Construction of oil site ‘frightening whales away’

Unusually high noise levels at an oil and gas construction site off the east coast of Russia is frightening endangered whales out of their feeding grounds, environment groups are claiming. “I feel that a huge construction bulldozer is working near my tent,” says Natalia Illarionova, who monitors the western grey whales for the campaign group […]

BP and Shell in Merger Talks

BP and Royal Dutch Shell are said to be in merger talks that would create a seekingalpha

$70 a barrel keeps Faroes dreaming of oil wealth

The scene looks nothing like a Middle East capital: on the outskirts of this sleepy fishing town of 15,000, men mow grass roofs on their houses while sheep roam freely on steep, rocky hills. Yet Torshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, dreams of becoming the Kuwait City of the North — enjoying oil riches […]

World’s Biggest Palm Oil Trader Shamed

Wilmar, the world’s biggest trader in palm oil, is illegally logging rainforests, setting forests on fire and violating the rights of local communities in Indonesia, according to a new report published today by Friends of the Earth Netherlands. Paul de Clerck, Corporates Campaigner at Friends of the Earth International, said: “This report reveals that Indonesian […]

Nuclear expansion is a pipe dream, says report

A worldwide expansion of nuclear power has little chance of significantly reducing carbon emissions but will add dangerously to the proliferation of nuclear weapons-grade materials and the potential for nuclear terrorism, says a leading research group that has analysed the possible uptake of civil atomic power over the next 65 years. guardian

Floods drive up broccoli, carrot and potato prices

The recent floods have damaged thousands of acres of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflowers,potatoes, onions and carrots. Last week the alert was over pea crops but now many growers are reporting losses of up to 70 per cent of their other vegetables. The situation is described by Sarah Pettitt, the vice-chairwoman of the National Farmers timesonline

DOE Invests $125 Million in Synthetic Life to Develop Biofuels

The U.S. Department of Energy has committed $125 million to an aggressive effort called Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI, pronounced Jay Bay), that will develop fuels from plant material. It’s a five-year partnership between three national laboratories and three universities.



Working at a central lab facility in the San Francisco Bay Area, researchers will create new forms of life that will produce ethanol with unprecedented efficiency. This field of science — synthetic biology — will be used to make crops that are extremely tough and productive. Optimized plants will push the limit of fuel production per acre of land. The same laboratory techniques will be used to design organisms that convert plant material into fuel in the most cost-effective manner possible.


wired.com

Plains States Feel Supply Pinch After Refinery Flood

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Fuel sellers north of Kansas are expecting to feel their supply pinched in the days ahead as the fallout from a flooded oil refinery reverberates throughout the regional market. While the full effect of Coffeyville Resources LLC’s refinery shutdown has yet come to pass, some states have more to worry about […]

What

Visiting a gas station these days is like going in for a root canal. First comes procrastination, followed by dread, and then Because our continent was a great pinata, stuffed with coal, oil, and natural gas, we

Mortar in Tehran fails to explode: report

TEHRAN (Reuters) – A mortar shell hit a petrol station in Tehran but failed to explode, an Iranian news agency said on Tuesday, but a senior oil official later said the device landed 100 meters away. The incident came six days after the government launched a delayed gasoline rationing scheme, sparking chaotic and sometimes violent […]

Why the U.S.’ Oil Dependence is Bad for the U.S. Economy

Energy policy — or more specifically U.S. oil dependence — comes and goes in media focus. Its prominence usually increases in direct proportion to the current price of oil or gas. In addition, there has been a growing movement called the “peak oil” movement, which argues world supplies are actually at or near their highest […]

Study says erosion slicing Arctic Alaska habitat

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – A swath of marshy, wildlife-rich coastal land in Arctic Alaska being eyed for oil drilling is eroding rapidly probably because of the disappearance of sea ice that used to protect it from the ocean waves, according to a study released on Monday. Using satellite data and maps compiled from aerial photographs, […]

New England oil-heat customers try to hedge heating-season bets

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – Bill and Jane Purdy are doing it again – locking in a set price for next winter’s heating season for fuel oil to heat their big, old, drafty brick house in the Connecticut River valley village of Bellows Falls. “Both my wife and I are self-employed,” said Purdy, a 50-year-old building […]

Argentina Sanctions Shell Oil Again

Buenos Aires, Jul 2 (Prensa Latina) The Argentine government announced a multi-million dollar penalty on transnational Shell Oil on Monday for shortage of fuel supplies, and may bring company executives to court. In a news announcement by Economy Minister Felisa Miceli and Interior Trade Secretary Guillermo Moreno, Moreno said the fine is $326,000 for each […]

Venezuela to sell gasoline to Iran

TEHRAN, Iran – Venezuela has agreed to sell gasoline to Iran, the South American county’s energy minister said in comments published Tuesday, a week after the Islamic country imposed a fuel rationing program that has sparked violence. “Yes, Iranians have asked to buy gasoline from us and we have accepted this demand,” Rafael Ramirez told […]

Coffeyville Kansas refinery under 4-6 feet of water

Coffeyville Resources’ oil refinery in Kansas was submerged under four to six feet (1.2 to 2 meters) of water due to flooding, a Montgomery County Emergency Management coordinator said Tuesday. The 108,00 barrel-per-day refinery was shut Friday, and the flooding also caused a crude oil spill of more than 1,000 barrels from its storage tanks.… […]

Near the rails but still on the road

Research casts doubt on the region’s strategy of pushing transit-oriented residential projects to get people out of cars. TV cameras in tow and champagne at the ready, a dozen of the county’s most powerful civic leaders “People could live here and never use their cars,” declared MTA Chief Executive Roger Snoble at the February event. […]

Have pump prices peaked for summer?

As gasoline prices ease, refiners are set to boost output If all goes well, pump prices may have peaked for the summer. But with gasoline supplies tighter this month than they Traders in the futures markets are also betting on a gradual easing of prices in coming weeks. Gasoline futures for August are down more […]

Ontario to require speed limiters for big trucks

Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield says big rigs will soon be travelling more slowly along Ontario highways. The Ontario government is making it mandatory for all large commercial vehicles to use speed limiters, Cansfield said in an interview with The Canadian Press.…The Ontario Trucking Association says all trucks built in the last decade are already equipped […]

The Oil Drum: Electricity in Uganda

In Europe we take our electricity supply largely for granted, almost all Europeans have reliable grid electricity at affordable prices. This isnThe Oil Drum

Empty plates tomorrow

A WELSH economist has given an apocalyptic warning that Wales and the rich West face a potentially catastrophic famine, as energy reserves run out. Dr Patricia Dodd Racher, who lives in Porthyrhyd, Carmarthenshire, says that a For a year she studied key environmental pointers and the big players in food production, including the oil, transport […]

North Sea output continues to drop despite record investment

The decline in oil and gas production in the UK North Sea continued in April, despite record investment in 2006, in what economists at Royal Bank of Scotland said was another sign that the province is maturing rapidly. The latest oil and gas index from Royal Bank shows that combined average daily oil and gas […]

Ghana has huge oil potential

The Managing Director of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Mr M.O. Boateng, has said Ghana is endowed with huge oil potential. Speaking to the Crusading Guide, Mr Boateng said the recent oil find offshore the Cape Three Points in the Western region, though yet to be appraised, is a tip of the iceberg, considering GhanaMyJoyOnline

IEA wants US refining capacity increased

World oil prices fell on profit-taking today but losses were limited by concerns over tight supplies, as the International Energy Agency called for increases to US refining capacity. In London, Brent North Sea crude for August delivery lost 21 cents to $71.20 per barrel in electronic deals. New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet […]

Oil — A Decade Past

A decade on from Asia’s financial crisis, the oil market has witnessed an unprecedented bull run. The surge in prices has seemed unsustainable with some commentators likening the jump to the dot com tech bubble. However, this particular bubble in the commodities market shows no signs of bursting as long as the twin powerhouses in […]

OPEC keeps lid on oil output in June

OPEC, excluding Iraq and Angola, pumped slightly more crude oil in June as Nigerian supply crept higher after a spate of outages and Iran pumped more, a Reuters survey showed on Tuesday. Ten OPEC members bound by output targets, all except Iraq and Angola, pumped 26.64 million barrels per day (bpd), up 50,000 bpd from […]

EU urged to scrap farming set-aside

Farmers have asked Brussels to scrap set-aside across Europe for the first time since the surplus-reduction measure was introduced in 1992, in order to avoid shortages of wheat and other cereals next year. Strong demand from Asia, drought in Australia and growing demand for biofuels have slashed Europe’s reserves this year to almost nothing and […]

House pushes sanctions as Iran’s fuel riots spread

Congress is pushing legislation that would pressure U.S. allies to sever gasoline exports to Iran as fuel riots spread in the Islamic republic. House members have introduced a bill that would impose sanctions on companies that sell gasoline or other fuel to the Teheran regime. Under the bill, the proposed sanctions, meant to ban violators […]

Nepal Hit By Deadliest Fuel Crisis

After days of acute fuel shortage, the Kathmandu valley was Tuesday hit with its worst crisis in history as the state-owned petroleum importer and distributor reached the lowest level of fuel stocks and stopped supplies to gas stations. ‘Kathmandu valley now has just 300 kilolitres of petroleum,’ said Bishwanath Goyal, managing director of Nepal Oil […]

Mandan refinery running at capacity (North Dakota)

A spokesman for the oil refinery in Mandan says it’s selling as much fuel as it can, to help ease shortages at pipeline terminals in the region. Leif Peterson says the Tesoro refinery in Mandan is taking care of its own customers first and then allocating fuel to others. Governor Hoeven and petroleum marketers said […]

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