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==Genie Oil & Gas==
==Genie Oil & Gas==
Genie Oil & Gas (GOGAS) seeks to acquire and develop unconventional fuel resources including oil shale and develops innovative [[Shale oil extraction|fuel extraction technologies]] to produce oil and natural gas. GOGAS consists of [[American Shale Oil]] (AMSO), [[Afek]], Israel Energy Initiatives (IEI) and Genie Energy Mongolia. 89% of GOGAS is owned by Genie Energy while Jacob Rothschild, Michael Steinhardt and Rupert Murdoch among others hold minority interests.<ref name=business /><ref name=business2>
Genie Oil & Gas (GOGAS) seeks to acquire and develop unconventional fuel resources including oil shale and develops innovative [[Shale oil extraction|fuel extraction technologies]] to produce oil and natural gas. GOGAS consists of [[American Shale Oil]] (AMSO), Afek Oil & Gas, Israel Energy Initiatives (IEI) and Genie Energy Mongolia. 89% of GOGAS is owned by Genie Energy while Jacob Rothschild, Michael Steinhardt and Rupert Murdoch among others hold minority interests.<ref name=business /><ref name=business2>
{{cite press release
{{cite press release
| publisher = [[IDT Corporation]]
| publisher = [[IDT Corporation]]

Revision as of 09:30, 6 October 2014

Genie Energy
Company typePublic
NYSE: GNE
IndustryOil and gas industry
Electricity
Headquarters
Newark, New Jersey
,
United States
Key people
Howard Jonas (Founder, Chairman and CEO)

Avi Goldin (CFO)
Geoff Rochwarger (Vice Chairman)
Websitewww.genie.com

Genie Energy Ltd. is an American energy company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. It is a holding company comprising IDT Energy, a retail energy provider, and Genie Oil & Gas, which controls the company's oil and gas exploratory project in Northern Israel and oil shale research and development in Colorado, Israel and Mongolia. Genie was part of IDT Corporation. IDT spun off Genie to its shareholders on October 31, 2011, at which point Class B common stock of Genie Energy Ltd. began trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "GNE". [1]

Genie's founder, chairman, controlling shareholder and CEO is Howard Jonas. Avi Goldin is its CFO. Geoffrey Rochwarger is Genie's Vice Chairman.

Genie previously announced a strategic advisory board whose members provide strategic direction and council. Its members include former Vice President Dick Cheney, Michael Steinhardt, Jacob Rothschild, and Rupert Murdoch.[2]

IDT Energy

IDT Energy, founded in New York State in 2004, is a deregulated energy provider, or retail energy provider (REP), that resells electricity and natural gas to residential and small business customers in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maryland and Washington, DC [3] Like other REP's IDT Energy competes against incumbent electric and gas utilities as well as over 100 other REPs.[4] Unlike many of its competitors, nearly all of IDT's customers are on variable rate plans (rather than long term fixed price contracts) and can change supplier at any time.[5]

Genie Oil & Gas

Genie Oil & Gas (GOGAS) seeks to acquire and develop unconventional fuel resources including oil shale and develops innovative fuel extraction technologies to produce oil and natural gas. GOGAS consists of American Shale Oil (AMSO), Afek Oil & Gas, Israel Energy Initiatives (IEI) and Genie Energy Mongolia. 89% of GOGAS is owned by Genie Energy while Jacob Rothschild, Michael Steinhardt and Rupert Murdoch among others hold minority interests.[2][6][7]

American Shale Oil

Main article: American Shale Oil

American Shale Oil (AMSO) is a joint venture between Genie Energy and Total S.A..[8] AMSO received in 2006 a Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) lease from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Colorado's Piceance Basin.[9] The lease comprises a tract of 160 acres (65 ha), as well as a preferential right to a contiguous area of 4,960 acres (2,010 ha). The lease grants an initial term of 10 years and the possibility of up to a 5-year extension upon proof of diligent progress toward commercial production. RD&D lessees may apply to convert the leases plus the contiguous area to a 20-year commercial lease once commercial production levels have been achieved and additional requirements are met.[10] AMSO had no operations and accrued no expenses for the first half of 2014.[11] AMSO's tech team is headed by Dr. Alan Burnham, a scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.[12] AMSO's proposed technology is called CCR (Conduction, Convection, Reflux).[9]

Afek Oil & Gas

In February 2013, Afek Oil & Gas[13] was awarded an exclusive 36-month petroleum exploration license to a 153-square mile radius in the southern Golan Heights region of Northern Israel.[14][15] Afek subsequently conducted above-ground geophysical tests and based on its preliminary analysis, has applied for a ten well exploratory drilling program.[16]

Israel Energy Initiatives

Israel Energy Initiatives (IEI) was founded in 2008 to develop oil shale in Israel. In July 2011, the company received a one year extension of a three year license to explore oil shale resources on 238 square kilometres (92 sq mi) in Israel's Shefela region.[17] The area contains large underground oil shale formations, which IEI estimates could potentially be converted to 40 billion barrels (6.4×10^9 m3) of oil equivalent.[15] IEI has completed geological surveys and tests in an appraisal stage. The pilot project would produced oil not before 2017. The pilot test is intended to prove the viability of the company's in-situ extraction technology.[15][18]

The Israel Union for Environmental Defense has petitioned the Supreme Court of Israel to review the legality of the IEI license. This petition was rejected in October 2012 and the petition to cancel the regulations governing the permitting process was rejected on 24 December 2012.[19]

IEI plans to use In Situ Conversion Process technology for its pilot project. The pilot will follow the format of a 1995 in-situ trial by Royal Dutch Shell, whereby 6 vertical wells for electrically heated rods were drilled in a hexagonal formation, with a production well placed at the center of the hexagon.[20] IEI has also stated that subsequent development (conditioned on receiving a development lease) would be based on technology more similar to that proposed by sister company AMSO, including horizontal wells and injection of hot gas or fluids.[21] The chief scientist at IEI is Harold Vinegar, former chief scientist for in-situ conversion processes with Royal Dutch Shell.[22] Vinegar has claimed that proposed in-situ technology can produce oil at all-in costs of US$35–40 per barrel.[23][24][25] However, according to Genie Energy's SEC filing, the company recognizes that it may not be able to develop technology that is environmentally acceptable and economically viable.[26]

Israel's major environmental organizations, including the Jewish National Fund, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Greenpeace, and the Israel Union for Environmental Defense have protested the IEI license. Environmental concerns include the potential for contaminating Israel's Shfela aquifer, which runs underneath the Shfela oil shale formation, for destroying a rural region of Israel that currently promotes eco-tourism, and for reversing Israel's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[18] Residents of the local community of Adullam and their supporters have also mounted a campaign to stop the IEI work, citing both the environmental damage and the questionable economic value of the project.[27]

References

  1. ^ "Genie Energy Begins Trading on NYSE". Business Wire. 2011-10-31. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
  2. ^ a b "Business and Financial Leaders Lord Rothschild and Rupert Murdoch Invest in Genie Oil & Gas" (Press release). IDT Corporation. 2010-11-15. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  3. ^ http://genie.com/investors/quarterly-earnings/ for earnings release "Genie Energy Reports First Quarter 2014 Results".
  4. ^ New York Public Service Commission
  5. ^ 10-k, IDT Corp, July 31, 2011
  6. ^ "Michael Steinhardt to Become Chairman of IDT Corporation Subsidiary, Israel Energy Initiatives" (Press release). IDT Corporation. 2010-04-19. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  7. ^ Barkat, Amiram (2010-11-22). "Murdoch, Rothschild invest in Israeli shale oil". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  8. ^ "Total buys 50 pct stake in AMSO to sell shale oil". Reuters. 2009-01-14. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  9. ^ a b Secure Fuels from Domestic Resources: The Continuing Evolution of America's Oil Shale and Tar Sands Industries (PDF) (4th ed.). United States Department of Energy. 2010. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  10. ^ Andrews, Anthony (2008). Developments in Oil Shale (PDF) (Report). Congressional Research Service. pp. 18–19. CRS RL34748. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  11. ^ Genie Energy quarterly report August 2014 (Report).
  12. ^ "Alan K. Burnham Ph.D. Executive Profile". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
  13. ^ "Afek Oil & Gas". Oficial Website. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  14. ^ Kelley, Michael (February 22, 2013). "Israel Grants First Golan Heights Oil Drilling License To Dick Cheney-Linked Company". Business Insider. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  15. ^ a b c "Israel approves drilling for oil in Golan Heights". The Jerusalem Post. 2013-02-02. Retrieved 2014-05-20. Cite error: The named reference "jpost" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  16. ^ http://genie.com/investors/quarterly-earnings/, Genie Energy Earnings Release, May 7, 2014. "Genie Energy Reports First Quarter 2014 Results"
  17. ^ 10-k, IDT Corp, October 11, 2011
  18. ^ a b Ben-David, Calev (2011-06-02). "Looking for an Oil Boom in Israel's Napa Valley". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  19. ^ "Israel moves ahead with IEI oil shale project". Oil & Gas Financial Journal. Pennwell Corporation. 2012-12-26. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  20. ^ IEI Shfela Oil Shale Pilot: Addendum to the Environmental Document (PDF) (Report). Israel Energy Initiatives. 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-21. {{cite report}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  21. ^ IDT Corporation (PDF). Rodman & Renshaw Annual Global Investment Conference. September 13, 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  22. ^ The Magnificent 7 (PDF). Shell in the Middle East (Report). Shell Oil. April 2007. pp. 43–47.
  23. ^ King, Ian (2011-03-11). "Oil shale reserves can turn Israel into major world producer". The Australian. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  24. ^ Rabinovitch, Ari (2011-04-27). "Oil shale could help Israel energy independence". Reuters. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  25. ^ Barkat, Amiram (2011-09-26). "Thar's oil in them thar Israeli rocks". Globes. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  26. ^ "Preliminary Information Statement". Genie Energy. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  27. ^ Laylin, Tafline (2010-12-08). "Oil & Wine Don't Mix: Over 1,000 Israelis Protest Oil Shale In Adullam". Retrieved 2011-10-18.
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