It was Benjamin Franklin who once said: “Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”

In these uncertain times, with a volatile oil price, rising temperatures and a sea-change of political will and ideology in the White House, who would envy the CEO of a leading Fortune 500 oil company, plot the company’s future. Continue reading ‘Exxon: Betting on the Wrong Horse’

Next week there is another crucial American election.

OK – its not as important as the one ten days ago, but the outcome will have a huge bearing on Obama’s plans for energy, climate change, and how he tackles America’s ailing auto industry.

The battle is for the Chairmanship of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee. In one corner stands the current chair – eighty two year old Michigan Representative John Dingell, the longest-serving House member, with over half a century in office. Continue reading ‘Help Defeat Dingell “the Dinosaur”’

After eight disastrous years of President Bush, the bad news for Barack Obama is that his in-tray is over-flowing with problems. The good news on issues such as climate is that he does not have to do much to be seen as a real radical.

Yesterday his energy advisor,  Jason Grumet,  noted what everyone already knows: that the United States has “operated absent a federal climate policy, a federal climate program with mandatory elements, for many, many years now.” Continue reading ‘As Obama says “Yes” to Action on Climate, Gore Says “No” to Obama’

As many part of the world celebrated an Obama victory last week, his resounding success would have caused deep concern to the Canadian oil sands industry and Canada’s Prime Minster, Stephen Harper.

During the campaign, Obama condemned US reliance on “”dirty, dwindling and expensive oil,”  and his campaign team singled out oil sands as a potential problem for Obama. Continue reading ‘Barack Beware of the “Friendly Barrels” of Oil Sands’

If he was still alive, I wonder what Ken Saro-Wiwa would make of it all, if he could see his beloved Delta stuck in a vortex of violence that seemingly has no end. For a man who preached peace, he would undoubtedly despair at the continued kidnapping and bloodshed. Thirteen years after his death, there is no end in sight to the curse of black gold.

Just look at today’s headlines. Bloomberg is reporting that the Nigerian security forces have killed six gunmen, whereas AP has the number killed at eight. Continue reading ‘13 Years On and Death Still Stalks the Niger Delta’