Will the oil price go up before it goes down?

It was about four years ago that a respected local billionaire warned this correspondent that oil prices were about to turn down. Fortunately he is not in the oil business and has doubtless profited hugely from the boom of the past few years.

Yet how can you really be in business in the Middle East and not look at the oil price? And there is a new pattern emerging, which we can derive from analyzing two seemingly very different views.

Higher oil prices may be better

Uganda: Power crisis cuts Internet use

According to the survey, the majority of the households have no access to computers yet those with access have also abandoned ICT usage due to the perpetual power cuts.

Greens see red over Dublin’s energy efficiency ratings

A GOVERNMENT move to give Irish houses high marks for energy efficiency has caused a row with environmentalists, who say the properties merit only a pass grade and must do better.

Pluspetrol says losing $2.4 million/day in Peru protest

Argentine oil company Pluspetrol said on Saturday it was losing about $2.4 million a day in revenue after suspending operations this week because hundreds of indigenous protesters occupied its oil wells.

Iraq’s oil industry: Guarding a nation’s future Stars and Stripes goes to Basra.

U.K.: Energy subsidy plan for homes runs out of cash

The government's green credentials suffered an embarrassing blow yesterday after it emerged that a system of grants for renewable energy for householders has run out of money this year.

International Oil Companies Drawn to Untapped Oil Riches in Macedonia

Norwegian, Turkish and Kazakh oil and gas companies plan to come to Macedonia to see just how much oil is bubbling under the surface at the untapped Engilija field near Sveti Nikole in the east of the country.

Climate change forces farming innovation

DES MOINES, Iowa - Gary Larsen, a 63-year-old grandfather who raises corn and soybeans is among the growing number of farmers concerned with the potential effects of global warming. "We don't know how the world could actually turn out, but doing absolutely nothing and sticking your head in the sand is not an option," said Larsen, who lives near Elk Horn, Iowa.

Launch of Encyclopedia of Earth

A new electronic reference has launched that needs input from the energy community. With the recent public release of the Encyclopedia of Earth www.eoearth.org, scientists from around the world are joining to create a comprehensive, authoritative source of information about the environments of Earth and their interactions with society.

Big Oil's Big Problem

Despite record profits, the top multinational companies say they face a troubled future, and none more so than BP.

Business 'not adapting to climate'

British business is failing to adapt to climate change, according to a new report.

...while some sectors, such as insurance and some utilities, show an understanding of the likely impacts of climate change, and are taking some steps, most respondents provided little firm evidence that they are developing or considering "adaptation" strategies.

New hippies are fighting to replace oil

The generation of activists who fought for civil rights, against an unpopular war, and started the environmental movement is poised for one last hurrah, one more attempt to cure the ills of American society.

They're older now, and perhaps a little wiser. They're settled into their communities, some of them already retired. And they're scared as hell about the lives facing their children and grandchildren once the oil runs out.

Interview: Ciaran Hancock: Ballsbridge’s Big Oil ambassador

Chevron’s chairman and chief executive, Dave O’Reilly says there’s plenty of liquid gold to go round. It simply has to be found.

Sunny Side Up

...G.M. and a small but growing number of other companies and municipalities are getting solar energy from systems installed by others. Even though the installations are right on their own roofs, they buy the electricity much as they would from a utility’s grid. And because the companies that paid for the systems will get a steady income, they can provide power from the sun at competitive electricity rates.

Biofuels — the answer to the wrong question

Biofuels such as ethanol have been presented by alternative energy entrepreneurs and many environmentalists as a “clean, green” alternative to fossil fuels. But recently a growing chorus of scientists have warned of the dangers of biofuels.

Pump volatility sparks electric car charge

With volatile gas prices and the release of the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?," plug-in auto advocates hope more people will come to see the electric vehicle as something that fits into their everyday lives.