Political
Oil fuels ethnic violence in Chad
(CNN) — The violence in Chad has opened up a new conflict next to Sudan’s wartorn Darfur region, where more than 200,000 people have died since early 2003 and 2.5 million people have been chased into refugee camps.
A $300 million international aid mission supporting millions of people in the north African country is now at [...]
‘Scandal’ revisits Big Oil’s power grab
NONFICTION | Author keeps devious players, tangled turns from becoming tiresome
Jesse Smith, a member of what Laton McCartney calls the Ohio Gang of “swindlers, sharpies, con men, and extortionists” who turned sleazy criminality into an art in the Republican administration of President Warren G. Harding, used to go around cheerfully singing, “My God, [...]
Iraq Cancels Oil Deal With Austria OMV
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq has halted oil exports to Austria’s OMV, the leading oil and gas group in central Europe, to protest a deal with the self-ruled Kurdish region, a government official said Saturday.
The company joins South Korea’s SK Energy in being cut off because of deals with the Kurds that are not sanctioned by [...]
Syriana (movie)
If you haven’t seen Syriana yet, you should.
Suit Seeks to Block Oil Search Off Alaska
A coalition of environmental organizations and Inupiaq native groups filed suit in federal court in Anchorage on Thursday to force the Interior Department to do a new analysis of the environmental consequences of oil and gas exploration in the Chukchi Sea, off northwestern Alaska.
The plaintiffs hope to stop plans to develop 29 million acres, which [...]
Oil Falls on Economy Concerns; OPEC May Maintain Output
Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) — Crude oil fell for a second day in New York on concern that a recession in the U.S. may curb fuel demand in the world’s biggest energy-consuming nation and prompt OPEC to maintain production targets.
Oil fell 1.2 percent, extending yesterday’s 3 percent decline, after a report showed the number of Americans [...]
Oil spill expert was delayed in reaching Cosco Busan accident
A key investigator was unable to get to the Cosco Busan for hours after the ship hit the Bay Bridge on Nov. 7 because the state agency responsible for preventing and responding to oil spills did not have a boat to take him there.
The pollution specialist who eventually corrected early, lowball estimates of the spill’s [...]
Oil Prices Gyrate After Fed Rate Cut
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil futures fluctuated Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate less than many investors had hoped, and the government reported larger than expected increases in crude oil and gasoline inventories last week.
Many investors had anticipated the half percentage point rate cut and were hoping for more, analysts said.
“A [...]
NEWSFLASH: Shell’s CEO sends grim energy futures email
Below is the full text of an email sent by Jeroen van der Veer, the CEO of Shell, to all Shell employees, and explicitly meant for wider distribution. (Update: an almost identical version is now available on Shell’s website)
It is a clear acknowledgment of the reality of peak oil, climate change and of the need [...]
Not “Peak Oil” but Lots More Oil
There was an interesting news item out of Moscow in late September, to which most people probably paid little heed. “Russia is one of several countries that have rushed to lay claims to the area where a U.S. Study suggests as much as 25 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas could be hidden.”
Earlier, [...]
