North Sea drilling activity at highest level In 10 years

North Sea consultancy Hannon Westwood released today its ‘Special Report: 2005-2006 UKCS E&A Drilling Activity’ – an analysis of two years of UKCS well activity. The report covers 116 E&A well spuds in 2005-2006, and indicates that despite popular industry perceptions, UKCS E&A well activity has returned to levels not seen since before 1998.

Shell refinery in Argentina could reopen - official

The Argentine government could allow Royal Dutch Shell's sole refinery in Latin America to reopen next week if it approves a clean-up plan the company is expected to present in the coming days, a government official said on Saturday.

Hot Air Power

It is pretty well established that, even in the worst case scenario, all of the oil and gas wells in the world are not going to run dry tomorrow or next year or in the next 50 years. If the world does run out of oil, which may happen sometime in the far distant future, there will be a very slow decline over many years. As the supply gets tighter, fossil fuel prices will gradually increase and the alternative sources of energy will become more and more economically competitive. At that point, there will be no need for government subsidies, because they will become profitable on their own.

A competitive electricity market hasn't materialized; Ohio must decide what to do next

Gov. Ted Strickland deserves credit for trying to slow the state's alarming in crease in electricity rates. If he succeeds, Ohio could avoid the rate shock that has hit other states.

Illinois, for example, abandoned government regulation and went to market last January. This summer, its legislature cobbled together a $1 billion bailout to keep angry rate-payers from resorting to pitchforks.

Letting city cars idle is banned in Westland

Because they don't have money to burn in Westland, they don't have fuel to burn.

So, in a move to save money, Mayor William R. Wild has banned city employees from idling city vehicles for more than 5 minutes. It's all about the high cost of gasoline and diesel fuel.

State inaction on climate is a grave dereliction of duty

Government exists to achieve tasks individuals cannot tackle alone. On the environmental crisis, it has badly failed.

Oil Prices Fuel Wild Ride For Energy Stocks

Even swooning credit and stock markets can't overshadow $70-a-barrel crude prices or emerging markets that can't seem to consume enough oil. Only a global recession could modify the scenario.

US pays the price of relying on foes for oil

There is little likelihood that any of the major producers will permit the foreign investment they need to step up production sufficiently to make a significant dent in the current price of oil. The Saudi royal family doesn’t want to antagonise the bin-Ladenites by inviting American companies in, although it relies on the American military to keep it in power. Mexico won’t allow American capital in, but wants to ship unlimited numbers of its workers out to the United States. The Bush administration acquiesces.

A Legacy Bush Can Control

President Bush has his cabinet and staff busily writing far-reaching rules to keep his priorities on the environment, public lands, homeland security, health and safety in place long after the clock strikes midnight and his presidential limousine turns into a pumpkin.

Biofuel Emissions: A complex debate about 'cleaner'

Using biofuels releases fewer pollutants across many - but not every - category.

Hunting the holy grail of fusion

Over the years, fusion’s lure of limitless energy has tempted many more scientists and politicians into the same trap of wishful thinking. In 2002 one set of researchers announced that they had achieved bubble fusion, while in 1989 another group announced that they had achieved cold fusion. All have ended in retractions, recrimination and humiliation.

Globalization and Climate Change

This is where globalization has set up roadblocks. Mitigating climate change and achieving stabilization of greenhouse gas atmospheric concentrations — the objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (U.N.F.C.C.C.) — will require deep reductions in global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. This is possible only if developing countries have unrestricted access to clean energy technologies.

Upper Green River Valley: A View from Above (video)

This video illustrates some of the changes occurring in the Upper Green River Valley using the latest in satellite imagery, aerial photography, and Google Earth 3-d technology. Watch the video to get a first-hand look at the dramatic growth of gas and oil drilling in this ecologically important region, learn more about the impacts of this development on our public lands, and tour areas in the adjacent Wyoming Range where new drilling has recently been proposed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

Mali’s Farmers Discover a Weed’s Potential Power

When Suleiman Diarra Banani’s brother said that the poisonous black seeds dropping from the seemingly worthless weed that had grown around his family farm for decades could be used to run a generator, or even a car, Mr. Banani did not believe him. When he suggested that they intersperse the plant, until now used as a natural fence between rows of their regular crops — edible millet, peanuts, corn and beans — he thought his older brother, Dadjo, was crazy.

Biodiesel hero

It's been described as the antidote that will save humanity from itself.

The manna to our hunger for fuel, the miracle pill to our ravenous appetite for energy -- a wonder shrub.

The Philippines: Zubiri urges sugarcane planters to produce for biofuels

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri has urged businessmen to invest in bioethanol production to prepare for the drop in tariffs on imported sugar.

BP aims beyond petroleum in Wyoming

BP officially went "beyond petroleum" on Saturday with a $5 million donation to the University of Wyoming's School of Energy Resources, including $2 million to fund wind energy development.

No fear of uranium glut, says Paladin

PALADIN Resources says it does not expect an over supply of uranium to come on to the market, after the United States President George W Bush expressed his pro-nuclear stance this week.

Pakistan awaits Bushehr power plant

Secretary of Pakistan's Ministry of Science and Technology says Pakistan is anticipating the inauguration of Bushehr nuclear power plant.

...Pervez Butt said the Bushehr power plant will be the largest nuclear electricity producing center in the region and the Muslim world and that its existence is an honor for all Islamic nations.

Anti-hydrogen worry doesn't hold water

For every alternative fuel proposed, there are people looking for problems.

Governor not ready to raise state motor fuels tax

Skyrocketing construction costs are limiting South Dakota's ability to rebuild highways, but Gov. Mike Rounds says he's not ready to support raising the state motor fuel tax that pays part of the tab for road projects.

Supplying electricity needs isn't "Us vs. Them" . . .

The solutions to our looming energy crisis must be born of consensus, not conflict. The coalition was formed to help build the kind of consensus that leads to workable, common-ground solutions. A key goal is to help achieve the greenhouse-gas reduction goals put forth by Gov. Corzine and approved by the Legislature. And we have made it clear from the outset that we see the license extension of the Oyster Creek nuclear energy plant in Lacey as critical to the success of that goal.

Mexico 2008 Budget Plan Sees 3.5% GDP Growth In 2008

The ministry estimated that Pemex's export crude will average $54.60 a barrel in 2007, with Pemex exporting 1.73 million barrels a day out of total production of 3.14 million barrels a day. Pemex current crude production is about 3.16 million barrels a day.

Nepal: Fuel shortage could subside

The two-weeks-long fuel crisis is expected to drop from Sunday, according to officials of state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).

They expect the shortage to subside since the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) increased supplies on Friday and Saturday. That apart, the strike by drivers of fuel tankers has also ended.

Noose tightens in Burma

Burma's ruling junta on Sunday accused the opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi of being behind recent protests against fuel price hikes and warned that it will brook no more dissent in the country.

America in the Middle East: An Interview with James Woolsey

Kuwait and Algeria don’t really have in their hands—although they are members of OPEC—the leverage that Saudi Arabia does with its reserve capacity. People may be right that we’re reaching peak oil dependence in the Middle East and are moving toward heavier demand coming from India and China. The Saudis may not be able to affect the price of oil the way they were once able nor be able to destroy their competitors, but a lot of investors think they can, and so there’s a certain lack of willingness to criticize and deal straightforwardly with the Saudis on some things for some people. I think it will be easier for people in the government and outside who want to be very blunt with the Saudis about human rights and a number of other issues to be blunt once it’s clear that we’re beginning to move away from oil dependency.

OPEC president says oil supply sufficient

International oil markets have enough oil, but a lack of capacity to refine it was contributing to high prices, OPEC's president told reporters on Sunday.

Most OPEC members see no need for output rise

Iran’s OPEC governor said on Sunday most OPEC members believed there was no need to increase production when they meet this week in Vienna, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Iran admits hurt by high domestic oil consumption

High domestic consumption is harming Iran’s oil industry on top of international financial pressures linked to its nuclear programme, a top oil official was quoted as saying on Sunday.

‘The consumption of energy is very high, efficiency is low. There is no energy saving and consumption habits and low prices are harmful,’ Iran’s representative to OPEC, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, said in an interview with the weekly magazine Shahrvand.

Iraq Halts Output At Key Southern Oil Field On Violence

Iraq has halted crude oil production at a key southern oil field as tribesmen prevented workers from going to work, a senior Iraqi oil official said Sunday.

"Crude oil production from Majnoon oil field has been suspended for more than four weeks," the official told Dow Jones Newswires by telephone from Basra.

Majnoon had a daily production of 50,000 barrels a day prior to its suspension, he said.

Shell could take nuclear option to mine oil from Canadian tar sands

Shell is considering using nuclear power to operate its controversial tar sands programme in Canada.

Tar sands extraction – mining oil from a mixture of sand or clay, water and very heavy crude oil – uses a huge amount of energy and water.

Life After Oil

Last week, Aberdeen could lay reasonable claim to be the oil capital of the world as it hosted 35,000 delegates at the Offshore conference. But, as North Sea stocks decline, the Granite City is looking to cover new ground.

Blame-aholic Gasbags

Nary a politician in the summer of '06 was even slightly unsure why gas prices were punching through the $3-a-gallon threshold: The culprit was predatory, price-gouging oil-company executives - who obviously golf regularly with Dick Cheney.

Oil crisis looms large: expert

Presenting the Prof. Chelikani Chiranjivi Endowment Lecture on the energy scenario and petroleum refining industry in India at Andhra University, Prof. Chopra said 44 oil producing nations meet 99 per cent of world’s oil requirement (like petrol, diesel etc.,) and 24 of these nations had already crossed their peak oil production. He pointed out that 90 per cent of transport operation was carried out using oil.

You’re going green ...or else

“Peak oil informs everything,” says Goldsmith. “People ought to know about that, but they don’t. When it’s going to peak or if it’s happened already I don’t know, but if oil ran out tomorrow we would be stuffed. We depend on it for everything.”

Peak-Oil Awareness And The Larger Community

If the imminence of oil depletion is regarded as a given, the next question is that of preparation and survival. Commonly the issue of survival is dealt with in terms of the small group: the family or the ad-hoc band (complete with camo gear and pump-action shotguns?). The feeling, apparently, is that the larger community would be useless, or even hostile, toward the more-prepared group. Yet others hope to deal with the issue in terms of a broader geographic base, perhaps even national or global. To what extent would such a large-scale approach be practical? Is it possible to deal with peak oil on a broad demographic scale?

APEC climate call is just hot air, say activists

Environmental experts dismissed an agreement from Asia Pacific leaders setting "aspirational" goals on climate change as an empty gesture that may actually undermine efforts to halt global warming.