Wim Westerman

Energy economics and financial markets

Foreword.- Introduction.- Part I: Supply and Demand.- Part II: Environmental Issues and Renewables.- Part III: The Dynamics of Energy and Derivatives Trading.- Part IV: Finance and Energy.

Is Telecare Feasible? Lessons from an In-depth Case Study

This paper describes the empirical findings of a large-scale telecare pilot implementation, called KOALA. The pilot is based on video interaction of clients with a medical service centre of a home care provider. The purpose of the project was to gain experience with telecare and to measure the effects in terms of costs and perceived well-being. The expected effects were that clients’ well-being would be increased and overall costs of health care would be reduced. The results of this study are:• the positioning of the medical service centre in the care provider’s network and the organization of the centre are crucial for attaining acceptance and cost effectiveness;• introduction of a telecare program needs careful preparation with clients and employees, and alignment with existing care;• there is substantial difference in the use of telecare and its advantages for different groups of clients; this is especially relevant when using proprietary technology.

Renewable Energy Production Capacity and Consumption, Economic Growth and Global Warming

This chapter estimates the interrelationships between growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in interaction with the consumption of fossil fuel and renewable energy consumption in a global context. In such a system the variable of renewable energy production capacity is introduced. It is found that growth in this variable has a significant effect on the growth of renewable energy consumption. This is the case for instantaneous unilateral regressions as well as for a vector error regression model. For the latter model the finding is that renewable capacity reduces fossil fuel use in the long run, while it also reduces economic growth. This suggests a difficult trade-off between applying renewables capacity for CO2 reductions, while also trying to maintain economic growth.

Value Creation from Wood-Based Energy Sources

Global awareness of renewable energy has grown markedly in response to concerns about increasing greenhouse-gas emissions from fossil fuels, and price and availability problems related to non-renewable energy sources. This so-called “hype” around bioenergy has fuelled wide-ranging interest in renewable energy sources, and especially in biomass, which is expected to play a key role in the fight against climate change. The emerging bioenergy business offers promising avenues for value creation, especially for the firms in the pulp and paper industry that exercise control over forest-based biomass resources and have a wealth of experience related to global large-scale industrial processes. Moreover, these traditional forest-industry companies exemplify the changing nature of the competitive environment in many industries facing with drastic challenges through being forced to search for new value-creating strategies in order to create competitive advantage. Exploitation of this emergent business opportunity will nevertheless require the knowledge and resources of multiple actors, including energy-industry know-how about producing energy from various raw-material bases and distributing it to the markets. Given such a starting point, this particular study focuses on the determinants of value creation in the context of the bioenergy sector, which is emerging at the interface between the forest and energy industries. It thus explores the novel business opportunities related to biomass-for-energy in terms of what they are and how forest and energy companies could exploit them. The research perspective is primarily on Finland, which is one of the world’s leading bioenergy-using countries. By way of theoretical background, the paper builds on the literature on strategic management. This article enhances understanding of how value can be captured in the new forest-based bioenergy business, and of the determinants affecting the value creation. It thus sheds light on the value-creating opportunities that are just starting to take shape. In that sense it adds to the growing strand of literature on value creation from renewable energy sources. Moreover, its applicability extends even further to firms that assess their value creation when dealing with innovation and the redefinition of their business models.

Valuing a European energy firm

N gas is the clean energy that has been extensively used for several purposes primarily in transportation and generation of electricity. The major constituents of natural gas are CH4 and CO2. The absorption or stripping of carbon dioxide is an important task in the operation of gas-liquid membrane contacting processes. The removal of CO2 from natural gas prior to use is essential. The presence of CO2 reduces the heating value of the natural gas and causes pipe corrosion. The conventional absorption processes are packed columns. The packed towers are usually large in size, require high investment cost and suffer from several operational limitations include flooding, entrainment and foaming. Recently hollow fiber membrane contactor has attracted the attention of many researchers. Absorption of CO2 takes place in a membrane contactor when the gas stream contacts with the liquid phase flowing on the opposite side of the membrane. Various absorbents on CO2 absorption or stripping were investigated; potassium glycinate (PG), monoethanolamide (MEA), di-ethanolamine (DEA), and 2-amino-2-methyl-1propanol (AMP) were applied as absorbent or stripping solutions. The membrane used for the experiments was hollow fiber Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane fabricated via thermally induced phase separation method. The performances of various amine solutions on the CO2 absorption or stripping capability were investigated. CO2 stripping experiments revealed that regardless of type of solvent the CO2 stripping flux and efficiency rapidly increases with liquid temperature, pressure and initial CO2 concentration.T currently used of both qualitative and quantitative risk assessment tools “fall short in identifying and ranking potential risks” in the petroleum industry and they “fail to demonstrate that risks have been reduced as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP)”. Moreover, the tools are “limited to large, complex and expensive studies”. Because accidents due to both human errors and electromechanical failures still occur and result in various consequences, critics have raised concerns about the petroleum industry’s safety and risk mitigation credentials and question its ability to prevent major accidents. My main focus in my research is to introduce new methods that provide more detailed and structure information to decision makers. They are more robust and easier-to-use so that novice engineers can successfully apply them without experts’ need. In addition, implementing an effective safety culture is essential to protect employees as well as enhancing the students’ safety awareness. Students need to be able to identify hazards, assess the risk associated with them and respond to an emergency situation, should they occur. Therefore, The proposed launch of Health, Safety and Environment focus area in the Petroleum Engineering Department at Kuwait University will boost the credentials of both the department and the university as pioneers in that in that field within academia in the Gulf region.I this work, reduced crude residue derived from Kirkuk crude oil using a commercial nickel-molybdenum on alumina (NiMo/γ-Al2O3) catalyst pre-sulfided at specified conditions in an experimental scale is considered. A series of experiments were carried out in a continuous flow trickle bed reactor by varying the reaction temperature from 380 to 420° C, the liquid hourly space velocity from 0.3 to 1.0 hr-1 and the hydrogen pressure from 60 to 100 bars at constant hydrogen to oil ratio of 1000 L/L. The hydrocracking products were distillated into the following fraction: naphtha (IBP-160° C), kerosene (160-225° C), light gas oil (225-345° C), heavy gas oil (345-540° C) and vacuum reside (+540° C).T paper proposes an innovative approach to develop models for addressing several challenges and opportunities at oilfields. In an E&P (Exploration & production) company, generally, state-of-the-art software packages are used to model any process system, utilizing built-in provisions for different process equipment. Nevertheless, such software packages do not adequately incorporate various aspects of emulsion that is a core issue at oilfields. For example, no direct provision is found for modeling dehydration and desalting process (DDP) employed at oilfield in reputed process simulation packages. Further, simulating any operating scenario, using traditional model, may involve performing complicated iterative calculations till convergence, every time any process variable assumes new value. Through this research paper, it is proposed to combine the advanced simulation ability of artificial neural network (ANN) (one of the popular artificial intelligence techniques) and versatility of spreadsheet software (that is widely used by operations/engineering staff) to avail variety of benefits. Such model has potential to handle complexity of emulsion. Also, such model can give faster solution (without needing to repeat iterative calculations every time any variable assumes new value, once convergence is achieved), which is a promising feature for RTO (real-time optimization) application. Some results of the efforts done towards implementing the proposed approach for a modeling problem pertaining to dehydration and desalting process is indicated. This paper highlights concepts that can aid several emerging solutions like digital oilfields, decision support systems, integrated asset models, real-time optimization (RTO), etc., which are being devised for attaining operational excellence at oilfields.A series of gas-oil hydro treating experiments were carried out under different operating conditions. The runs were conducted in a fixed bed-cata test unit. A commercially CoO MoO3/Al2O3-hydro treated catalyst was used. The catalyst was used divided to three zones each is separated from another by glass beads/glass wool. The total weight per cent of coke deposited on the catalyst was also studied in each catalyst zone inside the reactor after the runs carried out with each operating variables (reaction temperature, hydrogen pressure, liquid hourly space velocity). The results indicated that the coke deposition on the on the catalyst of the reactor zones can be arranged as follow: First zone>second zone>third zone. Regeneration of coke by two methods (burn off and THF extraction) was studied. The coke removal on using the burn off method was increased with TOS from 3 to 24 hours for HVGO, while in case of THF extraction method the coke removal was decreased.

Does Private Equity Stir Up European Industries

Private equity is subject to public debate regarding its impact on economies. While several papers have documented the effects of private equity on a firm level, the effects of private equity on an industry level is hardly addressed. This paper analyzes the influence of private equity on industry performance across twelve European countries. We find that the relative investment level of private equity positively influences the industries’ productivity, operating income, number of employees and average wage level. Causality tests show that the relative level of private equity investments causes the changes in the industries and not vice-versa.

Energy technology, policy and valuation

This chapter provides a preview to the motivation of the book which is to report new research undertaken in energy technology, policy and valuation issues and more specifically to cover this title in three parts to include innovation and shocks, environment and renewables and finally, fossil fuels regulation. The contents of the book provide readers with an international as well as several country specific perspectives which are included to complement to the global nature of the research. The editors trust that the book will be well received and enjoyed by anyone with an academic and/or a business interest in energy and value issues.

Supranational Cooperation in Europe

The sovereign debt crisis and the euro crisis have prompted heads of state and government in Europe to intensify supranational cooperation. However, some political leaders and policy makers aim for more. They propose the introduction of a common European economic government that would prevent Europe from experiencing further financial threats and stabilise national budgets and financial markets, as well as the euro. The results of a survey among well-informed people imply a rather ambivalent attitude towards this venture. While a slim majority favours the general idea of centralised economic governance in Europe, or in the eurozone, the concrete ideas for the design of such a government are not popular among the respondents. A centralised macroeconomic policy, a common budget that is set centrally and using eurobonds as a common means of debt financing in the eurozone all receive limited approval. So, if they are aiming for more supranational cooperation, public and corporate policy makers need to take clear-cut steps that offer tangible benefits that influence public opinions favourably.

Introduction: Energy economics and financial markets

Energy issues feature frequently in the economic and financial press. It is argued that the importance of energy production, consumption and trade and raises fundamental economic issues that impact the global economy and financial markets. Specific examples of daily energy issues stem from various countries and can often be related to economics and finance. It is shown that energy economics and financial market research issues can be grouped under the themes of supply and demand, environmental impact and renewables, energy derivatives trading, as well as finance and energy.

Introduction: Financial Aspects in Energy

European energy markets have been becoming increasingly integrated and competitive; take for instance the markets for renewable energy and emission allowances. Prices on spot markets and futures markets follow suit and a new pricing regime emerges. Also, whereas the supervision as to e.g. energy contracts remains in their hands, European states hand over much sovereign power to the European Union. While governmental controls in energy industries thus remain valid, firms have an opportunity to create economic value in this regulatory framework. In this vein, this book provides a timely guidance armed with chapters covering a wide spectrum of financial aspects of energy, particularly regarding the scope of a speedily changing environment.