Several green groups have sued Shell Oil and its affiliates, claiming the oil giant has for years released pollutants from its suburban Houston refinery that are well above state and federal limits.
In their federal lawsuit, the Sierra Club and Environment Texas claim the excess air pollutants, including toxic chemicals benzene and 1,3-butadiene, are a violation […]

Further trouble for Iraq’s beleaguered oil industry. An explosion today at a fuel storage tank caused a huge blaze at the country’s largest refinery some 180 km north of Baghdad, injuring at least 36 workers. The fire is said to be spreading.
“This is the biggest fire I have ever seen at Baiji refinery. We have […]

The shop around the corner raised the price of sandwiches by a quarter this week. Although the housing meltdown is raising concerns that it may take the whole American economy down with it, prices are going up and the reason is the cost of oil.

America’s high gas prices are being caused, in part, by what has been called an “invisible hurricane” - have been plagued by a record number of fires, power failures, leaks, spills and breakdowns this year, causing dozens of them to shut down temporarily or trim production.
These mechanical breakdowns have created a bottleneck in domestic energy […]

It may not be such a happy retirement for Lord Browne. His former employer, BP has frozen payments worth more than £1.5m owed to him, while a court case is resolved.
John Manzoni, the outgoing head of BP’s refining operations, is also having payments worth nearly £500,000 suspended.