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Future Supply Chains Will Need Extensive Collaboration: Report
GreenBiz.com, 29 May 2008 – Suppliers and retailers will need to take advantage of collaboration to develop sustainable supply chains, according to a report.
Capgemini’s “Future Supply Chain 2016″ report looks at new concerns companies must take into account to improve their operations and reduce their impact on the environment.
Issues like carbon dioxide emissions, energy reductions and traffic congestion already are or will be just as important as current supply chain concerns such as on-shelf availability and cost efficiency.
Various collaborations are listed as part of what the report says a “future supply chain” will need in order to reduce its costs, use of energy, use of resources and CO2 emissions.
Supply chains will need to collaborate on warehousing and transportation, the report says. By sharing space and delivery systems, companies can reduce their physical footprint, drive down costs and cut their emissions.
Traffic congestion will continue to be a concern as more areas urbanize or urban areas expand. One solution the report puts forth is to develop city replenishment hubs, warehouses near urban areas where several retailers would keep goods to be taken in to the city. The companies would use a shared transportation system to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.
Companies need to start working with these concerns in mind, the report says, because external forces such as resource scarcity, urbanization and sustainability regulations are a reality or on the horizon.
Innovation in emerging markets: 2008 annual study
Source: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
A spate of high-profile product recalls involving emerging market suppliers has made product safety and product quality top issues for manufacturing companies. Also, in response to a rising “green” consciousness among consumers, global manufacturers are paying more attention to the potential environmental impact of their production processes.
The “Innovation in emerging markets: 2008 annual study” by Deloitte’s Global Manufacturing Industry Group explores how manufacturers from developed and developing countries view product safety, product quality and environmental standards in emerging markets and how they are managing their exposure to risk stemming from sourcing from these markets.
Based on a global survey of more than 650 executives across various manufacturing sectors including: industrial equipment, process industries, automotive, consumer goods, medical equipment/pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and aerospace and defense, the report provides perspectives on how companies are:
- Responding to risks in emerging market sourcing
- Taking steps to upgrading standards
- Selecting emerging market suppliers
- Monitoring emerging market suppliers
- Building a sustainable supply chain
+ Full Report (PDF; 531 KB)
Free registration required.
Country Analysis Brief: Canada
Source: Energy Information Administration
Canada has considerable natural resources and is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of energy. In 2005, Canada produced 19.1 quadrillion British Thermal Units (Btu) of total energy, the fifth-largest amount in the world. Since 1980, Canada’s total energy production has increased by 86 percent, while its total energy consumption has increased by only 48 percent during that period. Almost all of Canada’s energy exports go to the United States, making it the largest foreign source of U.S. energy imports: Canada is consistently among the top sources for U.S. oil imports, and it is the largest source of U.S. natural gas and electricity imports. Recognizing the importance of the energy trade between the two countries, both participate in the North American Energy Working Group, which seeks to improve energy integration and cooperation between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.
The Independent (London), May 24, 2008 Saturday - Barcelona is a dry city. It is dry in a way that two days of showers can do nothing to alleviate. The Catalan capital’s weather can change from one day to the next, but its climate, like that of the whole Mediterranean region, is inexorably warming up and drying out. And in the process this most modern of cities is living through a crisis that offers a disturbing glimpse of metropolitan futures everywhere.
Its fountains and beach showers are dry, its ornamental lakes and private swimming pools drained and hosepipes banned. Children are now being taught how to save water as part of their school day. This iconic, avant-garde city is in the grip of the worst drought since records began and is bringing the climate crisis that has blighted cities in Australia and throughout the Third World to Europe. A resource that most Europeans have grown up taking for granted now dominates conversation. Nearly half of Catalans say water is the region’s main problem, more worrying than terrorism, economic slowdown or even the populists’ favourite – immigration.
The political battles now breaking out here could be a foretaste of the water wars that scientists and policymakers have warned us will be commonplace in the coming decades. The emergency water-saving measures Barcelona adopted after winter rains failed for a second year running have not been enough. The city has had to set up a “water bridge” and is shipping in water for the first time in the history of this great maritime city.
<snip> What Barcelona authorities are fast discovering is that chronic water shortages are not a problem that money alone can solve.
Its 5.5 million inhabitants need a lot of the stuff: the 20 million litres/20,000 tonnes/five million gallons of water brought from Tarragona on 13 May were enough for barely 180,000 people and were consumed within minutes of being channelled through the city’s taps. Wednesday’s shipment from Marseilles was bigger, 36 million litres, but similarly short lived. <snip>
<snip> Spain’s Socialist government recognises that climate change will intensify water shortages, and favours desalination plants. One such plant, among the biggest in Europe – and 75 per cent EU funded – is being built on the outskirts of Barcelona and will supply 20 per cent of the city’s water. But it will not be ready until next year.
“It was already very important when it was planned, but now with the urgent drought, it has become indispensable,” said Tomas Azurra, the chief engineer at the plant.
Ecologists warn that desalination plants are costly in energy use, and damage the environment with high CO2 emissions. But developed European regions can afford them, and they’re preferable to diverting water from rivers, which critics say is even more damaging. <snip>
Encana is the largest natural gas company in Canada and is active in the Horn River and Montney natural gas fields in British Columbia.Encana has proven reserves of 13.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Horn River wells are currently producing in the order of 3 to 5 million cubic feet a day per well. Encana plans to drill 50 to 100 wells per year into this formation.
EnCana claims the initial discovery at Horn River may have 6 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Encana also has sequestered 10 million tons of CO2 and could go to at least 30 million tons with full development in Weyburn. They use the CO2 to enhance oil recovery to 50%. They get 14,000 barrels a day from the Weyburn field.
The Encana portion of the Montney has 500 million cf to 1 billion cf a day long-term potential. [35.3 cubic feet in one cubic metre, so that amount would be 14.16 million to 28.3 million cubic metres/day, 3-6% of Canada's total natural gas production] They currently are getting 120 million cf/day. Well rates in the Montney are very consistent between 5 and 10 million cubic feet a day. Encana’s production from their portion of the Montney could be 6-12% of Canada’s total current natural gas production.
New natural gas finds in Canada:
- Ootla, about 60 miles from Fort Nelson in northeastern British Columbia, may hold 9 trillion to 16 trillion cubic feet of gas. Horizontal wells test flowed at rates of 8.8 million cubic feet, 6.1 million cubic feet and 5.3 million cubic feet of gas a day.
- Montney find in BC (50-80 trillion cf)
- the Horn River basin (12+ trillion cf.)
- Quebec Utica Shale based on some of the Canadian-based research on the play to date the size of the resource is being estimated between 24 and 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
- Smaller but significant find of 1.6 tcf in Southern Ontario
The total new reserves are 97 tcf to 140+ tcf. If they were developed with production rates proportional to Encana’s efforts then they would provide 8 bcf/day to 22 bcf/day. The current projection if for Canada to produce 15 bcf/day in 2009 [5.5 tcf per year]. So these new finds appear likely to reverse the decline in Canada’s natural gas producton.
EOG Resources could have 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves in their portion of the Horn River Basin. They have not released new test well data.
FURTHER READING
Nextbigfuture’s initial article about Canada’s natural gas
Via: Next Big Future
Wind Energy Could Produce 20 Percent of U.S. Electricity By 2030
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) today released a first-of-its kind report that examines the technical feasibility of harnessing wind power to provide up to 20 percent of the nation’s total electricity needs by 2030. Entitled “20 Percent Wind Energy by 2030”, the report identifies requirements to achieve this goal including reducing the cost of wind technologies, citing new transmission infrastructure, and enhancing domestic manufacturing capability. Most notably, the report identifies opportunities for 7.6 cumulative gigatons of CO2 to be avoided by 2030, saving 825 million metric tons in 2030 and every year thereafter if wind energy achieves 20 percent of the nation’s electricity mix. As part of President Bush’s Advanced Energy Initiative announced in 2006, clean, secure and sustainable wind energy has the potential to play an increasingly important role in the Bush Administration’s long-term energy strategy to make investments today to fundamentally change the way we power U.S. homes and businesses and to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions growth by 2025.
+ 20 Percent Wind Energy by 2030 (PDF; 4 MB)
Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador have stepped into a new era of prosperity, according to a study released today as the feature article in the May 2008 issue of the Canadian Economic Observer.
The ongoing commodity boom, starting in 2002, offered a unique opportunity for these two provinces to tap into their natural resources as never before. Driven by export growth, notably that of crude oil, Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy led the nation in terms of growth in nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007, at 13.4%. Saskatchewan followed with growth of 11.4%, ahead of Alberta’s 8.3%.
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/11-010-XIB/00508/feature.htm
Energy Accounted For Nearly 20% Of Canada’s Exports, 35% Of Private Sector Investment
13 May 2008 The Daily Oil Bulletin
Although it slipped from 2006 due to lower natural gas prices, the value of Canadian energy exports from the country still added up to a massive $90 billion in 2007, led by higher oil exports at inflated prices.
The energy industry accounted for 19.7% of the value of all Canadian exports last year, said the National Energy Board in its Canadian Energy Overview 2007 report released Monday.
In 2006, the value of all energy exports was $99 billion which represented 22% of all the nation’s exports. Four years earlier in 2002 energy exports only accounted for about 12.5% of the value of all exports but as prices have risen with some growth in export volumes, energy has become increasingly important to the Canadian economy.
Last year, Canada’s energy industry accounted for 5.6% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the energy sector’s capital investment and investment in repairs reached $68.9 billion, about 35% of Canada’s total private sector investment.
The NEB report said Canada pumped an average of 441,128 cubic metres (2.8 million bbls) of crude oil per day last year, with almost half coming from Alberta’s oilsands. The increase was also due to a 16% rise in East Coast offshore production with improved operational performance at the Terra Nova and White Rose fields.
Conventional light crude oil production in Canada fell by three per cent last year, significantly less than the long term five per cent trend, the Board noted, attributing the improved performance to higher oil drilling as a result of high oil prices. Declines rates are expected to moderate this year as well due to relatively high oil drilling levels and the success of the Bakken play in Saskatchewan.
Oilsands investment jumped 17% last year to $18 billion in 2007.
Canada exported an average of 294,411 cubic metres (1.85 million bbls) of crude oil per day in 2007 worth more than $41 billion, compared to $39.3 billion in 2006. More than half of Canada’s crude oil exports flowed to the U.S. Midwest. Light crude exports represented about 38% of all exports with heavy crude and bitumen accounting for the rest. This year, with much higher oil prices, the value of exports should easily top $50 billion.
Four years ago, before the run-up in crude oil prices and the rise in oilsands production, the value of gas exports exceeded returns from oil exports but that has now reversed.
Canada imports a lot of foreign crude in the eastern part of the country (and then re-exports significant volumes of refined petroleum products), so the net value of exports of oil and petroleum products (exports minus imports) was estimated at $25.7 billion last year, up 18% from 2006.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Canada supplies nearly 20% of U.S. daily crude oil imports, more than any other nation.
While Canadian natural gas production fell slightly to 475 million cubic metres (16.8 bcf) per day, exports rose 4.4% to 258 million cubic metres (9.1 bcf) per day in 2007. However, the average export price was about five per cent lower in 2007 and therefore the $24.3 billion generated from net natural gas exports was nearly identical to 2006 revenues.
Thus the net gain to Canada from its oil and gas exports (minus import values) was about $50 billion last year.
Canada is a net importer of coal but exports more electricity than it imports. Last year power producers exported about $3.1 billion of electricity and imported about $1 billion worth of electricity. Canadian net electricity exports in 2007 were nearly double the five-year average of 15.7 terawatt hours.
While domestic electricity demand was met in 2007, the report pointed to the need for new or upgraded electricity transmission facilities as a result of Canada’s growing population and economy.
This year, the National Energy Board expects Canadian oil production to increase to about 2.8 million bbls per day, up 2.2% from last year, led by two major oilsands projects – Canadian Natural Resources Limited’s Horizon project and the Nexen Inc./OPTI Canada Inc. Long Lake project, both ramping up volumes this year.
Municipal Wastewater Could Help Solve Industry Water Woes, 12 May 2008
The Daily Oil Bulletin
With fresh water an increasingly scarce commodity in southeastern Alberta, the “unexploited resource” of municipal wastewater could be used for petroleum industry activity in the area, lessening the draw of potable water taken by oil and gas companies, a conference heard last week.
Clyde Fulton, senior innovation engineer with Newalta Corporation, told the Petroleum Technology Alliance of Canada’s annual spring water forum that technological advancements have improved effluent treatment options and costs, making the concept an intriguing possibility in the industry’s quest to adopt more sustainable and less intrusive water use practices.
“I think water scarcity has the potential to limit oil and gas development in southeastern Alberta. Recycled municipal wastewater is a viable alternative supply to fresh water for drilling, completions and enhanced recovery,” Fulton said.
“The developments of membrane technologies have made recycled wastewater useful, practical and competitive with securing the rights for use of fresh water.”
That’s especially true in southeastern Alberta and the Medicine Hat region, Fulton noted, as recent government initiatives have impacted the way industry addresses its water needs in the “water-short” region.
For example, he said the province’s Water for Life strategy announced in 2003 calls for water-using sectors throughout the province to achieve a 30% improvement in their water use efficiency between 2005 and 2015.
As well, the province’s policies and objectives for oilfield injection, adopted in January of 2006, encourages oil and gas producers to lessen their reliance on fresh water supplies and seek alternative water sources, including saline groundwater, non-water fluids and methods, industrial wastewater and municipal wastewater.
“The ultimate goal of the policy is to reduce or eliminate allocation of non-saline water for oilfield injection,” Fulton explained.
“New projects within water-short (an Alberta Environment designation) areas that propose to use non-saline water must demonstrate that every feasible option has been evaluated.”
Lastly, Fulton pointed to the province’s South Saskatchewan River Basin Water Management plan introduced in August of 2006, whereby Alberta Environment stated it will no longer accept applications for new water allocations.
“It basically closed the basin to any new withdrawals. It doesn’t matter if you are an existing water user looking for more water or you are a new enterprise looking for water … it’s simply not available,” he explained, adding the same holds true for the Bow River and Oldman River sub-basins.
The management plan does allow existing licence holders – like municipalities, for example – to transfer portions of their allotted water volume to other entities for a fee, but that option isn’t likely to aid the petroleum industry to any degree.
As a result the implications to oil and gas producers are obvious, and that’s why Fulton believes it’s time for industry to begin looking at municipal effluent “as a resource rather than a wastewater.”
“Municipalities are increasingly reluctant to supply (water to) users outside their immediate service area because they are concerned about meeting their community’s needs,” he said.
“Municipal wastewater, I believe, is a resource that can be looked at as a replacement for fresh water.”
Fulton said that 80% of the wastewater treatment facilities in the Prairie provinces are lagoon-based systems found in rural communities, with many of those being in close proximity to oil and gas operations.
Lagoon systems use a series of treatment cells to treat wastewater, and once that process is complete the water is stored for up to 12 months before being released in the spring or fall, meaning industry would have an available resource as it required.
Thanks to the development of membrane filtration technology, Fulton said the treated wastewater has the potential to meet the needs of industry.
“We now have a whole range of membrane technologies that produce water to the quality you need … the membrane technology that can polish the wastewater now exists and is readily available,” he said, adding the market adoption of the technology has also driven down the cost.
Newalta is currently in discussions with the Town of Brooks concerning a pilot project that the company hopes will demonstrate the viability of reusing that municipality’s wastewater for petroleum sector use in the area. The company proposes to build a treatment facility south of the town’s sewage lagoons, which are located southeast of Brooks.
“What we proposed to them is a joint industry-community cooperative project where we would take some of the bulk water users, those trucking water out for fracturing and drilling, off the potable water system and supply them with recycled, useful effluent,” Fulton explained.
“Lagoon effluent can be treated and recycled to supply this demand, freeing up fresh water for community growth.”
This would be a boon to the town, which is licenced to take just under five million cubic metres a year from nearby Lake Newel, an amount that allows for increasingly little wiggle room given the community’s recent and projected growth numbers.
“They are currently using about 3.7 million cubic metres, or 75% of that total, but they have grown their population by 33% in the last decade,” Fulton said.
“At that same rate of growth they would be out of water in less than 10 years and they have no opportunity to gain additional water volume (because of the aforementioned government restrictions) of the … system.”
Currently, Brooks’ bulk water sales for oilfield use is roughly 90,000 cubic metres per year, not a large amount but one which, if conserved, would make a difference.
“It’s not a significant number … but it represents about another 300 people of potential community growth,” Fulton said, adding the company is hopeful the pilot project will become reality by 2009.
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