U.S. standoff with Iran helps pump up prices

Bush shouldn’t make hasty move, most experts say Steaming drivers furious at $3-a-gallon gas can direct at least part of their anger at the row between the United States and Iran, which experts agree helps increase prices by frightening investors — and there isn’t much anybody can do about it in the short term. Most […]

Motorists’ misery as fuel prices soar

U.K. – Motorists in East Anglia were warned last night they could be hit hardest by rocketing fuel prices – with people in rural areas suffering the most. In some parts of the region, unleaded petrol almost reached Demand for crude oil from booming Asian giants like China remains high, and prices are unlikely to […]

Addiction to oil

Thank you, John Crisp, for your thoughtful letter about peak oil and its implications for humanity. I agree, we are dependent on oil for just about every aspect of our lives, not simply as fuel for our automobiles and to heat our homes. Oil is used either directly or indirectly at virtually every stage of […]

Fuel prices hit new vehicle sales

Australians held off making new vehicle purchases in March as the onward march in fuel prices kept consumers away from car yards. Australian new motor vehicle sales fell two per cent in seasonally adjusted terms to 79,634 units in March, from a downwardly revised 81,249 units in February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. This […]

Once Marginal, but Now Kings of the Oil World

OIL futures settled above $75 a barrel last week, and analysts blamed the usual cocktail of geopolitics and domestic instability. There was Iran’s challenge to the West over its nuclear research program, as well as the seemingly endless conflicts within Nigeria and Iraq. All those countries are major oil exporters, producing some eight million barrels […]

Specter: U.S. should consider windfall oil tax

Leading GOP Senator blames reduced competition for high oil, pump prices WASHINGTON – The government should consider a tax on oil companies if they make excessive profits amid rising gasoline prices, a leading Republican senator said Sunday. Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said a windfall profits tax, along with measures […]

Four cylinders power up in popularity

NEW YORK “We have seen some shift, and we are reacting to it as fast as we can,” said Mark LaNeve, General Motors’ North American marketing chief. So far this year, about 31.5% of vehicles sold have come equipped with four-cylinder engines. That’s up from 29.2% in 2003, reports the Power Information Network. The percentage […]

Drivers switch to public transit

WASHINGTON Nationwide, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $2.90 Sunday, up 1.6 cents from Saturday and 39.1 cents higher than a month ago, according to AAA. Statewide averages were $3 a gallon or higher in Hawaii, California, Washington, D.C., and New York. Among mass transit systems:

Latest fuel regulations put US over a barrel

AMERICA The country suffers a regular gasoline deficit and in a normal year it will import 400,000 barrels per day, much of it from Europe. The reason for the deficit is that a barrel of oil produces only a limited amount of gasoline. Think of it as a sausage. The top slice, known as light […]

At $3 a gallon, the Americans are squealing

THE soaring cost of petrol will create a tough summer for American families, President Bush said as pump prices reached record levels and fuel stations ran dry in three states. What he might have said is that it is also likely to herald an Pump prices have risen by one third over the past year […]

Driving up demand for diesels

Today diesels are enjoying a resurgence not seen since those gas-line days of the 1970s, driven by rising gas prices and interest in burning biodiesel. Diesel engines get great mileage – 20 to 40 percent better than their gas-burning counterparts – and the new generation burns much cleaner than the old diesels, experts say. Most […]

AIST Succeeds in Making Diesel Fuel from Woody Biomass

The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has succeeded in the continuous synthesis at the laboratory scale of diesel fuel from woody biomass through gasification, purification using activated carbon, and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. This new process removes the need for a cooling process, heat recovery, and compression of gas, which makes it attractive […]

Economists, Westly talk energy policy

Khosla wrapped up the event with an hour-long presentation calling for government action to make ethanol a replacement fuel for gasoline, noting that conversion to a liquid fuel like ethanol would be far simpler than other transportation proposals. He said that the existing distribution infrastructure of gas stations could be easily converted to ethanol, adding […]

Testing the Gas-Saving Tips

By changing your driving habits, you can improve fuel economy up to 37 percent right away (depending on how you drive). Combine several tips and perform routine maintenance and you will save real dollars, not just pennies. A miracle? All we did was take several of the most common tips out there and put them […]

Federal Web site, state phone line offers info on gas pricing

The U.S. Department of Energy has established a Web site that answers questions and could help see if there is price gouging. The Web site is http://gaswatch.energy.gov. It also includes links to frequently asked questions about gasoline prices. In addition, Connecticut has a toll-free hot line for residents to report suspected unfair pricing of gasoline […]

Bin Laden Accuses West of Seeking to Steal Sudan Oil

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden accused the U.S. of seeking to steal oil in Sudan’s Darfur region in an audiotape broadcast by the satellite television station al- Jazeera and authenticated by the U.S. Bin Laden said Muslim fighters should be prepared to fight “crusaders” in the west of Sudan where the United Nations is seeking […]

China to Receive First LNG Shipment from Australia in May

China, the world’s biggest energy user after the U.S., will receive its first shipment of liquefied natural gas from Australia next month as the country starts operating a receiving terminal for the fuel. China wants to more than double the share of its energy produced from gas to 8 percent by 2010 to cut pollution […]

Oil boom excites but leaves Australia with a touch of gas

Just when Australia needs its oil industry to foil the effects of rising prices in the balance of payments, the industry is spluttering and finding it hard to attract major investment. The reality Australia faces is that we have spent the best part of our oil inheritance in the years of low prices between the […]

Expert: Russia overtakes Saudi Arabia as world’s largest oil and fuel exporter

Russia has now overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil and fuel exporter. Meanwhile, the bubbling liquidity of Russian energy companies is fuelling a flurry of Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activity across all aspects of the energy sector from refining and transportation companies to downstream petrochemicals and gas station chains. Dr Gil Feiler, in […]

Chavez plans new taxes on oil companies in Venezuela – report

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is planning new taxes on overseas oil companies, The Wall Street Journal reported. The newspaper said the Venezuelan Congress is considering sharply raising taxes and royalties on foreign companies’ operations in the Orinoco River basin. ..If the latest initiative succeeds, it would eliminate the country’s remaining privately managed oil fields, the […]

Oil crisis gives energy to new world order

The IMF sees plenty to be worried about. In real terms, the cost of crude is not back to where it was at the time of the Iran-Iraq war at the start of the 1980s, but that was the only time prices have been higher. The IMF has been surprised at the modest impact of […]

China inks energy deals with Saudis

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia and energy-starved China signed defense, security and trade agreements on the first day of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) visit, a trip both sides expect will enhance burgeoning relations. Hu also visited the headquarters of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the Middle East’s largest non-oil industrial company, where he discussed a US$5.3 […]

Korea, Japan strike shaky deal on Dokdo row

The two Japanese ships assigned to conduct a controversial maritime survey headed back to Tokyo yesterday following a shaky deal reached between South Korea and Japan in their latest territorial feud. The ocean encompassing the islets serves as a rich fishing ground with large deposits of gas hydrates that could be used as liquid natural […]

Bellevue firm developing hybrid car that plugs in

A small Bellevue company says it’s got the technology to build plug-in hybrid cars that can drive 250 miles on a single gallon of gas. AFS Trinity Power Corp., working with United Kingdom-based automotive engineering company Ricardo PLC, expects to see about 150 demonstration vehicles on the road in two years and commercially available cars […]

World Bank unveils plan to boost clean energy in developing countries

The World Bank unveiled a new project to promote the use of clean energy in developing countries, where it said 10 to 40 billion dollars a year would be needed to cover the costs of adapting to projected climate change. The Bank’s policymaking Development Committee at a one-day meeting here approved the measure but provided […]

Abu Dhabi unveils major energy initiative

Top global energy companies are joining hands with Abu Dhabi in the region’s first alternative energy and resource conservation initiative, government officials announced yesterday. The pioneering initiative called Al Masdar has the support of the Abu Dhabi government that has granted land for an institute, a special economic zone and innovation centre as well as […]

Toyota Ratchets Up Plug-In Prius Talk

In an interview published in the UKgreencarcongress

The Oil Drum: An Economist Response, Or Is It A Techie Sunday?

Oh, dear it looks as though I have to disagree with an economist again. But this time it is the magazine rather than an individual. As has been pointed out, and to an extent discussed in recent comments thanks to which I was able to read the initial article, the Economist came out with an […]

French Fin Min Asks IMF To Extend Surveillance To Oil

French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said Saturday he had asked the head of the International Monetary Fund, Rodrigo Rato, to extend the body’s surveillance to the world’s oil market. Breton said though the IMF’s main role is to look at countries’ macroeconomic indicators, it should also pay attention to the oil market given its growing […]

World Bank Urges New Clean Energy Funding

The World Bank is urging its steering committee to approve a new breed of loans and grants that would go to developing countries to help them make power generation cleaner and more efficient. A report drafted for this weekend’s meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank at the request of Group of Eight […]

« Previous Page — Next Page »

LATEST NEWS HEADLINES

• Why the IEA is Wrong About Peak Oil Demand
• Did we inadvertently speed global warming?  
• Venezuela’s Oil Monopoly Eases
• Why Germany is Choosing Natural Gas Over Nuclear Power
• U.S. coal-fired electricity generation decreased in 2022 and 2023

• America Cracks Down on Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Facilities
• Meet America’s Newest Oil Trader Extraordinaire: Joe Biden
• Is It Time To Refill America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
• Oil prices set to end year 10% lower as demand concerns snap winning streak
• What’s Driving America’s New Oil and Gas Boom?
• China’s peak oil demand bombshell eviscerates Danielle Smith’s energy strategy