#Pipeline Explosion Hits Rivers State | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

news-of-the-day · 5 years ago

Text

7/7/20

Corona news:

Total cases are ~11.8M, total deaths are ~542K.

Several places are experiencing a spike in cases: Spain put a lockdown on 200K people; Melbourne, Australia is locking down again; Australia is actually closing the border between two of its states, New South Wales and Victoria; Israel is closing up again, although not quite a full lockdown;

NYC lost 1M jobs during its shut down so far and has its worst economic outlook since the 1970s.

Many college professors are against reopening campuses come fall because a good portion of them are older and at risk.

Other news:

Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Zoom, and Twitter said they would stop processing Hong Kong government requests for user data amid concerns over the new national security law. TikTok is also removing its app from the Hong Kong store and make it inoperable there.

ICE announced it would withdraw visas from foreign students whose schools went completely online due to the virus.

Ethiopia is starting to fill its hydroelectric dam, which would massively affect the countries downstream on the Nile River: the Sudan and Egypt. Egypt has been freaking out about this for years and is trying to garner international pressure to stop it from happening.

The Supreme Court ruled that states can require the members of the Electoral College to vote for whom the voters selected.

A judge ruled the Dakota Access Pipeline needs to shut down pending an environmental review. Its owner Energy Transfer said it will appeal.

The Dominican Republic elected Luis Abinader. The DR has been hit pretty hard by the virus, and Abinader himself is in isolation after contracting it.

Jean Castex became the new French prime minister.

A fire at Iran's main nuclear enrichment site caused significant damage several days ago. Iran is now saying an explosive device was used, but the perpetrator is unknown.

Massive flooding in Japan killed at least 50.

Uber announced it would acquire Postmates for $2.65B.

The Washington Redskins is exploring whether to change its name.

#news #coronavirus #covid-19 #hong kong #ICE

3 notes · View notes

railwaysupply · 4 years ago

Text

Major train disasters: Sri Lanka, India, USSR

Major train disasters: Sri Lanka, India, USSR Rail transport is rightfully considered the safest of all. The most terrible disasters were not the fault of the railway, that is not for technical reasons or because of the human factor. Most of the victims were caused by natural or man-made disasters. Trains found themselves at their epicenter due to a tragic accident.

Queen of the Sea train disaster The largest disaster in the railway transport history is the one of the train line "Queen of the Sea", which occurred in Sri Lanka due to the tsunami. This tragedy claimed the lives of over 1,700 people. The disaster was on December 26, 2004 near the village of Peralia. As a result of the Indian Ocean earthquake, giant tsunami waves reached Sri Lanka, covering the coastal railway line and destroying an overcrowded passenger train. Train number 50 carried out regular trips between cities in the north and south of the island. On that day, a record number of tickets were sold for it - about 1500. In addition, several hundred free riders got on the train. After all, it was a Christian Christmas and a Buddhist full moon holiday. In this regard, the locomotive was even fed more powerful than usual. At the time of the disaster, at 9.30 am, the train stood at a redirecting traffic light, 170 meters from the seashore. None of the passengers or guides knew about what had happened two and a half hours earlier - a strong earthquake near the island of Sumatra and the tsunami it had generated. The wave height was from 7.5 to 9 m, that is higher than the train. The wave hit the right side in the direction of travel and threw one of the carriages 10 meters from the track, but it did not overturn. The water began to rise sharply, which caused panic among the passengers. Some of them began to close the windows, while others climbed onto the roof or tried to hide behind the carriages. The driver decided to tow the wagons, which were not damaged, to a safe place. But he didn't have time. After 15 minutes, the second wave hit. Passing without delay along the coast, cleared by the first wave, 6-7 meters high, it hit the train with great force and tore it apart. Due to the crush, the passengers could not get out of the cars, which, whirling in a whirlwind, turned into a death trap. The wave threw 30-ton cars a hundred meters from the tracks through the jungle, and an 80-ton diesel locomotive was thrown several tens of meters away. Two carriages were washed into the ocean.

Queen of the Sea train disaster The rescue operation did not begin immediately due to a large-scale disaster and the destruction of access roads and lasted for several days. The exact death toll is unlikely to ever be determined. Many bodies were not identified and were buried in “mass graves”. In addition to local residents, among the victims were tourists from Great Britain, Sweden and Israel. Only 150 people survived. Before the disaster in Sri Lanka, the greatest tragedy in rail transport was considered to be an accident in nearby India. A hurricane wind blew a train off a bridge over the Bagmati River in Bihar state. This happened on June 6, 1981. 7 carriages of the train were thrown into the water. More than 800 people became victims (according to some estimates, more than 1000), the bodies of many people were never found.

A hurricane wind blows a train off a bridge over the Bagmati River in Bihar In general, India, along with African countries, is one of the leaders in the sad list of countries with the highest number of tragic train accidents. Although terrible events at different times took place in other states, in particular, at the end of the existence of the USSR. One of the largest railway disasters in the history of mankind occurred on June 4, 1989, at the 1710th kilometer of the Trans-Siberian Railway, near the Asha station in Bashkiria. Due to the gas explosion, two passenger trains were destroyed at once. 575 people died, more than 600 were injured.

Train disaster near Asha station in Bashkiria (USSR) The explosion occurred due to a leak of a mixture of hydrocarbons from the Western Siberia - Ural - Volga region gas pipeline due to violation of the technical rules for its operation. The media write that the column of flame was visible for several hundred kilometers, and the glass in the windows was knocked out in the city 10 kilometers from the site of the tragedy. Trains were simultaneously at the scene of the accident due to a tragic accident, as a result of being late. There were 38 wagons in total. The shock wave threw 11 cars off the rails, seven of which were completely burned down. The remaining 27 were burned inside and out. A year before this disaster, day after day, June 4, 1988, a tragedy occurred near Arzamas. An RDX explosion in three freight train carriages killed 91 people. The explosion destroyed 151 residential buildings, and craters up to 4 meters deep were formed in the place of the railway track. Railway magazine “Railway Supply” Related: Experience of the development of locomotive building plants in Kazakhstan Read the full article

#Railtransport

0 notes

shirlleycoyle · 5 years ago

Text

Explosions and Sinkholes: The Sordid History of Sunoco’s Pipelines in Pennsylvania

On paper, it might appear that Sunoco Logistics Partners is having a difficult time figuring out the logistics of pipelines, even though that’s its core business. In September 2018, for instance, Sunoco began operating a new, 100-mile natural gas pipeline in Pennsylvania called the Revolution. One week into service, a segment of the Revolution was hit by a landslide and subsequently exploded, leveling a house and forcing an evacuation about 30 miles outside Pittsburgh.

As state regulators began investigating the Revolution explosion, Sunoco moved ahead with construction on a different group of pipelines in Pennsylvania known as the Mariner East project, despite concerns from locals that this project could be even more explosive.

Unlike a regular natural gas pipeline, the Mariner East pipelines are intended to carry particularly volatile chemicals known as natural gas liquids, containing ethane, propane, and butane left over from shale drilling operations in the eastern United States. The Mariner East pipelines would ship the liquids from shale fields in Pennsylvania and Ohio to a refinery in Marcus Hook, about 25 miles away from Philadelphia. From there, the chemicals would then be exported to Scotland for the manufacturing of plastics, the point of this all being to “wring as much revenue as they could from their Northeast wells,” as one industry trade publication explains.

Sunoco’s parent company, the pipeline giant Energy Transfer Partners, has anticipated that the operation will generate billions of dollars and thousands of construction jobs and says that Mariner East provides “needed infrastructure” to Pennsylvania.

The company says that American consumers may still use the plastics that are produced overseas. "The ethane that is exported overseas is mainly used for ethylene production, which is converted to polyethylene to make many types of plastics and synthetic fibers, such as nylon, polyester and spandex, which again, are in products used by Americans every day,” Energy Transfer Partners spokesperson Lisa Coleman told Motherboard.

Mariner East makes use of the same path, and some of the same pipe, that was originally constructed in the 1930s to provide heating oil to residential buildings and towns. Opponents thus nicknamed the project “franken-pipe” and argued that the combination of factors—the natural gas liquids, the old pipe, and the densely populated routes the pipelines follow—was a recipe for a horrible disaster.

“Ethane, propane, and butane, these are all gases that are heavier than air,” George Alexander, a retired technical journalist who has been covering Mariner East for his popular local blog the Dragonpipe Diary, told Motherboard. In the event of a leak, “it means you get these massive clouds going which are entirely flammable as soon as they reach an ignition source of some kind…They behave like a fog.” (A pipeline safety consultant has similarly described natural gas liquids as “hugging the ground” in the event of a leak; Natural gas liquids are considered to be “highly volatile” by the United States Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration),

According to recent testimony from an emergency services director for the Public Utility Commission in Delaware County, PA any leak from the Mariner East pipeline would affect “a large amount of people” and have devastating consequences.

"Safety has been and will always be our first priority—the safety of the environment, the safety of the communities through which we pass, and the safety of our employees," Coleman said. "We regularly inspect, maintain and update on our pipelines to ensure they will operate safely for decades to come."

For the fossil fuel industry, the Mariner East project marks an important milestone for natural gas production in Appalachia, with its high production capacity in a relatively new business sector. The United States Department of Energy, in a 2017 report that is supportive of the industry, optimistically predicted that natural gas production in Appalachia would increase 350 percent by 2040. Until recently, the agency said, production of natural gas liquids in the United States remained relatively flat, but because shale fields in the eastern United States tend to have more natural gas liquids, that sector is also poised for growth. The DoE predicts that between 2013 and 2023, production of natural gas liquids in Appalachia would increase 700 percent. Anticipating this growth, Royal Dutch Shell is currently constructing a massive petrochemical complex along the Ohio river; the project will be the first and biggest ethane production plant in the Appalachian region.

“The opportunity to take advantage of the full economic value of NGLs produced in Appalachia has been identified by regional leaders,” the Department of Energy report explains.

The Mariner East II and IIx pipelines would have capacity to carry a respective 275,000 and 250,000 barrels per day, according to the Department of Energy. The next-highest capacity natural gas liquid pipeline in the region, operated by Enterprise Product Partners, went into service in 2014 and has capacity of 125,000 barrels a day. Opponents note that a portion of that company’s pipeline exploded on a landowner’s pasture in 2015. There were no injuries, but a local fire chief recalled, in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, that "I've never been involved with anything of that magnitude before…it sounded like a damn jet engine, and the flame was huge."

Opponents also note that Sunoco’s track record is relatively poor compared to other oil and gas pipeline operators. According to data submitted to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and analyzed by NPR, Sunoco has the oil and gas pipeline industry’s second-highest number of self-reported incidents to federal regulators over the past 12 years.

In Sunoco’s defense, none of its Mariner East pipelines have exploded, and a consulting firm the company hired has claimed that the risk of civilians getting injured by these pipelines is less than getting hurt in a car crash. But the ongoing construction process hasn’t exactly been building confidence from locals; sinkholes have repeatedly appeared around construction of the pipeline. State regulators also found that thousands of gallons of the natural gas liquids had been improperly discharged into creeks. In total, Energy Transfer Partners has amassed hundreds of environmental violations in the course of construction, just for this project. Both Republicans and Democrats in the state legislature, even those friendly to the oil and gas industry, have described Sunoco as a “rogue company” that makes business more difficult for other pipeline operators in the state.

In 2017, environmental groups suing to stop Mariner East found that Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection had identified hundreds of “deficiencies” in Sunoco’s permitting application, but approved it anyway. In November 2019, the Associated Press reported that the FBI had opened a corruption investigation into the role that Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s office may have played in the permitting of the project. Some recent lawsuits against Energy Transfer Partners, pointing to the FBI investigation as evidence, allege that the state environmental permits had been obtained through “bribery” or “other illicit means.”

Energy Transfer Partners spokesperson Lisa Coleman told Motherboard that the company has not has not been contacted by the FBI. “We believe our project was properly permitted by all agencies,” Coleman said.

Landowners who live along the route of Mariner East have repeatedly risked arrest to protest the project, most recently in December 2019. They’ve claimed that the arrests were improper. In one of the most prominent cases, retired school teacher Ellen Gerhart was sentenced to six months in prison for allegedly setting fires and placing food in construction areas in an effort to lure bears to the site where people would be working. Gerhart has argued in court that her protest was nonviolent. A state court disagreed and sided with Sunoco in the matter, upholding the charges against her.

But not all local officials are sympathetic to Sunoco in the criminal protest cases. In December 2019, the Chester County District Attorney’s office said that Energy Transfer Partners had illegally recruited state constables to act as private security guards for the construction sites. The councy brought bribery and conspiracy charges against three constables.

Despite all of the above, the Mariner East pipelines are still going forward. In January 2020, Energy Transfer Partners agreed to pay a $30 million fine to Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection over the Revolution explosion. In exchange, the state agreed to lift a company-wide permitting moratorium, which had been in place for a year, and allow Sunoco/Energy Transfer Partners to continue working in the state.

Pennsylvania regulators said, with the announcement of the $30 million settlement agreement, that the company has “demonstrated its intention to correct its unlawful conduct.” Energy Transfer Partners said in a recent public statement that it is “pleased” that the state “will allow us to safely complete the construction projects we have underway in Pennsylvania.”

Citizens groups remain unconvinced, and they’re hoping that lawsuits and public pressure may eventually change the outcome.

“It’s really slipshod work that they have done,” adds Alexander, the Dragon Pipe Diary journalist. “They have been fined and fined and fined, but it's been a mouse that doesn’t make a difference in the context of a $2.5 billion pipeline project.”

Energy Transfer Partners insisted that the project will be safe.

"Specifically, Mariner East 1 underwent integrity testing and major upgrades when it was repurposed for NGL service in 2014, including new valves and pump stations," Coleman said. "Additionally, the 12-inch pipeline being used in a section of Mariner East 2 pipeline went through a $30 million upgrade in 2016 as part of our ongoing Integrity Management Program."

She added that the upgraded section of the pipe exceeds the requirements of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Explosions and Sinkholes: The Sordid History of Sunoco’s Pipelines in Pennsylvania syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

0 notes

newstfionline · 6 years ago

Text

Headlines

Some Fear Groundwater Near Georgia Military Bases Is Toxic (AP) Groundwater near Georgia military bases remains contaminated from a toxic firefighting foam used for decades by the U.S. Air Force, prompting fears among residents about their exposure to the chemicals.

Mexico Launches Plan to Stimulate US Border Economy (AP) President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador launched an ambitious plan Saturday to stimulate economic activity on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border, reinforcing his country’s commitment to manufacturing and trade despite recent U.S. threats to close the border entirely.

Colombia’s Cano Limon Pipeline Halted by First Bomb Attack of 2019 (Reuters) Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol has halted the Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline after it was damaged in a bomb attack, spilling crude into two streams in Norte de Santander province, the company said.

Brazil Military Uneasy With Bolsonaro’s Openness to U.S. Base (Reuters) Comments from Brazil’s new right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro that he would be open to the United States operating a military base on Brazilian soil have not been well received by the country’s armed forces, a senior army officer told Reuters on Saturday.

Firm Pledges to Find Shipping Containers Lost in North Sea (AP) Switzerland-based shipping company MSC is pledging to pay the cost of cleaning up hundreds of containers one of its cargo vessels lost in a North Sea storm.

Clashes Erupt in Paris as ‘Yellow Vests’ Protest at Unrepentant Macron (Reuters) Rioters in Paris torched motorbikes and set barricades ablaze on the upmarket Boulevard Saint Germain on Saturday, as protests against high living costs and the perceived indifference of President Emmanuel Macron turned violent on the fringes.

Heavy Snow in Germany, Austria Causes Chaos for Travelers (AP) Heavy snow caused travel chaos in parts of Germany and Austria as authorities closed roads and train routes because of avalanche danger and airports reported weather-related cancelations Saturday.

One Dead, Two Missing After Blizzards Hit Greece (Reuters) An elderly woman was found dead and two men were missing after blizzards hit parts of Greece, police officials said on Saturday.

Ecumenical Patriarch Signs Decree Granting Ukraine Church Independence (Reuters) The spiritual head of Orthodox Christians worldwide formally granted independence to the Ukrainian church on Saturday, marking an historic split from Russia which Ukrainian leaders see as vital to the country’s security.

Moscow Says FBI Arrested Russian a Day After It Detained Ex-U.S. Marine (Reuters) The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday the United States had detained a Russian citizen, a day after Moscow arrested the former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan on suspicion of spying.

Ice Bath for Jesus: Orthodox Worshippers Celebrate Epiphany (AP) Thousands of Orthodox Christian worshippers have plunged into icy rivers and lakes across Bulgaria to recover crucifixes cast by priests in ceremonies commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ.

Thousands Brave Snow to Rally Against Serbia Populist Leader (AP) Thousands of people have braved snow and freezing temperatures in Serbia’s capital to turn up for the fifth week of street protests against populist President Aleksandar Vucic.

Rain Clears Smog in Indian Capital Yet Air Quality ‘Very Poor’ (Reuters) A rainy spell early on Sunday brought better air to residents of New Delhi, giving them a brief respite from thick grey smog that has shrouded the Indian capital for the last two months, although air quality continued to be “very poor”.

Iran Plans Naval Drills With Russia in Caspian Sea (Reuters) Iran and Russia are preparing to hold joint naval exercises in the Caspian Sea, including rescue and anti-piracy drills, the commander of the Iranian navy was quoted on Sunday as saying.

Syrian Kurds and Government Discuss Post-US Withdrawal (AP) Talks are ongoing between the Syrian government in Damascus and Kurdish officials to reach a deal on how to fill the gap following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, a Syrian Kurdish official said Saturday.

Egyptian Explosives Expert Killed Defusing Bomb Near Church in Cairo (Reuters) An Egyptian police officer was killed on Saturday while attempting to defuse a bomb found near a church in an eastern Cairo suburb, state television reported, less than two days before Egypt’s Christians celebrate the Coptic Christmas.

Congo Election Results Delayed Past Sunday Deadline (Reuters) Preliminary results from Democratic Republic of Congo’s tumultuous presidential election will be delayed past Sunday’s deadline, the head of the election commission told Reuters.

#headlines

0 notes

tracknews1 · 3 months ago

Text

"Breaking: Massive Explosion Hits Trans-Niger Pipeline in Rivers State"

An explosion has struck the Trans-Niger Pipeline in Bodo, located in the Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State. The affected section of this major pipeline is currently ablaze, although the exact cause of the explosion is still unknown. Authorities have not yet determined whether the incident was the result of human interference, particularly in light of recent threats from militant groups…

#Rivers state

0 notes

instagist · 8 years ago

Text

Exploded Pipeline Cuts Gas Supply to NLNG

[Daily Trust] The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) said is not receiving gas supply at the moment because of an explosion that hit a pipeline system supplying feedgas to the company's liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Bonny, Rivers State.

More Gist Here

#Instagist #Nigeria #Headline #News #Trending #Nigerian #Africa #Breaking News #Update #Daily T

0 notes

crudeoilfacilitators · 8 years ago

Text

NLNG, NNPC on collision over pipeline explosion

27 February 2017, Lagos – Nigeria LNG Limited and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) may be heading for a collision over the explosion that hit the NLNG pipelines in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, which was allegedly caused by the activities of Integrated Data Services Limited, (IDSL), a subsidiary of the corporation, […] More » http://dlvr.it/NV1vBf Crude Oil Facilitators

#Crude Oil Facilitators News #Crude Oil Industry

0 notes

crudeoilbrokers · 8 years ago

Text

NLNG, NNPC on collision over pipeline explosion

#Crude Oil News #Oil And Gas News

0 notes

kdonaldresources · 8 years ago

Text

NLNG, NNPC on collision over pipeline explosion

#Crude Oil Reviews #Oil And Gas Resource

0 notes

stowvat · 8 years ago

Text

NLNG, NNPC on collision over pipeline explosion

#Crude Oil News #Crude Oil Reviews

0 notes

gisthub · 8 years ago

Text

Export threatened as explosion hits NLNG gas pipelines

Femi Asu

Export of the nation’s Liquefied Natural Gas may suffer a setback following an explosion on a section of the right of way housing two gas transmission pipelines, one of which belongs to the Nigeria LNG Limited, about three kilometres from Rumuji in Rivers State.

The explosion occurred on Wednesday, the NLNG said in a statement signed by its General Manager, External Relations Division,…

View On WordPress

0 notes

newstfionline · 7 years ago

Text

Options Limited, North Korea Lit by Flashlights, Creaky Grid

Associated Press, Nov. 11, 2018

PYONGYANG, North Korea--More than 20 years after his father almost bargained them away for a pair of nuclear reactors, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has his nuclear weapons--and a nation still plagued by chronic blackouts.

Even on the clearest days, plumes of smoke from two towering chimneys linger over the center of Pyongyang. The Soviet-era Pyongyang Combined Heat and Power Plant smokestacks are one of the North Korean capital’s most recognizable landmarks.

Possibly more than anything else, this is Kim Jong Un’s Achilles heel as he turns his attention from developing the country’s nuclear weapons arsenal to building its economy.

If stalled nuclear talks with Washington ever get back on track, helping Kim solve his country’s chronic energy deficit could be one of the biggest carrots President Trump has to offer. Washington, Seoul and Tokyo tried that back in the 1990s, and were even ready to pay for and build those two reactors Kim’s father wanted.

Years of intensive sanctions have severely impacted North Korea’s supply of fossil fuels from the outside world, but they also have spurred the country to cobble together a smorgasbord of energy resources, some of them off the grid and some of them flat-out illegal.

Here’s a look at where Kim stands and what he is doing to win his country’s real struggle for power.

The big picture. Among the most iconic images of North Korea are nighttime satellite photos that reveal it as an inky abyss ringed by the bright lights of China, South Korea and Japan.

The whole nation of 25 million people uses about the same amount of electricity each year as Washington alone. It uses as much crude oil in a year as the U.S. consumes in just 12 hours. South Korea has about twice the population of the North, but its electricity consumption in 2014 was about 40 times bigger.

Hydroelectricity, which is subject to seasonal swings, provides about half of the fuel supplied to the national energy grid. Coal accounts for the other half.

The grid is leaky, archaic and badly needing repairs.

That smoke-spewing power plant in the capital, which supplies much of the power and hot water needs for central Pyongyang, dates to the 1960s. Lights in the huge concrete apartment blocks of Tongil Boulevard across town stay lit thanks largely to the East Pyongyang Thermal Power Station--built by the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

What electricity there is is unevenly distributed.

The showcase capital and cities near coal or hydroelectric power plants get the best coverage. Military facilities also take precedence and often have their own supply. So do important party and government operations, some of the higher-profile residences and hotels in the capital and even some restaurants. Lights used to illuminate portraits of the leaders at night never go out.

Still, it’s not uncommon for the power even in many higher status locations to flicker on and off. Dancing beams of flashlights are commonplace on the streets or in otherwise darkened apartments. In rural villages, even that often fades to black.

Keeping the oil flowing ... North Korea must import about 3 million to 4 million barrels of crude oil each year to sustain its economy.

Most of it flows through one pipeline. The China-North Korea “Friendship Oil Pipeline” runs from the border city of Dandong under the Yalu River to a storage facility on the North Korean side about 13 kilometers (10 miles) outside the city of Sinuiju. From there, some is sent across country by truck or rail to the east coast, where it is stored at the port of Munchon. More is transported to Pyongyang for priority recipients such as the military, government departments and state enterprises, and to the port of Nampo, southwest of Pyongyang.

The pipeline--technically there are two, one for crude and the other for refined products--was built between 1974 and 1976.

North Korea used to have two refineries. The pipeline from China terminates at the Ponghwa Chemical Factory, which produces gasoline and diesel. The other refinery was built by the Soviet Union in the north near the Rason Special Economic Zone in the 1970s. It shut down in 1995 with the collapse of the Soviet empire. The pipeline that connected it with Siberia has long been out of use.

Under U.N. sanctions imposed late last year, North Korea can import a maximum 500,000 barrels of refined oil products along with 4 million barrels of crude oil per year.

Along with its Chinese connection, the North has been supplied by Russian tankers that ship oil and petroleum products to Munchon and another east coast port, Hungnam. It has found willing suppliers in the Middle East, or on the open market.

Since the imposition of the import cap, Pyongyang has been implicated in increasingly sophisticated schemes to augment its supplies with hard-to-track transfers of oil by tankers at sea.

Washington’s ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, told the Security Council in September the United States tracked at least 148 instances of oil tankers delivering refined petroleum products obtained through illegal ship-to-ship transfers in the first eight months of this year. She claimed the amount of illegally transferred oil--about 800,000 barrels--was 160 percent of the annual 500,000 barrel cap.

“In reality, we think they have obtained four times the annual quota in the first eight months of this year,” Haley said.

... And going off the grid. David von Hippel and Peter Hayes of the Nautilus Institute have been following North Korea’s energy issue for years.

Comparing Chinese trade figures from 2000 through 2017, they found explosive growth in North Korea’s imports of passenger cars and trucks that put an additional 107,000 vehicles on its roads. Tractor sales also rose and sales of “electricity propelled” bicycles or scooters, a category that wasn’t even listed until last year, doubled to 128,000.

The truck and tractor sales almost certainly reflect an upgrade to the North’s transportation and agricultural sectors. Being able to get around is a key to doing business in a market-centric economy, and so is having enough spending power to buy things like electric scooters.

Moreover, in a study released this month, Hayes and von Hippel also found that imports of diesel- and gasoline-powered generators, coupled with solar panels that are already ubiquitous in the North, are creating an energy system increasingly independent of the national power grid.

“The data ... reinforces a picture of a DPRK in which a more vibrant, modernizing, increasingly (at least functionally) market-based economy is providing households, business and institutions with the wherewithal to invest in both off-grid electricity supplies and increased transport services,” they wrote, using the acronym for the North’s official name.

Still, keeping the power on often can be an elaborate routine.

Solar panels, the cheapest option, can keep a room lit, a mobile phone working and maybe a TV or another appliance going. When electricity from the grid is actually flowing, it can be used to charge batteries before the next blackout hits.

Those with a little more clout or money use diesel- or gas-powered generators that can power anything from a restaurant to an apartment block.

Or a military installation.

#North Korea #North Korean electrical grid

0 notes