Statoil, Shell shut in 13% of Norway output for 1-2 weeks

OSLO, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The operators of Norway's Snorre A and Draugen oilfields said on Friday they will halt 280,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day output for a week or two to make safety improvements to lifeboats.

...The shutdowns, ordered by Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority, will equal almost 13 percent of the country's oil production, which amounted to 2.25 million barrels per day in September according to figures released last week.

China's Tarim oil fields may see 50% output increase in 2006

PetroChina Co said gas and oil output from the Tarim Basin fields in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region may jump 50 pct this year as the company intensifies its search for new supplies, state media reported.

Oil prices curtail demand in developed countries

High prices are for the first time in two decades prompting oil demand in developed countries to decrease, the International Energy Agency says.

Attacks on energy rising

Attacks on energy facilities worldwide to hinder the delivery of gas and oil have been rising sharply, the head of Germany's foreign intelligence agency said on Thursday.

"In the past few years we have registered a significant increase in terrorist attacks on energy infrastructure and we must state that there have been qualitative changes," the head of Germany's Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Ernst Uhrlau, told a conference on energy security organised by the BND.

Costly oil makes Nova Scotia ports more attractive

MATTHEW SIMMONS is friendly enough but his message isn’t always welcomed, especially by the energy sector.

But from a Nova Scotia point of view, Simmons’s message is a positive because it has the potential of drawing more attention to Nova Scotia as a gateway for goods from Asia to reach North America.

Colombian Indians protest oil drilling

Hundreds of Bari Indians, most clad in loincloths and carrying bows and arrows, came down from the hills in their first march ever Thursday to demand that the state-owned oil company stop drilling on sacred land abutting their reservation.

US motorists gear up to use greener diesel fuel

The drive to convert American motorists to diesel will take a big step forward during the next few days as a more environmentally friendly version of the fuel goes on sale.

The clean-burning ultra-low sulphur diesel emits only 15 parts per million of sulphur, compared with 500 parts for existing diesel.

Study: Climate change inaction will cost trillions

Failing to fight global warming now will cost trillions of dollars by the end of the century even without counting biodiversity loss or unpredictable events like the Gulf Stream shutting down, a study said on Friday.

But acting now will avoid some of the massive damage and cost relatively little, said the study commissioned by Friends of the Earth from the Global Development and Environment Institute of Tufts University in the United States.

Megan Quinn: Proposing Plan C

Downloadable audio: Dick Lawrence and Steve Andrews on ASPO USA Boston Conference

Israel: Desert oil find fuels dream but could prove mirage

Germany, France Urge Russia to Ratify Energy Charter

France and Germany urged Russia to ratify an international energy charter that would provide the European Union with greater security for its energy supplies.

Home wind turbines turn fashionable in Britain

Economic Growth Will Drive Biofuel Industry

“Economic growth is driving these developments,” notes Patricia Woertz, CEO of Archer Daniels Midland, a leading supplier of ethanol. “Global real GDP growth is expected to average 3.8% annually through 2030. But it is economic growth in Asia projected to average 5.5% per year that is shaping world scenarios - in particular China, with a 6% GDP followed by India at 5.4%.”

Grain stockpiles at lowest for 25 years

The world’s stockpiles of wheat are at their lowest level in more than a quarter century, according to the US Department of Agriculture, which on Thursday slashed its forecasts for global wheat and corn production.

Byron W. King: Hubbert's Defense Department

WHAT WILL THE WORLD LOOK LIKE on the backside of Hubbert's Peak? What you see depends upon where you stand. If you happen to stand in the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, the view is rather sobering. Well, what I mean to say is that if the view is not rather sobering, then whoever is doing the looking had better get their eyes checked.