Energy Roundup: Going Dutch on Petro-Tech, Ethanol Engine Breakthrough, and More

(MoneyWatch)  Korea National, Ecopetrol split Petro-Tech acquisition -- Korea National Oil and Colombia's Ecopetrol took advantage of a commodity price-depressed industry in its $900 million joint acquisition of Petro-Tech Peruana of Peru. Petro-Tech, the main asset of Houston-based Offshore International Group, is the third-largest crude oil producer in Peru and has an estimated 100 million barrels in reserves. [Source: Bloomberg]

Ricardo touts ethanol efficiency breakthrough -- Ricardo, an independent engineering firm, claims it has found a way to make an ethanol-fueled engine more efficient than a gasoline engine. Ricardo says its new technology uses ethanol's best assets - higher octane and higher heat vaporization - to create an engine with the performance of diesel, at the cost of ethanol. [Source: Cleantech]

Chevron's deepwater drilling efforts pay off -- Chevron's oil discovery at its Buckskin site might silence the debate over the value of ultra-deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico's Lower Tertiary Trend. The well, which was drilled to a depth of 29,404 feet, was found in the same formation where Anadarko Petroleum made its discovery earlier this week. [Source: TheStreet]

Obama eyes light bulbs, appliances in energy efficiency memorandum -- President Barack Obama caught up on a three-decade long governmental foot drag by ordering the Energy Department to draft efficiency standards for light bulbs and appliances. The new rules could mean up to a $67 billion savings for households and businesses over the next 30 years. [Source: NYT, WSJ Environmental Capital]

Brown grease latest target in citywide biodiesel effort -- San Francisco is launching a $1.2 million pilot project to turn brown grease into an energy source. State and federal funds will pay for the construction of a recycling plant that aims to collect 10,000 gallons of cooking grease a week, which can later be converted into about 500 gallons of fuel. [Source: San Francisco Chronicle]