Frozen Future: Shell and the US Offshore Arctic

February 18, 2015By Matt MaioranaBriefings 3 Comments

Oil Change International, Greenpeace, and Platform – February 2015 Download Briefing On 29 January 2015, Royal Dutch Shell confirmed that it intends, subject to regulatory approval, to resume its US Arctic drilling programme at a cost for 2015 of at least $1bn. To date, Shell’s Arctic programme has been a failure despite capital expenditure in … Read More

Alberta’s Oil Sands: “No Missing Billions”

April 8, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

An Alberta government report has dismissed the notion that the Canadian state had failed to collect billions of dollars in royalties in previous years. Former Auditor General Peter Valentine, who authored the report also said the system for collecting economic rent from the oil and gas industry was “generally well-designed, if not always well-executed.”

WHO: “Climate Change Endangers Health”

April 8, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post 1 Comment

Yesterday was World Health Day. To mark the occasion WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan warned “The core concern is succinctly stated: climate change endangers human health.” She continued: “The warming of the planet will be gradual, but the effects of extreme weather events — more storms, floods, droughts and heat waves — will be abrupt … Read More

Spy was “More Austin Powers than 007”

April 8, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

Was it his Palestinian scarf, his Armani jeans, designer shirt or his permanent tan that gave him away? But a spy who infiltrated the direct action group Plane Stupid in the UK, has been exposed after making a series of elementary errors that aroused suspicions.

Kazakhstan Considers Crude Export Tax

April 7, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

Kazakhstan is making the international oil majors twitchy by saying it may impose a crude oil export duty as soon as mid-2008 to stabilise supplies on the domestic market. According to the Deputy Energy Minister Lyazzat Kiinov, the government is due to discuss the energy ministry’s draft proposals tomorrow, and set a date for sometime … Read More

Iran to OPEC: Stop Oil Sales in Dollars

April 7, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is stirring the pot again. As the dollar continues to fall, he is urging OPEC members to form a joint bank and stop pricing oil trades in U.S. dollars. Ahmadinejad told OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem el-Badri the cartel “should establish a joint bank as well as having joint currency.”

Iraq Oil Laws Quietly Move on

April 4, 2008By Andy RowellBlog Post

Quietly working behind the scenes, negotiators are hammering out a new draft Iraq oil law after previous versions of the controversial legislation stalled. “Shortly, we’ll see a new draft which there is more common ground,” Abdul-Hadi al-Hasani, deputy chair of the Iraqi Parliament’s Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee, has told wire reports.