Andy Rowell | The Price of Oil

Posts by Andy Rowell

Why Outing Climate Sceptic Funders Matters
Andy Rowell
Mar28
In the UK, David Cameron’s Conservative Government is still reeling from the “Cash for access” sting by the Sunday Times newspaper at the weekend where the Conservative co-party Treasurer, Peter Cruddas was caught promising access to the prime minister, including private dinners, in return for donations of over £250,000. In order to try and damage…
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“No Idea How to Fix” North Sea Gas Leak
Andy Rowell
Mar27
If you read any literature from the oil and gas industry it always argues that it is one of the best regulated industries in terms of safety and preparedness. This is an industry that understands the dangerous risks of drilling, prepares for it and mitigates to make sure accidents do not happen. If an accident…
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RIP Exxon Valdez
Andy Rowell
Mar26
For some Saturday’s Anniversary would have been a painful reminder of the reckless behaviour of Big Oil. It was on the 24 March 1989, that the Exxon Valdez ploughed into rocks in Prince William Sound in Alaska spilling at least 11 million gallons of oil. Although, the Exxon Valdez’s Anniversary no longer makes the news elsewhere,…
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BP’s Oil “Entered Food Chain”
Andy Rowell
Mar21
At the height of the Deepwater disaster, then CEO of BP, Tony Hayward said it was only a drop in the ocean, so not to worry. BP’s scientists and cronies were quick to argue that the vast majority of the oil had been broken down and dispersed and that there was nothing to worry about….
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$fracking3$
IEA’s “golden rules for the golden age of gas”
Andy Rowell
Mar20
The respected chief economist of the IEA, Fatih Birol, has warned that the world will become increasingly reliant on shale gas and oil from Iraq in the coming decades. In part to help stave off the growing public backlash against shale gas, the IEA is preparing, along with a number of governments, a set of “best…
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Yet More Hypocrisy from Heartland
Andy Rowell
Mar19
I have known the leading climate sceptic-watcher, Cindy Baxter, for many years. Once labelled by the Guardian newspaper as the “Antipodean scourge of the oil industry”, Baxter has long been a thorn in the side of those who deny climate change and carry drilling oil regardless of any consequences. And, like many who have watched…
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$fracking$
US Oil Boom “Increases Energy Vulnerability”
Andy Rowell
Mar14
As the International Energy Agency warns that world oil markets face a “bumpy ride” in the months ahead, Barack Obama has being trying to defend his energy policies. His defence comes at a time when rising gas and energy production prices look increasingly likely to be become a key election issue in November, with his…
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Africa’s New Scramble for Gas
Andy Rowell
Mar13
Some twenty five years ago when Amoco were exploring for oil offshore Somalia, the company was convinced that the waters of East Africa contained vast reserves of oil and gas. But its exploration was unsuccessful, Somalia was ripped apart by civil war and the waters of East Africa, once the tranquil domain of dhows and…
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Canada’s Top Level Collusion Over the Tar Sands
Andy Rowell
Mar12
Anyone who has been following the extensive international lobbying activities of the Canadians trying to bully tar sands onto the market, will know there has been routine high level cooperation between the Federal and Albertan governments and the oil industry. But now new documents, released under Freedom of Information, reveal that the Federal and Alberta…
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New KXL Route “Within Weeks”
Andy Rowell
Mar07
And so the fight over the Keystone XL pipeline goes on. TransCanada plans to refile its application with the U.S. government in the next few weeks, according to Alex Pourbaix, the company’s president of oil and pipelines. The new alternative pipeline route will avoid the ecologically sensitive Sandhills and the Ogallala Aquifer, a crucial water…
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