Lynch has reservations about Venezuelan oil

CONCORD, N.H. –New Hampshire is waiting to hear back from Venezuela on the possibility of buying cheap home heating oil, but Gov. John Lynch says he has serious reservations about dealing with that country’s leftist government. Citgo, which is owned by the Venezuelan government, has struck deals to sell discounted heating oil to residents in […]

Exxon Profit Sets Record, Stirs Anger

Its annual and quarterly profit are the highest for any public corporation, but consumers see red. On the strength of energy prices that hit all-time highs last year, Exxon Mobil Corp. reported earnings Monday that broke records …Exxon Mobil and the American Petroleum Institute have stressed in newspaper ads that oil company profit margins are […]

India not eyeing oil sands, analyst says

Strategy targets ‘us investing in them’ CALGARY — India is hunting for oil around the world, but unlike its giant neighbour China the oil sands in northern Alberta are not likely among its targets, a consultant specializing in state-owned energy companies says. “I wouldn’t see the Indians coming to Canada. Their strategy seems to be […]

Local Energy – Local Currency – Local Power

[ The current monetary system is dependent on constant economic growth. So how stable will national currencies be in a post-Peak Oil world? Instability and loss of faith in national currencies could lead to economic paralysis, potential resources and labour going to waste simply because of a lack of reliable trading systems. Local currencies can […]

Most Southwest fares are raised

Southwest Airlines is raising fares as the airline becomes more exposed to high fuel prices, a move that likely means higher prices for travelers who fly any airline competing with the discounter. Executives with Dallas-based Southwest said Monday that they had raised fares between $1 and $3 each way on most flights.The increases were $3 […]

Eating local for the winter

VERMONT – Thankfully Bill McKibben doesn’t depend on coffee or tea to begin his day. If he did, the environmental writer and Middlebury College scholar-in-residence might have had a more challenging time surviving for seven months almost entirely on foods grown within a few dozen miles of his Ripton home. And those were not the […]

Next X Prizes target genes and gas mileage

The people behind the X Prize that kick-started personal space travel are planning prizes in a variety of non-space fields, from automobile technology and genome research to nanotechnology and education. The goal is to cut through red tape, jump-start progress and allow genius to shine. …For the automotive prize, the focus is on breakthroughs in […]

Carbon emission targets delayed by government row

The government’s strategy to cut carbon dioxide emissions in the battle against climate change has been paralysed for seven months by a dispute between two Whitehall departments. Labour has pledged in three successive manifestos that by 2010 it will cut the UK’s CO2 emissions by 20% below 1990 levels. The promise has reached almost totemic […]

Oil execs refuse to testify at U.S. Senate hearing

Officials from six major oil companies have refused to testify this week at a Senate hearing looking into whether oil industry mergers in recent years have made gasoline more expensive at the pump. With oil companies reporting record profits from higher energy prices, consumer groups have complained that mergers in the industry have stifled competition. […]

Dependency on cars too great to avoid gridlock

Traffic is increasing relentlessly as our passion for car travel resists all attempts to control it, a government study has found. Congestion is growing at an uncontrollable rate and the Government’s proposed solution, road tolls, will come too late to prevent widespread gridlock. Almost every aspect of our daily lives, from commuting to shopping to […]

Bird songs muted by oil and gas machinery

The roar of oil and gas machinery in Alberta is drowning out the springtime mating calls of birds, a problem set to worsen as the industry pushes further into the wilderness… Noise from compressor stations used by the oil and gas industry to push their product down pipelines appears to be hampering the mating success […]

West at risk of losing oil money

With Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Qatar saying they plan to channel more of their revenue from oil sales into Asian countries to lift returns and strengthen ties with their fastest-growing customers, concerns are growing that the United States and Europe will lose investment. Officials from the Gulf monarchies, which sold about $300 billion worth of […]

Oil cos in red sea of losses

MUMBAI, JANUARY 30: State-owned blue chip oil companies are deep in the red. With crude oil prices remaining high and companies reporting under-recovery of prices, both Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) have made a loss of Rs 1,000 crore each for the third quarter-ended December 2005…‘‘If oil companies continue […]

German Retail Sales Unexpectedly Decline on Oil Price

Retail sales in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, unexpectedly fell for a second month in December as oil prices rose, sapping consumers’ purchasing power… Germany depended on exports and investment for growth last year as unemployment near the highest since World War II crimped household consumption. While economic growth is gathering pace, rising oil costs are […]

Major Oil Firms Seen in Nigeria for the Long Haul

Oil giants are likely to continue investing billions of dollars in Nigeria, even though a rash of recent militia attacks and kidnappings could mean violence is on the rise. ..Unrest here, together with worries over the nuclear standoff in Iran, have been pressuring world oil prices upward. At a time of high prices and diminishing […]

Sugar Prices Boom, More Cane Seen Used for Biofuel

Sugar is a star among commodity markets, with prices at 25-year peaks and possibly heading higher as investors see potential to divert more cane to make biofuel…The problem, some analysts say, is that output by the European Union is likewise expected to fall due to price-slashing reforms in its sugar regime, and drought has affected […]

India’s new oil minister promises continuity, tact

India’s new oil minister, Murli Deora, vowed on Monday broadly to sustain the policies of his energetic predecessor, but analysts say the business-friendly politician will bring a more pragmatic approach to the job. Deora said he wanted state-run refiners to become profitable and he would encourage foreign acquisitions, supply affordable fuel to the poor and […]

Energy Research Sputters

Ernest Moniz, former undersecretary at the Department of Energy and now professor of physics at MIT, says there “is a huge amount” of money going into research on new technologies, especially for transportation, that use hydrogen for fuel. Yet such hydrogen technology “is a very long way into the future, if ever, whereas lots of […]

Iran says no legal basis for referral to U.N.

“There is no legal basis to refer Iran’s case to the Security Council and the Europeans will face difficulties doing so,” Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said in an interview with the semi-official ISNA students news agency. He was speaking after the five permanent members of the Security Council agreed on Tuesday […]

Japan’s Iran dilemma

Iran’s publicly stated intention to advance its nuclear technology threatens a key element of Japan’s energy strategy – development of the Azadegan oilfield. Defying international opposition, Iran announced on January 10 that it had resumed uranium-enrichment operations. If Tehran does not alter its position, Japan could lose its rights to the field. As the international […]

Biofuels cut threatens farmers

A new power crisis threatens to leave the country short of energy – and destroy the livelihoods of Yorkshire farmers. The Government is set to slash the amount of biofuels – specially grown crops – that can be burned at Drax power station, near Selby, prompting warnings from campaigners that power supplies will be compromised […]

UK oil contract threat to US energy prices-senator

A plan by Atlanta-based IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) to list West Texas crude futures in London could give foreign traders too much sway over U.S. energy prices and leave U.S. regulators powerless to intervene, a U.S. senator and rival exchange warned. ICE said last week its regulated futures subsidiary, ICE Futures, received approval to list its proposed […]

Iran Wins SA Backing for ‘Peaceful’ Nukes

South Africa, Cuba and Malaysia — the “troika” of countries representing the Non-Aligned Movement — have endorsed the right of Iran to enrich uranium as part of its development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The decision constitutes a victory for Iran in an international diplomatic tussle to avoid sanctions following the Islamic country’s decision […]

Nigeria: Militants Free Foreign Oil Workers But Vow More Attacks

Four foreign oil workers were released on Monday after being held hostage for 19 days by ethnic Ijaw militants in Nigeria’s turbulent Niger Delta… But, the group said, “This release does not signify a ceasefire or softening of our position to destroy the oil export capability of the Nigerian government.” Nigeria is Africa’s top oil […]

Lukoil hopes for progress on Iraq project

Lukoil, Russia’s biggest oil company, is on the verge of reopening negotiations with Iraq on the Arab country’s most lucrative oil development contract. Leonid Fedun, Lukoil’s vice-president, said in an interview: “This year we will be able to start specific negotiations to develop fields.” He added: “2006 for us is the year that we are […]

UN unveils plan to release untapped wealth of…$7 trillion

The most potent threats to life on earth – global warming, health pandemics, poverty and armed conflict – could be ended by moves that would unlock $7 trillion – $7,000,000,000,000 (The Independent

Scientists Find Frozen Methane Gas Deposit

Scientists have discovered an undersea deposit of frozen methane just off the Southern California coast, but whether it can be harnessed as a potential energy source is unknown. ..In additional to technical problems standing in the way of mining methane hydrates, Hein said mining this deposit probably would be difficult because of its proximity to […]

Price fear keeps Opec oil flowing

Oil group Opec will keep pumping oil at near-record levels in an effort to keep prices from spiking much higher. Speaking ahead of Opec’s meeting in Vienna on Tuesday, members said they would leave output levels untouched. Crude costs have been buoyed by concerns about the diplomatic row with Iran and the threat of Nigerian […]

The Oil Drum: The Carbon Economy (another of Stuart’s massive integrative posts)

I have two goals – one is to better understand the debate over the viability of biofuels. The other is to better understand whether we have any real options over climate change other than just suffering the consequences of our collective fecklessness. Either way, I can never make any sense out of any debate like […]

Scottish Power mulls 1 bln usd wind sale.

Philip Bowman, the new chief executive of Scottish Power PLC, is to review the future of its US wind power and gas storage division PPM Energy in a move which could signal the 1 bln usd plus sale of the business, The Independent said based on an interview with Bowman. In his first interview since […]

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