Posts in May 2007

  • Merkel Plays Down Hopes of G8 Climate Deal

    German chancellor Angela Merkel is said to be up in arms about George Bush’s refusal to give ground on climate before the G8 Summit next month. Merkel has played down expectations of a breakthrough on climate change at next month’s G8 summit, admitting she “did not know” if a pact on greenhouse gas cuts would…
    Continue reading ‘Merkel Plays Down Hopes of G8 Climate Deal’.

  • Nigerian Oil Unions Begin Strike

    The already jittery oil price has risen even further after Nigeria’s powerful oil unions began a strike yesterday at the state-owned oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company as well as the Petroleum Ministry. They are also threatening to target exports in hopes of reversing the sale of government refineries. The unions allege outgoing President…
    Continue reading ‘Nigerian Oil Unions Begin Strike’.

  • Federal Court Rejects Latest Exxon Appeal

    At the time of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster I remember that someone said “lawyers not yet born will work on this one”. Some seventeen years later the litigation continues. Exxon’s legal options look more constrained though after a federal appeal court rejected the company’s latest request for the court to further reduce damages against…
    Continue reading ‘Federal Court Rejects Latest Exxon Appeal’.

  • House OKs Gas-Price Gouging Bill

    With gasoline prices at record highs, the U.S. House has passed a bill that makes gas-price gouging a federal crime. Washington Senator Maria Cantwell has pushed such legislation for two years in the Senate, and the Majority Leader Harry Reid said he would bring up her bill in June. The House vote provoked an immediate…
    Continue reading ‘House OKs Gas-Price Gouging Bill’.

  • BP Scraps Carbon Capture Project

    BP has scrapped plans for a pioneering project to capture carbon in Scotland after the British Government’s energy review yesterday delayed a decision on subsidies. Ministers said they planned to launch a competition for a funding award in November – described by the oil giant as “an extension too far” for its ambitious plans to…
    Continue reading ‘BP Scraps Carbon Capture Project’.

  • BG Group to Supply Gaza Gas to Israel

    This is a really hot political potato. The British BG Group is poised to agree the terms of an historic $4 billion deal to supply Palestinian gas to Israel from a discovery off the Gaza coastline. Representatives from BG are due to thrash out a 15-year contract with the Israeli Cabinet next week. Despite the…
    Continue reading ‘BG Group to Supply Gaza Gas to Israel’.

  • US Congress Targets OPEC

    The US Congress has voted to brand OPEC’s efforts to control world oil prices illegal. And with support of the legislation strong in the Senate as well, President Bush could soon be thrust into the unenviable position of siding with OPEC producers at a time of painfully high gasoline prices in the US.

  • China To Move on Climate

    The Chinese Government is close to dropping tariffs on technologies that increase energy efficiency and decrease pollution in what would be the country’s biggest move towards tackling global warming. Wu Yi, the Chinese Vice-Premier, is in advanced talks about energy tariffs with Henry Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, as part of trade negotiations between the…
    Continue reading ‘China To Move on Climate’.

  • Yet Another BP Leak in Alaska

    Can nothing go right for BP? Yesterday the company said it will shut down production of 100,000 barrels of Alaskan oil for a few days, after discovering yet another leaky pipe at a processing facility. Some 400,000 barrels of oil a day are pumped at Prudhoe Bay, and BP has a 25 percent stake in…
    Continue reading ‘Yet Another BP Leak in Alaska’.

  • Moscow Warns TNK-BP Over Gas Licence

    There is no sign of BP’s troubles stopping. Moscow has now ratcheted up the pressure on BP’s Russian venture, warning that TNK-BP could see the licence for its vast Kovykta gas field revoked within “a matter of days”. Oleg Mitvol, head of Russia’s environmental watchdog, said his agency would open a probe tomorrow into whether…
    Continue reading ‘Moscow Warns TNK-BP Over Gas Licence’.

  • Archive by Month

  • Archive by Category

  • Archive by Tags