Iraq oil-sharing law in shambles

An Iraqi draft law regarding oil revenue sharing among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds is falling apart as Kurds have begun signing contracts on their own. Consensus among the three factions on the bulk of the law was reached in February. Since then, the Kurdish regional government has signed two exploration contracts on its own, a […]

Shell CEO says ”psychology” behind high oil prices

“No one has to wait at the gas pumps of the world. There is no physical problem,” Shell Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer told reporters in Calgary. “(There is) a lot of psychology in the price,” he said. Oil rose above $80 a barrel for the first time on Wednesday, touching $80.18 on the […]

Forget about fundamentals, this is the oil market after all

As oil prices surged to a record of more than $80 (U.S.) a barrel yesterday, analysts were asking just one question. Why? After all, the summer driving season is over. OPEC just opened the spigot for another 500,000 barrels a day. And, most important, the global economy is facing a credit crunch that’s threatening to […]

Like it or not, coal is vital to Asia’s growth

Environmentalist thinkers and activists always feared international dependence in energy – particularly dependence on oil in the Middle East. From the green point of view, energy should always be local. However, the local nature of coal for countries like India and China is not seen as a benefit. Yet when accused of double standards, environmentalists […]

Russian coal exporters buying own rail wagons

Russian coal exporters are scrambling to buy thousands of rail wagons because a chronic shortage of those provided by state rail monopoly RZhD has disrupted exports, an official at major exporter KRUTrade said. “The rail wagon shortage is the biggest problem facing Russian coal exporters, aside from port capacity restrictions,” he said on Tuesday, on […]

Dirty Energy Threatens Health of 2 Billion – Study

The health of about 2 billion of the world’s poor is being damaged because they lack access to clean energy, like electricity, and face exposure to smoke from open fires, scientists said on Thursday. Dangerous levels of indoor air pollutants from badly ventilated cooking fires are a common hazard, while lack of electricity deprives many […]

Carmakers Turn ‘Green’ But is it a Smokescreen?

Green is the colour at the Frankfurt International Motor Show, with carmakers tripping over each other to make eyebrow-raising claims their vehicles are “clean” and environmentally friendly. But is it all just a giant green smoke screen?Even while showing off their new-found clean and green credentials, carmakers filled hall after hall in Frankfurt with powerful, […]

Food market: the uncertain consequences of the biofuel revolution

Recently, a fierce debate on the role of biofuel in the rise of food prices at world level has been growing. If the goals of the UE, US and other economic giants such as India are important to partially explaining this process it is, however, not possible to ignore other factors linked to the structure […]

Pacific Islands look to coconut power to fuel future growth

All over the Pacific power authorities, private companies and entrepreneurs have been experimenting with coconut oil as an alternative to diesel fuel for vehicles, power generators and even ships.Coconut trees are found everywhere in the Pacific’s tropical islands. The dried white flesh, known as copra, from six to 10 coconuts produces a litre of oil, […]

Record oil prices to hurt Asian Q4 gasoline demand

Record oil prices are set to hurt Asian gasoline demand in the fourth quarter, as major importing nations will come under pressure to conserve fuel or roll back retail subsidies that prop up demand. Benchmark Asian gasoline prices at around $79.60 a barrel are still $15 away from a record hit in September 2005, but […]

China targets strategic oil reserve of 12 mln tons by 2010

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) – China aims to increase its strategic oil reserve to 12 mln tons by 2010, from 2-3 mln tons currently, the official Shanghai Securities News reported, citing a senior state planner. Chen Deming, vice-director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), was quoted as saying that current high prices make it a […]

Bodman Says $80 a Barrel Oil Prices Are `Troublesome’

Record crude oil prices above $80 a barrel are “troublesome,” U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said today. …The record prices underscore “how vital it is that we lower energy costs, cut oil consumption and make America more energy independent,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said in a statement today. “Democrats are working […]

Traders doubt OPEC’s ability to boost output

…What is remarkable about this latest spike in oil prices is not the usual knee-jerk reaction, but the fact that it comes on the heels of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ pledge to raise output to take some of the heat off prices. Energy traders aren’t buying it. It’s not that OPEC is reluctant […]

The Oil Drum: This Week in Petroleum

Gas inventories eked up. Oil stocks declined more than expected, but are still at the top end of historical ranges. A decline in active refinery capacity was also another factor. Crude topped out at $80.18 today before settling at $79.91. Let’s talk about it. The Oil Drum

Oil Rises to Record $80.18 on Larger Than Expected Supply Drop

(Bloomberg) — Crude oil rose to a record $80.18 a barrel in New York after supplies dropped the most this year. U.S. oil inventories fell a greater-than-expected 7.01 million barrels to 322.6 million last week, the Energy Department said today. Prices also rose after OPEC said yesterday it would increase production by 500,000 barrels a […]

What’s Behind OPEC’s Production Hike?

Recent shifts in the oil market have driven the Saudis to want to cool things with a 500,000 barrel a day increase. So far, it hasn’t worked Until just before the Sept. 11 OPEC meeting in Vienna, just about every prognosticator, including the OPEC chiefs themselves, tended to rule out any increase in oil production. […]

The mystery behind surging oil prices

Latest inventory report shows big drop in crude. But overall supplies are still high, and U.S. economic growth is slowing. So what’s pushing prices up to $80 a barrel? NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — What’s driving the run-up in oil prices to Wednesday’s record $80 a barrel? Some short-term factors are plain to see. There’s the […]

New energy agency chief sees household energy use rising in industrial countries

BERLIN: Despite the growing political commitment to tackling global warming, individual energy use and carbon emissions in the leading industrial countries have actually increased in recent years, the new head of a major energy advisory group said Monday. Nobuo Tanaka, the first non-European chosen to lead the International Energy Agency, said during an interview that […]

Mexico gas line blasts force major factories to close

VERACRUZ, Mexico – One of Mexico’s largest automotive plants and hundreds of other factories were shut down Tuesday after a series of gas and oil pipeline explosions, apparently caused by a shadowy rebel group, left them without fuel. Volkswagen AG said it suspended production at its sprawling car factory outside the city of Puebla – […]

Gasoline Inventories Fall Again

U.S. Gasoline Inventories Fall for 6th Straight Week As Production, Imports Drop WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. gasoline supplies have declined for six straight weeks, the government said Wednesday, and oil inventories shrank in nine of the last ten weeks, sending crude futures to a new high above $79 a barrel. Stockpiles of gasoline fell by […]

Canada: Natural gas drillers brace for sour year

Hopes that Canada’s natural gas industry might soon pull itself out of its severe slump were dashed Tuesday as the country’s largest natural gas producers said low commodity prices will force them to keep domestic spending on exploration in 2008 on a par with this year’s anemic levels. At the Peters & Co. energy industry […]

Smug biofuel stickers don’t look so clever now

Those biodiesel car stickers are unutterably smug. Yes, this may be a wholly unnecessary car journey, they purr, but at least my tank’s full of nothing more harmful than sweetcorn. Now, gratifyingly, the OECD has come out and said what many suspected all along. The biofuels revolution is actually a con. Filling up with recycled […]

Brazil seeks WTO probe of US farm, ethanol subsidies

Brazil will ask the World Trade Organization to formally investigate U.S. farm subsidy programs, which it says includes payments for ethanol production, a senior Brazilian official said Tuesday. The South American country, which has already won a series of WTO rulings over U.S. cotton subsidies, will make its request for an investigative panel soon, said […]

World crops could decline 16 pct due to warming

WASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Global warming could send world agriculture into serious decline by 2080 with productivity collapsing in some developing countries while it improves in a few rich nations, a study reported on Wednesday. India, Pakistan, most of Africa and most of Latin America would be hit hardest, said economist William Cline, the […]

Breakthrough on Mystery of Vanishing Bees

VANCOUVER, Sep 10 (IPS/IFEJ) – Over the past year, honey bees have been dying across North America in unprecedented numbers and, until this month, no one seemed to be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt what the cause may have been. What has been dubbed “colony collapse disorder” can work through a honey bee […]

Analysis: Venezuela, China boost oil ties

MIAMI, Sept. 12 (UPI) — Venezuelan and Chinese state petroleum companies said they will spend more than $10 billion to develop the oil-rich Faja del Orinoco region, part of a continuing effort by Caracas to bolster ties between the two countries. Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said the project will produce up to 1 […]

Study: Consumption up among oil producers

TORONTO, Sept. 11 (UPI) — Rising oil consumption among producing nations will cut exports by 2.5 million barrels per day by the end of this decade, a new Canadian study says. The study by Toronto-based CIBC World Markets found that soaring rates of domestic oil consumption among OPEC members, Russia and Mexico, which account for […]

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A Purdue University panel that reviewed misconduct allegations against a scientist who claims he produced “tabletop fusion” has concluded that “several matters merit further investigation.” The finding was announced without elaboration in the case of Purdue nuclear engineering professor Rusi Taleyarkhan. He published research in 2002 saying he had used a […]

Chikungunya virus spreads to Europe

As feared, the chikungunya virus has begun spreading in Europe. In June, a few people near Ravenna in north-east Italy developed a fever with severe joint pain, but by mid-August there were more than 100 cases. The Italian government has confirmed that the culprit is chikungunya virus, a previously rare, mild infection spread by mosquitoes, […]

As commutes begin earlier, new daily routines emerge

SMYRNA, Ga. But Shaw’s reliable pre-dawn commute forces sacrifices in his personal life. He used to turn in after catching the first few minutes of the 11 o’clock news. He’d walk or jog in the mornings. Now, he goes to bed at 9 p.m. and rolls out at 4:30 a.m. “If I leave home after […]

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