Mexico’s Theology of Oil

In almost every country, the availability and exploitation of oil are essentially economic issues — every country, that is, except Mexico, where it is a matter of secular theology. For many Mexicans, the question of whether to open the national oil industry to private investment is much more than a practical decision: It is an […]

Venezuela’s government seizes US-owned oil rigs

Venezuela has quietly seized control of two oil rigs owned by a unit of Houston-based Superior Energy Services after the company shut them down because the state oil monopoly was months behind on payments.   The seizure took place Thursday after a judge in the state of Anzoategui, accompanied by four members of the local […]

Israel Will Export Some of its Natural Gas Discoveries

When the Israeli Supreme Court handed down high profile decision, it caught the world’s notice: The government there will be able to legally export 40 percent of the country’s natural gas, which is a newfound asset there that could benefit its internal economy as well as its foreign relations. Attention is now centered on Israel’s […]

Brazil oil-auction protests turn violent

Protesters have marched to the headquarters of Brazil’s state-run petroleum company Petrobras after it won the right to develop an offshore field that could contain 12 billion barrels of oil. A consortium that includes Petrobras, Shell, Total and two Chinese firms successfully bid for the rights at an auction, Brazil’s government announced on Monday. Five […]

Iran sends out feelers for any return to oil markets

Iran is reaching out to its old oil buyers and is ready to cut prices if Western sanctions against it are eased, promising a battle for market share in a world less hungry for oil than when sanctions were imposed. New Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s “charm offensive” at the United Nations last month, coupled with […]

Israel Attacks Syria — Again

Just as the mainstream press is reporting — in astonishment — that the Syrian government has actually abided by its unilaterally agreed upon pledge to submit its strategic chemical weapon deterrent to destruction by the international community, the international media is reporting that the Israeli military has once again launched a military attack against Syrian […]

U.S. Asks China to Team Up on Oil

Over the past five years, China has amassed hundreds of millions of barrels in strategic petroleum reserves. Now the U.S. wants China to work with it to coordinate releases of those barrels when needed to help ensure oil market stability. U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz said Wednesday during a trip to Beijing that China […]

Moscow Conducts Large-Scale Nuclear Attack Drill

Russian strategic forces carried out a large-scale surprise military drill on Wednesday, launching four nuclear missiles that were closely monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies, U.S. officials said. The drill began around 9:00 am ET and included the test launch of two land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and two submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). The test firings […]

Fracking is Coming to California

California’s lawmakers have ensured the state will remain a major oil and gas producer by approving new legislation allowing hydraulic fracturing and acid treatments to rejuvenate its ageing wells in exchange for strict controls and tougher enforcement. Senate Bill No 4 (SB 4), which Governor Jerry Brown signed into law on Sept. 20, directs the […]

Iran outlines plan to win back Western oil interest

Iran is planning to offer international companies more lucrative contracts to attract at least $100 billion worth of investment in its oilfields over the next three years, the Financial Times reported on Monday. An adviser to Iran’s oil minister, Mehdi Hosseini, was quoted in the Financial Times article as saying the Islamic republic would scrap […]

A superpower at risk of slippage

It has been 10 days since the US government shutdown came to an end. And if the bond market were your guide, there would appear to be no lasting costs – the 10-year US Treasury yield dipped below 2.5 per cent this week for the first time since August. Yet beneath the surface, Washington’s flirtation […]

China Signals ‘Unprecedented’ Policy Changes

Chinese Politburo member Yu Zhengsheng said reforms to be discussed at a Communist Party meeting next month will be unprecedented, adding to signs that leaders are resolved to spur far-reaching policy changes. Yu’s comments, made in a speech at a forum to promote relations with Taiwan, were reported by the official Xinhua News Agency on […]

A black box in your car? Some see a source of tax revenue

As America’s road planners struggle to find the cash to mend a crumbling highway system, many are beginning to see a solution in a little black box that fits neatly by the dashboard of your car. The devices, which track every mile a motorist drives and transmit that information to bureaucrats, are at the center […]

New York Announces “Strategic Gasoline Reserve” to Prevent Gas Shortages during Emergencies

A three million gallon reserve will be available to New York State. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the first state-based “Strategic Gasoline Reserve,” a three million gallon gasoline reserve that will be available to New Yorkers during emergencies such as Hurricane Sandy. The plan is aimed at preventing a shortage of gasoline, such as the one […]

Libyan militias’ most valuable hostage: oil

Militias have seized control of Libya’s oil facilities to extract concessions from the government, bringing national oil production down to a third of what it was at the beginning of 2013. Militias in eastern Libya have seized control of key oil infrastructure, launched their own government, and created their own army in a bid to […]

Much of Syria blacked out by rebel attack on gas pipeline

Much of Syria, including the capital Damascus, was hit by a power cut late on Wednesday after rebels attacked a gas pipeline, state media said. “A terrorist attack on a gas pipeline that feeds a power station in the south has led to a power outage in the provinces and work to repair it is […]

Iran Announces 34 New Nuke Sites

Iran plans to build many new nuclear plants with atomic reactors along its coastlines with the Persian Gulf and Caspian Sea, Iran’s top nuclear official announced on Thursday. The announcement comes just a week after Western nuclear negotiators claimed that Iran was giving ground in talks aimed at ending Tehran’s contested enrichment program. Iranian leaders, […]

History Contradicts the U.S.’s ‘All of the Above’ Energy Strategy

I hope you’re sitting down. Republicans and Democrats agree on something, at least nominally. It’s called an “all of the above” energy policy. That phrase occurs in both White House policy pronouncements and the 2012 Republican platform, meaning basically that the U.S. should pursue all of the energy options favored by whoever’s in power. The […]

Iran may be month from a bomb

Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium to build a nuclear bomb in as little as a month, according to a new estimate by one of the USA’s top nuclear experts. The new assessment comes as the White House invited Senate staffers to a briefing on negotiations with Iran as it is trying to persuade Congress […]

The REAL Reason for Saudi Arabia’s Shift Away from U.S.

China Has Just Surpassed the U.S. As World’s Largest Importer of Oil Saudi Arabia has warned of a shift away from the U.S. Here’s the real reason: China just dethroned the U.S. as the world’s largest importer of oil. As Oil Price notes: Last month the world witnessed a paradigm shift: China surpassed the United […]

Canadian train derailment highlights debate over crude oil transportation

Accident in Alberta is the latest in a series of derailments involving train cars carrying flammable liquids A train carrying crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas derailed and caught fire in western Canada Saturday, raising more questions about rail safety that became a major issue after a runaway oil train derailed in a Quebec town […]

Why governments are blind to fossil fuel energy risk

Humans are capable of mass collective blindness to risk. In modern times, the financial crisis of 2008 shows us that clearly. A whole industry pushed a delusional narrative. Regulators bought it. Auditors, ratings agencies and every other segment of the financial chain bought it. We the citizens bought it, bar a few admirable whistleblowers who […]

Riyadh Rebukes U.N. Security Council

Abdallah Yahya A. Al-Mouallimi, Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the UN, speaks to journalists after the General Assembly’s election of his country to a two-year term on the Security Council. Credit: UN Photo/Ryan Brown UNITED NATIONS, Oct 21 2013 (IPS) – When Saudi Arabia sought the presidency of the General Assembly in a bid […]

Saudi Heartland Dictates Pace of Modernization for King Abdullah

Abdulrahman al-Moshaigeh remembers leaving his mud-brick house and walking on unpaved roads to what was then the only elementary school serving Buraidah. “There’s no comparison,” said the former member of King Abdullah’s advisory Shoura Council, born in 1945, as he contemplates the changes that have swept his hometown, the capital of Qassim province in Saudi […]

Venezuela denies currency devaluation coming

President Nicolas Maduro’s government denied on Friday forecasts of an imminent devaluation due to anxiety in Venezuela over shortages of dollars and the soaring black market rate for the greenback in the South American OPEC nation. “A devaluation is not being planned here,” said Rafael Ramirez, whom Maduro recently named vice-president in charge of economic […]

Why Do Saudis Want to Decline a United Nations Security Council Seat?

Today Saudi Arabia got itself elected as non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It was the first time that Saudi Arabia gained this position and an experienced diplomat expected great Saudi influence: No doubt, it is a show of determination that the Saudi voice should be heard lest it is taken for granted […]

US Should Cancel Plutonium Plant, Say Scientists

“Rachel Oswald reports that the Union of Concerned Scientists, an independent science advocacy organization, says that the United States should cancel plans to build a multi-billion dollar plutonium research facility in New Mexico and criticizes Obama administration plans for nuclear facilities and weapons. They argue that the plans to build new fissile-material handling plants are […]

‘It Takes A Crisis’: How ’73 Embargo Fueled Change In U.S.

When Saudia Arabia cut off direct oil shipments to the U.S. 40 years ago, the country was thrown into shock. Calls for energy independence grew louder. The U.S. is now producing more of its own oil and natural gas than ever, but the commitment to efficiency has been uneven. Drivers and a man pushing a […]

9 Signs That China Is Making A Move Against The U.S. Dollar

On the global financial stage, China is playing chess while the U.S. is playing checkers, and the Chinese are now accelerating their long-term plan to dethrone the U.S. dollar.  You see, the truth is that China does not plan to allow the U.S. financial system to dominate the world indefinitely.  Right now, China is the […]

Russia sees global advantage in oil

With U.S. oil exports restricted and the Middle East and North Africa in turmoil, it’s Russia that can ensure energy security, Rosneft said from South Korea. Igor Sechin, the chief executive officer at state-owned oil company Rosneft, said Russia is in a unique position to meet the world’s energy demands. He said U.S. steps to […]

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