

Notes: C&CF = coal and consumable fuels, DNR = data not reported, DU = diversied utility, E&P = exploration and production, EU = electric utility, GU = gas utility, IOG = integrated oil and gas, IPP = independent
power producer and energy trader, R&M = rening and marketing, S&T = storage and transfer. All rankings are computed from data assessed on June 1, 2011.

70 insight December 2011

top 250 global energy companies

can coal use rose 5.3% over 2009, it remained 9.5% below 2007 levels.
In Asia, the story is very different.
Consumption rose by 9.1% on year to
2,384.7 mtoe, reaching its highest-ever
level. Average Chinese steam coal prices
at Qinhuangdao leapt 31.6% in 2010 to
$115.42/metric ton.

Top Ten
The entry of German multi-utility
E.ON AG to the top ten in 2009
the only non-Integrated Oil and Gas
(IOG) company to do so in the last
ve yearsproved eeting. The oil and
gas giants reasserted their dominance
of the top ten rankings, taking all ten
spots despite a stricken BP dropping far
from sight. On the back of higher oil
prices, the top ten companies brought
in a combined $178.874 billion in profits, a 20.4% increase from 2009, but
still down from the bumper year of
2008, when prots hit an all-time high
of $214.042 billion.
US giant Exxon Mobil Corp retained
the top spot in 2010, while Chevron
Corp moved up from ninth in 2009
to second place as it boosted its return on invested capital (ROIC) to
16% from 10.2% in the previous year.
Gazprom OAO, PetroChina Co Ltd,
Total SA and the China Petroleum &
Chemical Corp took third, fourth,
fth and eighth places, respectively,
while Royal Dutch Shell climbed from
tenth to sixth.

Three re-entrants to the top ten in

2010 included ConocoPhillipsnow
the subject of an innovative demerger
into upstream and downstream businesseswhich moved up from 24th
place to seventh. Meanwhile Russias
OJSC Rosneft Oil Company and Lukoil
Oil Company rose from 14th and 11th
places, respectively to take the ninth
and tenth spots.
E.ON dropped back to 13th from
sixth, and Brazils Petrobras-Petroleo
Brasilier fell from fourth in 2009 to
12th in 2010. But the biggest omission from the top ten was UK major BP.
Ranked second in 2009, BP dropped to
118th on account of the cost of the Macondo oil spill in the US Gulf of Mexico. Although in dollar terms its asset
base expanded, as did its revenues, BPs
prots were wiped out. The company
posted a loss for 2010 of $3.719 billion.

Here Come the Russians

Although the year-to-year changes
in the top ten companies can be small,
the big trends can be seen from longerterm comparisons. In 2006, the top ten
consisted of ve west European integrated oil and gas companies, three US
majors, PetroChina and Petrobras. In
2010, there were still three US majors
but now two Chinese and three Russian
companies, with only two European
companies remaining.
But among the top 20, there were
still eight European companies, includ-

2. Fastest growing Americas companies.

El Paso Pipeline Partners LP

Texas

S&T

3-year
CGR %
130.3

Ultrapar Participacoes SA

Brazil

S&T

28.7

134

Southwestern Energy Co

Texas

E&P

27.7

160

Suncor Energy Inc

Canada

IOG

27.5

44

Empresa De Energia De Bogota SA

Colombia

GU

27.2

186

Ecopetrol SA

Colombia

IOG

23.4

23

Companhia De Transmissao De Energia Eletrica Paulista Brazil

EU

20.2

187

YPF SA

Argentina

IOG

14.9

65

Peabody Energy Corp

Missouri

C&CF

14.5

122

10

Light SA

Brazil

EU

14.3

189

Rank Company

State or country Industry

Platts
Rank
235

Fastest Growing is based on a 3 year compound growth rate (CGR) for revenues. The compound growth rate (CGR) is based on the companies revenue
numbers for the past four years (current year included). If only three years of data was available then it is a two year CGR. All rankings are computed from
data assessed on June 1, 2011.

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

December 2011 insight 71

top 250 global energy companies

Asian companies in 2011 Top 250
Top
Asia
1

Return on
Assets
Revenues
Prots
invested capital Industry
State or country $ million Rank $ million Rank $ million Rank ROIC % Rank code
China
254,914
8 220,177
5
21,034
3
12
41
IOG

Platts
Rank
2011 Company
4 PetroChina Co Ltd

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp

China

153,143

16

281,981

10,788

11

49

IOG

15

CNOOC Ltd

Hong Kong

50,464

47

27,280

52

8,175

14

24

E&P

18

JX Holdings Inc

Japan

77,058

28

114,941

13

3,719

30

10

61

R&M

21

Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd

India

42,881

59

25,888

56

4,943

22

18

14

E&P

22

China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd

China

52,454

39

22,165

64

5,729

20

14

32

C&CF

24

Reliance Industries Ltd

India

68,061

32

58,508

27

4,247

26

83

R&M

28

PTT Plc

Thailand

41,195

61

61,784

26

2,702

37

77

IOG

42

Indian Oil Corp Ltd

India

40,850

62

67,824

22

1,724

55

114

R&M

10

51

Coal India Ltd

India

18,015

140

11,057

117

2,392

42

31

C&CF

11

55

Formosa Petrochemical Corp

Taiwan

15,761

149

23,336

61

1,348

75

12

44

R&M

12

56

SK Innovation Co Ltd

Korea

27,005

101

47,147

28

989

98

116

R&M

13

58

NTPC Ltd

India

30,228

93

12,638

105

2,059

48

99

IPP

14

60

Kansai Electric Power Co Inc

Japan

89,986

25

33,044

42

1,469

67

215

EU

15

70

Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd

Japan

30,994

90

43,656

31

724

125

142

R&M

16

74

Tokyo Gas Co Ltd

Japan

22,523

123

18,316

72

1,139

88

111

GU

17

76

Inpex Corp

Japan

32,995

79

11,251

114

1,535

64

140

E&P

18

77

Chubu Electric Power Co Inc

Japan

65,635

33

27,808

51

1,009

95

220

EU

19

81

TonenGeneral Sekiyu Corp

Japan

11,163

189

28,617

48

511

157

17

17

R&M

20

90

Tenaga Nasional Bhd

Malaysia

24,469

109

9,772

127

1,032

93

113

EU

21

91

S-Oil Corp

Korea

9,285

202

18,141

74

619

134

13

33

R&M

22

95

CLP Holdings Ltd

Hong Kong

23,065

119

7,513

149

1,329

77

106

EU

23

96

Woodside Petroleum Ltd

Australia

20,196

131

4,193

194

1,575

61

10

70

E&P

24

97

China Coal Energy Co Ltd

China

18,592

138

10,708

119

1,038

92

107

C&CF

25

100

Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd

China

11,207

187

5,235

176

1,354

74

15

22

C&CF

26

101

PTT Exploration and Production Plc

Thailand

11,286

185

4,617

186

1,357

73

17

16

E&P

27

109

Gail (India) Ltd

India

8,886

207

7,727

145

885

105

14

31

GU

28

112

China Yangtze Power Co Ltd

China

24,231

110

3,287

209

1,236

85

86

IPP

29

120

Cairn India Ltd

India

10,285

191

2,262

227

1,394

71

15

24

E&P

30

125

GS Holdings Corp

Korea

26,037

104

37,107

35

448

174

211

R&M

31

127

Huaneng Power International Inc

China

34,464

77

15,672

85

533

152

218

IPP

32

131

Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc

Japan

182,065

14

64,048

24

-14,881

250

-13

250

EU

33

136

Kyushu Electric Power Co Inc

Japan

51,522

43

17,729

76

343

193

238

EU

34

137

Korea Electric Power Corp

Korea

92,035

23

34,611

39

-63

246

245

EU

35

139

Cosmo Oil Co Ltd

Japan

19,442

134

33,065

41

345

191

209

R&M

Notes: C&CF = coal and consumable fuels, DNR = data not reported, DU = diversied utility, E&P = exploration and production, EU = electric utility, GU = gas utility, IOG = integrated oil and gas, IPP = independent
power producer and energy trader, R&M = rening and marketing, S&T = storage and transfer. All rankings are computed from data assessed on June 1, 2011.

ing three utilities, just one less than in

2006. US representation dropped from
six to three, while Russia had four companies in the top 20 compared with
three in 2006. China is represented by
three companies compared with only
two ve years earlier.
The entry of Russian companies into
the ranks of the worlds top energy enterprises is a striking feature of the 2010
list, and features not only oil and gas,
but also electricity industry companies as a result of privatization in the
72 insight December 2011

sector. Of the top ten fastest-growing

companies, three are Russian: RusHydro JSC, Bashneft OJSC and Moscow
United Electric Grid OJSC, with RusHydro recording a giant three-year CGR of
106.1%. There are now 15 Russian companies in the top 250, compared with
11 in 2009 and nine in 2006.
Mighty Gazproms position remains
pre-eminent in natural gas, based on its
huge production volumes and monopoly grip on Russias gas pipelines and
exports. However, it may one day have

top 250 global energy companies

Asian companies in 2011 Top 250 (continued)
Top
Asia
36

Platts
Rank
2011 Company
140 Osaka Gas Co Ltd

Return on
Assets
Revenues
Prots
invested capital Industry
State or country $ million Rank $ million Rank $ million Rank ROIC % Rank code
Japan
17,693 142
14,163
94
548 148
4
191
GU

37

142

Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd

India

15,385

152

30,484

45

375

183

196

R&M

38

143

Bharat Petroleum Co Ltd

India

14,805

155

27,254

53

360

187

192

R&M

39

144

Caltex Australia Ltd

Australia

5,639

240

18,163

73

308

201

75

R&M

40

145

Power Assets Holdings Ltd

Hong Kong

11,921

179

1,334

242

925

102

10

69

EU

41

149

China Resources Power Holdings Co Ltd

Hong Kong

18,391

139

6,248

163

631

131

167

IPP

42

151

Banpu Pcl

Thailand

6,385

234

2,123

232

804

114

16

21

C&CF

43

152

Origin Energy Ltd

Australia

23,272

117

8,302

140

595

140

208

IOG

44

153

Hong Kong & China Gas Co Ltd

Hong Kong

9,344

201

2,492

224

718

126

11

58

GU

45

156

Tohoku Electric Power Co Inc

Japan

49,594

51

20,386

66

-402

248

-1

248

46

159

Shanxi Lu'an Environmental Energy Development Co Ltd

China

4,519

246

3,219

212

516

155

22

47

162

Datang International Power Generation Co Ltd

China

32,433

82

9,116

129

372

184

231

IPP

48

165

Showa Shell Sekiyu KK

Japan

14,687

156

27,989

50

190

235

194

R&M

49

176

Korea Gas Corp

Korea

22,520

124

20,020

67

184

237

234

GU

50

178

Chugoku Electric Power Co

Japan

34,850

75

13,055

101

21

244

244

EU

51

180

GD Power Development Co Ltd

China

23,107

118

6,126

164

361

186

203

IPP

52

182

Thai Oil Pcl

Thailand

4,835

244

10,352

121

293

206

100

R&M

53

188

Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd

Bermuda

8,264

215

362

249

647

130

90

EU

54

190

Tata Power Co Ltd

India

8,832

208

4,009

196

460

170

112

EU

55

192

Shanxi Xishan Coal and Electricity Power Co Ltd

China

4,456

247

2,546

223

397

178

12

40

C&CF

56

199

AGL Energy Ltd

Australia

9,263

204

6,431

161

346

190

145

DU

57

201

Powergrid Corp Of India

India

17,191

143

1,896

236

588

143

184

EU

58

206

Electric Power Development Co Ltd

Japan

24,772

108

7,587

148

234

223

235

IPP

59

207

Santos Ltd

Australia

14,676

157

2,167

230

486

161

172

E&P

60

209

YTL Power International Bhd

Malaysia

11,203

188

4,333

191

390

179

168

DU

61

210

Shikoku Electric Power Co Inc

Japan

16,986

145

7,064

153

282

212

217

EU

62

216

NHPC Ltd

India

11,707

181

1,093

246

510

158

155

IPP

63

217

PTT Aromatics & Rening Plc

Thailand

5,055

243

8,902

131

206

231

137

R&M

64

226

Bumi Resources Tbk Pt

Indonesia

8,773

209

4,370

190

311

199

159

C&CF

65

227

YTL Corp Bhd

Malaysia

15,244

153

5,320

174

274

215

219

DU

66

230

Hokkaido Electric Power Co

Japan

20,207

130

6,756

158

143

239

239

EU

67

231

Hokuriku Electric Power Co

Japan

17,002

144

5,896

166

228

227

229

EU

68

232

Reliance Infrastructure Ltd

India

8,436

213

3,220

211

334

196

146

EU

69

238

Adaro Energy Tbk Pt

Indonesia

4,743

245

2,771

220

267

216

101

C&CF

70

247

China Longyuan Power Group Ltd

China

11,485

182

2,135

231

303

203

182

IPP

EU
C&CF

Notes: C&CF = coal and consumable fuels, DNR = data not reported, DU = diversied utility, E&P = exploration and production, EU = electric utility, GU = gas utility, IOG = integrated oil and gas, IPP = independent
power producer and energy trader, R&M = rening and marketing, S&T = storage and transfer. All rankings are computed from data assessed on June 1, 2011.

a challenger in the form of private gas

company Novatek OAO, which is operator of the planned Yamal LNG project.
Novatek has moved up from 126th
position in 2009 to 104th in 2010. Profits rose from $854 million to $1,358
million with an impressive ROIC of
19% in 2010the twelfth-highest
ROIC out of the entire top 250. It is
also the 34th fastest-growing company
based on its three-year CGR. Including AK Transneft OAO, the countrys
oil pipeline monopoly, Russia now has

eight companies primarily focused on

oil in the top 250 as well as two gas and
ve power sector companies.

Returns and Growth

The ROIC rankings are revealing. The
oil majors and big European utilities
may dominate in terms of asset base,
revenues and prots, but when it comes
to return on invested capital only
one OECD-based company makes the
framethe US E&P company Cimarex
Energy Co, which is a new entrant to
December 2011 insight 73

top 250 global energy companies

the list with an overall ranking of 170.
Instead, this is where Latin America
really makes its mark. Top of the board
is Colombias rejuvenated Ecopetrol SA
with a staggering ROIC of 98%. Argentinas YPF SA is third with an ROIC of
28%, while Brazils Eletropaulo-Metropolitana Eletricidade de Sao Paulo SA is
seventh ranked with an ROIC of 22%.
Russian and Chinese companies are
also well represented, while Kazakhstans oil and gas company KazMunaigas Exploration and Production JSC
takes the tenth spot with an ROIC of
19%. Coal India Ltd, newly listed in
2010, is second with an ROIC of 31%.
Distinct trends also emerge from the
top 50 fastest growing companies, the
leader of which is Essar Energy plc. Although Essar Energy is incorporated in
the UK, the credit for its three-year CGR
of 199.5% has to go to India, as this is
an Indian-owned and led company.
Out of the top 50 fastest growers, 40 are
from outside the OECD compared with
36 in 2009. And while the oil industry
is out in front in terms of absolute size,
when it comes to growth it is Electric
Utilities, Independent Power Producers
and Coal & Consumable Fuels companies that dominate the top 50 list of
fastest growers.
That said, oil companies still make
up six of the top ten spots. Perhaps surprisingly, three of these are oil and gas
rening and marketing companiesall
non-OECD and all export-orientated.
They are Indias Essar Energy, Saudi
Arabias Rabigh Rening & Petrochemi-

3. #1 in Asia by industry.
Industry

Company

Country

Platts Rank 2011

IOG

PetroChina Co Ltd

China

E&P

CNOOC Ltd

Hong Kong

15

R&M

JX Holdings Inc

Japan

18

C&CF

China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd

China

22

IPP

NTPC Ltd

India

58

EU

Kansai Electric Power Co Inc

Japan

60

GU

Tokyo Gas Co Ltd

Japan

74

DU

AGL Energy Ltd

Australia

All rankings are computed from data assessed on June 1, 2011.

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

74 insight December 2011

199

cal Co and Thailands PTT Aromatics &

Rening Plc. A fourthEl Paso Pipeline
Partners LPis from the oil and gas
storage and transportation segment.
There are three such companies among
the top 50 fastest-growing companies,
as well as four rening and marketing
businesses, compared with ve E&P
and three IOG companies.
The E&P companies lead the IOGs.
The E&P companies posting the fastest growth are Cairn India Ltd, with a
three-year CGR of 116.5%, followed by
Russias Bashneft (57.9%) and then Texan company Southwestern Energy Co.
(27.7%). Close on their heels are Chinas
CNOOC Ltd (26.2%) and Russian gas
player Novatek (23.6%). By contrast, the
fastest-growing IOG is Canadas Suncor Energy Inc, with a three-year CGR
of 27.5%. The only other two IOGs to
make it into the top 50 fastest-growing
companies are Colombias Ecopetrol
(23.4%) and PetroChina (20.6%).

C&CF
Chinese companies increasingly dominate the coal and consumable fuels
category, reecting a number of factors.
First, China has the largest and most
rapidly-expanding coal industry in the
world. Second, the industry is undergoing a state-led process of consolidation
that is pushing smaller operations into
major conglomerations. And third, as
the countrys coal imports continue
to increase, Chinese companies are
looking to expand beyond their own
borders for supplies. While there were
three Chinese companies in the C&CF
top ten in 2009, there are now ve, the
two new entrants being Shanxi Luan
Environmental Energy Development
Co Ltd. and Shanxi Xishan Coal and
Electricity Power Co Ltd.
Another new entrant is Coal India, which in 2010 undertook a massive initial public offering which was
more than 15 times oversubscribed.
As Indias primary coal producer in
the worlds third largest coal market,
this puts the company second behind
only China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd. It
also puts it 51st in the overall rankings.
In addition, Thailands Banpu Pcl has

top 250 global energy companies

emerged in the C&CF group at number
six, reecting the companys expansion into China, Laos and Indonesia.
The emergence of these companies has
pushed Indonesias Adaro Energy Tbk
and Bumi Resources Tbk Pt out of the
top 10 C&CF companies, while the USs
Patriot Coal Corp has also dropped out
to be replaced by Consol Energy Inc.
In terms of growth, there are eight
C&CF companies in the top 50 fastest
growing list. They are all Asian; ve from
China, two from Indonesia and Thailands Banpu. Adaro Energy and Bumi
Resources may have dropped out of the
top ten C&CF companies, but they can
still claim to be amongst the fastestgrowing energy companies in the world.

Utilities
The Electric Utilities category remains
dominated by the European giants. Of
the top ten, eight are European and
two American. While there have been
slight changes in relative positions, the
group remains largely as in 2009. However, two companies have disappeared
from the top tenFrances EDF and US
company NextEra Energy Incwith
the latter performing well but just being edged out into 11th place. Replacing them are Germanys EnBW Energie
Baden-Wrttemberg AG and the USs
Southern Co.
Nuclear giant EDF has dropped from
22nd in the overall Platts rankings in
2009 to 64th in 2010, the third year in
a row it has slipped. While still ranking top in terms of assets, the decline in
the companys nancial performance
reects 2.9 billion ($3.9 billion) in
non-recurring risks and impairments
in 2010, owing to deterioration in international power and gas market conditions. Most of the impairments relate to
the US and Italian markets, but EDF is
also struggling with cost and construction overruns with its new model nuclear reactor at Flamanville in France.
In the IPP sector, the results are much
more internationally diversied. Indias
NTPC Ltd has moved to the top of the
leader board, while the USs Constellation Energy Group Inc has dropped
from rst in 2009 to disappear from

the list altogether, following a net income loss of $931.8 million in 2010.
The company is likely to re-emerge in
2011, but in a new guise, if a proposed
merger with Exelon is completed.
There are now four Chinese companies in the IPP top ten compared with
two in 2009. This group shows the largest change in composition with the new
entrants including China Yangtze Power Co. Ltd in third, Datang International Power Generation Co. Ltd in eighth
and Enel Green Power SpA in tenth
place. In addition to Constellation Energy, the UKs International Power Plc
has dropped out of the top ten.
The picture is different when it comes
to growth rather than absolute size. If
western Europe dominates the top
rankings for EUs, Russia has the fastest growth in the form of RusHydro
JSC, Moscow United Electric Power
Grid, Mosenergo Ao and the Federal
Grid Company of Unied Energy System JSC. Indias Reliance Infrastructure
Ltd and Power Grid Corp of India are
also amongst the fastest growing EUs.
There are no US companies in the fastest-growing top ten, but Europe continues to provide opportunities. The UKs
Scottish and Southern Energy plc and
Spains Iberdrola SA and Endesa SA are
present, while South Africas Eskom
completes the leader board.
There are seven IPPs in the fastestgrowing top 50 companies, with six
coming from China. The non-Chinese

4. Fastest growing Asian companies by industry.

Industry

Company

Country

3-year CGR %

Platts Rank 2011

IOG

PetroChina Co Ltd

China

20.6

GU
EU

Gail (India) Ltd

India

23.1

109

Reliance Infrastructure Ltd

India

28.8

232

C&CF

Shanxi Xishan Coal and

Electricity Power Co Ltd

China

29.5

192

IPP

China Resources Power

Holdings Co Ltd

Hong Kong

42.4

149

DU

YTL Power International Bhd

Malaysia

48.9

209

R&M

PTT Aromatics & Rening Plc

Thailand

49.6

217

E&P

Cairn India Ltd

India

116.5

120

Fastest Growing is based on a 3 year compound growth rate (CGR) for revenues. All rankings are computed from data
assessed on June 1, 2011.

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

December 2011 insight 75

top 250 global energy companies

company is Spains Iberdrola Renovables
SA with a three-year CGR of 33.0%. A
notable absence from the growth list
are Chilean IPPs, with companies such
as AES Gener SA and Colbun SA, which
were represented in 2009, failing to
maintain their places in 2010.

Asian Leaders
The number of Asian companies in
the top 250 continues to rise, reaching
70 in 2010, up from 67 in 2009 and 56
in 2006. In addition, despite having
more companies represented, the average ranking of Asian companies has also
improved from 135.2 in 2006 to 134.9 in
2009 and 131.3 in 2010 (a lower number
denotes a higher ranking). Asian companies are not just increasing in number,
but are increasing their rankings relative
to their international peers.
Within Asia, the average ranking of
Japanese companies overall has improved from 145.9 to 132.1. This partly
reects the Japan Petroleum Exploration company dropping out of the top
250, but the improvement is notable
given the sharp fall in the ranking of
the Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco)
which was ranked 54th in 2009, but
131st in 2010.
This is the result of the nancial impact of the Fukushima nuclear disaster
in March 2011 and Japanese reporting
of nancial data based on scal years
running from April-March. Tepco recorded a loss of $14,881 billion in s-

cal 2010. Other Japanese companies

dropping down the rankings include
Tohoku Electric Power Co, which fell
from 119th to 156th and Chugoku
Electric Power Co, which dropped from
134th to 178th.
By contrast, Japans oil and gas companies performed well. JX Holdings was
the shining star, rising from 129th in
2009 to 18th in 2010. Idemitsu Kosan
Co Ltd increased its ranking from 144th
to 70th. Tokyo Gas Company Ltd upped
its place in the list from 108th to 74th.
For China, most change was seen
within the power sector. The number of
Chinese companies in the top 250 was
the same in 2010 as in 2009, but the
Shenzhen Energy Group, Huadian Power Intl Corp and Shenergy Co. Ltd were
displaced by Shanxi Luan Environmental Energy Development Co., Shanxi
Xishan Coal and Electricity Power Co.
and China Longyuan Power Group. In
the oil sector, PetroChina moved up
from seventh in the rankings to fourth,
and CNOOC from 29th to 15th. The
biggest mover, however, was China
Yangtze Power Co., which jumped from
163rd in 2009 to 112th in 2010.
By contrast, India saw three new companies join the top 250 listthe newlylisted Coal India, oil and gas producer
Cairn India Ltd and the IPP company
NHPC Ltd. As in Japan, the oil sector
also gave India its strongest movers.
The Indian Oil Corp Ltd jumped from
78th in 2009 to 42nd in 2010, while

5. Fastest growing EMEA companies.

Essar Energy plc

United Kingdom

R&M

3-year
CGR %
199.5

Rabigh Rening & Petrochemical Co

Saudi Arabia

R&M

167.5

228

RusHydro JSC

Russian Federation

EU

106.1

163

Bashneft OJSC

Russian Federation

E&P

57.9

62

Moscow United Electric Grid OJSC

Russian Federation

EU

42.4

148

Rank Company

Country

Industry

Platts
Rank
225

Abu Dhabi National Energy Co PJSC

United Arab Emirates

DU

35.8

203

Iberdrola Renovables SA

Spain

IPP

33

183

Gas Natural SDG SA

Spain

GU

24.8

57

SNAM Rete Gas SpA

Italy

GU

24.8

88

10

Novatek OAO

Russian Federation

E&P

23.6

104

Fastest Growing is based on a 3 year compound growth rate (CGR) for revenues. The compound growth rate (CGR) is based on the companies revenue
numbers for the past four years (current year included). If only three years of data was available then it is a two year CGR. All rankings are computed from
data assessed on June 1, 2011.

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

76 insight December 2011

top 250 global energy companies

the Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd rose
from 174th to 142nd.
The improvement in oil companies
vis--vis EUs and IPPs largely reects the
difference between being on the cost or
prot side of rising feedstock prices. But
in terms of revenue growth, Asia comes
out on top. Taking all Asian companies
in the top 250 into account, revenues
jumped 32.1% from 2009 to 2010. This
compares with an increase of 21.4% in
South America, 19% in EMEA and just
10.7% in North America.
However, the picture for company
prots was rather different. These rose
by 9.1% in EMEA and by 15.5% in AsiaPacic. By contrast, they jumped 32.6%
in South America and a huge 56.6% in
North America. Asia-Pacics relatively
poor performance reects write-downs
amongst Japanese electric utilities and
regulated prices in key domestic markets

such as China and India. By contrast,

the 2010 gures for North America are
attered by hefty write-downs in 2009
by companies such as Chesapeake, Devon Energy and Talisman, all of which
bounced back to protability in 2010.

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6. Top 50 fastest growing companies.

Company

3-year Platts
CGR % Rank
199.5
225

3-year Platts
CGR % Rank
26.9
247
26 China Longyuan Power Group Ltd
Company

Essar Energy plc

Rabigh Rening & Petrochemical Co

167.5

228

27 Banpu Pcl

26.3

151

El Paso Pipeline Partners LP

130.3

235

28 CNOOC Ltd

26.2

15

Cairn India Ltd

116.5

120

29 China Coal Energy Co Ltd

25.1

97

RusHydro JSC

106.1

163

30 Gas Natural SDG SA

24.8

57

Bashneft OJSC

57.9

62

31 SNAM Rete Gas SpA

24.8

88

PTT Aromatics & Rening Plc

49.6

217

32 Reliance Industries Ltd

24.7

24

YTL Power International Bhd

48.9

209

33 Bumi Resources Tbk Pt

24.5

226

Moscow United Electric Grid OJSC

42.4

148

34 Novatek OAO

23.6

104

10 China Resources Power Holdings Co Ltd

42.4

149

35 Ecopetrol SA

23.4

23

40

227

36 Gail (India) Ltd

23.1

109

12 Abu Dhabi National Energy Co PJSC

35.8

203

37 Powergrid Corp Of India

23

201

13 China Yangtze Power Co Ltd

35.8

112

38 Scottish and Southern Energy plc

22.9

26

33

183

39 Mosenergo Ao

22.9

241

15 GD Power Development Co Ltd

32.7

180

40 China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd

22.8

22

16 Shanxi Xishan Coal and Electricity Power Co Ltd

29.5

192

41 Datang International Power Generation Co Ltd

22.7

162

17 Shanxi Lu'an Environmental Energy Development Co Ltd

29.1

159

42 GDF Suez

21.2

32

18 Reliance Infrastructure Ltd

28.8

232

43 Eskom

21.1

138

19 Ultrapar Participacoes SA

28.7

134

44 AGL Energy Ltd

20.6

199

20 Adaro Energy Tbk Pt

28.7

238

45 PetroChina Co Ltd

20.6

21 Huaneng Power International Inc

28.1

127

46 Iberdrola SA

20.3

38

22 Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd

28.1

100

47 Federal Grid Company of Unied Energy System JSC

20.3

93

23 Southwestern Energy Co

27.7

160

48 Endesa SA

20.2

19

24 Suncor Energy Inc

27.5

44

49 Companhia De Transmissao De Energia Eletrica Paulista

20.2

187

25 Empresa De Energia De Bogota SA

27.2

186

50 AK Transneft OAO

20.1

41

11 YTL Corp Bhd

14 Iberdrola Renovables SA

Fastest Growing is based on a 3 year compound growth rate (CGR) for revenues. All rankings are computed from data assessed on June 1, 2011.

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

December 2011 insight 77

top 250 global energy companies

7. Top 50: Whos Up, Whos Down.
Platts Platts
rank rank
2011 2010 Company
1
1 Exxon Mobil Corp

Platts Platts
rank rank
2011 2010 Company
26
23 Scottish and Southern Energy plc

State or country
Texas

State or country
United Kingdom

Chevron Corp

California

27

33

Occidental Petroleum Corp

California

Gazprom OAO

Russian Federation

28

35

PTT Plc

Thailand

PetroChina Co Ltd

China

29

25

Gazprom Neft JSC

Russian Federation

Total SA

France

30

53

Marathon Oil Corp

Texas

10

Royal Dutch Shell plc

United Kingdom

31

26

Exelon Corp

Illinois

24

ConocoPhillips

Texas

32

28

GDF Suez

France

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp

China

33

39

National Grid plc

United Kingdom

14

OJSC Rosneft Oil Company

Russian Federation

34

21

Enel SpA

Italy

10

11

Lukoil Oil Company

Russian Federation

35

20

Surgutneftegaz

Russian Federation

11

27

Statoil ASA

Norway

36

70

Hess Corp

New York

12

Petrobras-Petroleo Brasilier

Brazil

37

30

BG Group plc

United Kingdom

13

E.On AG

Germany

38

32

Iberdrola SA

Spain

14

40

Repsol YPF SA

Spain

39

64

Dominion Resources Inc

Virginia

15

29

CNOOC Ltd

Hong Kong

40

41

Imperial Oil Ltd

Canada

16

16

Eni SpA

Italy

41

36

AK Transneft OAO

Russian Federation

17

12

RWE AG

Germany

42

78

Indian Oil Corp Ltd

India

18

129

JX Holdings Inc

Japan

43

48

EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG Germany

19

15

Endesa SA

Spain

44

69

Suncor Energy Inc

Canada

20

17

TNK-BP Holdings

Russian Federation

45

38

Sasol Ltd

South Africa

21

18

Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd

India

46

194

Apache Corp

Texas

22

19

China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd

China

47

37

CEZ As

Czech Republic

23

34

Ecopetrol SA

Colombia

48

43

Vattenfall AB

Sweden

24

13

Reliance Industries Ltd

India

49

50

Southern Co

Georgia

25

42

Centrica plc

United Kingdom

50

47

NextEra Energy Inc

Florida

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

8. Leaders in coal and combustible fuels.

9. Leaders in diversied utilities.

OVERALL
Rank Company
1
China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd

State or country
China

Platts
rank
2011
22

OVERALL
Rank Company
1
RWE AG

State or country
Germany

Platts
rank
2011
17

Coal India Ltd

India

51

Centrica plc

United Kingdom

25

China Coal Energy Co Ltd

China

97

GDF Suez

France

32

Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd

China

100

National Grid plc

United Kingdom

33

Peabody Energy Corp

Missouri

122

Dominion Resources Inc

Virginia

39

Banpu Pcl

Thailand

151

Public Service Enterprise Group Inc

New Jersey

59

Shanxi Lu'an Environmental Energy Development Co Ltd China

159

Veolia Environnement SA

France

75

CONSOL Energy Inc

185

PG&E Corp

California

78

9
10

Shanxi Xishan Coal and Electricity Power Co Ltd China

Canada
Cameco Corp

192

Consolidated Edison Inc

New York

89

202

10

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co

Iowa

92

REGIONAL
Region
Americas
Asia/Pacic Rim

Industry
rank
2011 Company
5
Peabody Energy Corp
1

State or
country
Missouri

China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd China

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

78 insight December 2011

Pennsylvania

Platts
rank
2011
122
22

REGIONAL
Region
Americas

Industry
rank
2011 Company
5
Dominion Resources Inc

State or
country
Virginia

Platts
rank
2011
39

Asia/Pacic Rim

19

AGL Energy Ltd

Australia

199

EMEA

RWE AG

Germany

17

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

top 250 global energy companies

10. Leaders in electric utilities.

11. Leaders in exploration and production.

OVERALL
Rank Company
1
E.On AG

State or country
Germany

Platts
rank
2011
13

OVERALL
Rank Company
1
CNOOC Ltd

State or country
Hong Kong

Platts
rank
2011
15

Endesa SA

Spain

19

Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd

India

21

Scottish and Southern Energy plc

United Kingdom

26

Apache Corp

Texas

46

Exelon Corp

Illinois

31

Devon Energy Corp

Oklahoma

52

Enel SpA

Italy

34

Tatneft OAO

Russian Federation

54

Iberdrola SA

Spain

38

Bashneft OJSC

Russian Federation

62

EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG Germany

43

Chesapeake Energy Corp

Oklahoma

66

CEZ As

Czech Republic

47

Canadian Natural Resources

Canada

71

Vattenfall AB

Sweden

48

Inpex Corp

Japan

76

10

Southern Co

Georgia

49

10

Encana Corp

Canada

87

REGIONAL
Region
Americas

Industry
rank
2011 Company
4
Exelon Corp

State or
country
Illinois

Asia/Pacic Rim

12

Kansai Electric Power Co Inc Japan

EMEA

E.On AG

Germany

Platts
rank
2011
31

REGIONAL
Region
Americas

Industry
rank
2011 Company
3
Apache Corp

State or country
Texas

60

Asia/Pacic Rim

CNOOC Ltd

Hong Kong

15

13

EMEA

Tatneft OAO

Russian Federation

54

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

12. Leaders in gas utilities.

13. Leaders in independent power producers.

OVERALL
Rank Company
1
Gas Natural SDG SA

State or country
Spain

Tokyo Gas Co Ltd

Japan

SNAM Rete Gas SpA

Gail (India) Ltd

Platts
rank
2011
46

Platts
rank
2011
57

OVERALL
Rank Company
1
NTPC Ltd

State or country
India

Platts
rank
2011
58

74

Empresa Nacional de Electricidad SA

Chile

111

Italy

88

China Yangtze Power Co Ltd

China

112

India

109

Huaneng Power International Inc

China

127

Osaka Gas Co Ltd

Japan

140

Tractebel Energia SA

Brazil

146

Hong Kong & China Gas Co Ltd

Hong Kong

153

China Resources Power Holdings Co Ltd Hong Kong

ONEOK Inc

Oklahoma

173

NRG Energy Inc

Korea Gas Corp

Korea

176

Datang International Power Generation Co Ltd China

Gasunie

Netherlands

181

AES Corporation

Virginia

167

10

Empresa De Energia De Bogota SA

Colombia

186

10

Enel Green Power SpA

Italy

172

REGIONAL
Region
Americas

Industry
rank
2011 Company
7
ONEOK Inc

State or
country
Oklahoma

Platts
rank
2011
173

REGIONAL
Region
Americas

New Jersey

149
157
162

Industry
rank
State or
2011 Company
country
2
Empresa Nacional de Electricidad SA Chile

Platts
rank
2011
111

Asia/Pacic Rim

Tokyo Gas Co Ltd

Japan

74

Asia/Pacic Rim

NTPC Ltd

India

58

EMEA

Gas Natural SDG SA

Spain

57

EMEA

10

Enel Green Power SpA

Italy

172

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

December 2011 insight 79

top 250 global energy companies

14. Leaders in integrated oil and gas.

15. Leaders in rening and marketing.

OVERALL
Rank Company
1
Exxon Mobil Corp

State or country
Texas

Platts
rank
2011
1

OVERALL
Rank Company
1
JX Holdings Inc

State or country
Japan

Platts
rank
2011
18

Chevron Corp

California

Reliance Industries Ltd

India

24

Gazprom OAO

Russian Federation

Indian Oil Corp Ltd

India

42

PetroChina Co Ltd

China

Formosa Petrochemical Corp

Taiwan

55

Total SA

France

SK Innovation Co Ltd

Korea

56

Royal Dutch Shell plc

United Kingdom

Valero Energy Corp

Texas

69

ConocoPhillips

Texas

Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd

Japan

70

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp

China

Polski Koncern Naftowy Orlen SA

Poland

80

OJSC Rosneft Oil Company

Russian Federation

TonenGeneral Sekiyu Corp

Japan

81

10

Lukoil Oil Company

Russian Federation

10

10

S-Oil Corp

Korea

91

REGIONAL
Region
Americas

Industry
rank
2011 Company
1
Exxon Mobil Corp

State or country
Texas

Platts
rank
2011
1

REGIONAL
Region
Americas

Industry
rank
2011 Company
6
Valero Energy Corp

State or
country
Texas

Platts
rank
2011
69

Asia/Pacic Rim

PetroChina Co Ltd

China

Asia/Pacic Rim

JX Holdings Inc

Japan

18

EMEA

Gazprom OAO

Russian Federation

EMEA

Polski Koncern Naftowy Orlen SA Poland

80

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

16. Leaders in storage and transfer.

OVERALL
Rank Company
1
AK Transneft OAO

State or country
Russian Federation

Platts
rank
2011
41

Enbridge Inc

Canada

105

Transcanada Corp

Canada

108

Spectra Energy Corp

Texas

119

Plains All American Pipeline LP

Texas

121

Ultrapar Participacoes SA

Brazil

134

El Paso Corp

Texas

154

Energy Transfer Partners LP

Texas

155

ONEOK Partners LP

Oklahoma

158

10

Kinder Morgan Inc

Texas

212

REGIONAL
Region
Americas
EMEA

Industry
rank
2011 Company
2
Enbridge Inc
1

AK Transneft OAO

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

80 insight December 2011

Platts
rank
State or country 2011
Canada
105
Russian Federation

41

Where the Numbers Came From

This 10th annual survey of global energy companies by
Platts Energy Insight magazine measures companies nancial
performance using four metrics: asset worth, revenues, profits, and return on invested capital (ROIC). All companies on
the list have assets greater than US$3 billion. The underlying
data comes from the Capital IQ, a Standard & Poors business,
which is, like Platts, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. This year, in addition to recognizing the best nancial
performances of the year, we also include the list of Fastest
Growing Companies in the Top 250 list based on the three
year compound growth rate (CGR) for revenues. The CGR was
calculated by using the Capital IQ data over the past four
years (current year included).
Because the survey is global, and because all countries
do not share a standard nancial reporting standard, the
data used is from the full year of 2010. Since then, material
changes in a companys nancial health may have occurred,
and any evaluation should take that into account. Data for US
companies in the tables came from SEC Form 10K.
The company rankings are derived by adding each companys numerical ranking for asset worth, revenues, prots, and
ROIC. The overall rank of 1 is assigned to the company with
the lowest total, 2 to the next lowest and so on.
ROIC gureswidely regarded as a driver of cash ow and
valuewere calculated using the following equation:
ROIC = [(Income before extraordinary items) (Available for common stock)] (Total invested capital) x 100
Income before extraordinary items is net income less
preferred dividends and Total invested capital is the sum
of total long-term debt, preferred stock (value), minority
interest, and total common equity.

top 250 global energy companies

17. Leaders by nancial indicator.

18. Leaders by region.

ASSETS
Rank Company
1
EDF

Assets, $ million
345,880

Platts
rank
2011
64

THE AMERICAS
Rank Company
1
Exxon Mobil Corp

State or country
Texas

Industry
code
IOG

Platts
rank
2011
1
2

Gazprom OAO

330,261

Chevron Corp

California

IOG

Petrobras-Petroleo Brasilier

328,193

12

ConocoPhillips

Texas

IOG

Royal Dutch Shell plc

322,560

Petrobras-Petroleo Brasilier Brazil

IOG

12

Exxon Mobil Corp

302,510

Ecopetrol SA

Colombia

IOG

23

BP plc

272,262

118

Occidental Petroleum Corp

California

IOG

27

GDF Suez

265,503

32

Marathon Oil Corp

Texas

IOG

30

PetroChina Co Ltd

254,914

Exelon Corp

Illinois

EU

31

Enel SpA

241,628

34

Hess Corp

New York

IOG

36

10

E.On AG

219,815

13

10

Dominion Resources Inc

Virginia

DU

39

Industry
code
IOG

Platts
rank
2011
4

REVENUES
Rank Company
1
Royal Dutch Shell plc

Platts
rank
Revenues, $ million 2011
368,056
6

ASIA / PACIFIC RIM

Exxon Mobil Corp

341,578

BP plc

297,107

118

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp

281,981

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp China

IOG

PetroChina Co Ltd

220,177

CNOOC Ltd

Hong Kong

E&P

15

Chevron Corp

189,607

JX Holdings Inc

Japan

R&M

18

Total SA

189,153

Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd

India

E&P

21

ConocoPhillips

175,752

China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd

China

C&CF

22

Eni SpA

132,663

16

Reliance Industries Ltd

India

R&M

24

10

Petrobras-Petroleo Brasilier

125,937

12

PTT Plc

Thailand

IOG

28

Indian Oil Corp Ltd

India

R&M

42

10

Coal India Ltd

India

C&CF

51

Industry
code
IOG

Platts
rank
2011
3

PROFITS
Rank Company
1
Gazprom OAO

Prots, $ million
32,443

Platts
rank
2011
3
1

Rank Company
1
PetroChina Co Ltd

State or country
China

Exxon Mobil Corp

30,460

PetroChina Co Ltd

21,034

Petrobras-Petroleo Brasilier

20,779

12

Royal Dutch Shell plc

20,127

Chevron Corp

19,024

Total SA

14,234

Total SA

France

IOG

Royal Dutch Shell plc

United Kingdom

IOG

OJSC Rosneft Oil Company

Russian Federation

IOG

Lukoil Oil Company

Russian Federation

IOG

10

Statoil ASA

Norway

IOG

11

E.On AG

Germany

EU

13

Repsol YPF SA

Spain

IOG

14

Eni SpA

Italy

IOG

16

10

RWE AG

Germany

DU

17

8
9
10

ConocoPhillips
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp
OJSC Rosneft Oil Company

11,358
10,788
10,400

RETURN ON INVESTED CAPITAL

Rank Company
1
Ecopetrol SA

Platts
rank
ROIC, % 2011
98
23

Coal India Ltd

31

51

YPF SA

28

65

TNK-BP Holdings

26

20

Interregional Distribution Grid Companies Holding JSC

25

133

CNOOC Ltd

24

15

Eletropaulo-Metropolitana Eletricidade de Sao Paulo SA

22

123

Shanxi Lu'an Environmental Energy Development Co Ltd

22

159

Cimarex Energy Co

19

170

10

KazMunaiGas Exploration and Production JSC

19

99

EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA

Rank Company
1
Gazprom OAO

State or country
Russian Federation

Note: C&CF = coal and consumable fuels, DU = diversied utility, E&P = exploration and production,
EU = electric utility, GU = gas utility, IOG = integrated oil and gas, IPP = independent power producer
and energy trader, R&M = rening and marketing, S&T = storage and transfer

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

More on the Web

Find each companys prole and view all the data on our web site:
www.platts.com/Top250Home.aspx

Source: S&P Capital IQ/Platts

December 2011 insight 81

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

2011 GLOBAL ENERGY LEADERS

Capgemini is proud to be the principal sponsor of the Platts Global Energy
Awards. Each year, the awards ceremony is a unique occasion when the
leading energy and utilities companies
convene with important stakeholders
from government, academia and professional services to celebrate the most successful projects and people of the year.
2011 has been a trying time for the industry, certainly with the Fukushima reactor accident
and the Arab spring creating uncertainties on oil and gas supply. In the latest Capgemini
European Energy Markets Observatory (EEMO) report, key ndings show that although the
Fukushima accident is leading to increased safety features for existing reactors, delays in new
reactor construction projects and nuclear phase-outs in some countries, global nuclear energy
development will still continue, however at a slower pace.
The report also nds that energy consumption growth in developing countries, plus the
Fukushima accident, together with the slow-down of the needed investments made by utilities will have negative consequences on the security of energy supply and greenhouse gas
emissions in Europe. Additionally, the report shows that in the longer term one can expect
increased energy prices and even more severe consequences on supplies if regulators and
governments dont set the right framework to encourage investments of 1.1 trillion by
2020 in the EU. However, as in 2009, these issues may be mitigated by a second economic
slowdown that would lead to decreased electricity and gas consumptions. For a copy of the
abstract report, please visit: www.capgemini.com/eemo.
Capgemini is committed to the Energy and Utilities industry and the challenges that it
faces. In addition to supporting the Platts Global Energy Awards, we support the industry
through a variety of research and conference programs, addressing the most important topics
of the market, including:

Capgemini produces an on-going program including in-depth studies and surveys that
are recognized as valuable thought leadership by our clients, with topics such as Nuclear
Energy, Sustainability, Smart Metering, Smart Grid and Integrated Oil Operations
The 13th edition of our European Energy Markets Observatory, published with our partners: Socit Gnrale Global Research, VaasaETT and CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre is an
annual report that tracks the progress in establishing an open and competitive electricity
and gas market in Europe as well as the progress on security of supply and the European
Union Climate-Energy package objectives
Our industry experts present our thoughts and points of view at major conferences worldwide
We collaborate with industry-leading partners, including Oracle, SAP, Itron, Landis + Gyr,
GE Energy and others

I wish to convey Capgeminis sincere congratulations to all nominees and winners of the
2011 Platts Global Energy Awards for their leadership and commitment to serving their
employees, customers, business partners and shareholders.
Warmest Regards,
Colette Lewiner
Global Sector Leader, Energy, Utilities and Chemicals
Capgemini
December 2011 insight 83

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Marc S. Gerken, P.E.

President and CEO
American Municipal Power, Inc

GLOBAL LEADERS PROFILE

American Municipal
Power, Inc
American Municipal Power, Inc (AMP) is the nonprot wholesale power supplier and services provider
for 129 members, including 128 member municipal
electric communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan,
Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia and the Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation. AMP is headquartered in Columbus and its members serve more
than 620,000 customers.
AMPs strong management team has been consistently recognized by rating agencies and financial
entities for the leadership and stability they bring
to the organization. President/CEO Marc Gerken,
Sr. Vice President/CFO Robert Trippe, Sr. Vice
President Jolene Thompson, Sr. Vice President
Pamala Sullivan and General Counsel John Bentine
combined have 92 years of experience with the
organization.
The 20 member AMP Board of Trustees, comprised
of municipal ofcials from member communities,
is actively engaged in policy-making and provides
strong leadership to the organization.

Organizational Growth

Since 2000, membership grew from 83 members in

three states to 129 members in seven states
System peak increased from approximately
2,100 MW to more than 3,000 MW
Energy sales increased from 5.8 million MWh to
11.6 million MWh
Energy sales revenue increased from $231 million to
$787 million

Project Development

Aggressive generation asset development effort

designed to diversify power supply portfolio and
reduce market exposure underway. AMP has nanced $5.027 billion to date for these projects.
Generation asset development effort underway will
add more than 1,400 MW of generation capacity
AMPs portfolio of owned/controlled generation
will be approximately 20% renewable by 2015
Largest deployment of new run-of-the-river hydroelectric generation in the country today
Four projects under construction at existing dams
on the Ohio River will add more than 300 MW of
renewable energy generation
Two additional projects in the licensing and permitting phases
Largest equity-owner of the 1,600 MW Prairie State
Energy Campus, a coal generation facility under
construction in Illinois incorporating state-of-the-art
emissions control technologies
AMP Fremont Energy Center, a 707 MW (red)
natural gas combined cycle plant will begin commercial operation early in 2012
Additional wind solar and landll gas being pursued

Project Financing

AMP has been awarded Clean Renewable Energy

Bonds (CREBs) in each year the bonding authority has
been available, receiving a total of $172.9 million since
2006. Allocations validate AMPs position of providing a range of energy options to members and being
leaders in the deployment of renewable generation
Public power leader in the use of Build America
Bonds, to date issuing nearly $2.9 billion to fund
project construction

Financial Strength

Energy Efciency

In 2011, AMP launched a comprehensive energy efciency program called Efciency $mart. AMP partnered
with the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation to
create a program specically tailored to the unique needs
of its municipal electric community members, with noncontiguous service territories, located in multiple states.
The program currently has 48 participating communities, with 6.4 million MWh of load and growing.

Since 2000, all AMP project nancing and entity ratings have been in the A category
AMP works to maintain these ratings through its
member credit scoring program, sound nancial
practices and relationship management
AMPs nancial strength and strong management
have been consistently recognized by rating
agencies.

84 insight December 2011

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Andrew Liveris
CEO
The Dow Chemical Company

The Dow Chemical

Company

A 38% reduction in energy intensity since 1990;

Saving more than 1,800 trillion BTUs (1994 to
2010)the energy equivalent to powering all the
residential buildings throughout the state of California for more than one and a half years;
Preventing more than 95 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a GHG, from entering
the atmosphere;
Reducing absolute GHG emissions by more then
25%; and
Adding more than $9.4 billion of combined energy
savings to the company bottom line.

Dows approach to energy management is a uniquely orchestrated corporate effort based on recognized
energy management best practices and shared goals.
For Liveris and Dow, sustainability is not seen as simply another item on a corporate checklist. Instead, sustainability is central to the companys mission, vision,
and values. Sustainability is an adjective that is applied
across Dows global enterprise: sustainable operations,
sustainable solutions, and sustainable opportunities.

December 2011 insight 85

GLOBAL LEADERS PROFILE

The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) connects

chemistry and innovation with the principles of
sustainability to help address many of the worlds
most challenging problems, such as the need for clean
water, renewable energy generation and conservation,
and increased agricultural productivity, Dow provides
solutions through its Human Element, more than
50,000 women and men who believe passionately that
together, science and humanity can solve anything.
Dows diversied industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemicals, advanced materials, agrosciences and
plastics businesses deliver a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors
such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. Since 2005, Dow has pursued a transformational corporate strategy centered on a strong portfolio
of joint ventures and market facing businesses. CEO
Andrew Liveris has oriented Dows innovation engine
to address key megatrends that will drive growth for
the company, including health & nutrition, consumerism, transportation & infrastructure, and energy.
Under Liveris leadership, Dow has become a
true pioneer as a science and technology solutions
provider for energy efciency, energy management
and sustainability; and has repeatedly demonstrated
willingness to commit Dows signicant resources to
leverage business opportunities and address societys
greatest needs.
Dow understands that the key to a sustainable
enterprise lies in our ability to collaborate with all
stakeholders, bring different perspectives together,
think creatively and take action on potential solutions.
Through a global workforce, manufacturing more
than 5,000 products at 188 sites around the world,
Dow is looking to not only develop innovative solutions, but to work in collaboration with customers and

partners to successfully bring them to market.

From alternative energies, to high-tech application,
Dow has already commercialized a wide variety of
projects, including the DOW POWERHOUSE Solar
Shingle; Dow Energy Materials, a lithium-ion battery
component provider; and patented PASCAL technology, a polyurethane foam insulation technology
that improves energy efciency of refrigerators and
freezers by up to 10%.
As one of the worlds largest industrial consumers of energy with an annual global energy
consumption of about 600 trillion British Thermal
Units (BTUs), Dow has developed novel ways to
efciently produce, distribute and consume energy.
Setting clear and challenging goals with fearless
transparency and accountability, Dow has achieved
monumental success in energy and greenhouse gas
(GHG) reductions, including:

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Colette Lewiner
Global Sector Leader, Energy,
Utilities and Chemicals
Capgemini

GLOBAL LEADERS PROFILE

Capgemini
With around more than 115,000 people in 40
countries, Capgemini is one of the worlds foremost providers of consulting, technology and
outsourcing services. The Group reported 2010
global revenues of EUR 8.7 billion. Together with
its clients, Capgemini creates and delivers business
and technology solutions that fit their needs and
drive the results they want. A deeply multicultural
organization, Capgemini has developed its own
way of working, the Collaborative Business ExperienceTM, and draws on Rightshore, its worldwide
delivery model.
With EUR 915 million revenue in 2010 and
12,000 dedicated consultants engaged in Energy,
Utilities and Chemicals projects across Europe,
North America and Asia Pacific, Capgeminis
Energy, Utilities & Chemicals Global Sector serves
the business consulting and information technology needs of many of the worlds largest players
of this industry. More information about our services, offices and research is available at
www.capgemini.com/energy.

86 insight December 2011

Why is Capgeminis Smart Energy Services Unique?

Capgeminis Smart Energy Services are real, in
the market now, and already making a difference
for utilities around the world. Our expertise and our
resources are unmatched in the industry. In fact, only
Capgemini Smart Energy Services:
Has extensive utilities industry experience with an
unequaled track record for successful innovation
and delivery.
Leads the industry in the delivery of smart energy
solutions in mass deployment and production
Offers a unique, turn-key solution called Managed
Business Services, which has a usage-based pricing
model
What also makes Capgeminis Smart Energy Services different from any other organization is our longstanding commitment to working collaboratively with
our clients to deliver uniqueand ultimately, successfulresults. In fact, collaboration is central to the Capgemini philosophy and a pillar of our service delivery.
From strategy development through implementation,
our clients benet from our tailored approach. For
more information about Smart Energy Services, please
visit www.capgemini.com/smartenergy.

>Insight to Power Your Business

2010/2011 Platts/Capgemini
Utilities Executive Study
High-level perspectives reveal the
industrys most important issues.
Youll gain knowledge and in-depth understanding of industry trends
to build your competitive advantage in todays marketplace. The study
identies and priorities current industry issues assesses opinions
about the future of the energy industry and measures the steps utilities
are taking to prepare for the future.
This years study revealed that the Top 5 most critical issues facing the
energy industry include:






Environmental Regulation
Infrastructure Transmission and Security
Non-environmental Regulation
Workforce Changes
Pricing/rate issues

Utility executives say

environmental regulation
is the most important
issue they face and they
are especially concerned
by what they believe
is a lack of clear
environmental
guidelines.

The study was conducted in two phases. Phase I was qualitative and
consisted of in-depth telephone interviews. Data for the quantitative
Phase II was collected via online survey.

Download your complimentary copy of the

Platts/Capgemini Utilities Executive Study at
www.us.capgemini.com/PlattsStudy

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Aubrey K. McClendon
Chairman of the Board and CEO
Chesapeake Energy Corporation

GLOBAL LEADERS PROFILE

Chesapeake Energy
Corporation
Chesapeake Energy Corporation was co-founded
in 1989 by its CEO, Aubrey K. McClendon, and
former President and COO, Tom L. Ward. Today
Chesapeake is the second-largest producer of natural
gas, a Top 15 producer of oil and natural gas liquids
and the most active driller of new wells in the US.
Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the companys
operations are focused on discovering and developing unconventional natural gas and oil elds onshore in the US. Chesapeake owns leading positions
in the Barnett, Haynesville, Bossier, Marcellus and
Pearsall natural gas shale plays and in the Granite
Wash, Cleveland, Tonkawa, Mississippi Line, Bone
Spring, Avalon, Wolfcamp, Wolfberry, Eagle Ford,
Niobrara, Three Forks/Bakken and Utica unconventional liquids plays. The company has also vertically integrated its operations and owns substantial
midstream, compression, drilling, trucking, pressure
pumping and oileld service assets. With more than
12,000 employees and an enterprise value of approximately $35 billion, Chesapeake intends to continue
leading the industry in developing greater supplies
of US unconventional natural gas and liquids in the
years ahead.

Operations Strategy
Through strong leadership, investment in technology and an aggressive land acquisition program
in unconventional natural gas and liquids plays,
Chesapeake has captured Americas largest natural gas and liquids resource base. Chesapeake is
the only producer to have #1 or #2 positions in the
Haynesville, Marcellus, Barnett, and Bossier shale
plays. Additionally, Chesapeake now owns leading
positions in 12 of the Top 15 unconventional liquidsrich plays in the US.
Chesapeakes strategy is also focused on advantageous joint venture agreements with world-class
partners and executing a sophisticated commodity
hedging strategy that consistently delivers cash gains
and increases overall natural gas and oil price realizations for Chesapeake.

88 insight December 2011

Natural Gas Advocate

Chesapeake has long been the industrys most outspoken advocate for the use of natural gas as a solution to the countrys energy, economic and security
challenges. Its key message is that natural gas is clean,
affordable, abundant and American.
To help deliver this message, Chesapeake provided
funding to form the American Clean Skies Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank dedicated
to educating the public about natural gas, renewable
energy and energy efciency. Chesapeake is also very
active in Americas Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA),
which includes 35 of the nations largest independent
natural gas producers. Through the recent creation of
the Chesapeake NG Ventures Corporation (CNGV),
the company plans to invest at least $1.0 billion over
the next 10 years to stimulate market adoption of
compressed natural gas (CNG), liqueed natural gas
(LNG), and advanced gas-to-liquids (GTL) processes.

Community Minded
In every community where Chesapeake operates,
the company is committed to building partnerships in
education, community development, social services
and health. In 2011, Chesapeake has committed over
$30 million to charitable giving. Chesapeake sets high
standards in service and strongly encourages employees to do the same. During the 2011 United Way
campaign for Central Oklahoma, the company and its
employees set a new contribution record, giving more
than $5.5 million. Additionally, Chesapeake employees donated more than 32,000 volunteer hours in 122
communities across all the companys operations.

Statistics
Net Acres (in millions):

15.0

Q3 2011 Daily Production (mmcfe/d):

3,329

Q3 2011 Proved Reserves (tcfe):

17.7

Q3 2011 Risked Unproved Resources (tcfe):

111

YTD Revenues (in millions):

$8,908

YTD Adjusted Net Income (in millions):

$1,670

Market Capitalization (in millions):

$20,655

Employees:

12,000

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Gerard M. Anderson
Chairman, President and CEO
DTE Energy

DTE Energy

GLOBAL LEADERS PROFILE

An Ambitious Ramp-up
DTE Energys energy efciency campaign
launched in June 2009, and set the pace to far
surpass the energy savings goal outlined in the
Michigan legislature PA 295, also known as the
clean, renewable and efcient energy act. Per PA
295, electric utilities were required to save more in
20100.5% of sales, representing a 67% increase in
energy savings from 2009. Gas utility requirements
also increased dramatically in 2010 as the energy
savings target increased 150% from 2009 to 0.25% of
sales. For DTE Energys gas and electric utilities, the
spending limits increased only 33%, dramatically
less than the savings requirements, making 2010
more challenging from a nancial perspective.

Extraordinary Results
Throughout 2010, DTE Energy continued to build
on its 2009 momentum. Early in 2010, the team put
into place new measures around customer cycle time,
customer satisfaction and customer participation.
The team focused on simplifying the marketing
messages and application processes. Among them
were the development of an online application for
DTE Energys HVAC program, the inclusion of
gauges on the companys website to update the
status of program funding, and the launch of a
Facebook page. Also, the team introduced Neighborhood Energy Savings Outreach, a campaign that
touched over 10,000 Detroit homeowners, helping
them implement simple energy-saving measures and
educating them in ways they could save even more.

Here are some key achievements in 2010:

DTE Energy spent 7% less than the budgeted
amount while exceeding electric and gas savings
relative to its plan by 19% and 29% respectively.
Program participation grew dramatically in 2010.
Overall, 117,000 DTE Energy customers were
directly served, an increase of 160% from 2009.
Customers purchased 3.2 million discounted CFL
bulbs (a 52% increase from 2009) and recycled about
23,000 appliances (a 144% increase from 2009).
Program awareness started at 41% after launch

90 insight December 2011

and rose as high as 70% by the end of 2010, an

increase of 71%.
Through 2010, 210 Michigan-based jobs had been
created by six independent contractors under
contract with DTE Energy.

Customer-Focused Program
The strategic vision of the DTE Energy energy
optimization program continues to focus on providing
a program that enables customers to actively control
energy usage and thus save money on their energy
bill. We also aspire to deploy the best-operated energy
efciency program in North America.
Long term, we want to build a program that
provides the following vision or True North:
All customers believe DTE helps them be more
energy efcientcustomers believe and know that
DTE is there helping them with their energy bills
100% employee ambassadorsour employees
across the company know the programs and are
energy efciency advocates privately and publically
Flawless executionour programs are designed
with the customer in mind and are executed without defects and achieve customer specications
All policy makers enthusiastically support DTEs
EO programour regulatory relationship is fully
aligned, our lings transparent and error free and
we spend our money prudently in the eyes of the
customer, legislators and policy makers
Maximize surcharge ROI for customerwe provide
programs that are truly valuable to the customer, provide real savings and nancial benet, and the utilities
in DTE earn their incentive each and every year.

Company Prole
DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is a Detroit-based
diversied energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses
and services nationwide. Its operating units include
Detroit Edison, an electric utility serving 2.1 million
customers in Southeastern Michigan, MichCon, a
natural gas utility serving 1.2 million customers in
Michigan and other non-utility, energy businesses
focused on gas storage and pipelines, unconventional
gas production, power and industrial projects, and
energy trading.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Lewis Hay, III

Chairman and CEO
NextEra Energy, Inc

NextEra Energy, Inc

Strong Customer Focus

Providing great value to our customers permeates
everything we do at NextEra Energy, and nowhere
is this more evident than in what we have accomplished at FPL in 2010 and 2011. We are affordable
providing residential customers with monthly bills
that are the lowest of all 55 utilities in Florida and
more than 20% below the national average. We are
reliabledelivering FPL customers service reliability
that is 38% better than the national average. And we
are cleanwith a carbon dioxide emissions rate that
is 36% below the industry average.

Operational Excellence
At NextEra Energy, we had our best-ever year in
2010 for fossil and hydro reliability, our second best
year ever for wind reliability, and our best year ever in
terms of safety. At FPL, our transmission and distribution reliability kept the company in the top quartile
of utilities nationwide when ranked by annual minutes without power, and our cost position continued
to be in the top decile as measured by cost per retail
kilowatt hour. At NextEra Energy Resources and its
subsidiaries, we maintained top quartile or better
performance at our generating facilities both in reliability, as measured by forced outage rate, and in cost,
as measured by operation and maintenance (O&M)
expenses per megawatt hour produced.

NextEra Energy continues to provide a strong track

record of outperformance compared with our peers
and the broader market. For the ve years ending on
December 31, 2010, we delivered a total shareholder
return of 48%, outpacing both the S&P 500 Indexs
12% and the S&P Electric Utilities Indexs 20%.

Solid Growth Opportunities

From 2011 through 2014, we plan to invest approximately $19 billion in substantial growth opportunities
at both of our principal businesses. At FPL, these include major capital projects to modernize and upgrade
our electric grid, and at NextEra Energy Resources,
these include a series of new renewable energy projects harnessing the wind and sun.

A Culture of Innovation
We are proud to be helping drive our industry into
the next era. Here are just a few examples of innovation in action at our company.
Energy Smart Florida: FPL is investing in smart grid
technologies, including 4.5 million smart meters, to
help keep service reliability high and give customers more information to better manage their energy
use and costs.
Power plant modernizations: FPL recently tore
down two 1960s-era fossil power plants, one at Cape
Canaveral and one in Riviera Beach. The modernized plants that will replace them will be 33% more
fuel efcient than the old units, and will provide an
estimated $850 million to $950 million in net savings
to customers over the life of these projects.
Nuclear uprates: Nuclear power produces about
20% of FPLs electricity outputsafely, reliably
and affordablywith none of the air emissions that
contribute to smog or climate change. We expect the
modernization (or uprate) work being done at our
four nuclear units in Floridawhich will add about
450 MW to our portfolio without expanding the
plants footprintswill save FPL customers about
$4.8 billion in fuel costs over the life of the plants.
For more information about our companies, visit
these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com,
www.NextEraEnergyResources.com, www.FPL.com.
December 2011 insight 91

GLOBAL LEADERS PROFILE

NextEra Energy, Inc is a leading clean energy

company with 2010 revenues of more than $15 billion, nearly 43,000 megawatts of generating capacity, and approximately 15,000 employees in 28 states
and Canada. Headquartered in Juno Beach, Fla., our
principal subsidiaries are NextEra Energy Resources
LLC, which together with its afliated entities is the
largest generator in North America of renewable
energy from the wind and sun, and Florida Power &
Light Company (FPL), which serves approximately
4.5 million customer accounts in Florida and is one
of the largest rate-regulated electric utilities in the
country. Through our subsidiaries, NextEra Energy
collectively operates the third largest US nuclear
power generation eet.

Delivering For Our Investors

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Chuck Davidson
Chairman and CEO
Noble Energy, Inc

GLOBAL LEADERS PROFILE

Noble Energy, Inc

Noble Energy, Inc, founded in 1932, is one of the
nations leading independent energy companies
engaged in worldwide oil and gas exploration and
production. The companys project inventory is comprised of a large number of low-risk developments,
multiple long-term growth projects, and an extensive
set of high-impact exploration opportunities. With a
strong balance sheet, a disciplined capital investment
philosophy and a diversied asset portfolio, Noble
Energy has the ability to continue delivering differential growth and value for its stakeholders.
Noble Energys corporate purpose is Energizing the
World, Bettering Peoples Lives. In addition to nding
and producing hydrocarbons, the company is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen and a positive force in the community. Noble Energy conducts its
business with integrity, respect, and high standards of
health, safety and environmental stewardship.

US Onshore
Noble Energys domestic business consists of
operations onshore, with key assets in the DJ basin
(Colorado and Wyoming) and the Marcellus shale
(Pennsylvania and West Virgina), and offshore in the
deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Activity in the DJ
basin is focused on liquid-rich projects through vertical and growing horizontal drilling programs. Their
current horizontal program includes over 85 wells,
more than double their 2010 well count.
In late 2011, Noble Energy established a new signicant position in the Marcellus shale through the
formation of a strategic partnership. The company
acquired 314,000 net acres and 50 MMcf/d of existing
net production through an innovative joint venture
structure. In addition to the Marcellus position, the
companys onshore portfolio includes a number of
natural gas opportunities such as the Haynesville
shale of East Texas/North Louisiana and the Piceance
basin of Western Colorado.

92 insight December 2011

In the deepwater GOM, Noble Energy received

the industrys rst permit to resume drilling after
the moratorium was lifted. The company also led the
development of a subsea containment system and coordinated the participation of 24 companies to satisfy
new requirements. Growth in their GOM program
is highlighted by multiple discoveries at Galapagos,
scheduled for rst production in early 2012. Looking
forward, the company has identied several dozen
deepwater prospects for future exploration activity.

International
The companys two international core areas are offshore West Africa and in the Eastern Mediterranean. In
West Africa, Noble Energy is exploring offshore Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. Its Aseng project will
begin oil production before year end followed by rst
production from its Alen project in 2013. In the Eastern
Mediterranean, the company continues to sell natural gas to Israel from its Mari-B eld. In 2009, Noble
Energy discovered Tamar, an 8.4 Tcf natural gas eld
offshore Israel. The Tamar eld was the largest offshore natural gas discovery of the decade until Noble
Energy discovered Leviathan, a 16 Tcf eld offshore
Israel, in 2010. The company is actively developing the
Tamar eld and expects to commission the project in
late 2012. With respect to Leviathan, development and
commercialization options are being evaluated.
Noble Energy continues to look globally for attractive prospects that may grow into additional core
areas including prospects offshore Nicaragua and
offshore Senegal.

Noble Energy Statistics

Employees: 1,700

2010 Reserves: 1.1 BBoe

2015 Reserves Outlook: 1.6 BBoe

2011 Production: 224 MBoe/d

2015 Production Outlook: 350 MBoe/d

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Jos Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo

CEO
Petrobras

Petrobras

Statistics of the 1st semester of 2011

net prot of $13.2 billion

EBITDA reached $19 billion

average oil and gas production of

2.6 million barrels per day

16 reneries

130.2 thousand square kilometers of exploration areas

132 production platforms

8,477 service stations

December 2011 insight 93

GLOBAL LEADERS PROFILE

Founded in 1953, Petrobras is a publicly traded

corporation operating in an integrated manner in
the following segments of the oil, gas, and energy
industry: exploration and production; downstream,
marketing, transportation and petrochemicals;
distribution; natural gas, energy and biofuels. In
October 2010, the company completed a global
public offering of common and preferred shares that
resulted in a capital increase of $70,005 billion. The
proceeds were allocated to pay for the Transfer of
Rights Agreement and to nance the Business Plan.
The volume of proved oil and gas reserves and the
ongoing success rate in the companys exploration
results have afforded Petrobras a prominent position
and growth in the industry and the company is currently the global leader in exploration and production
in deep and ultra-deep waters. In Brazil, Petrobras has
the leadership in all segments of the value chain and
the companys growing production is fully supported
by its discoveries. This dominant position combined
with the strong local demand in one of the fastest
growing global markets enhances the companys
logistical synergies and credit quality.
The 2011-2015 Business Plan provides for investments of $224.7 billion. Of this total, $213.5 billion are
being allocated to projects in Brazil and a further $11.2
billion to overseas activities. The focus will be on the
Exploration and Production segment, which will get
$127.5 billion (Brazil and International), for a total of
57% of the investments. Of this amount, 45 billion will
be set aside to develop the pre-salt alone. The oil and
natural gas production projected for 2015 is expected
to top at 3.9 million boed.
The proved oil and natural gas reserves amounted
to 15.985 billion boe in 2010, according to the SPE
criterion. Petrobras maintains its goal of increasing reserves at a faster pace than production and of reaching
a minimum 100% Reserve Replacement Index (RRI).
In 2010, the RRI was 229%.
Petrobras, the global leader in exploration and
production in deep and ultra-deep waters, made one
of the biggest discoveries in recent times in the oil

industry: the pre-salt area, which potentially ranks

Brazil among the countries with the largest oil and gas
reserves in the world.
In the Lula and Cernambi elds, and in the Iara,
Guar and Parque das Baleias blocks alone, the recoverable volume is estimated between 8.1 and 9.6 billion
barrels of oil equivalent (boe). This amount, added to
the right to explore a volume of 5 billion boe acquired
through the Transfer of Rights Agreement, may more
than double the current Petrobras reserves. Prospecting at a depth of 5,600 meters from the surface of the
sea, cutting through a 2,000-meter-thick layer of salt,
and operating at a distance of nearly 230 km off the
coastline, the company had 100% success rate in all
wells drilled in the Santos Basin pre-salt area.
In the rst half of 2011 Petrobras invested US$ 1.06
billion in international activities aimed at growing
production in the deep water regions. The company
currently operates on ve continents and in 25 countries, focusing principally on the United States and on
the west coast of Africa.
In 2010, Petrobras invested US$ 402.2 million in
social, environmental, cultural, and sports projects
in Brazil and abroad. Since 2006, Petrobras has been
listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index
(DSJI), the most important of its category, recognition
of the companys socio-environmental responsibility and commitment. It should be pointed out that
the company has been a signatory to the UNs Global
Compact since 2003.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Ron Bertasi
CEO
Prometheus Energy

Prometheus Energy
Group
GLOBAL LEADERS PROFILE

Integrated Fuel Solutions

Prometheus Energy is one of the largest and fastest
growing suppliers of liqueed natural gas (LNG) to
the industrial sector in North America. Prometheus
provides turnkey fuel solutions to convert industrial
users of diesel, propane and other crude-derived fuels
to clean, domestic, secure LNG, resulting in reduced
fuel cost and environmental footprint. The company
is a pioneer in the development of the industrial LNG
market and is vertically integrated from production
through distribution, onsite storage, and vaporization.

Building Natural Gas Downstream

Prometheus Energy is the leader in the emerging
downstream market for LNG as an industrial fuel.
Historically, large energy consumers without access
to pipeline gas have had little choice but to utilize
diesel, propane, heating oil and other fuels derived
from crude oil. As a result, these companies have
suffered from high and volatile fuel prices and have
not been able to enjoy the substantial economic and
environmental benets of natural gas. No off-pipeline
downstream market existed for natural gas supply to
industrial companies.
Prometheus Energy is leading the development of
the emerging natural gas downstream for the offpipeline industrial market, with delivered volumes up
more than 400% over last year. Prometheus provides
customized turnkey solutions: proprietary storage and
vaporization equipment packages, full requirements
fuel supply, and complete operations and maintenance services. The result for industrial companies?
Lower fuel costs, reduced fuel price volatility, enhanced environmental prole, and increased competitiveness. The result for the gas industry? A new, large,
and attractive downstream market.

Strategic Thinking, a New Mindset

The companys innovative approach has led to
numerous rst-of-their-kind conversions of industrial
fuel consumers to LNG, in sectors as diverse as drill-

94 insight December 2011

ing, food manufacturing, ore processing and commercial laundry. Prometheus clear commercial thinking
enabled the establishment of exible solutions tailored
to its customers needs, including the industrys rst
private label equipment leasing program.
Prometheus Energys commercial innovation is
matched by its technical innovation. The company
is a world leader in developing innovative solutions
for unconventional gas sources, including a landll
gas-to-LNG plant and a are-gas-to-LNG plant. Prometheus Energy designed and operates the worlds
rst coal mine gas-to-LNG plant through its joint venture entity, LNG Silesia, in Katowice, Poland, producing high quality LNG from gas that was historically
vented to the atmosphere.
This rapid commercial and technical innovation was
achieved under an experienced leadership team by a
skilled and committed staff.

About Prometheus Energy Group

Prometheus Energy Group has more than 50
employees with ofces in Redmond, WA, Houston,
TX, and through its joint venture entity, LNG Silesia
Sp.zo.o, Katowice, Poland. Prometheus Energy is
privately held by Shell Technology Ventures Fund 1
BV and Black River Asset Management LLC, a wholly
owned but independently managed subsidiary of
Cargill. For more information, please visit
www.PrometheusEnergy.com.

Statistics

Began operations in 2008.

Developed the rst conversions of industrial fuel users

to LNG in numerous industrial sectors, ranging from
drilling rigs to industrial laundry.

A world leader in developing technical solutions for unconventional gas sources, including are gas-to-LNG and
coalmine gas-to-LNG plants.

Supply LNG across North America from a mix of owned

and contracted supply sources.

Growing rapidly, with delivered volumes up more than

400% over last year.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Antonio Brufau
Chairman and CEO
Repsol

Repsol

Technology Driven
Repsol uses the latest-generation science and technology for the discovery and extraction of oil and gas
deposits beneath the ultra deep waters of Brazil and
the US Gulf of Mexico. Launched in 2007, the Kaleidoscope Project was set up with the goal of developing
algorithms and software capable of processing seismic
prospecting images 15 times quicker than existing
technologies within the industry. Its successor, Phoenix, is currently under development.

Socially Responsible
Applying the companys core values of integrity,
and respect for the environment and its sustainability, Repsol has compiled a catalogue of emissions
opportunities (CERO) in which the company identifies opportunities to reduce internal gas emissions,
including projects classed as Clean Development
Mechanisms (CDMs). Repsol has broken new
ground in Latin America with two projects which
have been awarded CDM project status; the recovery of flare gas at the Lujan de Cuyo refinery in
Argentina and a project to switch from residual fuel
to oil LPG and/or LNG in South America. Repsol
has been certified as best-in-class for its climates
change strategy and in 2011 was named the worlds
most transparent oil company by the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index.

Investors in Modern Energy

Repsol is committed to the development and investment in new sources of energy, laying the groundwork for a future where oil companies diversify into
new forms of energy. Repsol has recently launched its
biggest ever research and growth plan into alternative
energy, producing results in offshore wind, biofuels
and electric cars amongst others. In terms of renewable energy and biofuels, Repsol has made signicant progress in the last year, with its acquisition of
SeaEnergy Renewables offshore wind unit and the
creation of the worlds largest commercial jatropha
project for biodiesel.

December 2011 insight 95

GLOBAL LEADERS PROFILE

Repsol is an international integrated oil and gas

company with 43,000 employees, operating in over
30 countries and representing over 70 nationalities.
Headed since 2004 by Antonio Brufau, Repsol is the
leader in rening and marketing in Spain and Argentina, one of the ten largest private oil companies in the
world, the largest private energy company in Latin
America, and a leading LNG marketer.
Since 2004, Repsol has focused its upstream activity
in offshore areas including Brazil, The Gulf of Mexico
and the West Coast of Africa. Repsol will see rst production from its world-class discoveries in Venezuela
and Brazil in 2012/2013, generating cash that will fuel
further exploratory work.
Repsols position as an integrated oil and gas
company has been bolstered with the expansion and
modernization of its reneries. Considered the biggest
industrial investment in the history of Spain, the investment in Cartagena puts Repsols rening portfolio
amongst Europes most efcient.
At the end of 2010, Repsol Brasil formed an alliance
with Sinopec to jointly develop exploratory activity,
creating one of the biggest private energy companies
in Latin America with a value of $17.777 billion.

Considered one of the most innovative projects of

its kind the Kaleidoscope Project has had a profound
impact, not only for the results it has obtained, but
because it has changed the way in which innovation is
viewed within the oil and gas industry.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Ahmed A. Subaey
RD & CEO
S-OIL Corporation

GLOBAL LEADERS PROFILE

S-OIL Corporation
S-OIL Corporation is an integrated rening &
marketing company and a reliable supplier of petroleum, petrochemical and lube products to over thirty
countries around the world. Since its establishment in
1976, S-OIL has shown outstanding performance by
realizing operational excellence and sound nancial
structure, and has continuously strived to achieve
its overarching mission of Sustainable Protable
Growth. Renowned for a successful joint venture
between Aramco Overseas Company, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, and Korean Airline, SOIL has been able to ensure the stable import of crude
oil as well as steady supply of petroleum products.
S-OIL operates three CDUs with aggregate processing capacity of 656 MB/D and a large-scale Bunker-C
Cracking Center, which consists of various conversion
processes such as Hydrocracker, RFCC, RHDS, etc.,
through which most of residual crude is upgraded
into light and/or low sulfur products. In addition,
S-OIL produces basic raw materials for petrochemical industry, and in 2011, S-OIL strengthened its very
existence in the petrochemical industry by completing the construction of #2 Aromatics Complex with
investment amount of US$ 1.3 bil. Particularly, the
company successfully held the inauguration ceremony
for the completion of the project with presence of over
1,000 distinguished VIPs from home and abroad including the very exceptional attendance of H.E. President of Korea and H.E. the Minister of Petroleum and
Mineral Resources Al-Naimi of Saudi Arabia as well
as CEOs of global major oil companies. S-OIL now
runs the worlds largest single-location PX production
complex with production amount of 1,700 KTA, which
contributes to generating almost a quarter of the
companys bottom-line. On top of this, S-OIL has a full
line-up of API Group-III to Group-I lube base oils with
daily production capacity of 30,000 barrels, which is
the 2nd largest single-renery capacity in the world.
Meanwhile, S-OIL has been a forerunner of implementing export-oriented marketing strategy, exporting about 60% of the rened products to over 30 countries. Equipped with optimized renery conguration
that is able to ll product spectrum with high valueadded ones and diversied marketing strategy, S-OIL
96 insight December 2011

has ideally positioned to capitalize on recent business

environment changes as well as to emerge as an oil
rener that can readily lead the future of the industry.
S-OIL was proudly awarded Downstream Operations of the Year 2009 by Platts, named as one of
Global 500 by Fortune, and selected as a member of
Dow Jones Sustainability Index World for 2 consecutive years while maintaining the highest credit ratings
among Asian reners from S&P and Moodys. On
top of this, in Nov. 2011, the company received two
awards from the President of Korea including Presidential Award for CEO of the Year for excellence
in sustainable management as well as Presidential
Award for CSR of the Company.
Furthermore, S-OIL has embarked on a new journey
in 2009 by establishing a Strategy Framework which
consists of three strategic directions, which are Further Investment in Rening Business, Integration
with Petrochemical Business, and Renewable Energy Business along with Strategic Imperatives that collectively serve to meet the expectations of our C.E.O.
(Customers, Employees, and Owners & Stakeholders).
As the rst step to meet the Strategic Direction, the
company acquired a 33.4% stake in HK Silicon in 2011
(US$ 265 million), a solar PV poly-silicon producer,
which gave a solid platform to enter into renewable
energy business.
Equipped with this solid strategy framework,
S-OIL will relentlessly pursue to materialize a welldiversied business portfolio that can lead the waves
of change. In the end, such strengths will enable S-OIL
to break through the ever-changing business environment encompassing the entirety of the horizon of the
energy industry.

Statistics

Revenue

: US$ 17,765 Million (2010)

Location

: Seoul (Head Ofce) / Ulsan (Renery)

Renery Capacity : 656,000 Barrel per Day

Key Businesses

: Oil Rening, Petrochemical Product

Manufacturing, Production of Lube
Base Oil, Poly-silicon business

Employees

: 2,589 persons (as of Dec. 31, 2010)

Sales Volume

: 192,006 thousand barrels (2010)

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Kevin Smith
CEO
SolarReserve

SolarReserve

Investors:
Primary investors include: US Renewables Group,
Good Energies, Citi Sustainable Development Investors, PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund, Ar-

The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project:

SolarReserve broke ground on its lead CSP project,
the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant, located near
Tonopah, Nevada on September 1, 2011. This 110 MW
project, which will use SolarReserves CSP technology
with integrated storage, will be the nations rst commercial scale solar power tower with fully integrated
energy storage, and the largest of its kind in the world.
The project will create over 600 direct jobs during
the peak construction period, equivalent to in excess
of 1.5 million man-hours for construction activities at
the project site. It will also generate about 3,700 indirect induced jobs within the supply chain, and once
completed more than 50 full-time operational jobs.
During operations, the plant will expend more than
$10 million per year in salaries and operating costs,
and is forecasted to generate $47 million in total tax
revenues through the rst 10 years of operation. Under the projects unique development agreement with
Nye County, SolarReserve has committed to lling
90% of the construction jobs with Nevada residents,
utilizing both union and non-union subcontractors.
As part of the project nancing, SolarReserve is
joined as investors in the project by ACS Cobra, a
worldwide leader in the engineering and construction
of power plants and thermal solar facilities, and the
equity capital practice of Santander, a global nancial
services and banking leader. The project also closed
on a $737 million in project debt with a loan guarantee
from the US Department of Energy.

Statistics

Project Portfolio: 110 MW CSP in construction,

4,000 MW of CSP and PV in development

Power Purchase Agreements: 310 MW under contract

or awarded with total revenues in excess of $3.5 billion

Employees: 55

Capitalization: $217 million

Active Markets: United States and 12 countries

internationally

December 2011 insight 97

GLOBAL LEADERS PROFILE

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, SolarReserve develops utility-scale solar power plants that
provide continuous electricity to large populations
just like conventional power plants but without any
harmful emissions. SolarReserves technology features
a proven solar thermal power tower technology with
integrated energy storage that is capable of delivering
clean, predictable power on-demand, day or night.
SolarReserves game-changing, US-developed technology solves intermittent electricity generation, a major
problem with most renewable energy generators that
can only generate when the sun is shining or the wind
is blowing. A SolarReserve plant generates electricity
anytime its needed, day or night, 24-hours per day.
SolarReserve holds the exclusive worldwide license
to the molten salt, solar power tower technology developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a subsidiary
of United Technologies Corporation. The technology
was successfully demonstrated in California under a
US Department of Energy-sponsored pilot project in
the late 1990s.
Since its formation in late 2007, SolarReserves
team of power project professionals have assembled
a concentrated solar power development portfolio of
more than 25 projects featuring its licensed solar power
technology with potential output of more than 3,000
megawatts in the United States and Europe; with early
stage activities in other international markets including
the Middle East, North and South Africa, Australia,
China, India and Latin America. SolarReserve is also
developing 1,100 MW of photovoltaic projects across
the Western United States, and is actively acquiring
new sites to add to the pipeline in the US and overseas.
SolarReserves experienced management team has
previously developed and nanced more than $15
billion in solar, wind, natural gas, oil, nuclear, and
biomass-red electricity generating facilities located
in the US and in more than a dozen countries around
the world.

gonaut Partners, Nazarian Enterprises, Credit Suisse,

and Cobra Energy Investments LLC.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Ronald L. Sargent
Chairman and CEO
Staples Inc

GLOBAL LEADERS PROFILE

Staples Inc
Staples is the worlds largest ofce products company,
with over $25 billion in sales and 90,000 associates,
serving in 26 countries throughout North and South
America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Staples pursuit of excellence in energy is evident by
delivering programs such as the latest lighting technology upgrades, portfolio-wide rollout of efciency
improvement campaigns, stores recommissioning and
building control optimization, and transportation efciency improvement programs. Staples was recognized as an EPA ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year
and ENERGY STAR Leader in 2011, one of only a few
to achieve these awards in the same year.
Staples innovative program leverages SMART Grid
technology, real-time automated demand response
technology, advanced lighting controls, Green IT, and
HVAC optimization technologies. Staples communication program recognizes that to achieve and sustain
efciency improvements, it requires people, process,
and technology to be aligned.

Operational Excellence
Staples demonstrates operational excellence by delivering efciency in every aspect of their business and
scaling it across the entire supply chain.
Process ExcellenceStaples completed a nationwide roll-out of the kWh reduction campaign across
their distribution center portfolio, achieving an 8%
reduction in consumption.
Treasure HuntsStaples rolled-out the Treasure
Hunt process at its Distribution centers, and identied and initiated implementation of 38% energy
savings at the rst site at the Orlando DC.
ENERGY STAR National Building Competition:
Staples participated in the EPA ENERGY STAR Building Challenge reducing consumption 25%, from 62
to 75 favorable score at its retail store in Roswell, GA.
Staples also implemented its own challenge in Atlanta.

Innovation

Staples leads through energy-related innovation.

SMART GRID Utilization: Staples has shown leadership incorporating SMART GRID data as a key component of the distribution center energy program.

98 insight December 2011

Product Innovation: In the Staples Global ECO-Easy

Challenge, engineering teams from across the world
compete to invent and create innovative products
which improve efciency like this years winner a
saving surge protector design.
Global Green IT: Australia and New Zealand teams
implemented green IT solutions and innovations including removal 38 servers and consolidating server
services to a central data center, reducing CO2
emissions by approximately 47.7 tons annually and
raising the data center temperature by two degrees,
reducing power consumption.

Communication
The Energy Management Awareness program
internally and externally leverages events, media,
press releases, speaking engagements, videos, website,
newsletters, awards and magazine articles.
Earth Day Event: Event company-wide celebrations
with t-shirts, sustainability pledge, videos, recycling, and energy awareness posters.
Sustainability and Energy Videos: Staples produces
videos on energy management, solar, sustainability,
and ENERGY STAR.
Staples Energy On-Line Website: Staples launched
an internal website to distribute energy tips, knowledge exchange, videos, email help, and general
information on energy.
Through Staples Soul, the company continues to dene itself not just through its strong earnings growth
and prot margin, but also by its impact on the local
and global communities it serves.
Staples is a leader in corporate sustainability for
over a decade, and continues to aggressively move
their program forward in innovative ways.

Statistics

Despite an exceptional business growth, exceeded their

target to achieve 7% absolute reduction in their carbon
footprint by 2010 against a 2001 baseline.

Reducing energy consumption by 38% at the Orlando

Distribution Center through process excellence programs.

34 solar installations through North America just passed

30 million kWh for total solar production.

One of the top 10 retailers to make the Corporate Social

Responsibility Index list.

Congratulations to Dick Kelly

of Xcel Energy Inc.
Finalist for the 2011 Global Energy
Lifetime Achievement Award
Dick Kelly rose from meter reader to
chairman and CEO of Xcel Energy in a
distinguished career spanning 43 years. We
congratulate him on his many accomplishments
and thank him for his leadership and commitment to the company and the industry.
With a strong nancial foundation, a growth
strategy that gets results, dedication to
operational excellence and a commitment
to clean, reliable, reasonably priced energy,
Xcel Energy is built to last.
ResponsibleByNature.com

global energy awards

Innovation and
Inspiration: Energizing
Change in the Industry
and the Economy
Patsy Wurster, Director, Platts Global Energy Awards and Publisher, Platts Insight

Energy 2011: Surviving a Year

of Surges and Slumps
In a year of energy-market gyrations,
the global energy industry in 2011 was
jolted by a series of surprises. Soaring midwinter heating-oil demand
strained supplies along the blizzardstricken American East Coast. Uncertain Mideast oil shipments amid the
Arab Spring uprisings sent world oil
prices above $120 a barrel. Increased
anxieties about nuclear power followed the Fukushima Daiichi accident
and radiation leak.
The prolonged economic slump in
the advanced manufacturing nations
helped restrain oil and natural-gas demand and thus prevented a long-lasting
price spike, even as emerging markets
recovered strongly. Yet energy agencies
began to foresee that an eventual economic recovery might send oil prices
soaring againwith some analysts
warning of an eventual oil-price shock,
as supplies might once again threaten
to fall short of relentless global demand. The balance between supply and
demand remains delicateunderscoring the industrys need for continued
innovation and productivity gains, to
102 insight December 2011

help ensure that additional sources of

energy are ready to power the economy
once a restored economy intensies its
energy requirements.
Throughout the volatility of 2011,
the global energy industry rose to the
challenge. Its companies, communities
and individuals persevered in meeting
their day-by-day task of satisfying the
worlds voracious appetite for energy
and in pursuing their long-range challenge of planning to meet future energy demand.
With its Global Energy Awards for
2011, Platts this year again recognizes the leaders and visionaries who
are shaping the industrys future. Every category in the competition saw a
spirited contest, often making it very
difcult for our judges to choose an
eventual winner. With its wide array
of breakthough technologies and ingenious innovations, the competition
illustrated that the global energy industry remains driven by the spirit of
innovationa reassuring prospect, as
the industry will need to summon its
nest minds and its most creative technologies to fulll its mission of fueling
a re-energized global economy.

global energy awards

CEO Of The Year
Andrew Liveris
Dow Chemical
United States
A clear winner emerged in the always-crowded category for the leading
energy-industry CEO this year. Recognizing his success in fullling Dow
Chemicals strategic business goals, and
applauding his thought leadership on
far-sighted issues in public policy, this
years award hails the achievements of
Andrew Liveris.
Now serving as the president of the
International Chemical Company Association (ICCA), Liveris is the worldwide voice of the chemical industry. He
has earned global renownincluding a
top-level White House appointment
as a champion of business success and
job creation through renewed industrial competitiveness.
Liveris has driven Dows transformation, through a strategic plan launched
in 2005, from a commodity chemicals
player to a high-performance science
and technology solutions provider.
Under Liveris guidance, the 114-yearold companymanufacturing more
than 5,000 products at 188 sites in 35
countriesis an industry pacesetter in
innovation, with an annual R&D budget of $1.7 billion.
Dows ambitions have broadened
under Liveris leadership. Dows 2009
acquisition of Rohm and Haas, a premier specialty-chemical company, has
provided Dow with substantial cost
synergies. Expanding its portfolio of
joint ventures, Dows plans for Sadara,
an initiative with Saudi Aramco, will
create one of the worlds largest integrated chemical facilities. Liveris has
also directed Dows plans to invest
more than $500 million in new efforts for ethane cracking and ethylene
supply on the US Gulf Coast, with an
additional $4 billion in future investments in that region.
Liveris has intensied Dows focus
on energy efciency and sustainability,
with the company poised to become
a key driver of renewable and alternative energy solutions. The company has
made major investments in building

lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and innovative building-integrated

solar energy systems. Dow has committed $100 million to an Energy Intensity
Improvement Fund, and has funded
nearly 40 projects worldwide that will
reduce the companys energy use and
greenhouse-gas emissions.
The companys environmental commitment was underscored by its recent
inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the 11th time, and by
its inclusion in the Carbon Disclosure
Leadership Index for the sixth time. A
new Dow collaboration with The Nature Conservancy aims to show that
protecting the environment is part of a
far-sighted business strategy.
Liveris this year published Make it
in America: The Case for Reinventing
the Economy, on reinvigorating manufacturing to strengthen the long-term
health of the US economy. In addition
to his service on the Presidents Export
Council, Liveris was named last summer by President Obama as co-chair of
the new Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, an alliance of industry, universities, and the federal government
to invest in emerging technologies and
competitiveness.
Liveris outstanding commitment to
public service, as well as business success, has led to his recognition as CEO
of the Year.

Rising Star of the YearIndividual

Arno Harris
Recurrent Energy
United States
Through his leadership roles at Recurrent Energy and within the solar industry, Arno Harris is helping shape the future of clean energy in North America.
Under Arnos leadership, Recurrent Energy has since 2006 become a leading
solar developer in North America. By attracting talented professionals from the
conventional energy industries, and by
motivating them with a vision of solar
at multi-gigawatt scale, Arno has demonstrated industry-leading vision.
The global electronics giant Sharp
Corporation in 2010 agreed to acquire
Recurrent. With Sharps nancial
December 2011 insight 103

global energy awards

strength and technological leadership,
Recurrent gained a partner that could
support its internal expertise in development, permitting, engineering and
project nance. Recurrent remains an
independent subsidiary of Sharp, with
its own leadership, but also with a network that allows it to execute quickly
on its vision for distributed generation
and utility-scale solar.
Recurrent has navigated the acquisition successfully, and is pursuing even
larger projects that are driving the
mainstream adoption of solar power.
Arno has shifted the companys focus
away from rooftop installations and
commercial power agreements to focus
on utility-scale solar.
Through his service on the board of
the Solar Energy Industries Association
(SEIA), Arnos advocacy of renewable
energy sources is helping shape a new
vision of a sustainable and affordable
energy future.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Sheila Hollis
United States
A pioneer in the practice, teaching and application of law and energy policy, Sheila Hollis has worked
tirelessly for almost 40 years in government, academic and professional
organizations to promote a strong, resilient energy policy.
A charter member of the US Governments Senior Executive Service at age
30, she became the rst director of the
Ofce of Enforcement for the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, serving from 1977 to 1980.
As a lawyer in private practice, she
has chaired the American Bar Associations 11,000-member Section of
Environment, Energy and Resources,
and she chaired the Board of Editors of the ABA Journal from 2007 to
2010. Sheila has also served as the
chair of the American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education.
She serves as Chair of the ABAs Gavel
Awards Committee, and she is a delegate to the World Justice Program,
developing rule-of-law principles in
environmental law.
104 insight December 2011

In the academic realm, she served as

a Professorial Lecturer in Energy Law
for 20 years at the George Washington University Law School, and she
has published hundreds of articles
and law texts on a variety of energyindustry issues.
Sheila was the rst woman to serve
as the president of the Federal Energy
Bar Association. She is the Treasurer of
the United States Energy Association,
and she serves on the Advisory Board
of the North American Energy Standards Board. She has also served as the
Federal Circuit Representative of the
Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary; the President of the Womens
Council on Energy and the Environment; and the President of The Thomas
More Society of America.
Listed by the National Law Journal
among the nations top 20 energy attorneys, Sheila has been named as one
of 50 Key Women in Energy Worldwide and as Woman of the Year for
the Womens Council on Energy and
Environment. She was the rst woman
selected to deliver the Dean of the Oil
and Gas Bar lecture for the Center
for American and International Laws
Institute for Energy Law. She has also
received the Paul Nordstrom Service
Award from the Energy Bar Association
and its charitable foundation, recognizing exemplary long-term public service. Sheila will receive the Outstanding Graduate Award of the University
of Denvers International Law Center in
2012, and she will deliver a paper at the
40th Anniversary Commemoration of
the founding of the University of Denvers Law Journal.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Richard Kelly
United States
Dick Kelly, the retired Chairman and
CEO of Xcel Energyan electric and
natural-gas utility operating in eight
states, with its headquarters in Minneapolisspent his entire 43-year career
in the energy business. Recognized for
his leadership in environmental stewardship and corporate citizenship, he
is the son of an employee at the Public

global energy awards

Service Company of Colorado, where
Dick started as a summer meter reader
during college, before joining the companys auditing department.
Moving up through the ranks, he developed a deep understanding of the
energy business. As a rising executive,
Dick was instrumental in completing
the two mergers that created Xcel Energy. He also played an important role
in resolving the 2003 bankruptcy of
NRG Energy, an Xcel subsidiary and, at
the time, the third-largest independent
power producer in the world.
Under Dicks leadership, Xcel established a national reputation for environmental stewardship. The company
today is the nations No. 1 provider of
wind energy, and it ranks in the Top 10
for solar capacity. Since 1998, the company has voluntarily made investments
to reduce air-pollution emissions, and
the company recently announced plans
to further reduce emissions in Colorado, enabling it to meet Colorados
carbon-reduction goal of 20% by 2020.
Thanks to the companys ambitious
energy conservation effort, customers since 1992 have conserved energy
equivalent to the output of 13 mediumsized power plants.
Under Dicks leadership, Xcel made
strong efforts to further the viability
of renewable energy. The company is
now actively pursuing research on advancing wind energy through new energy-storage technologies, including a
wind-to-hydrogen demonstration project that is operating in Colorado and a
project in Minnesota that stores wind
power in large batteries.
In solar energy, Xcel is a founding member of the Solar Technology
and Acceleration Center in Colorado,
which tests and demonstrates advanced solar technologies. The company also conducted a demonstration project at its Cameo Generating
Station that connects thermal energy
from a parabolic-trough concentrating
solar plant with the steam cycle of the
coal- red plant.
Xcel has also made signicant investments in SmartGridCity, a pilot
project in Colorado that tests smart

grid technologies. In Minnesota, Xcel

is testing renewable technologies, including electric cars, along the Energy
Innovation Corridor between Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Beyond his service to Xcel, Dick has
served on the boards of the Electric
Power Research Institute, the Nuclear
Energy Institute, and the National
Advisory Council of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. From June
2010 to June 2011, he was chairman of
the Edison Electric Institute. Dick also
served as a member of the National Advisory Council of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Art Rosenfeld
United States
Dedicating his 35-year career to the
pursuit of energy efciency, Art Rosenfeld has helped build the foundation
of Californias energy policyand the
worlds knowledge of energy efciencyby promoting the idea that using
energy more efciently is cheaper and
smarter than building additional power
plants. Art has earned renown throughout the energy industry for his dedication to maximizing efciency and protecting the environment.
Art received his Ph.D. in Physics in
1954 at the University of Chicago, serving as the nal graduate student of Nobel Laureate Enrico Fermi. Joining the
Department of Physics at the University of California at Berkeley, Art rose to
eventually oversee the Nobel Prize-winning particle physics group at Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory, where he
served until 1974. He then changed his
research focus to the efcient use of energy, forming the laboratorys Center
for Building Science, which he led until
1994. He is now the laboratorys Distinguished Scientist Emeritus.
The author of almost 400 scientic
and technical papers, Art has served as
Senior Advisor to the U. S. Department
of Energys Assistant Secretary for Energy Efciency and Renewable Energy,
as well as Commissioner on the California Energy Commission. He is the
co-founder of the American Council
December 2011 insight 105

global energy awards

for an Energy Efcient Economy; the
University of Californias Institute for
Energy Efciency; and the Washington-based Center for Energy and Climate Change Solutions.
Arts scientic achievements have
earned him the Szilard Award for Physics in the Public Interest (1986); the Carnot Award for Energy Efciency from
the US Department of Energy (1993);
and the Berkeley Citation (2001) from
the University of California. In 2006,
he received the Enrico Fermi Award,
the oldest and one of the most prestigious science and technology awards
given by the US government. In 2008,
The Economist magazine awarded him
its Innovator of the Year award in the
eld of Energy and Environment. In
2010, he was voted into the National
Academy of Engineering. This year, he
received the Global Energy Prize from
Russian President Medvedev in recognition of his advances in the area of energy efciency.
In March 2010, Art won a singular
distinction: More than 50 inuential
leaders in the eld of energy efciency
proposed naming a new unit of measurement to characterize electricity
savings. Named the Rosenfeld, one
unit is equal to 3 billion kilowatt-hours
per year, representing the electrical
output of one 500-megawatt coal-red
power plant.

Rising Star AwardCompany

SeaMicro
United States
An innovator in computer hardware,
SeaMicro is emerging as an innovator
with an extremely strong position in a
critical part of the energy industry: the
eld of reducing energy consumption.
A four-year-old company, SeaMicro has
developed technology that reduces, by
as much as 75%, the power consumed
by computer serversa part of the
information-age electronic backbone
that already devours more than 2.5%
of all the electricity produced in the
United States.
To achieve such energy savings, SeaMicro re-envisioned how a server works,
conceiving of it as an ultra-high-densi106 insight December 2011

ty, low-power, single-box cluster computer. SeaMicros innovations integrate

various parts of the computing process
into a single system, helping SeaMicros
technology deliver computing while it
consumes just a small fraction of the
electricity of traditional systems. Reducing servers electricity consumption
will be all the more important amid the
shift to cloud computing, which puts
a greater emphasis on servers.
SeaMicros sales have been doubling
every quarter and, based on existing
sales and projections, the company
may be the fastest-growing hardware
company in the history of Silicon Valley. The company has won quick recognition for its innovative approach
including being named as a Top Ten
Clean Tech Company by the Wall
Street Journal.
Based in Sunnyvale, California, SeaMicro was backed by venture-capital
rms, several leading public companies,
and the largest grant awarded by the US
Department of Energya $9.3 million
merit-based grantas part of the federal stimulus package (the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act. SeaMicro also was awarded a merit-based
grant from the state of California.

Energy Producer of the Year

Petrobras
Brazil
Continuing its outstanding record of
energy exploration and oil production,
Petrobras has won broad recognition in
the industry for its remarkable advances in making oil discoveries in so-called
pre-salt reservoirs. The company has
developed advanced technologies to
speed wells in these areas into production, with output in those pre-salt areas already at 150,000 barrels a day. By
2020, production in pre-salt areas is
projected to be the equivalent of 40%
of Brazils total oil output.
Petrobras drilled 52 wells in pre-salt
areas since between 2005 and 2010,
with a success rate of 88% last year.
Costs are dropping as the company
gains experience and scale in this effort: The rst well drilled in the presalt areas required 15 months and $240

global energy awards

millionbut the most recent wells took
just 80 days and $80 million.
More than 1,000 offshore wells are
likely to be drilled, with total output
likely to reach an eventual peak of more
than 6 million barrels a day. Exploration in the pre-salt areas is the foundation of Petrobras strategic vision for
2020: to be one of the ve largest integrated energy companies in the world.
Downstream, to meet growing demand, four reneries are being built in
Brazil, and more than $70 billion will
be invested in reneries in the next
four yearsalong with $16 billion for
upgrading quality in existing reneries. Petrobras has been accomplishing
its increased output while maintaining
string health, safety and environmental standards, earning the company a
place in the Dow Jones Sustainability
Index since 2006.

Industry Leadership of the Year

Chesapeake Energy Corporation
United States
The increased use of plentiful, relatively clean-burning natural gas has
the potential to reshape the American
economy and societyand Chesapeake Energy Corporation is positioning itself to help lead the transition
toward a greater use of natural gas as
the fuel for motor vehicles. By reducing
the nations dependence on gasoline
and thus high-cost imported oilsuch
an effort to promote the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) and liqueed natural gas (LNG) to fuel vehicles
could help the United States approach
energy independence.
To fulll Chesapeakes recently announced Energy Independence Initiativewhich calls for increased
domestic oil and natural gas liquids
production and investments in green
energy fuels through advanced gasto-liquid (GTL) processesChesapeake
has created the Chesapeake NG Ventures Corporation (CNGV). The company will invest $1 billion to stimulate
the adoption of CNG, LNG and GTL
fuelsand the rst step in that process
is investing in a nationwide corridor of
CNG and LNG fueling stations, to re-

assure consumers that they can gain

ready access to those fuels.
An enhanced fueling infrastructure
will help overcome concerns that CNG
and LNG supplies will not be available.
CNGVs new $150 million investment
will speed the construction of LNG
fueling stations along Interstate highwaysincreasing the number of stations to 74 by 2012, and between 250
and 300 locations over time. That will
be about one-fth of the number needed for a complete coast-to-coast LNG
refueling network.
Once the market reaches a tipping
point, consumers will be willing to
switch to such natural-gas-fueled vehiclesand manufacturers will adapt to
supply that new market. Chesapeakes
drive for CNG- and LNG-powered vehicles could thus lead to increased vehicle manufacturingand hence new
jobseven as reduced US dependence
on high-cost imported oil makes US energy supplies more secure.
Chesapeakes new initiative could be
a game-changer for the US economy,
energy policy and foreign policya
leadership initiative that has earned the
company this years award for Industry
Leadership.

Downstream Operations of the Year

Gail India Limited
India
Fueling the worlds second-most-populous nation will require vast amounts
of energy, delivered in an environmentally sustainable wayand Gail India
Ltd. is growing to meet that challenge.
Having started as a gas transmission
company, Gail has continued expanding its network of natural-gas pipelines
and has organically developed into an
integrated energy company in the hydrocarbon sector. For its prodigious efforts, fast-paced growth and increasing
protability, Gail has won recognition
in the category of Downstream Operations of the Year.
Almost three-quarters of gas transmissions in India ow through Gails
pipelines, in a market where natural gas
seems destined to be an ever-more-important fuel. As Gail approaches a panDecember 2011 insight 107

global energy awards

India presence, it has been diversifying
from transmissions into the areas of liqueed petroleum, gas processing plants
and an expanding petrochemical plant.
Recognizing that a growing population and intensifying urbanization will
require more clean-burning fuel supplies, Gail has imaginative plans to tap
into a new source of natural gas: urban
landlls. Pursuing a partnership with
the municipality of Delhi, Gail has earmarked 10 acres for a pilot project for
the extraction of landll gasa pilot
project that, if successful, could be replicated across India.
Along with increasing fuels supplies,
Gails landll-gas initiative could help
restrain the rate of global warming, by
capturing methane gas that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.
Gails efforts to convert waste plastics
into fuel could also capture a potentially valuable resource.
Already a fast-growing enterprise,
Gail and its urban landll-gas project
seems to epitomize the spirit of innovation and zeal for growth that seem likely to give Gail a rst-mover advantage in
many areas. The companys ambitions
for growth are optimistic, but Gails
imaginative efforts to diversify its operations give it a good chance of continuing its brisk recent pace of expansion.

Power Company of the Year

Southern Company
United States
A well-managed company with a
strong nancial base, Southern Company has the operational acumen and
the economic resources to fulll its
broad-scale ambitionsand thus has
solid credentials to claim the 2011
award in the category of Power Company of the Year.
Southerns well-diversied powergeneration base includes the full range
of sources for energy production: coal,
oil, hydropower and nuclear, along
with newer technologies like solar
and biomass. The company maintains
its traditional reliance on coal, yet its
newest venturesa 30-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant in New Mexico
and a 100-megawatt biomass-fueled
108 insight December 2011

plant in Texasposition Southern as

a signicant innovator in renewable
energy, as well.
It takes self-condence to expand a
utilitys commitment to nuclear energy in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan, but Southern
is pushing forward with its plans to
build two new, state-of-the-art nuclear
units that will start generating power
in 2016. Another large-scale project
is a 582-megawatt coal gasication
plant, which will remove 65% of the
carbon dioxide from coal before it is
burned as a fuel.
As bets a company that has intensied its environmental efciencygenerating 40% more electricity
over the past decade, while reducing
emissions by 70% Southern has
consistently invested in environmentally imaginative technologies. The
National Carbon Capture Center in
Alabama is uniting industry, government and university scientists in
the search for ways to reduce carbon
emissions in the atmosphere. While
working toward a breakthrough in
that complex area, Southern is helping consumers reduce their electricity
use through smart meters as well as
load-management and conservation
programs.
A well-diversied, nancially strong
utility that strives to deliver customer
satisfaction as well as shareholder value, Southern Company continues to
take the kind of energy-supply and environmental-protection measures that
have earned it 2011s award as Power
Company of the Year.

Commercial Technology of the Year

GlassPoint
United States
An innovative approach to maximizing the extraction of hard-to-reach oil
depositsusing low-cost solar technologiesis the factor that made
GlassPoint the winner in the closely
contested category of Commercial
Technology of the Year. GlassPoint
has devised a way to use cost-competitive techniques to harness solar power,
rather than to use costly carbon-based

global energy awards

fuels, to create steam for injection into
oil wells in the process of Enhanced Oil
Recovery (EOR).
Natural gas is often purchased for
EORs steam-injection process: As
much as 60% of the operating cost of
a heavy oil eld is typically for natural
gas for EOR. Reducing that cost while
accomplishing the same goalextracting more of a elds underground oil
depositsincreases the efciency of oil
production. Moreover, using solar power rather than natural gas is a hedge
against the risk of gas-price increases,
while allowing that gas to be used for
other purposes.
GlassPoints development of innovative glasshouse architecture allows it
to use lightweight, low-cost, prefabricated components. More effective protection for the reective mirrors within
the durable glasshouse reduces maintenance and repair costs. Better still,
the ability to use mass-manufactured
components that can be assembled
on-site reduces installation costs and
speeds the installation process.
In an era when oil deposits are increasingly difcult to extract, EOR
seems destined to play an ever-moreimportant role: Worldwide, the $20
billion market for EOR will be essential
to maximizing the use of the worlds nite oil resources. The US Department
of Energy has estimated that the full
use of EOR could produce an additional
240 billion barrels of recoverable oil,
which might otherwise sit untapped.
GlassPoints new solar-powered techniques to boost EOR could thus contribute to increasing long-term US oil
production, allowing precious natural
gas to be used for other purposes, and
reducing American dependence on
costly foreign imports of oil.

Construction Project of the Year

Shell International
Netherlands
Building the worlds largest gas-to-liquids (GTL) plantwith fully integrated
production that extends from drilling
gas at an offshore gas eld to producing
nished products that are immediately
ready for marketrequires vast scale and

engineering ingenuity. Shell International succeeded in that construction feat by

completing the Pearl GTL project, in the
Persian Gulf off the coast of Qatar, which
shipped its rst product in June 2011.
The scale of the project challenged the
capabilities of even one of the worlds
foremost construction operations. The
Pearl GTL effort, a joint effort by the
company and Qatar Petroleum, has
the capacity to produce 260,000 barrels of oil-equivalent per day. The wide
range of its products includes cleanerburning diesel and kerosene, base oils
for top-tier lubricants, naphtha, and
normal parafn that is used to produce
detergents. The Pearl plant will produce
enough fuel per day to power more
than 160,000 automobiles, and enough
synthetic base oil per year to make lubricants for 225 million cars.
At its peak, the Pearl project required
more than 52,000 peopleexhausting
the capacity of the local workforce and
requiring laborers to be brought in from
more than 50 countries. Since some of
the workforce had no experience in
the oil and gas industryand, in some
cases, no experience at all in constructionthe company created a training center, which largely focused on
workplace safety and supervisors skills.
Maintaining Shells strong safety culture helped the Pearl project achieve a
record-breaking 77 million man-hours
worked without any injuries leading to
lost work-time.
Organizing a construction project
at this vast scaledrilling a total distance of 97 miles below the sea oor,
with wells using enough steel to build
two-and-a-half Eiffel Towers, with a
control room hosting 200 computer
servers using 12 million lines of software codewas an engineering challenge of the rst magnitude. Yet the
Pearl GTL project bested the industrys usual well-drilling time of about
75 days, completing the 22 Pearl GTL
wells in an average of 45 days (with one
well completed in just 28 days).
For its mastery of scale, skill and
speed, Shell Internationals vast project
merited this years Construction Project of the Year award.
December 2011 insight 109

global energy awards

Engineering Project of the Year
Areva
United States
Ensuring the safety of a nuclear power plant requires exacting standards
and allows a zero margin for error. A
critical safety-improvement program
the rst-ever modernization of a US
nuclear power stations instruments
and controls (I&C) systems, changing
them from analog to digital technologieswas a project of such critical importance that its successful completion
won the Engineering Project of the
Year award for Areva Inc.
Like almost all nuclear power plants,
Unit 1 of the Oconee Nuclear Station
in Greenville, SCowned by Duke Energywas built in an era when analog
controls were considered state-of-theart technology. Now that digital control are replacing analogand now that
analog is approaching obsolescence, as
fewer manufacturers and suppliers can
provide replacement partsconversion
to digital is essential as the US nuclear
industry seeks to extend the useful life
of its reactors.
Areva in 2010 became the rst and
only supplier to receive US Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval for a full plant-specic application of
a safety-related digital I&C system. The
Oconee project was its rst such effort,
and thus it was a precedent-setter for
the American nuclear industry.
Thanks to Arevas highly skilled
engineering team and precise project
management, Duke Energy in June
2011 completed the full-scope modification of its Reactor Protection System and Engineered Safeguards Protection System (RPS/ESPS) at Oconee
1. With the success of that upgrade
to digital technologies, Duke Energy
will soon pursue similar upgrades
at the two additional reactors at the
Oconee power station.
Because of the careful regulatory
safeguards under which nuclear power must operate, Areva worked closely
with the NRC staff, holding weekly
consultations to review progress, diagnose potential problems and address
questions. The result of the project is
110 insight December 2011

improved safety and reliability of the

systems that monitor critical systems
and initiate an automatic reactor shutdown in case of any early detection of
problems. Now that the feasibility and
safety of an analog-to-digital upgrade
project have been proven, other nuclear power plants can follow the example
of Areva, helping extend the life of the
reactors that contribute to the US electricity supply.

Community Development Project

of the Year
Gas Natural Fenosa
Spain
An innovative community-outreach
initiative in Argentina by Gas Natural
Bana local subsidiary of Spanishbased Gas Natural Fenosaillustrates
that community-focused efforts are
not just the civic-minded thing to do
in the short term: They can also be a
sound business strategy to boost profitability for the long term. Gas Naturals design of a socially inclusive business modeloffering a hand up, not
a handout, that helps transform the
everyday lives of the poorwon overwhelming support among our judges
in the category of Community Development Project of the Year.
Gas Natural found that reaching out
to the impoverished Cuartel V neighborhood, on the outskirts of Buenos
Aires, provided a way to deliver energy supply to an under-served communitywhile also creating a loyal,
bill-paying customer base. Cuartel V
had subsisted for decades with almost
no drinking-water systems, sewage
networks or gas-distribution pipelines.
Residents long relied on bottled gas for
their energy needs, enduring its vastly
higher costsand its occasional safety
problemsbecause gas connections
were unavailable.
Gas Natural, in collaboration with
the nonprofit Fundacion Pro-Vivenda
Social, invested about $1.7 million to
build a gas-distribution network that
now serves more than half of the district. Cuartel Vs families have benefited not just from the dramatically
lower cost of piped-in gas, but also by

global energy awards

the ability to heat their houses and by
the increase in neighborhood housing values.
The 20,000 or more residents of Cuartel V now are steady customers of
Gas Natural, which enjoys an expanded service territory that has increased
the companys revenues. Moreover,
neighboring areas, seeing the improved quality of life in Cuartel V,
have asked for additional natural-gas
services, as wellopening up further
revenue opportunities.
Gas Naturals corporate reputation
has also been strengthened, as the
companys inclusive business model
in Cuartel V is the subject of a chapter in a book by two Harvard Business
School professors, Business Solutions
for the Global Poor, and has been featured at a Harvard conference on best
practices in corporate social responsibility. Corporate reputation is an intangible asset that enhances a companys value, and Gas Naturals efforts in
Cuartel V have succeeded in building
up the companys reputational capital
as well as expanding its base of reliable customers.

Green Energy Generator of the Year

E.ON Climate & Renewables
Germany
Planning for new energy-generation
capacity requires long-term investment
and continuous renement of technological know-howespecially when
dealing with newer energy systems.
E.ON Climate & Renewables has had
the perseverance to pursue a promising, renewable energy source with vast
potential: wind power, especially in
rugged offshore settings. More than
96% of the worlds operational offshore
wind installations are located in European waters, and the Dusseldorf-based
E.ON has delivered a remarkable 46%
of that capacity.
It can take a decade or more to take
an offshore wind farm through the
planning, design, permitting, construction and grid-connection stages,
but E.ON has committed more than
$1.4 billion to this fast-growing segment of the energy market. The com-

pany has now grown to be the Number

Three player by capacity in the global
offshore wind industry.
The companys expertise and economies of scale are driving down the costs
of wind projects across the entire value chain. Offshore wind poses greater
operational challenges than onshore
windanother area where E.ON has
gained signicant experience, as the
operator of the worlds largest onshore
wind farm: a 781.5-megawatt facility in
Roscoe, Texas. Yet E.ON is making farsighted investments in hardware and
efciency-focused operational techniques that may soon make offshore
wind power a critical part of the worlds
energy supply.
The environmental benets of expanding offshore wind are increasingly signicant. The 60 turbines E.ONs
Robin Rigg offshore wind farm, completed in 2010 in a challenging tidal
location off the coast of the UK, have
a capacity of 180 megawatts, displacing
230,000 tons of greenhouse-gas emissions per year. E.ON is now building
the far larger London Array, which will
be the worlds largest offshore wind
project when completed in 2013, generating 1 gigawattenough to meet
the needs of 750,000 homeswhile
displacing 1.9 million tons of greenhouse-gas emissions per year.
In a world thirsting for increased
energy supplies, it takes strategic foresight and operational stamina to be
a pioneer in developing innovative
technologies. E.ON has demonstrated
admirable staying-power in this fastgrowing sector of the energy industry,
and its imaginative efforts have earned
this years award for Green Energy
Generator of the Year.

Petrochemical and Blendstock

Company of the Year
Braskem
Brazil
In a bold leap of innovation,
Braskem opened the worlds rst
green ethylene plant in September
2010 in Triunfo, Brazilusing sugar
cane to produce a projected 200,000
tons of green plastic each year. This
December 2011 insight 111

global energy awards

advance in sustainable chemistry is
potentially transformational, ushering in an era of green plastic in a traditional industry where making breakthrough innovations has sometimes
proven to be difcult.
Using a renewable and affordable raw
material, Braskems production of green
plastic at the Triunfo plant will help
meet the growing demand for plastic
especially in the developing worldin
a way that is both economically viable
and socially responsible. Using plentiful sugar cane as an alternative to traditional fossil-fuel feedstocks will help
reduce some of the pressure on global
oil and gas supplies.
The idea of green plastics is a relatively new one, and Braskem has actively reached outin both its home
market of Brazil and internationallyto stakeholder groups to discuss
the positive aspects of sustainable
chemistry. Propelling its message of
greater sustainability, Braskem has
pro-actively pursued stakeholderengagement programs with employees, clients, suppliers, consumers, the
news media policymakers and financial analysts.
This advance into sustainable chemistry reinforces Braskems reputation
for far-sighted planning and its culture
of accountable corporate governance.
The company, formed in 2002 as part
of a major restructuring of the Brazilian petrochemical industry, has been
attentive to building a strong corporate
reputation, even as it has continued to
generate impressive growth and ample
margins. The investment in environmental responsibility through the new
Triunfo plant enhances Braskems renown among advocates of a greener
plastics industry.

Sustainable Technology of the Year

LanzaTech
United States
In a technical breakthrough that
holds great promise for sustainability,
LanzaTech has used a clever technique
to convert a waste productwaste
gas, which would otherwise add to
the problem of greenhouse-gas emis112 insight December 2011

sionsto make fuel-grade ethanol.

By developing a genetic modication
system to create a gas-fermentation
microbe, LanzaTech has made a dramatic advance along the biotechnology frontier, with a potentially transformational impact on the worlds energy
industries.
LanzaTechs technique avoids what
has been, until now, a major problem for ethanol: the fact that it has
been made mostly by using corn or
other foodstuffsand thus diverting
food that is desperately needed by the
worlds increasingly hungry population. That food-or-fuel choice has put
upward pressure on world food prices
and causing food shortages in impoverished nations. LanzaTechs technology may help avoid that serious moral
dilemma.
As shown in a pilot project now
under way at a steel mill in China,
LanzaTechs process can convert even
highly contaminated industrial emissions into usable fuel. Preventing the
emission of such contaminants will
reduce a factor that aggravates climate
change, while using waste for transportation fuelsinstead of draining
the worlds nite oil and gas suppliescould help ease future fossilfuel shortages.
In the ethanol market, in particular,
LanzaTechs waste-gas-to-ethanol process could potentially produce nearly
11 billion gallons of ethanol just from
steel-mill gases in China. If used in
other countries and other industries
like petrochemicals, rening, coal and
the paper industrythe environmental and economic benets could be
revolutionary.
Capturing value from what has
long been seen as a waste product,
LanzaTechs innovation suggests that
advanced technology can indeed
contribute to energy security, avoid
aggravating climate change, and promote green growth and create greencollar jobs. By harnessing biotechnology in the most imaginative of ways,
LanzaTech is the strong winner in this
years competition for Sustainable
Technology of the Year.

global energy awards

Energy Efciency Program of the Year
Ontario Power Authority
Canada
The most cost-effective kilowatt is
the one thats never generated in the
rst place. The Ontario Power Authority (OPA), through the saveONenergy
initiative that began in 2004, has helped
create a culture of conservation in Canadas most populous province, persuading
consumers to reduce their individual energy use to help reduce overall electricity
demand. The public-education program
has been a key part of OPAs far-reaching
effort to reduce peak demand and thus
to avoid having to build additional power plants in the province.
Having invested $1.7 billion in
conservation programs, OPA saved
ratepayers an estimated $3.8 billion
in avoided costs between 2006 and
2010. By 2016, that savings is likely to
amount to about $6 billion, if the campaign continues to help OPA avoid unneeded supply-infrastructure spending. OPA met its 2007 interim target of
reducing electricity use by 1,350 megawatts, with peak demand reduced by
1,700 megawatts since 2006.
OPAs program is demonstrating that
reduced electricity use can simultaneously save consumers money on their
electric bills, protect ratepayers from
excessive construction costs and restrain greenhouse-gas emissions. Persuading the public to join the saveONenergy pledgevowing to use energy
more wisely, to make well-informed
choices about electricity use and to
retire inefcient applianceswill be a
critical factor in helping OPA keep its
promise to shut down Ontarios coalburning power plants and thus be coalfree by 2014. The province has emerged
as North Americas energy-efciency
leader by adopting aggressive energyconservation targets, aiming to reduce
peak-demand energy use by 7,100
megawatts and 28 terawatt-hours annually by 2030.
Along with the public-education
initiative, OPA has paid for ambitious
energy-efciency programs through
dedicated funds for innovation and
advanced technology. Experimenting

with new conservation methods that

are in the pre-commercial stage, OPA
has made an investment of $23 million and has leveraged that sum to
gain more than $100 million in funding from other sources. By combining
far-sighted investment and persuasive arguments for energy conservation, OPAs successful conservation
and efciency efforts have created a
win-win outcome: saving consumers
money in the short term, while steering Ontario toward a coal-free future
for the long term.

Energy Efciency Program of the Year

Staples Inc
United States
Creating a corporate culture that focuses on energy awareness requires a
sustained effort, and Staples has mobilized a years-long campaign to persuade all its stakeholders that energy
efciency is good for the environment
and good for societyand also good
for the companys bottom line. The
worlds largest ofce-supplies company
has pursued a comprehensive program
of adopting advanced technologies and
encouraging energy-conscious behavior, and it has reaped benets that have
both reduced its environmental impact
and rewarded its shareholders.
Through a far-reaching Staples Sustainability Program that champions
sustainability and reduces waste, the
company has put energy efciency at
the heart of its operations. Its agenda
has included the adoption of smart
grid technologies, advanced lighting
controls, heating and air-conditioning
optimization techniques, automated
demand-response technologies and
green IT initiatives. In environmental terms, Staples exceeded the goal it
set when it became one of the rst US
companies to make a public commitment to reduce its carbon footprint: By
2010, the company reduced its carbon
use by more than the 7% target (measured against a 2001 baseline), even as
the business grew by more than 200%.
Positive environmental results have
translated into smart savings. Across its
US facilities, Staples had been spendDecember 2011 insight 113

global energy awards

ing more than $82 million per year
for electricity and natural gas, but the
efciency program gained incremental efciencies of $3.8 million per year
(and a total impact, measured against
the baseline, of $13.2 million per year).
The savings have gone straight to shareholders bottom line, delivering about
2 cents per share of increased earnings.
The benets of increased efciency
are not just nancial: Staples nds that
employee morale is higher and the customer experience has been enhanced
by the improved efciencies, and the
visible energy-and-environment campaign has added reputational value for
a company whose image is one of innovation and reinvestment. By enhancing its corporate reputation through
positive public-relations moveslike
championing the federal Energy Star
program and sponsoring competitions
to motivate students, entrepreneurs
and employees to nd even more ways
to save energyStaples has reinforced
a maxim of the corporate-responsibility
movement: that doing the right thing
to strengthen society is often synonymous with doing the right thing to
strengthen corporate protability.

Deal of the Year

Chesapeake Energy Corporation
United States
In a dramatic stroke of energy diplomacy, Chesapeake Energy Corporationthe largest independent oil producer in the United Statesreshaped the
contours of international energy exploration with two landmark deals with the
same partner: CNOOC, the state-owned
China National Offshore Oil Corporation. Because of the historic nature of
these two transactions and the joint
ventures that will follow, Chesapeake
which is also this years award-winner
for Industry Leadershiphas also been
awarded the prize for Deal of the Year.
The two agreements for oil and natural-gas drilling tracts, signed in October 2010 and February 2011, give rich
rewards to both partners. The rst
for $2.2 billion in cash, plus future
drilling carriesallows CNOOC to acquire a 33.3% interest in Chesapeakes
114 insight December 2011

600,000-net-leasehold-acre tract in
the Eagle Ford Shale project in South
Texas. The secondfor $1.3 billion in
cash plus future drilling carriesallows CNOOC to acquire a 33.3% interest in Chesapeakes 800,000-net-leasehold-acre tract in the Denver Julesburg
and Powder River basins in Colorado
and Wyoming.
The transactions are the largest-ever
Chinese purchase of US energy assets.
They give Chesapeake a strong business partner, additional capital to accelerate drilling in those resource-rich
areas, and added cash-ow to pursue
its strategic nancial objective of repurchasing some of its outstanding
debt. It gives CNOOC an active interest in a specic, high-pro le and
probably very productive assetsplus
growth in its long-term reserves, easing Chinas fears of having little access
to energy supplies.
CNOOCs deals with Chesapeake
also go a long way to make up for the
embarrassment that China suffered in
2005, when an American political uproar prevented CNOOC from moving
forward with an $18.5 billion offer to
acquire Unocal. To prevent such a US
outcry this time, the new ChesapeakeCNOOC deals were carefully structured
and thoroughly explained to lawmakers, who seemed to appreciate the deals
potential to create American jobs, provide additional tax revenues and increase US oil production at a time of
concerns about the ow of energy supplies from overseas.
The deals represent a coup for Chesapeake and its CEO, Aubrey K. McClendon, as the rm has singlehandedly
transformed US-China energy cooperationand helped strengthen overall US-China economic relations. Seldom does a single set of transactions
have such a serious commercial, diplomatic and energy-policy impact. For
its pioneering efforts to create an international partnership that may have
wide-ranging energy and economic
implications for years to come, Chesapeake has certainly eclipsed all other
competitors in the 2011 award category
for Deal of the Year.

Duane Morris congratulates

partner and pioneer

SHEILA SLOCUM HOLLIS

on being named a finalist for the

2011 Platts Global Energy

Lifetime Achievement Award.

We join with other global

energy leaders in honoring
you for your key role in the
formation and implementation
of energy law and policy.

In the sphere of Energy, Environment and Resources, change is a constant.

Events in recent years underscore how quickly and acutely these changes affect
businesses, governmental bodies and consumers. Duane Morris, as both advisor
and advocate, guides clients through complex legal, financial, practical and political
issues. Duane Morris LLP, a full-service law firm with more than 700 attorneys in
offices across the United States and around the world, offers innovative solutions
to the legal and business challenges presented by todays evolving global markets.

Duane Morris Firm and Affiliate Offices | New York | London | Singapore | Los Angeles | Chicago | Houston | Hanoi | Philadelphia
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www.duanemorris.com

insight

Advertiser Index
AES Gener . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Fortune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Ambient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Manseld Oil Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
American Municipal Power, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 NextEra Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Areva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Noble Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
C3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Peabody Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Cairn India Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Petrobras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Capgemini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82, 86, 87 PJM Interconnection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Chesapeake Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88, 89 Prometheus Energy Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
CN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Repsol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Dow Chemical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 SAIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . back cover
DTE Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 S-OIL Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Duane Morris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 SolarReserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Elster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . inside back cover Staples Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98, 99
Entergy Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . inside front cover Xcel Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

116 insight December 2011

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