Cheap Oil Research Articles

Prospects for the development of high-speed railway communication in Russia based on the analysis of foreign experience

The article is devoted to the experience of the implementation of high-speed railways in foreign countries and the possibility of its use in Russia. Particular attention is paid to the issues of financial and economic justification of such projects, using the criteria of commercial and budgetary efficiency. Particular attention is paid to China in the article, since this country today has the greatest experience in the implementation of projects in the field of high-speed rail communication. The emergence of high-speed rail in China not only became a technological breakthrough, but also played an important role in stimulating the country’s economy and enhancing domestic demand. At the moment, 57% of all high-speed railways in the world are in China alone. The experience of the United States is also of scientific interest, in particular, in the consideration and evaluation of high-speed rail projects. Despite the high level of economic development in the United States, high-speed rail transport is practically undeveloped, which is largely due to historical reasons. Cheap oil, along with improvements to cars and airplanes, and government subsidies for highway and airport construction, have made these vehicles more accessible to most of the population and highlighted them. Despite these circumstances, the authorities of many states are interested in the implementation of high-speed rail projects. At the same time, the question of the possibility and expediency of switching passenger flows from existing modes of transport remains relevant in the United States. In the final part of the article, using the example of specific projects, the prospects for the development of high-speed railway communication in Russia are assessed and proposals for the development of the transport complex as a whole are given.

Wind Turbine Placement Optimization at the Catholic University of Pusan Using 3-D Drone Mapping

To reduce pollution, decrease the production of carbon dioxide, and to maintain a secure supply of energy, interest continues to grow in the area of renewable energy especially since there is a finite supply of cheap oil. Wind energy is one of the most viable options to consider and supply part of the energy needed to reduce dependence on foreign oil. However, it is difficult to predict the wind speed in an environment with many obstacles such as buildings and trees and getting accurate dimensions of those obstacles is difficult particularly on sloped mountainous terrain. In this study a drone was used to create a 3-D map of the campus of the Catholic University of Pusan. The dimensions and elevations for the 3-D map were used to make a model of the school campus in the CFD program Envi-met. Simulations were run for five different wind directions and 4 different elevations to find the location that would give the highest electrical output for a wind turbine. When considering all of these variables it was found that the optimal location was above the Student Union which had a 40% higher wind speed and could produce 274% more electrical power than the original wind speed.

Les origines du stress climatique à l'échelle globale

This article looks at the when and why of the emergence of the current climate stress due to current rapid global warming. Coal-based primary industrialization has only slowly increased the rate of CO2. On the other hand, warming has been acceleration rapidly since the 1990s as a result of the massive emission of greenhouse gases since the late 1950s, caused by the flooding of the world market with cheap oil. This has paved the way for an ecologically misguided economy and a wasteful lifestyle.

ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКИЙ ДОСВІД ФУНКЦІОНУВАННЯ КЛАСТЕРІВ У СФЕРІ ЕНЕРГОЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ ТА ВІДНОВЛЮВАНОЇ ЕНЕРГЕТИКИ: УРОКИ ІННОВАЦІЙНОГО РОЗВИТКУ

In the modern world, attention to the use of renewable energy sources (RES) is increasing. This is primarily due to significant investments in the exploration and development of new oil and gas fields, the approaching threshold of exhaustion of these energy resources and, as a result, the end of the era of cheap oil. In addition, the use of these non-renewable energy sources is largely associated with an increase in carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and an aggravation of environmental problems. According to the energy development strategy of the European Union, energy cluster projects are designed to form and develop ties between the countries. The European Union clusters focus on the following areas: energy, nutrition and health, marine and other industries. The energy cluster includes: wind energy, biomass energy, bioenergy conversion, offshore wind energy, innovative energy ecosystem. The energy cluster of the European Union unites energy companies, promoting the integration of science and technology, creating conditions for the development of competition and cooperation between enterprises in commercial activities. For many years, clusters have been the leading form of providing for regions in the world. And the field of renewable energy is no exception here. We emphasize that this area has It has a pronounced innovation orientation and is able to become a locomotive of innovative processes in Ukraine. Forming and developing clusters in the field of RES, the regions of Ukraine can significantly accelerate their own innovative development and modernize the regional economy. Therefore, the study of foreign experience in the functioning of such clusters is extremely relevant. The high capital intensity of innovative processes in the electric power industry, combined with the significant investment potential of domestic energy companies, make it possible to consider the industry as one of the largest customers for the creation of innovative technologies. The activation of these processes in the energy sector determines the need for systematic management of the joint development of energy enterprises and related industries and areas of activity. The implementation of this approach should be facilitated by the formation and development of energy clusters. The article examines the foreign experience of creating such innovative structures in the industry.

Oil-Fueled Accumulation in Late Capitalism

Capitalist development since the 1940s has been fueled by global oil extraction. Cheap oil was the core energy input in the post–World War II expansion. By the 1970s, the limits of this oil-fueled accumulation regime began to appear. During that decade, a series of oil price hikes combined with other sources of tension to form a deep accumulation crisis. The crisis of the 1970s showed the effects that a strategic circulating capital—in this case, petroleum—has in shaping profitability trends. Today, the possible recessionary effects caused by oil price hikes are joined on the environmental side by another problem: the continued burning of fossil fuels exacerbates the climate crisis. To address this double contradiction, I revisit the Marxian theory of crisis in a world-historical and world-ecological framework. With this framework, I unpack the historical connections between petroleum, uneven development, accumulation crises, and climate change.

The effect of oil pulling with coconut oil to improve dental hygiene and oral health: A systematic review

ObjectivesCoconut oil is a cheap and accessible oil for many people around the world. There are numerous advocates for the practice of oil pulling to prevent common oral diseases. Therefore determining the effectiveness of oil pulling with coconut oil could potentially have monumental benefits. This review aimed to assess the effect of oil pulling with coconut oil in improving oral health and dental hygiene. DataWe included randomized controlled trials comparing the effect of oil pulling with coconut oil on improving oral health and dental hygiene.No meta-analysis was performed due to the clinical heterogeneity and differences in the reporting of data among the included studies. SourcesSix electronic databases were screened: PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, AMED, CENTRAL and CINAHL. Study selectionElectronic searches yielded 42 eligible studies, of which four RCTs including 182 participants were included. The studies lasted between 7 and 14 days. Significant differences were demonstrated for a reduction in salivary bacterial colony count (p = 0.03) and plaque index score (p=<0.001). One study also demonstrated a significant difference in staining compared to using Chlorhexidine (p = 0.0002). However, data was insufficient for conclusive findings, the quality of studies was mixed and risk of bias was high. ConclusionThe limited evidence suggests that oil pulling with coconut oil may have a beneficial effect on improving oral health and dental hygiene. Future clinical trials are of merit considering the universal availability of the intervention. Prospective research should have a robust design with rigorous execution to provide a higher quality of evidence. Clinical significanceOil pulling with coconut oil could be used as a adjunct to normal preventative regimes to improve oral health and dental hygiene although further studies are needed to determine the level of effectiveness.

Oil spill sorption capacity of raw and thermally modified orange peel waste

Oil spill cases in the river Nile have been reported in the recent decade. Orange peel is a major waste of the food processing industry in Egypt, one of the six largest orange peel producers of the world. The purpose of the current work was to evaluate the oil sorption capacity of dried raw orange peel waste (OP) and thermally modified (300 °C and 500 °C) orange peel waste (TMOP). The effect of oil type, sorption time, particle size and reusability on the oil uptake of raw dried orange peel was assessed. Results have indicated that the oil sorption capacity of OP ranged between 3 and 5 g/g at 25 °C, while its water uptake was found to be below 1 g/g, making the selectivity of OP to oil relatively higher than other bio-sorbents. Orange peel could not be used for more than 5 oil sorption cycles, since the oleophilic nature of the peel surface was lost during the regeneration process. Compared to OP, limited percent increase in oil sorption capacity (18–40%) was observed after the thermal modification of orange peel. However, the water uptake of the TMOP is significantly higher than OP. Based on the liquid retention model data fit; the TMOP had better oil retention characteristics than the dried orange peel. According to the results presented, dried orange peel waste is a potentially cheap efficient oleophilic oil spill sorbent that losses its inherent oil selectivity after carbonization.

Substitution of commercial feed with phytase-fermented rice bran and turmeric flour to increase EPA, DHA, and protein depositions in broiler meat

Abstract Rice bran is a potential ingredient for broiler chicken feed due to cheap and high unsaturated oil content. However, the inclusion of rice bran also has anti-nutritional factors in the form of phytic acid. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of commercial feed substitution with phytase-fermented rice bran and turmeric flour toward eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), crude protein, and crude fat deposition in broiler meat. The experimental design was adjusted to a completely randomized design in which forty-eight broiler chicken were randomly assigned into six treatments. Treatment 1 (T1) = 100% commercial feed (control), treatment 2 (T2) = 100% commercial feed + 2% turmeric flour, treatment 3 (T3) = 95% commercial feed + 5% fermented rice bran + 2% turmeric flour, treatment 4 (T4) = 90% commercial feed + 10% fermented rice bran + 2% turmeric flour, treatment 5 (T5) = 85% commercial feed + 15% fermented rice bran + 2% turmeric flour, and treatment 6 (T6)= 80% commercial feed + 20% fermented rice bran + 2% turmeric flour. The data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA and Duncan Multiple Range Test to detect any differences among the treatments. The results showed that the substitution of commercial feed with fermented rice bran and turmeric flour significantly affected the DHA, EPA, protein and fat deposition in broiler meat. The substitution of 20% commercial feed with the fermented rice bran and 2% turmeric flour gave the highest EPA, DHA, and crude protein content, while reduced the crude fat level of broiler meat.

Implications of Cheap Oil for Emerging Markets

The COVID-19-triggered collapse in oil prices in March and April 2020 was the seventh, and by far the most severe, in a series of such collapses since 1970. This paper, first, compares this most recent collapse and its drivers with previous ones in an event study. It finds that it was associated with an exceptionally severe plunge in oil demand. Second, in a local projections model, this paper estimates the implications of demand- and supply-driven oil price collapses for growth in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). The paper finds that steep oil price collapses were associated with significant and lasting output losses in energy-exporting EMDEs but no meaningful output gains in energy-importing EMDEs. These results are robust to multiple robustness checks.

China's Growing Influence in Latin America

AbstractThis article examines China's growing influence in Venezuela and other parts of Latin America as it seeks to secure a steady supply of cheap oil and new export markets. In recent years, China has offered loans to cash‐strapped nations in the region on better terms than those offered by the United States and other multilateral lending institutions. China's growing influence worries the United States and other global observers who fear the spread of anti‐democratic and anti‐capitalist views. China maintains that its only interest in the region is economic. The current political turmoil in Venezuela offers China the opportunity to assuage these fears by supporting the presidency of Juan Guiado.

Combined resistance to oxidative stress and reduced antenna size enhance light-to-biomass conversion efficiency in Chlorella vulgaris cultures

BackgroundMicroalgae are efficient producers of lipid-rich biomass, making them a key component in developing a sustainable energy source, and an alternative to fossil fuels. Chlorella species are of special interest because of their fast growth rate in photobioreactors. However, biological constraints still cast a significant gap between the high cost of biofuel and cheap oil, thus hampering perspective of producing CO2-neutral biofuels. A key issue is the inefficient use of light caused by its uneven distribution in the culture that generates photoinhibition of the surface-exposed cells and darkening of the inner layers. Efficient biofuel production, thus, requires domestication, including traits which reduce optical density of cultures and enhance photoprotection.ResultsWe applied two steps of mutagenesis and phenotypic selection to the microalga Chlorella vulgaris. First, a pale-green mutant (PG-14) was selected, with a 50% reduction of both chlorophyll content per cell and LHCII complement per PSII, with respect to WT. PG-14 showed a 30% increased photon conversion into biomass efficiency vs. WT. A second step of mutagenesis of PG-14, followed by selection for higher tolerance to Rose Bengal, led to the isolation of pale-green genotypes, exhibiting higher resistance to singlet oxygen (strains SOR). Growth in photobioreactors under high light conditions showed an enhanced biomass production of SOR strains with respect to PG-14. When compared to WT strain, biomass yield of the pale green + sor genotype was enhanced by 68%.ConclusionsDomestication of microalgae like Chlorella vulgaris, by optimizing both light distribution and ROS resistance, yielded an enhanced carbon assimilation rate in photobioreactor.

Peak oil, 20 years later: Failed prediction or useful insight?

20 years ago, in 1998, Scientific American published a paper by Colin J. Campbell and Jean H. Laherrère titled “The End of Cheap Oil” [1], starting a debate on oil depletion continuing to the present day. It was the return of a viewpoint on oil depletion which had been proposed more than 40 years before by Marion King Hubbert [2]⁠ and, in later years, largely forgotten. In their paper, Campbell and Laherrère updated Hubbert’s model with new reserve estimates and proposed that the world’s crude oil production would peak around 2004–2005, and then start an irreversible decline. Shortly afterward, Colin Campbell proposed the term “peak oil” for the highest global oil production level. The term was to become popular over the following decade, generating a true movement of ideas sometimes called the “peak oil movement.” Today, these predictions turn out to have been only partially correct, mainly because the role of “non-conventional” oil was underestimated. The peak oil movement seems to have faded away, while the concept seems to have disappeared from the debate and to be commonly described has having been “wrong.” The present paper reviews the cycle of the peak oil movement, examining how the peak oil concept was understood with the public and the decision makers and what caused its diffusion and its demise, at least up to the present time.

Comprehensive risk assessment of high sulfur-containing gas well

Well integrity has been a growing concern of oil and gas industry, especially in the years of cheap oil. The failure of well integrity may cause undesirable events or even devastating consequences such as safety hazards or loss of containment. In this paper, a novel calculation model of wellbore integrity comprehensive risk has been presented. Firstly, the risk hazard associated with well barrier failure modes are identified based on the relevant literature. The risk factors of well integrity in production phase are investigated in detail. The risk matrix based on Borda number analytical method and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is then presented to assess the risks of well integrity in production safety. Finally, the case of XX high sour gas well is empirically investigated to validate the model. The results indicate that 27 risk factors are identified for XX gas well in production. In addition, it is found that the XX gas well is prone to suffer damage in presence of H2S and CO2, furthermore, the Borda number analytical results also show that the most important factor affecting the well integrity is effect of string corrosion, followed by the corrosion of string sealing accessories and the corrosion environment of material applicability. Therefore, the appropriate measures should be taken to reduce the corrosion of string and sealing accessories, thus prolonging the service life of the equipment. The case of XX high sour gas field verifies the feasibility and applicability of the risk matrix method in wellbore integrity risk assessment. The innovative assessment method provides methodological reference and guidance for the application of the limited resources, in addition, it also has practical information for well integrity engineers to improve the performance of safety management, thus ensuring well safety during production.

Israeli oil paintings sales agents abroad: mediating value for cheap art

In 2007, the majority of oil paintings on the global market were exported from a single location – Dafen Village (大芬) in Shenzhen, China – for a minor part of this market’s worth. These paintings were sent from China all over the world, mostly to the United States and England. Between the two ends of the market – the Eastern manufacturers and the Western consumers – polarized perceptions of the same paintings often existed. The cause of this phenomenon is inherent to the global market’s mediation process. In selling paintings from Dafen, the various mediators tended to omit the paintings’ origin, and in some cases even invented a false origin or told half-truths to raise the price. This article is based on a case study, following the development of a worldwide network of thousands of Israeli sales agents dealing with cheap oil paintings from developing countries over the past 50 years. In recent years, these art dealers have been a prominent factor in the mediation of Dafen paintings. The main goals of this article are to launch and examine a discourse about the mediators of cheap art and their considerable influence on the art market; to reveal the roles and activities of Israeli art dealers; and to explain the way that Israeli mediators caused a change in the value and evaluation of the paintings they sold.

A New Formulation for Polymeric Separator Gels for Potential use in Blood Serum Separator Tubes

Blood serum separator tubes (SST) are used for collecting blood samples for performing clinical chemistry assays. Some SST's have separator gels inside the tube which enable them better separation of the blood serum from packed cells during centrifugation. The cost, weak performance and interaction with blood ingredients are the most concerns of the available commercial gels. A commercial and cheap silicone oil as a polymeric base of the gel was chosen and formulated without and with several fillers. Subsequently, the compounds were crosslinked through a free radical crosslinking mechanism using dicumyl peroxide (DCP). The crosslinking took place in both, an oven and as well as under microwave irradiation in normal and under pressure conditions. The FTIR spectrometer analysis showed that both chain ends of the used silicone oil were terminated with a vinyl group. It also revealed that blood serum separator gel can be produced from selected silicone oil type. Among of different curing apparatus, curing in an oven was preferred due to less curing time and electrical energy consumption. The curing in normal pressure showed better results when compared with curing under pressure. Increasing the filler and DCP with various amounts had positive effect on gel densities. Silica was the most efficient filler among of the studied fillers. The cured compound filled with 10 and 8 phr silica and DCP, respectively, was chosen as appropriate gel for SST due to suitable density and thixotropy. The selected gel was cured in oven under normal pressure for 30 minutes at 160°C.

Biofuels in an Age of Cheap Oil: Community Capitals and Motivations to Participate in Biodiesel Value Chains

In this article we analyze the community capital implications of an emerging canola biofuel value chain within wheat-producing regions of the United States as radical changes are taking place in energy markets and prices drop. We analyze the intersections of the motivations that encourage and sustain value chain participation and stocks and investments of community capitals. We use the Community Capitals Framework (Flora et al. 2016) to analyze the ways that new biofuel value chains affect various types of capital within rural communities, and to understand the context, processes, and impacts of decision-making within the biofuel value chain. Interviews and focus groups with actors along the value chain including farmers, processors, transporters, plant breeders, extension professionals, and farm service suppliers identify motivational factors and how community resources affect participation decisions.

Introduction to special section: Computer-assisted seismic interpretation methods

In the call for papers for this special section, we looked back to 1993 when a workshop at the SEG Annual Meeting explored the future of seismic interpretation. Much like today, it was a time of cheap oil and significant corporate downsizing. The industry was also in the midst of a dramatic

Updating Cuban Socialism: The Politics of Economic Renovation

Updating Cuban Socialism:The Politics of Economic Renovation William M. LeoGrande (bio) "either we change course—because we no longer have time to keep on skirting around the precipice—or we will sink," President Raúl Castro warned. "It is the life of the Revolution that is at stake." Castro minced no words in his address to Cuba's National Assembly in December 2010, just months after unveiling his comprehensive program for "updating" the Cuban economy. The old model of central planning adopted from the Soviet Union had stifled productivity to the point that the agriculturally well-endowed island had to import more than 70 percent of its food, a large percentage of state enterprises operated in perennial deficit, and the state itself faced a chronic shortage of capital to finance investment and of hard currency to finance essential imports (Sánchez Egozcue 2015). Castro's campaign to move the Cuban economy toward a more market-friendly model of socialism represented the last major project of "los históricos"—the historic generation that founded the revolutionary regime in 1959. By 2010, many of the old guard—including Fidel Castro himself—had succumbed to the march of time. But a handful, concentrated in the Cuban "cupola"—the top decision-making institutions of the state and Communist Party—remained in charge. It was their duty, Raúl explained, to correct the errors they had made over the previous half-century and hand the next generation a socialist system that was "prosperous and sustainable" (Castro 2012). [End Page 353] UPDATING THE ECONOMY The Cuban economy was neither prosperous nor sustainable when Raúl Castro assumed the presidency after his brother Fidel fell gravely ill in July 2006. Cuba had never fully recovered from the "Special Period"—the deep depression that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consequent loss of $3 billion in annual aid. Although the economy grew gradually over the ensuing decade and a half, the gains were concentrated in tourism and medical services (exported primarily to Venezuela in exchange for cheap oil). The actual production of goods on the island had not regained 1989 levels. Hard currency earnings, even when supplemented by some $3 billion in annual remittances, were hardly enough to cover essential imports of food and energy. Raúl Castro wasted no time before unleashing a barrage of sharp, candid criticism of the economy, placing the blame for its failures squarely on Cuba's own policies rather than on the US embargo. The central problem, he said bluntly, was low productivity. "No country or person can spend more than they have," he reminded his comrades. "Two plus two is four. Never five, much less six or seven—as we have sometimes pretended" (Orsi 2011). Cuba needed to "untie the knots holding back the development of the productive forces," starting with excessive state regulations (Castro 2011a). Once Raúl had been elected president in his own right in 2008, he proceeded to eliminate a number of prohibitions that ordinary Cubans found especially exasperating. The government legalized the sale of computers and cell phones, and eliminated rules against Cubans staying in tourist hotels. In 2011, it legalized private real estate and automobile markets, allowing Cubans to buy and sell houses and cars directly with one another, without the state acting as middleman. In late 2012, the government eliminated the tarjeta blanca, the exit permit required whenever a Cuban wanted to travel abroad. These changes by themselves were not economically strategic, but their popularity built political capital for the government to carry out a much more profound reorganization of the Cuban economy—with its attendant social disruption. [End Page 354] The blueprint for "updating" the Cuban economy—the Guidelines of the Social and Economic Policy of the Party and the Revolution—was unveiled in November 2010, and after five months of discussion in grassroots meetings of the Communist Party and mass organizations, a revised version of the Guidelines was approved in April 2011 by the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (Partido Comunista de Cuba 2011). Perhaps the most important change articulated in the Guidelines was philosophical: the "nonstate sector" (private enterprises and cooperatives) was cast as...

Policies for healthy and sustainable edible oil consumption: a stakeholder analysis for Thailand.

Palm oil is a cheap and versatile edible oil in widespread use as a food ingredient that has been linked to negative health and environmental outcomes. The current study aimed to understand the prospects for future health-focused policy development to limit food use of palm oil and promote a greater diversity of oils in Thailand's food system. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with a range of stakeholders. The interviews probed views on the economic, health and environmental dimensions of the issue, the prospects for health-focused policy development and the policy development process. Transcripts were analysed using a health policy analytical framework. Thailand. Stakeholders from a range of ministries, regulatory agencies, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and academia. There are several impediments to the emergence of strong regulation, including the primacy of economic considerations in setting policy, doubt and misperception about health implications and a complex regulatory environment with little space for health-related considerations. At the same time, some sections of the food industry producing food for domestic consumption are substituting palm with other oils on the basis of consumer health perceptions. Strong regulation to curb the growth of palm oil is unlikely to emerge soon. However, a long-term strategy can be envisaged that relies on greater policy support for other indigenous oils, strategic rebalancing towards the use of palm oil for biofuels and oleochemicals, and harnessing Thailand's food technology capabilities to promote substitution in food production in favour of oils with healthier fatty acid composition.

Russian economy under the pressure of sanctions and cheap oil

The article is devoted to the analysis of factors and parameters that led to the recession of the Russian economy in 2014-2016. Economic downturn can be considered as a result of combination of external and internal shocks - negative changes in the terms of trade, Western economic sanctions imposed on Russia and its countersanctions. Measures and instruments of regulators used for neutralization of negative effects of shocks are considered. The article analyzes the adaptation of domestic production, consumption, savings and investments to changing terms and conditions of reproduction. The most probable directions of expanding domestic production after the end of the recession are outlined too.