Saudi to cut output below OPEC target: Reuters

LONDON and DUBAI But strict Saudi discipline has failed to boost oil prices

With profits sinking, refineries scale back

The last 12 months have been a rough ride for refineries, though you would be hard-pressed to find many sympathizers in an economy gone sour. But there’s not very much money being made these days by companies operating the massive distilleries that break down crude oil into gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil and jet […]

Use of oil as weapon out of question: Saud

NEW YORK Prince Saud expressed support for a Libyan draft resolution that would demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and said it should be put to a vote in the Security Council later Wednesday or Thursday.

G.M. to Make Batteries for Volt in Michigan

GENERAL MOTORS will announce Monday that it will make lithium-ion battery packs to power the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and other extended-range electric vehicles at a new facility in Michigan. With the announcement, to be made during press preview days for the North American International Auto Show by Rick Wagoner, the company Lithium-battery technology, already common […]

Exposing the Myth of Clean Coal Power

…The “clean coal” campaign was always more PR than reality More than two weeks after the spill, workers and machines are still trying to clear the estimated 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash from around the plant. The breach “is an environmental catastrophe that reveals not only the dangers of burning coal and mismanaging […]

A Crossroad for Russia and America

MOSCOW But does that mean we can expect a thaw between Russia and America? The question arises at a moment of high tension. The deadlock between Russia and Ukraine on gas prices has drawn in all of Europe; violence in Georgia could flare up again. Barack Obama

Winners and losers of the oil crash

Until the middle of last year, a sharp rise in oil prices figured among the most important developing stories in global politics. Many analysts expected high economic growth to continue for the foreseeable future — particularly in leading emerging markets such as China, India, Russia, and Brazil — enriching and empowering the governments of countries […]

Oil giant comes in from the cold

Exxon funded global warming denial for years. Yesterday, in an astonishing U-turn, it called for the imposition of green taxes. The boss of ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company, has called for a carbon tax to tackle global warming, marking a volte-face by the firm once described by Greenpeace as Climate Criminal No 1. Assailed […]

Toyota unveiling electric concept car in Detroit

…Toyota calls the FT-EV, based on the ultra-compact iQ model on sale in Japan, an “urban dweller” with a range of 50 miles. Although there’s no guarantee it will go into production in its current form, it illustrates the company’s product strategies. “Last summer’s $4-a-gallon gasoline was no anomaly,” said Irv Miller, vice president of […]

Global warming will be a killer for agriculture, UW scientists say

Forget ice melting and sea-level rise. Global warming’s most pressing threat may be heat that wilts crops across much of the globe, says a UW scientist. When searing heat waves blasted Western Europe in 2003, more than 50,000 people perished and harvests of corn, wheat and fruit fell by up to a third. Imagine those […]

Sprott to unwind moly fund

Investment guru Eric Sprott is as negative as almost anyone when it comes to the global economy. And that led him to yesterday’s announcement that he is unwinding his molybdenum fund. Mr. Sprott launched the Sprott Molybdenum Participation Corp. in early 2007 to give investors a unique, publicly-traded vehicle invested exclusively in the silvery-white metal […]

Sellers took advantage of gas shortage

Nine gas stations, including one along Buford Highway, gouged consumers when Hurricanes Gustav and Ike hit last September, the Governor Power outages caused by hurricanes shuttered Gulf Coast oil refineries for a few weeks last September, leaving several Southern states without enough gas. The average for a gallon of regular reached $4.16, the highest recorded […]

Auditors are monitoring Michigan grain situation

As the financial difficulty of VeraSun Energy Corporation continues, the Michigan Department of Agriculture’s Producer Security auditors are closely monitoring the situation with the VeraSun Woodbury ethanol plant in Ionia County. Our auditors are in direct communication with affected farmers and grain elevator operators assessing the potential economic impact for Michigan. On Oct. 31, 2008, […]

Farmers scramble for profits as grain boom ends

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – American farmers are in a bind this year — land, fuel and seed costs are up but crop prices are down sharply after a three-year, ethanol-fueled boom, say leaders of the largest U.S. farm group. “We’re looking for less net farm income … The only question is how much less,” said Bob […]

Floods to become commonplace by 2080

Flooding on a scale that devastated parts of England last year is set to become a common event across the UK in the next 75 years, new research has shown. A study by Dr Hayley Fowler, of Newcastle University, predicts that severe storms Looking at

World Community Grid project launched to discover more efficient solar cells

(Nanowerk News) IBM and researchers from Harvard University are launching a new World Community Grid project to discover organic materials to create a more efficient and lower cost solar cell. The path-breaking effort will use idle computer power from volunteers to create large supplies of new clean energy. Clean energy sources like solar could supply […]

Does the country need a big gas tax?

Even though energy prices are cheap, many say a straight-up tax on oil and coal is the best way to stop global warming and move the country to cleaner fuels. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — To save the planet and move away from imported fuel, some say a big energy tax is the best way to […]

The Great Squeeze: Surviving the Human Project

The Great Squeeze picks up where the documentary Energy Crossroads left off. This new film explores our current ecological and economic crisis stemming from our dependence on cheap and abundant energy; turning fossil fuels into a double-edged sword. Although our actions have lifted our civilization to new heights, it has come at a tremendous price. […]

Mexico fishermen resume Pacific oil port blockade

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Fishermen protesting rising diesel prices resumed a blockade of Mexico’s Salina Cruz marine oil terminal, a major refined products distribution point on the southwest coast, state oil company Pemex said on Friday. The fishermen blockaded the port for much of the day on Thursday but ended their action in the evening […]

Volume of reserves often overstated

Calculating oil reserves is not an exact science and too often reality disappoints. It depends not only on the nature of the well but also on the management of its production over time. Geologists say there are five elements required for a successful oil well: sedimentary reservoir rock, a mature organic source (oil), migration of […]

The age of oil is ending

For more than a century, it has been cheaper than coffee and as constant as ocean waves. Getting it is simple. You select the grade, insert the nozzle, squeeze the handle and gasoline comes out. A hundred years and the pump has never let us down. Gasoline is always available. There seems no end to […]

Tidal power gets a boost from propeller and wind turbine techonology

Welsh renewables company teams up with ship propulsion experts to design robust new generation of marine turbine Propellers on ships have been tried and tested for centuries in the rough and unforgiving environment of the sea: now this long-proven technology will be used in reverse to harness clean energy from the UK’s powerful tides. The […]

Cellulosic ethanol output could ”explode”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ethanol production from wood chips, grass and other plant material could “explode” by 2012 if a commercialized facility to produce the second generation of biofuels is successful, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said on Thursday. Schafer told reporters that he expected that by January 20 USDA will award a loan guarantee to […]

Europe Kept Waiting for Gas

The process of resuming delivery of Russian natural gas to Europe has been filled with doubt and contradictions, raising questions about when European consumers will finally see a renewed flow of supplies. Russian and Ukrainian acceptance of a European Union proposal to allow observers to monitor Ukraine’s pipeline system has been an on-again-off-again process. Gas […]

India

Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) — A three-day strike by more than 50,000 officers of India Officials from 14 Indian state-run oil companies, seeking higher salaries, stayed away from work from Jan. 7, compounding the impact of a strike by the nation

FACTB0X-What is a smart grid?

Jan 8 (Reuters) – President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday said an economic stimulus package should include building a new electricity “smart grid.” “Smart grid” describes a more efficient, cost-saving method of moving electricity along major long-distance transmission lines to local distribution power lines and disparate end-users in homes, businesses and schools. The estimated cost of […]

Long term fundamentals favor oil and gold price rises

Implications: Crude may not see the highs of last year but will trade higher as 2009 ages and gold could test the highs as a result of actions being taken to deal with the financial crisis in America and the stimulus plans to restart the economy. While demand has fallen due to the current global […]

Oil Price Volatility and Economic Chaos

Syndicated columnist Gwynne Dyer closed his sobering January 2, 2009 piece on US President-Elect Barack Obama’s challenges with the following observation: In January 2008, oil reached the $100-per-barrel mark for the first time. In mid-July it touched $147 per barrel; and by late December it was back down below $50 per barrel. This extreme volatility […]

Era of cheap energy ‘will never return’

The era of cheap energy is over and will never return as Britain pays the price of turning into a low-carbon economy, the former chairman of the Environment Agency has warned. Sir John Harman accuses politicians of failing to be honest with people about the costs of developing and delivering new forms of clean energy. […]

Saudi Arabia Can Raise Capacity a Third, Saleri Says

(Bloomberg) — Saudi Arabia, the world Saudi Arabia, which has the capacity to supply 10.8 million barrels of oil a day to the world market, produced 8.4 million in December, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Saudi Arabia is the biggest member, agreed on Dec. 17 to […]

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