Connect with us

Energy

The Next Big Hurdle for Oil and Gas is Water Use

Published

on

In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner from 1834, English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge famously quipped “Water, water, everywhere / But not a drop to drink”. The lines speak to the irony of sailing the high seas: there’s unfathomable amounts of water in every direction, but it’s definitely not going to quench the thirst of any sailor.

Surprisingly, the situation is not as different on land as you might think.

In some counties in the U.S., especially those with lots of oil and gas activity, there are billions of gallons of waste water, brackish water, or saline water that aren’t potable for human consumption. At the same time, these counties are receiving limited rainfall, and freshwater has become an increasingly scarce and valuable commodity.

Water Innovation is Needed

The fact is, horizontal drilling and fracking operations use large amounts of water. In 2008, an average of just 5,618 barrels of water were used for the injection stage of fracking according to the USGS. In 2014, that ballooned to 128,102 barrels of water for a oil well, and 162,906 barrels for a gas well.

Simultaneously, the Government Accountability Office estimates that 40 of 50 states have at least one region that will face some kind of water shortage by 2023. This crisis has increased social and regulatory pressures on oil and gas firms, while making the supply of usable water less dependable.

Today’s infographic comes to us from Barclays Bank, and it details this situation in depth. Further, Barclays explains how oil and gas companies will need to innovate their way out of the problem to secure new water supply and reduce costs – all while maintaining a social license to operate.

The Next Big Hurdle for Oil and Gas is Water Use

Barclays sees this problem as an opportunity: by re-thinking water use and disposal, and by turning recycled water into a new resource for other industries, oil and gas can decrease costs while giving a boost to their social license to operate.

Click for Comments

Energy

Ranked: Electric Vehicle Sales by Model in 2023

Today, electric vehicle sales make up 18% of global vehicle sales. Here are the leading models by sales as of August 2023.

Published

on

The Highest Electric Vehicle Sales, by Model

Ranked: Electric Vehicle Sales by Model in 2023

Electric vehicle (EV) sales are gaining momentum, reaching 18% of global vehicle sales in 2023.

As new competitors bring more affordable options and new performance features, the market continues to mature as customers increasingly look to electric options.

This graphic ranks the top-selling EVs worldwide as of August 2023, based on data from CleanTechnica.

The Best Selling EVs in 2023 (Through August)

Below, we show the world’s best selling fully electric vehicles from January to August 2023:

ModelCountryVehicles Sold
(Jan-Aug 2023)
Tesla Model Y🇺🇸 U.S.772,364
Tesla Model 3🇺🇸 U.S.364,403
BYD Atto 3 / Yuan Plus🇨🇳 China265,688
BYD Dolphin🇨🇳 China222,825
GAC Aion S🇨🇳 China160,693
Wuling HongGuang Mini EV🇨🇳 China153,399
GAC Aion Y🇨🇳 China136,619
VW ID.4🇩🇪 Germany120,154
BYD Seagull🇨🇳 China95,202

As we can see, Tesla‘s Model Y still holds a comfortable lead over the competition with 772,364 units sold. That’s more than double the sales of the #2 top selling vehicle, Tesla’s Model 3 (364,403)

But it’s hard to ignore the rising prevalence of Chinese EVs. The next five best selling EV vehicles are Chinese, including three from BYD. The automaker’s Atto 3 (or Yuan Plus, depending on market), is being sold in various countries including Germany, the UK, Japan, and India.

Meanwhile, Chinese automaker GAC Group also had two models of its Aion EV brand make the rankings, with the Aion S selling 160,693 units so far.

Regional market strength is also clear. For Volkswagen’s ID.4 model (120,154 units sold), Europe and China account for the majority of sales.

Given growing cost efficiencies and changing consumer behavior, global EV sales are projected to make up half of new car sales globally by 2035, according to forecasts from Goldman Sachs.

Continue Reading

Subscribe

Popular