Personnel Costs, Railroads; Texas To Get Bragging Rights To Having First Existing Coal-Fired Power Plant Retrofitted To Capture Carbon (CO2)-- July, 2014

On July 17, 2014, I mentioned in passing the personnel costs associated with engineers/railroads. Today The Dickinson Press is reporting:

BNSF Railway has struck a tentative agreement with a union that would allow one-person train crews on certain routes if a monitoring system is in use.

The proposed agreement, which is at odds with the national union’s staunch support of two-person crews, also conflicts with a possible federal rule that would require two crew members aboard trains.

According to BNSF, the tentative agreement allowing a one-person crew would not apply to large trains carrying hazardous cargo, including crude oil and ethanol.

“BNSF has special handling procedures and operating rules for hazardous materials including loaded crude unit trains, which, among other things, require two people in the locomotive,” BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth said Friday. “That would not change under the agreement.”

The railroad’s agreement with the Transportation Division of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Union, SMART, would apply to about 60 percent of BNSF’s system.

Anyone wanna bet this will happen? For the record, I'm not taking bets.

*******************************
Texas: First Existing Coal-Fired Power Plant To Be Retrofitted 
With Coal Gas Capture Technology

Data points:

• West Ranch oil field, southeast Texas, near Victoria, Texas; easy to drill; discovery wells back in the late 1930's; has nine (9) payzones; now down to 500 bopd
• CO2 injection could increase production in the field to 15,000 bopd

Where to get the CO2?

• coal-powered W. A. Parish power plant eighty (80) miles away generates C02
• retrofit the power plant to capture the CO2 and move it to West Ranch oil field by pipeline
• joint venture: NRG Energy (Texas utility) and JX Nippon Oil and Gas (Japanese)
• to be completed in 2016

Why is this news?  The project marks the first time an existing coal-fired power plant is being refitted with coal gas capture technology.

*******************************
Velocity of Money 
and
Government's Obfuscation With Gasoline Consumption Data

Some months ago I posted a number of observations while reading Sylvia Nasar's book on economics: Grand Pursuit. All things being equal, it is not the amount of money the government prints, but it is the velocity of money moving through the economy that correlates best to inflation. I was reminded of that again by the excellent "guest post" over at ZeroHedge: US gasoline consumption plummets nearly 75%. It's an article worth bookmarking and reading when one has time.

*******************************

No New "Red Lines"After Malaysian Airlines "Tragedy"

When "last chance" means "extend the deadline"

It was noted on Los Angeles radio yesterday that the president did not set any new "red lines" following the shoot-down of the Malaysian airliner. However, earlier in the week, this Reuters headline: Iran warned of "last chance" in talks after deadline missed.

So, what does "last chance" mean?  Extend the deadline:

The countries agreed to extend the high-stakes negotiations by four months.

I can't make this stuff up. No longer any more "red lines"; rather, "one last chance."