The $80 Billion Investment in Venezuela’s Heavy Oil

February 18, 2010By Andy RowellBlog Post 1 Comment

Whilst international attention has focussed recently on the ecological and climatic impact of the tar sands, another heavy oil boom is happening which is equally important. Just three years after a spate of nationalisations in the heavy oil belt of Orinoco, Venezuela has once again signed deals with foreign companies that require investments of up … Read More

Shell Faces Shareholder Revolt

May 6, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

It’s amazing really that shareholders in Big Oil really only ever seem to care about the size of the bonuses of the top executives or the size of their reserves. The fact that their investments are fuelling climate change is not a concern for mainstream investors.

Half-Way to Climate Catastrophe

April 30, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

Sometimes you wonder if anyone actually heeds the warnings any more. There have been so many of impending doom about climate catastrophe, that people seem oblivious to the warnings. Two scientific reports released today maybe the ones where people sit up and notice.  One of the lead scientists thinks so. “This changes the way we … Read More

Venezuela and China Plan $10 Billion Heavy Oil Venture

September 12, 2007By Andy RowellBlog Post

Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the state-owned oil company, and China National Petroleum Corp will invest over $10 billion to produce oil in the Faja del Orinoco region and refine at least some of it in China. The venture may produce as much as a million barrels a day, Rafael Ramirez, the minister of energy and … Read More