China To Start Fracking Too

July 4, 2011By Andy RowellBlog Post, Featured 2 Comments

What a difference a day makes. Last week, the FT’s “Energy Special” pull-out included an article on China’s potential for shale gas. The article quoted a recent report from the investment bank, Jefferies which said: “Unconventional gas is a dream come true for China’s energy policymakers,” but then the report added “China does not need … Read More

Nigeria: “Shell has access to everything”

December 9, 2010By Andy RowellBlog Post, Featured

One of the main concerns of the Ogoni activist and writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa was the collusion between Shell and the Nigerian Government. We already know that this collusion went from the top levels of the government to routine logistical and financial support for the military. Saro-Wiwa once said that one of their protests was “anti-Shell, … Read More

The Boom Times Are Back

July 29, 2010By Andy RowellBlog Post

From one disaster to another.. Early on during Deepwater, I blogged on how the Canadians were looking to exploit the spill to push their dirty oil. The fact has not been lost on the industry bible, the Petroleum Economist, (PE) which notes in its July edition that “whisper it, but the US’ misfortune could be … Read More

Chinese Buy $5 Billion Stake in the Tar Sands

April 13, 2010By Andy RowellBlog Post 2 Comments

Timing, they say, is everything. Yesterday I blogged on the US military’s latest warnings on peak oil and how we face a severe energy crunch. The military planners examined different production methods and flagged up potential problems. With the Canadian tar sands they warned that “legal constraints may discourage investment.”

Use your pension against the tar sands

February 23, 2010By Andy RowellBlog Post 1 Comment

The start of an unusual mobilisation of pension fund members has been kicked off by the British organisation FairPensions to hold BP and Shell to account for their investment in the dirty Canadian tar sands. The idea is simple: individuals can contact their pension funds, through an online action, to show support of environmental resolutions … Read More

Shifting Geo-Politics not Good for the Climate

February 22, 2010By Andy RowellBlog Post

Change may only happen in small steps, but slowly and surely the geo-politics of oil are changing. The dynamics of Middle Eastern oil are in transition. Anyone who argued that the war in the Gulf was a war about oil should sit up and take notice.  And anyone concerned about the climate should also be … Read More