March | 2011 | The Price of Oil

Posts in March 2011

Obama and energy security: another missed opportunity
Lorne Stockman
Mar30
The president presented some encouraging words at Georgetown University today when he spoke about the urgent need to address America’s energy security. As he so often does, he correctly identified the problem the nation faces in continuing to rely on dirty forms of energy that pollute and cause climate change and particularly on oil, the…
Continue reading ‘Obama and energy security: another missed opportunity’.
Canadian Pipedream
Lorne Stockman
Mar30
Why Canadian oil does not make America secure Political turmoil in the Middle East once again exposes America’s dependence on oil and its vulnerability to global price spikes. On Capitol Hill, Big Oil’s political lackeys are stepping up their campaign for supply solutions and the current must-have item on their list is the Keystone XL…
Continue reading ‘Canadian Pipedream’.
EU Looks Set to Label Tar Sands “Dirty”
Andy Rowell
Mar29
OK, this week is turning into a tar sands one. The Koch brothers may be keen on cooking the climate by investing in the tar sands, but the EU is one place they may not be able to sell their dirty oil. There is one hell of a diplomatic spat going on behind the scenes…
Continue reading ‘EU Looks Set to Label Tar Sands “Dirty”’.
Koching up the Tar Sands
Andy Rowell
Mar28
This is not looking so good. Firstly you have the multi-billionaire Koch Brothers, darlings of the Tea Party, who are the current cash providers for climate change denial industry. And then you have the dirty Albertan tar sands where the oil is so much more carbon intensive to extract that it will help cook the…
Continue reading ‘Koching up the Tar Sands’.
Safety of Blow-Out Preventers “Just Hot Air”
Andy Rowell
Mar24
One of the final puzzles of the Deepwater Horizon disaster has been solved. It is a mystery no more. A question that continues to haunt many in BP and in the oil industry is why did the supposed fail-safe mechanism to prevent a blowout, called the blowout preventer (BOP), actually fail. And fail so spectacularly….
Continue reading ‘Safety of Blow-Out Preventers “Just Hot Air”’.
UK Gov Drops Consumer Levy on CCS
Andy Rowell
Mar23
If we are going to carry on burning fossil fuels, then either the climate will slowly fry, or we have to find a way to stop carbon dioxide frying the climate. One way is to bury it. One of the most controversial techniques is Carbon, Capture and Storage, where the CO2 will be captured and…
Continue reading ‘UK Gov Drops Consumer Levy on CCS’.
Two Disasters, One Conflict, One Bad Result
Andy Rowell
Mar21
Two years ago the oil price hit the floor at $33 a barrel. Today, on the back of the Libyan conflict, the price for Brent Crude is $116 a barrel. Two years ago, development of the Canadian tar sands was stalling with many projects being put on hold. According to the International Energy Agency, the…
Continue reading ‘Two Disasters, One Conflict, One Bad Result’.
Over 20% of Nuke Reactors on Fault Lines
Andy Rowell
Mar16
For the last two decades the nuclear industry has undertaken one of the most sophisticated public relations exercises in order to try and show the world that the technology is safe, secure, clean and green. They have very nearly succeeded. We are on the cusp of a nuclear revival, driven largely because of climate change….
Continue reading ‘Over 20% of Nuke Reactors on Fault Lines’.
“The chain is as strong as the weakest link”
Andy Rowell
Mar15
The unfolding nuclear emergency in Japan once again highlights the vulnerability of our centralised energy infrastructure to major disasters or even a potential terrorist attack. At the moment all efforts must go to containing and controlling the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant. When this is done, at some time serious questions need to be…
Continue reading ‘“The chain is as strong as the weakest link”’.
Libyan Rebels Threaten to Deny Oil to Dithering Nations
Andy Rowell
Mar14
As the West dithers and dallies over whether to support the Libyan rebels, Gaddafi’s forces are rapidly gaining momentum across the country. This morning the dictator’s troops seemed to have taken the town of Brega after seizing control of the strategic oil town of Ras Lanuf on Saturday. They now look like they will regroup…
Continue reading ‘Libyan Rebels Threaten to Deny Oil to Dithering Nations’.