Cuba’s Pathbreaking Energy Policies

So what is it like when the oil flow becomes a molasses-like dribble? The energy faucet was turned off on North Korea and Cuba in the early 1990s, when the Soviet Union disappeared. With it went the relatively cheap oil it had been supplying both Communist countries. In the face of the crisis, though both […]

Katrina, Rita Cost to Oil Industry Rises to Record $17 Billion

(Bloomberg) — Transocean Inc.’s Deepwater Nautilus rig should have spent the last two months drilling for oil and natural gas in 8,000 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico, earning $220,000 a day. Instead, the vessel sat idle in a Texas shipyard. Workers last week finished the latest round of repairs on the Nautilus […]

Oil Profits Help Russia Pay Off Soviet-Era Debt

MOSCOW – Eight years after it defaulted on more than $40 billion in debt and slid into financial chaos, Russia transferred $23.7 billion to the Paris Club of creditors Monday, wiping out the last of its Soviet-era debts and underlining the extent to which oil and gas revenue has transformed the country’s finances. The state-owned […]

ASPO 5. Robert Hirsch scares me out of my wits

Bob Hirsch is the author of the deeply influential Hirsch report which has been referred to here on many occasions. I had really been looking forward to hearing him speak but found his talk hugely disappointing. You can see his Powerpoint slides here. I will give you my notes of his talk first, and my […]

Three US govt agencies probing BP’s Alaskan operations

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Three US government agencies are probing BP after the British energy giant partially shut down a giant Alaskan oil field due to a leaking pipeline, an official said. “The Department of Transportation, the Department of Justice and EPA … have confirmed that we are involved in an investigation of the company up […]

Energy focus for Chavez in China

Discussions over energy co-operation are set to dominate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s visit to China, which began on Tuesday. Oil producer Venezuela wants to reduce its reliance on the US, the destination for most of its oil exports despite the two countries’ ideological differences. China, in need of oil supplies to maintain its rapid economic […]

PDB office besieged in Sylhet for power

BANGLADESH – The Sylhet Bibhag Ganodabi Parishad, a citizens’ forum, yesterday took out a procession in the city and laid a siege to the Power Development Board (PDB) office demanding smooth power supply. The demonstrators chanted slogans during the procession, protesting frequent power outages. They held a rally on the PDB office premises at Bagbari […]

ASPO 5. Richard Heinberg on the Oil Depletion Protocol

Richard spoke on the morning of the first day and gave a clear and passionate overview of the Oil Depletion Protocol. Here is an overview of what he said. Without an Oil Depletion Protocol (ODP), what will happen? Extreme price volatility will make planning and investment difficult. There will be conflict over the remaining reserves […]

Deal on gas pipeline in final stages

Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan envisage development of complete energy corridor under multi- billion dollar TAP project including two parallel gas and crude oil pipelines, railway track, road and optic fibre system, but India is interested in a gas pipeline alone. Informed sources told Dawn that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was currently in the final […]

EU Energy Commissioner Backs Nuclear Power, to Aid Environment

The European Commissioner for Energy promoted the use of nuclear power for electricity generation on the grounds it can provide the biggest reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases. “We need to keep the choice of the nuclear option open for countries that want to generate electricity,” the commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, said in a speech at […]

Report: Japan reluctant to add oil to Iran sanctions

Japan plans to propose that any international sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment stop short of banning its oil exports during the initial phase of penalties, a report said Monday. The Japanese government plans to call on other countries to impose any sanctions in stages, and to exclude a ban on Iranian […]

Nigerian oil unions consider quitting Niger Delta

Nigeria’s oil workers’ unions may pull out all members from the Niger Delta over safety fears following a spate of abductions by militants and a military crackdown, the head of one of the unions said on Wednesday. The two oil unions have called an emergency meeting after a bloody shoot-out on Sunday between troops and […]

World oil demand growth brings dilemma for Opec

World oil demand growth will quicken next year as China’s fast growing economy sucks in more fuel, a Reuters poll found yesterday. But Opec will face a dilemma because non-Opec producers can easily supply the extra oil if they hit their output targets, according to the survey.Gulf Times

Shell Oil president advocates conservation

The president of Shell Oil said Tuesday if Americans cut their gas consumption slightly, there would be a significant drop in prices. However, said John Hofmeister, the current political leadership refuses to actively promote conservation as an antidote to high prices, despite industry briefings that lay out the potential savings.The effect is that the nation […]

India: Demand-supply mismatch in gas will continue

The domestic demand for gas in India is expected to exceed the supplies despite a hefty increase in supply from private and joint venture (JV) owned field.According to research done by Crisil, the power sector would continue to dominate the scene with a hefty 45.7% contribution to the total demand, compared with 35.4% in 2005-06.Crisil […]

Winter power shortages loom

The government gave a warning today that Britain was heading into another winter of potential power shortages as one household gas supplier announced a record 30% increase in prices. The energy minister, Malcolm Wicks, said rising demand and plunging output from North Sea fields cancelled out the benefits of new gas pipelines from Norway and […]

Namibia: Fuel Hike Starts to Bite

Namibia’s farmers expect to be severely affected as fuel prices continue to spiral up, with last week’s increase alone – 50 cents a litre – pushing up their operating costs by 20 per cent . The increase, which came into force on Friday, is the fifth of the year, with petrol and diesel both shooting […]

Lower Fertility: a Wise Investment

With the world risking ecological disaster at every turn-climate change, water stress, habitat destruction, over-hunting and over-fishing, pollution-sustainability of the world economy will require action on several fronts. We will have to economize on our use of scarce and depleting resources, especially fossil fuels and natural habitats vital to other species. We will have to […]

Nuclear evasions

Iran took its time in responding to the incentives it was offered in June to halt nuclear research work. But when it finally gave its answer yesterday there were no surprises and no easy pointers about how to defuse the gathering crisis. What is needed are cool heads and the understanding that the US and […]

Oil Cuts Feared As Market Watches Iran

Iran isn’t likely to fully cut off its vital crude oil exports as brinksmanship over its nuclear ambitions continues, but some analysts believe Tehran may disrupt the market if the U.N. Security Council imposes sanctions. cattlenetwork

Colin Campbell Puts the Oil Age Into Perspective

The first proper speech of ASPO 5 was by Dr. Colin Campbell, and was called energybulletin

A Second Try at Solar Energy

Bill Gross, founder of Idealab, is a Cal Tech geek-turned-financier who invested in software companies and then a slew of dot-com companies including CitySearch and eToys. Now, for Act III, Gross is plowing into solar power at a venture called Energy Innovations. Why solar power? Here, the 47-year-old serial financier tells his own tale: businessweek

Russia oil production overtakes Saudi Arabia

Russia is extracting more oil than Saudi Arabia, making it the biggest producer of “black gold” in the world, figures show. The statistics, from the oil cartel Opec, reflect a trend that has seen the Russians periodically surpass the Saudis as the world’s biggest oil producers on and off since 2002. nzherald independent

China plans large-scale investment in new energy

China, the world’s second-biggest energy consumer, plans to spend 800 million yuan (US$100 million) over the next 10 years to study next-generation fuel, called natural gas hydrates, that could possibly ease the nation’s increasing reliance on oil imports in the long run. They believe that the world’s gas hydrates reserves are equivalent to as much […]

Hybrid Cars Will Pay for Themselves Over Time

Some hybrid cars will pay for the premium added to their sticker prices because of high gas prices and tax credits from the US government on the more fuel efficient vehicles, a study released on Tuesday shows. The consumer-focused Web site said that assuming vehicles were driven 15,000 miles per year and gas was priced […]

Will the world starve in the 21st century?

In the 20th century, many people worried there would be a world food crisis in the early 21st century as the unstoppable surge in population overwhelmed mankind’s ability to produce food, which was nearing a natural ceiling. And now, the range of longer run concerns is even greater than it was. Worries unknown in the […]

German investor confidence slumps to five-year low on euro, oil, VAT fears

Investor confidence in Germany has slumped to its lowest level in more than five years in August, a key poll showed, signalling an imminent slowdown in the eurozone’s biggest economy amid concern about the strong euro, high energy prices and the upcoming VAT hike. yahoo

Illinois governor develops energy plan

Illinois could reduce its dependence on foreign oil with help from its ample corn and soybean harvests, according to a $1.2 billion energy plan developed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The governor, a Democrat seeking a second term in November, unveiled the plan Tuesday at a farm just east of St. Louis. It calls for investing […]

In Oil Rigs, It’s China to the Rescue

BusinessWeek – Oil and gas drilling machines were among the few things that U.S. companies weren’t getting from China. Now that’s beginning to change, and it could help speed up production. These days, oil drillers have to schmooze, beg, and pay a fortune to get machinery. Only 1,681 rigs were available for drilling in the […]

Shell USA: BP Oil Shutdown Doesn’t Merit New Pipeline Regulations

MarketWatch – The discovery of severe corrosion in BP PLC’s (BP) Prudhoe Bay pipeline system doesn’t warrant the introduction of new U.S. regulations, Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s (RDSB.LN) top U.S. executive said Tuesday. BP earlier this month shut off about half of crude oil production from Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay, the largest producing field in the […]

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