Oil steady after holiday, Mexico ports reopen

Oil was steady above $94 a barrel on Wednesday, although Mexican export terminals reopened following a cold front that had helped fuel pre-holiday gains.

Global tyre shortage threatens to stop mining industry in its tracks

Times have never been better for the mining industry. Driven by insatiable demand from an industrialising China, the industry is awash in unprecedented billions. Yet the flip side of the boom is that every nook and cranny of the infrastructure, after years of under-investment, is groaning under the strain of the round-the-clock race to dig up everything from iron ore to coal to gold and diamonds destined for ports around the world.

Your Stuff's Backstory: If It Isn't Grown, It Must Be Mined

Where does your stuff come from? Before the store, before the factory, where did it really begin? If it isn't made of wood, cloth, or other living matter, it was dug out of the ground.

Russia's Tatneft says to replace production in 07

Russian mid-sized oil firm Tatneft expects this year's growth in its reserves to exceed production, the company said on Tuesday.

"The growth in our reserves in 2007 is expected to reach 34 million tonnes," Russia's sixth-largest oil producer said in a statement. Through the first eleven months of the year, Tatneft produced 23.6 million tonnes of oil and gas condensate.

Six million barrels of Iraqi crude oil up for grabs

Iraq has set up for auction six million barrels of crude oil from the city of Kirkuk up for grabs on January 15.

The bidding deadline is December 31, A spokesman for the Iraqi oil ministry, Assem Jihad, told KUN on Tuesday. Jehad did not reveal if Iraq had steeled the bids for a previous auction for selling other six million barrels that were slated for December 31.

Iraq seeks Russian company to develop oil pipeline

Iraq has asked a Russian oil company to present a bid to repair and develop a pipeline to carry oil from northern Iraq Kirkuk oil fields to Syria's Mediterranean Port of Banyas.

Vietnam: Thieves arrested at refinery construction site

Twenty-three people were caught red-handed stealing building materials from the construction site of Vietnam's first oil refinery in Quang Ngai Province Monday.

Border guards at the Dung Quat Port said they recovered over 200 kilo-grams of iron and steel, along with some anodes, which were stolen from the building site for the Dung Quat Oil Refinery.

Beijing to switch to cleaner fuel: report

China will phase in cleaner motor fuel in Beijing in the next two months while keeping pump prices unchanged, a local newspaper said on Tuesday, in a move to clean the capital's smoggy skies ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games.

Oil product wholesalers and retailers will be required to start supplying gasoline and diesel fuel conforming to the cleaner Euro IV standard from January 1, and complete a replenishing of their tanks with the new fuel by the end of February, the Beijing News said.

Chavez's oil has nothing to do with his barbs at Bush

I'll be burning Hugo Chavez's oil this winter to stay warm.

While I personally am not eligible to receive the Venezuelan oil Chavez has donated to low-income Native Americans in Alaska, my roommate is. Because she's Tlingit, a native tribe located in Southeast Alaska and western Canada, we'll be warming ourselves during the cold Alaskan winter with oil donated by a man who has called US President George W. Bush more nasty names than Hillary Clinton.

Green before it was 'in': Santa Clara banks land

Spurred by the oil crisis of three decades ago, the city in the late 1970s and early 1980s snapped up that outside land. In doing so, it became among the region's first to explore what's only recently become a cause celebre for cities big and small: Going green.

"It's become popular, hasn't it?" said Don Von Raesfeld, Santa Clara's city manager at the time, chuckling about the city's unusual buying spree. By planning a chain of wind, water and steam plants on land that otherwise would go undeveloped, the city hoped to protect customers of its hometown power company from massive rate hikes.

Archbishop warns over environment

The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned that human greed is threatening the environmental balance of the Earth.

In his Christmas sermon, Dr Rowan Williams called on Christians to do more to protect the environment.

The planet should not be used to "serve humanity's selfishness", he told worshippers at Canterbury Cathedral.

A-Z of tips for a green Christmas

Are you dreaming of a green Christmas? Follow our A-Z of tips and find out how you can enjoy the festive season without costing the earth.

Nepal: YCL does Robin Hood!

Pretty much like the legendary Robin Hood and his band of outlawed men who were known for robbing the rich to provide for the poor, cadres of the Young Communist League (YCL) distributed more than 12,000 liters of kerosene freely to common people Monday after seizing it from Syarsekali Petrol Pump in Sunsari district during a raid a day before.

Reports said that the YCL men distributed the kerosene oil to thousands of common people by organising a programme where each family received two liters of kerosene. The market price for a liter of Kerosene oil is Rs 55.

Australia: Watchdog opens another oil front

THE competition watchdog plans to break big oil's control of the nation's fuel storage facilities in a bid to open up the retail petrol market to competition from imports.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Graeme Samuel told The Australian there was insufficient storage at oil terminals to encourage the development of independent retailers, who could help keep prices lower by using cheaper imported refined petrol to compete with the oil majors.

Kamchatka Gas Crisis Won't Spread to Moscow

President of the Moscow Fuel Association Evgeny Arkusha has told RIA Novosti information agency that there will be no gasoline crisis in the Russia capital of the type now occurring in Kamchatka. “The situation with the problems of production and delivery of fuel in Kamchatka is not reflected in Moscow at all,” he said.

Gasoline sales at filling stations in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka are limited to 30 liters per person because of a shortage of fuel.

China's oil consumption edges up

China's apparent oil consumption crept up just one per cent in November from a year earlier, hit by fuel shortages that persisted through the month in spite of a string of government moves to smooth supplies.

China's refiners retreated from the market in the autumn because low state-set prices, combined with global crude markets climbing toward $100 per barrel, were causing massive losses.

Algerian fuel reserve enough for 40 years ahead - minister

Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Shakib Khalil said Monday that Algeria's fuel reserve would last for 40 years ahead, revealing that there was more than 1.5 million square kilometers of Algerian lands contained oil and natural gas reserves.

Ukraine ups gas price ceiling for industry 30%

Ukraine's government said on Tuesday it had raised the gas price ceiling for industrial consumers by 30 percent for next year to $185 per 1,000 cubic metres (tcm).

Electrifying America : Social Meanings of a New Technology - Book review

Commonly taken for granted in today's society, a century ago the electrification of modern lighting and home and industrial activities was cutting edge technology. Other than those brief periods when an ice storm or summer thundershower disrupts service, few tend to remember how extensive and relatively recent the changes in our lives that electricity has provided.

IPO values Saudi PetroRabigh at half project cost

Saudi Arabia's Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (PetroRabigh) will raise 4.6 billion riyals ($1.23 billion) from the sale of a 25 percent stake in an IPO next month, the offering's lead manager said on Tuesday.

Sinopec shuts Fujian refinery for maintenance

Sinopec Corp has shuttered the 80,000 bpd Fujian oil refinery for 40 days of planned maintenance, to start work on connecting the plant with a new multi-billion-dollar complex jointly funded by Exxon Mobil and Saudi Aramco.

Oil Price Predictions and Break-Even Prices

The US Department of Energy “Annual Energy Outlook, 2008″ predicts that oil prices will decline to $58 by 2106, measured in constant 2006 dollars, in their most likely scenario. They predict real prices will rise from 2016 through 2030 to $72 in constant 2006 dollars.

Corn prices take a toll on popular holiday dish - Tamale prices rising

Corn prices have gone up steadily for several years now -- a trend some blame on a national effort to use the corn-based fuel. The Texas Department of Agriculture reports corn prices have risen 55 percent since 2003, and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples has called ethanol the No. 1 renewable fuel in America.

Ethanol mandate should continue to fuel corn boom

The energy bill recently signed into law will have a huge impact on the nation's corn growers, said the head of the St. Louis-based National Corn Growers Association.

"The bill is spectacular. I don't think a lot of farmers realize yet just how significant it is," said Rick Tolman, the association's CEO.

Beef prices fuel rise in cattle rustling

A vestige of the Old West, cattle rustling lives on in remote parts of Texas, partly driven by high beef prices.

"There are more cattle-rustling cases today than there ever have been before," said Dean Bohannon, one of 27 investigators hired by the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.

‘Agflation’ Finds a Place in the Dictionary

Most new words that have gained acceptance in recent times can be traced to the world of IT and cyberspace, itself a relatively new word. But my bet is that the word, which will hit the headlines in the next few years, is Agflation: inflation that is limited primarily to the agricultural sector. Thus, we are likely to witness an interesting scenario where most manufactured goods and services will see the per-unit cost going down on account of standardisation and commoditization for mass markets; but for a change, the prices of agricultural goods will rise. This is in marked contrast to all forecasts and trends estimated by the FAO till very recently.

Europe's building requirements are falling behind the times

With rising energy prices and the need to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a new study finds that current thermal performance requirements for buildings are no longer adequate. Out of 100 European cities studied, almost all were shown to have inadequate energy efficiency requirements for buildings, according to a new study - U-values for Better Energy Performance of Buildings - commissioned by the European Insulation Manufacturers Association (EURIMA). Whilst thermal insulation has been identified as the most cost-effective solution to tackling climate change, the evidence from this new study is clear - Europe's building requirements are currently failing to seize the potential for cost savings and climate security.

Experts Warn Russia Seeks Influence Over Vast Caspian Oil Reserves

Rising oil prices, a resurgent Russia and continued turbulence in the Middle East have intensified competition for control of the vast oil and gas reserves in the Caspian Sea. The competition, involving big business and power politics, pits Russia against the West. At stake, some experts say, is world domination of the energy market. VOA's Brian Padden recently traveled to Azerbaijan and Germany, and has prepared a series of reports on the politics of oil. This story looks at transnational pipelines, and how they have become battlegrounds for influence and power.

India: Blockade by tribal protesters hits oil production

A tribal group in the northeastern state of Assam has held state-owned Oil India Ltd (OIL) to ransom with production of crude oil and natural gas being hit yesterday following an oil blockade, the third this month, officials said.

Russia may raise oil export duties to $332-333 per ton

Russia may raise oil export duties to $332-333 per metric ton from February 1, in line with world market trends, a senior Finance Ministry official said on Tuesday.

The Russian government adjusts export duty on crude and petroleum products every two months, depending on changes in the Urals blend price on world markets.

RF Oil Reserves Growth Surpasses Oil Production

The growth of explored oil reserves in Russia exceeded the growth of oil production this year, reports Head of Minpriroda Yuri Trutnev. Oil reserves growth in 2007 will total 550 million tons. A total of 44 hydrocarbon deposits were discovered, which ensured the growth of gas reserves by 670 billion cu. m. The state recovered about RUR40 billion (USD1.6 billion) from the auctions on the development of deposits. According to Minpromenergo, oil production is to grow by 2.4% this year against 2006 to 492 million tons

South Korea's STX buys oil project stakes from Shell

Energy companies and trading houses in South Korea, the world's fourth-largest crude importer, seek investment in overseas oil projects for exploration access and production rights.

South Korea Arrests 2 Captains in Huge Oil Spill

The South Korean Coast Guard said Monday that it had arrested the captains of a barge and a tugboat that caused an oil spill this month, the nation’s worst.

Russia will keep oil wealth in bonds in 2008

Russia will keep its $151 billion Oil and Gas Fund entirely in sovereign bonds next year and will not invest a $19 billion sub-fund in corporate debt or stock, a top Finance Ministry official told Reuters on Tuesday.

...The decision means that Russia will not join this year the ranks of countries like China or Singapore, which have large sovereign wealth funds leading to some concern in the developed world over possible aggressive acquisition strategy and low transparency.

22 die, 80 hurt in Iraq bombing

A suicide car bomb exploded outside a residential complex belonging to a state-run oil company north of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 22 people and wounding 80, police, local hospital officials and the U.S. military said.

Sinopec to complete refinery by January

Sinopec Group will complete the construction of a 12.5 billion yuan refinery in Qingdao in East China's Shandong Province by the end of January, a move to further tap rising demand.

CNPC to build refineries in Shandong and Yunnan

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the nation's largest oil producer, plans to build two refineries in Shandong and Yunnan to boost its capacity.

Oil states urged to mind interests of non-producers

The Arab Consumers Union Tuesday urged oil states to help non-producers as oil price hikes threaten to over-burden budgets and economies and affect living conditions.

A union statement said it hopes Arab producers show their customary generosity and care toward non-producers and offer solutions and proposals to alleviate the economic burden of soaring prices.

Pope laments selfishness, harm to environment in Xmas homily

Recalling Christmas homilies of the fourth-century Bishop Gregory of Nyssa, who lamented a "universe torn and disfigured by sin," Pope Benedict also spoke of the environment.

"What would he say if he could see the state of the world today, through the abuse of energy and its selfish and reckless exploitation?" he asked.

Climate Change Malpractice

THE INK was barely dry on the energy bill signed by President Bush last week when Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson used it as a wobbly crutch to deny California's request to institute tough tailpipe emissions regulations. "The Bush administration is moving forward with a clear national solution, not a confusing patchwork of state rules, to reduce America's climate footprint from vehicles," he said. Bad call.

Warm wishes throughout this holiday season from the staff of The Oil Drum!

(Well...hopefully not too warm! ;-)