By JOHN WILEN
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil futures surged to a new record near $94 Monday, propelled by the weak dollar and news that Mexico’s state oil company had suspended a fifth of its oil production due to stormy weather.
Crude futures rallied late in the session as the euro rebounded against the dollar, analysts said. The euro hit a record high against the dollar early Monday morning, then declined only to rally back later in the day.
“The dollar seems to be the force that’s driving us now,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., in Chicago.
The dollar’s descent against other major currencies has drawn investors to crude futures as a hedge against the weakening currency and made dollar-denominated oil futures less expensive to people dealing in other currencies, said David Moore, commodities strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
There are recent reports in the media highlighting Beijing’s smog problem, which has reached such dangerous levels that the 2008 Olympic games are in jeopardy.
We can attest to this after spending last week conducting various meetings in and around Beijing. With interest growing around the Air-Hybrid Engine and its promise of emitting 80 percent less toxins than the vehicles on the road today, China so far seems to be the region of the world with the most urgency to employ a pollution solution like the air-hybrid.
“No where in our travels have we seen smog like this,” said VP of Marketing and Sales Nick Scuderi. “At times, it was so thick, we couldn’t even see the sky.”
Move Over Corncobs, These Guys Run on Air
By GEORGE P. BLUMBERG, The New York Times
Published: October 24, 2007
IN the push to free the auto industry from its dependence on oil, all kinds of alternatives are being tried. Consider now the refreshing concept of cars that run on air.
The idea sounds simple: compress air and release it to operate a piston engine. But the execution is difficult, and in one form or another it has occupied engineers since the 19th century …
… The Scuderi Group, in West Springfield, Mass., has a hybrid engine design that compresses air and burns petroleum fuel in separate cylinders and uses some compressed air to extend the petroleum engine.
Sal Scuderi, president of the company, said that this “split cycle” design “eliminates traditional combustion chambers, and splits pistons into those pulling air in and compressing it, and those burning fuel and exhausting it.” …
The estimated cost to taxpayers of a flagship Government policy for promoting biofuels has almost doubled while the forecast carbon savings it will deliver have been cut, it has emerged.
The predicted cost of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) has risen by 87% from £203 to £380 per tonne of carbon emissions saved.
Meanwhile, estimated carbon savings are down from one million tonnes a year to 700,000-800,000 tonnes.
The RTFO is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transport industry by increasing use of biofuels.
The Scuderi Group was recently profiled on Germany’s VOX Television. Click on the image or click here to watch the program (in German).
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