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
China
Empty threats should not be made at ‘friends’
Alberta’s minister of energy Ron Liepert was in New York this week and took the opportunity to threaten the State Department over the slow pace (as he sees it) of the approval process for the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline is designed to carry up to 900,000 barrels per day of mostly tar sands derived … Read More
Nigeria: “Shell has access to everything”
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
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
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.”
Sudan’s Oil Figures Don’t Add up, Undermining Peace Deal
Six months ago, the campaign organisation Global Witness exposed discrepancies in the oil figures for Sudan, raising questions as to whether the revenues were being shared fairly between the North and South of the country. The revenues are important as they under-pin the 2005 peace agreement, which brought to an end one of Africa’s longest-running … Read More
Shell tries to buy Oz company; but just how clean is it?
The oil and gas industry likes you to think that, compared to oil, gas is a cleaner, greener alternative – a great bridging fuel between the hydrocarbon age and the renewable age. Compared to oil, this may be so – if and it is a big if, the gas is normal conventional gas. However, as … Read More
Use your pension against the tar sands
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
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
China: “Virtually no Possibility” of Climate Deal
Cometh the hour, the saying goes, cometh the man. But with just today and tomorrow to go in Copenhagen, the main man – the one who can make or break this Summit – President Obama, is not even here yet. After years of international meetings – from Bali to Bangkok to Bonn – Obama will … Read More