12 06, 2023

What Exactly Are Fossil Fuels?

By |2023-07-10T14:24:51+00:00June 12, 2023|Fossil Fuels|Comments Off on What Exactly Are Fossil Fuels?

Fossil fuels are formed from decomposed plants and animals that died hundreds of millions of years ago. They are all hydrocarbons – made up of carbon and hydrogen – that resulted in carbon-rich deposits of coal, natural gas and crude oil. Fossil fuels are non-renewable, finite sources that supply around 80 per cent of the world's energy in the form of electricity, heating and transportation.  The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from mining, processing and burning fossil fuels are the leading driver of [...]

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29 09, 2022

How to Read Petrol Prices in Australia

By |2023-07-10T14:48:41+00:00September 29, 2022|Fossil Fuels|Comments Off on How to Read Petrol Prices in Australia

As any Australian knows, it is difficult to know how to read petrol prices in Australia. The price of fuel fluctuates rapidly and can differ from city to city, seemingly without reason. This affects all Australians, no matter where they live. People who live far away from cities and with limited public transport are especially exposed to fluctuating fuel prices. This is because car transport is a vital part of daily life. Meanwhile, city dwellers can see petrol prices rise [...]

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29 09, 2022

The Role of Hydrogen Energy in a Net Zero World

By |2023-07-10T14:51:15+00:00September 29, 2022|Climate Change, Fossil Fuels, Renewables|Comments Off on The Role of Hydrogen Energy in a Net Zero World

Hydrogen, like electricity, is an energy carrier "used to store, move, and deliver energy produced from other sources." With the global transition to net zero emissions by 2050 and aim to limit global warming to 1.5°C, hydrogen energy plays a crucial role. Hydrogen's unique properties complement other decarbonisation technologies, such as renewable power or energy efficiency improvements. Green hydrogen – produced using renewable sources – is also the only solution for "long-term, scalable, and cost-effective" deep decarbonisation in industrial sectors. [...]

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22 09, 2022

An Overview of Australian Petrol Prices History

By |2023-07-14T08:59:32+00:00September 22, 2022|Fossil Fuels|Comments Off on An Overview of Australian Petrol Prices History

Australian petrol prices reached an all-time high in 2022, linked to global oil supply chain disruptions. But, soaring prices at the pumps are nothing new. A headline from May 2021 read "Petrol prices surging for millions of Aussies". History shows Australian petrol prices are highly volatile and have caused issues for motorists for decades. Fuel prices can fluctuate due to a range of factors. These factors can range from international events and pricing decisions by the Organization of the Petroleum [...]

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21 09, 2022

How Will Energy in Australia Change Over the Coming Years?

By |2023-07-10T14:54:44+00:00September 21, 2022|Fossil Fuels, Renewables|Comments Off on How Will Energy in Australia Change Over the Coming Years?

The future of energy in Australia is a hotly debated topic. Despite signing up to the Paris Agreement, 93 per cent of Australia's primary energy consumption still comes from fossil fuels. Furthermore, there are many more new fossil fuel projects or expansions in the pipeline, with the emissions equivalent of over 200 coal power stations. Burning fossil fuels is the most significant driver of dangerous climate change by increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Therefore, there is a strong argument [...]

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11 08, 2022

Why Is It So Hard to Get Cheap Gas These Days?

By |2023-07-14T08:51:13+00:00August 11, 2022|Fossil Fuels, Natural Gas, Natural Gas Prices|Comments Off on Why Is It So Hard to Get Cheap Gas These Days?

Soaring gas prices are making headlines worldwide. Australia has plenty of gas and is one of the world's largest producers. So, where has all the cheap gas gone? In Australia, wholesale power prices doubled in the year to March and have since doubled again. Earlier this year, gas was trading at approximately AUD $10 a gigajoule. By late May, wholesale prices in Victoria soared 80 times that level, reaching AUD $800 per gigajoule. The situation was so severe that the Australian [...]

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3 08, 2022

Why Should We Care About Combustion Reactions in Diesel Engines?

By |2023-07-14T10:11:08+00:00August 3, 2022|Fossil Fuels|Comments Off on Why Should We Care About Combustion Reactions in Diesel Engines?

Australia is lagging behind the rest of the world, where other countries are phasing out combustion reaction petrol and diesel cars in favour of electric vehicles (EVs), according to a 2020 report observing diesel car sales worldwide. This is because combustion reactions from diesel engines are a key contributor to the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. While electric vehicles tripled in sales across Australia in 2019, and most Australians are considering buying an EV in the near future, the country still has [...]

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1 08, 2022

What Is Offshore Drilling and How Does It Affect Australia’s Environment?

By |2023-07-14T08:55:29+00:00August 1, 2022|Climate Change, Fossil Fuels|Comments Off on What Is Offshore Drilling and How Does It Affect Australia’s Environment?

Seventy per cent of the world’s oil and natural gas comes from onshore sites. Offshore drilling is the source of the remaining 30 per cent. The production and consumption of fossil fuels are having a profound effect on Australia’s climate because coal, oil and gas all drive global warming. However, offshore drilling is particularly problematic as the process can have calamitous environmental impacts.  Offshore drilling for oil and gas entails many risks. Most concerning, oil spills are an unavoidable possibility [...]

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4 01, 2022

What Is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)?

By |2023-07-10T15:24:41+00:00January 4, 2022|Fossil Fuels, Global Warming, Greenhouse Gases|Comments Off on What Is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)?

In July 2021, the oil giant Chevron celebrated a “significant milestone” in Australia. Its liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Gorgon, Western Australia, had captured and stored five million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide. This is equivalent to taking more than 1.6 million passenger vehicles off Australia’s roads for a year. The Gorgon complex was billed as a major ‘test case’ for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology across the world, given that companies and governments say that CCS is [...]

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4 01, 2022

What is Petroleum?

By |2023-07-10T15:25:08+00:00January 4, 2022|Fossil Fuels, Petroleum|Comments Off on What is Petroleum?

Petroleum is simultaneously one of the most used and reviled discoveries of the modern world. It is a broad term that covers both crude oil and petroleum products. However, people sometimes use the words petroleum and oil interchangeably. The word petroleum comes from the Latin word for rock, ‘petra’, and ‘oleum’, which means oil. Like coal and natural gas, it is a fossil fuel that was formed millions of years ago underground from the decomposition of dead matter. Petroleum can [...]

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