Energie : papiers de recherche moissonnés (22 novembre 2016)

Renewable Energy Market Analysis: Latin America. Abu Dhabi : Irena, 2016, 160 p. http://www.irena.org/menu/index.aspx?mnu=Subcat&PriMenuID=36&CatID=141&SubcatID=3753

Latin America hosts some of the world’s most dynamic renewable energy markets, with more than a quarter of primary energy coming from renewables, twice the global average. In addition to the historical role of hydropower and pioneering moves with biofuels, countries in the region are significantly scaling up other renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and biomass-based electricity. Brazil, Chile and Mexico ranked amongst the top ten global renewable energy markets in terms of investment in 2015, and several countries in the region, like Costa Rica, Uruguay and Paraguay, generate virtually all electricity through renewables…

Unravelling the US Shale Productivity Gains / Trisha Curtis. Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, Nov. 2016, 19 p. (OIES paper: WPM 69) https://www.oxfordenergy.org/publications/unravelling-us-shale-productivity-gains/

This paper seeks to assess the well productivity changes in US shale since the collapse of oil prices in 2014 by analysing the nature of these productivity gains through an assessment of the impact of cost cuts, efficiency gains, and technology advances on the performance of recently developed shale and tight oil wells.  The paper argues that the shale oil sector is becoming far more resilient and nimble than many had expected and productivity continues to grow even in a low price environment. Looking ahead, there is a lot of running room left in the unconventional oil plays. The paper argues that high grading to core areas is an important factor, but it does not explain the entirety of productivity gains.  While there has been no single transformative technological development with regards to shale oil development over the past several years, there are signs that shale oil is moving from a manufacturing process, in which producers simply repeat what worked on the previous well, to a more thoughtful well researched program, particularly in the areas of completion designs, well spacing, better rock analysis and proper lateral placement, which have all been contributing to well productivity gains.

Nord Stream 2: A Legal and Policy Analysis / Alan Riley. Brussels : CEPS, Nov. 2016, 30 p. (CEPS Special Report No. 151) https://www.ceps.eu/publications/nord-stream-2-legal-and-policy-analysis

This paper offers an in-depth legal and analytical argument that the EU’s energy regulatory regime applies to Nord Stream 2. It finds it indisputable that Union law applies in its own internal waters and territorial seas that Nord Stream 2 will pass through, and highly probable that Union law applies in the exclusive economic zone through which Nord Stream 2 will also passes. It goes on to argue that Nord Stream 2 is a transmission pipeline under EU law to which the full weight of the EU’s liberalisation measures apply, including ownership unbundling, third party access and tariff regulation obligations. It further argues that not only will Nord Stream 2 find it difficult to comply with the liberalisation obligations, but also that it will not be able to obtain Article 11 security of supply certification required under the Gas Directive. The paper also examines the options for applying an intergovernmental agreement solution to reconcile Nord Stream 2 with EU law. It argues that while the legal problems arising from an agreement between the Russian Federation and one or more EU states make such an agreement improbable, the political problems in obtaining a mandate to negotiate an agreement from the Council at EU level also make an EU-Russia agreement unlikely. It goes on to argue that Nord Stream 2 cuts across the Union’s energy security principles enshrined in Council and Commission documents on Energy Union. Finally, the paper argues that Russia and the EU should move beyond diversionary pipeline disputes to making the most out of developing a gas single market from which both can benefit.

30 ans après Tchernobyl : leçons et perspectives : Actes du colloque du 26 avril 2016. France. Sénat, novembre 2016, 35 p. http://www.senat.fr/notice-rapport/2016/ga140-notice.html

Avec le parrainage de M. Hervé Maurey, Président de la Commission de l’Aménagement du territoire et du développement durable du Sénat et Président du groupe interparlementaire d’amitié France-Ukraine, un colloque a été organisé le 26 avril 2016, au Palais du Luxembourg, intitulé « 30 ans après Tchernobyl : leçons et perspectives ». Ce colloque, qui a réuni des intervenants français et ukrainiens de haut niveau, a permis de rendre hommage aux victimes de la catastrophe et de cerner les leçons devant être tirées de Tchernobyl, en termes de gestion des accidents nucléaires et de sécurisation des installations, mais également en termes de conséquences sur la santé des populations comme sur l’environnement. Les différents intervenants sont en particulier revenus sur les circonstances précises de l’accident et les effets à long terme de l’explosion. Insistant sur l’importance du travail de mémoire, ils ont pu rappeler l’histoire de la région concernée, autrefois zone prospère de l’Ukraine, et mettre l’accent sur les mesures à prendre pour éviter qu’à l’avenir ne se reproduisent de « nouveaux Tchernobyl ».

Danièle Revel

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