So the most iconic oilman of his generation, Lord Browne, has finally published his memoirs of his time at BP in a book called “beyond business”. Whilst most of the reviews so far concentrate on him being gay and his fall from grace, we also get glimpses of the power of oil and what it … Read More
tar sands
Now BP Faces Shareholder Revolt Over Tar Sands
Last month a group of pension funds and asset managers filed a resolution asking Royal Dutch Shell to reconsider its controversial involvement in the dirty tar sands. And now the investors are targeting BP asking it not to invest a massive $10 billion in its Sunrise tar sands development.
Big oil’s race to the bottom is underway and tar sands producers have a head start
Two stories from Canada’s Globe and Mail this week highlight the emerging reality that the oil industry in North America is downsizing; although the commentary mostly misses the underlying trend that is staring it in the face. Firstly, the G&M highlighted an analyst note from Toronto-Dominion Bank, which warned of a glut in oil supplies … Read More
Canada’s Reputation “At Risk” Over Tar Sands
Timing, they say, is everything. Click on a copy of Canada’s National Post and one of the banner adverts today is from Shell talking about the “New Energy Future”. Part of Shell’s “new Energy Future” is the Canadian tar sands, where it has been investing heavily (although it may be shifting direction again back to … Read More
“Shock waves of anxiety” over Shell’s tar sands move
Remarks made by Shell CEO, Peter Voser to the Financial Times Energy Editor that his company has “clearly scaled down” its plans for a massive expansion of tar sands production should send waves of anxiety through the Canadian oil industry and a serious rethink among energy security hawks in Washington. Since the middle of last … Read More
Shell’s “Strategic Shift” Away From Tar Sands
For a company that prides itself on long-term planning, Shell sometimes seems to be a company that could not plan its way out of a paper bag. Just over a decade ago it made a big song and dance about moving into renewables, only to beat a humiliating retreat a decade later. For the last … Read More
A green oil industry: a contradiction in terms..
No one would like to consider their job to be an oxymoron, essentially a contradiction in terms. But that is what you could describe the job title for the editor of a new online magazine called “Greening of oil magazine”. The new mag says it will be dedicated to “tracking energy’s environmental footprint”, but you … Read More
Hypocrisy and Contradictions at the COP
Oh the hypocrisy. Today is the day that President Obama receives the Nobel Peace Prize, with many arguing that he is yet to bring peace. Today is also the day that Obama’s Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar will address the Copenhagen conference hours after approving oil giant Shell’s highly controversial plans to drill for oil off … Read More
The Angry Mermaid Strikes Back
All the news reports this morning are that a deal at Copenhagen is dead. Barack Obama has said that we had run out of time to secure a deal in December. This will please the corporate lobbyists no end. The longer they can delay action on climate the better. But now Copenhagen’s iconic mermaid is … Read More
Debunking the Tar Sands Propaganda
Canada’s tar sands lobby is getting desperate, clutching at straws as to how to revitalise the flagging industry that is being squeezed by a stagnant oil price and looming carbon regulations. They will use any excuse to try and spin their case. Take the report earlier this week by the International Energy Agency, that actually … Read More