Is this good news or bad news?
Oil slicks continue to grow in the East China Sea after tanker sank in the area
It does not look good.
Researchers discover astonishingly intact, 48-million-year-old bird fats in fossilized gland
An incredible find.
What is petroleum, and where does it come from?
You gotta crack some plankton to make crude oil.
First images of the Amazonian reef released by Greenpeace
More like Amazingonian reef, am I right?
US and Canada ban offshore drilling in the Arctic
Obama hopes the move will be hard to undo for his successor.
Oil & gas lobby shouldn’t have a full seat at the climate table
The wolves, dining with the sheep.
New method developed to create biocrude oil from wastewater
From your toilet to the gas tank.
British energy expert: ‘oil companies have 10 years to change strategy or die’
One energy expert from the U.K. made headlines with his bold comments. He says oil companies have only 10 years to adapt and make a shift away from fossil fuels — their primary business, after all — otherwise these will collapse. The market will not be forgiving.
Researchers find hundreds of methane leaks at well pads in nation-wide thermal imaging study
The Environmental Defense Fund’s Oil and Gas program has released a new nation-wide report of the most common sites of methane leaks at oil and gas pads. Surprisingly, most of the leaks were traced back to faulty piping, vents or doors on gas tanks in newer, not older, wells.
Oddly enough, phytoplankton thrive above natural oil seeps
Marine biologists study microbes in the waters above natural oil seeps in the Gulf of Mexico stumbled upon something unexpected. They found phytoplankton, tiny organisms that comprise the bottom of the marine food chain, thrive in waters with low concentration oil. In some cases, the population is double that a couple miles off the oil seep sites.
Illegal waste dumping turns Roman catacomb into a lake of acrid oil
Authorities sealed off the area and are now investigating possible environmental pollution from the underground lake of acrid oil.
Royal Bank of Scotland: Oil may reach $16 a barrel in 2016
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced clients to brace for a “cataclysmic year” with a global deflation crisis, warning that many major stocks will fall and oil may reach $16.
Oil producers in Canada are closing their taps – probably among the first of many
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the slumping price of oil – the lowest in six years – and what this entails for the industry: half a trillion in debt collectively owed by 168 companies, more than $200 billion in shelved exploration and research projects, and hundreds of thousands of jobs sacked. You’d think that producers, pressured by these tough times, would cut production. The laughing matter is that, in fact, the whole ordeal is caused by producers (*cough Saudis) who have flooded the market with oil. In the short run, everybody is bound to lose money. On the long run.. well, we might be in for some dramatic shifts no sooner than two or three years from now. There will definitely be some sore losers.
The coal industry is tanking, while execs are getting a raise
Right now the coal business is arguably living through its most dire days ever. Nearly 300 mines have closed in the past five years, 200 coal-powered plants have been scheduled for closure, and coal corporations are basically ruined. For instance Peabody Energy, the world’s biggest coal company, sold stocks below $1 when it used to be $72 in 2011. And it could get worse. Alpha Natural Resources, the second biggest coal company in the US, filled for bankruptcy along with other smaller firms. Basically, investors wouldn’t touch coal nowadays not even with a ten foot pole. Winter is coming, but apparently coal companies execs aren’t all that stressed. While their employees have had their pays cut and thousands fired, managers and CEO have actually substantially increased their salaries. When the ship sinks, might as well grab what you can, I guess.
Oil industry at its lowest in six years: over $500 billion in collective debt
In just a couple of weeks the price of oil, and commodity in general, have plunged. This Friday, oil was trading on the international market for $47 a barrel, while the American benchmark is currently sitting at $41.5. The low pricing – the lowest in six years – is driving a lot of companies bankrupt, while large companies like Exxon and Shell have been forced to cut down on their losses firing employees and shutting down exploration and exploitation projects.
Military energy report downplays oil in favor of renewable energy
In its “Energy Security and Sustainability Strategy” (ES2 Strategy) report, the US army outlines the steps it should take to increase resilience and adapt to an ever changing world. Energy makes the go world round, and for an army it’s literally a matter of life and death. Not surprisingly, the authors note given the current climate of affairs the “army will prioritize solutions that reduce multiple resources. The Army can use energy more efficiently by purchasing energy efficient products, modernizing buildings and utility systems, purchasing energy efficient vehicles, and using more renewable/alternative energy sources.” Basically, being dependent on a finite resource (oil) is a security vulnerability, which isn’t something new. Military strategists have been aware of this for a long time – maybe the most during WWII when many lives were claimed in battles over oil rigs in North Africa and the Middle East, and oil refineries were being bombed on the clock. What’s changed today is the feasibility of renewable energy sources. Drawing the line, in those situations were oil is a liability (and we can only expect these to become ever numerous in the future), it’ll be scrapped in favor of renewable energy systems, both for generating and storing energy.
Obama bans drilling in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, citing risk to salmon fishery
In what is not only a laudable initiative but also an interesting precedent, president Obama has declared a large swath of southwest Alaska’s coast off-limits to oil and gas drilling. He stated that the environmental risks are the main reason why he is taking this measure – the oil exploitation could endanger fisheries which are vital for the area. “It is
Abandoned wells can be ‘super-emitters’ of greenhouse gas
Princeton University researchers have uncovered a previously unknown and potentially substantial source of methane emissions: abandoned oil and gas wells. After analyzing wells from Pennsylvania, they found that a worrying amount of them leaked significant quantities of the greenhouse gas. A previous Stanford study estimated about 3 million abandoned wells in the United States alone, so if these wells are indeed leaking
Massive oil spill floods nature reserve in Israel – possibly the country’s worst environment disaster
More than 80 people were hospitalized after inhaling noxious fumes after a pipeline failure caused some 600,000 gallons of oil to spill into a nature reserve in the desert near Eilat, a southern Israel city. The city with a population of about 50,000 people was not directly affected, however local fauna and flora was severely damaged, according to Guy Samet, the director of