Leaders of Iraq’s labour movement have criticised government plans to “hand control” over the country’s oil production to multinational companies. At a meeting in Amman, Jordan, late last week, leaders of Iraq’s five trade union federations called for a fundamental rethink of the forthcoming oil law, which is designed to allow foreign investment in the … Read More
Blog Post
An Oil Bath for Xmas…
Unbelievable story from the New York Times from a few days ago about oil spas in Azerbaijan. According to the Times: “The petroleum spas of Naftalan in central Azerbaijan, one of the little-known but once popular vacation spots of the Soviet Union, are making an unlikely return in a country so awash in oil these … Read More
Sea Level Rise “Under-Estimated”
Current sea level rise projections could be seriously under-estimating the impact of human-induced climate change on the world’s oceans, scientists have suggested. By plotting global mean surface temperatures against sea level rise, the team found that levels could rise by 59% more than current forecasts.
Egypt Seeks Energy Ties with Other African States
Egypt has said it is putting all its effort and expertise in the oil and natural gas sectors to serve African countries. Egyptian Minister Sameh Fahmi made the promise whilst addressing the first conference of oil and energy ministers of the African Union member states.
Piste Off
It’s not just Britain that is feeling the heat. Climate change could devastate European ski resorts within decades, forcing lower-altitude resorts to close according to a new report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD report, the first systematic study of the slopes in the Alpine region, has warned that climate … Read More
UK: 2006 Hottest on Record
Britain is on course for the warmest year since records began, according to figures from the Met Office and the University of East Anglia yesterday. Temperatures logged by weather stations across England reveal 2006 to have been unusually mild, with a mean temperature of 10.84C. The record beats the previous two joint hottest years of … Read More
ExxonMobil Wins Worst EU Lobby Award
ExxonMobil was the clear winner of the Annual Worst EU Lobbby Awards for continuing to fund climate skeptics. Over 9400 people took part in an online poll to decide the winners of the awards. Exxon polled nearly half of all votes cast.
Sakhalin-2 Costs Rise to $25bn
So far it has been a bad week for Shell with the news that Russia has wrestled a majority controlling stake in its Sakhalin-2 project. Now it turns out the costs of the project have increased by a cool $5 billion to $25 billion. The company is blaming a “campaign of harassment by the Russian … Read More
Angola at Risk of Resource Curse
The World Bank has warned that Angola risked the “resource curse” if it did not manage oil revenues better to promote development. “The oil curse is a possibility here – but it has the opportunity to change the curse into a blessing if it puts good policies in place and improves transparency,” World Bank economist, … Read More
Russia Gets Tough on Energy Sales
Russia seems to be toughening its position on energy sales to Europe. An adviser to President Putin said Moscow had no intention of observing guidelines in the EU’s energy charter that would allow non-Russian companies access to the country’s vast pipeline network. “We will not ratify the energy charter”, the adviser, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, Putin’s special … Read More