Aker BP begins production at Tyrving Oilfield amid legal battle between the government and Aker BP over approval
Aker BP, a Norwegian oil company, has begun production at its Tyrving off-shore oilfield. The Norwegian government is trying to overturn the court's ruling that the project approval was invalid due to the failure to evaluate the climate impact. The Oslo District Court in January ruled that the Norwegian energy ministry failed to assess…
Activists Blockade Shell Refinery in Port of Rotterdam
Dozens of Greenpeace activists in Rotterdam port used a ship, buoys and a small flotilla of kayaks on Monday to block traffic around Shell’s Pernis refinery, Europe’s largest, as part of a campaign seeking a ban on fossil fuel advertising.Police ended the blockade after several hours and the port’s authority said economic disruption to…
Shell Faces Lawsuit From Environmentalists
Environmentalist and human rights groups said on Friday they had started a lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands to force the energy firm to cut its reliance on fossil fuels.The groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Netherlands, handed over a court summons to Shell at its headquarters in The Hague, demanding it stop extracting oil and gas and cut its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by
UK Takes Extra Measures to Support Shale Gas Development
The British government announced measures on Thursday to speed up planning applications to support development of the country's shale gas industry.Increasing reliance on imported gas as Britain's domestic North Sea output declines is one of the driving forces behind government support for hydraulic fracturing, which involves extracting…
Schneider Electric Supports UK Shipping and Port Industry
By plugging into the power grid with 100 per cent renewable electricity and turning off their diesel engines, ships at berth in the UK would reduce emissions equivalent to 84,000 to 166,000 diesel buses – or 1.2 million diesel cars representative of the current UK fleet. The pressure is mounting for the UK to align with EU air pollution emission targets…
Britain Blocks Plans for New Coal Mine on Climate Grounds
Britain has rejected plans for a new open cast coal mine in northeastern England, as it could hamper efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and curb climate change, the minister for local government said on Friday. Supporters of the project had said it could bring much needed jobs to the region, while environmental campaigners said it would go against Britain's commitment to reduce greenhouse gases.
Call for Carriage Ban on Non-Compliant Fuel
A group of leading environmental and maritime shipping organizations have called for the prohibition of transporting non-compliant marine fuels once the global 0.5 percent sulfur cap takes effect in 2020. The United Nation's International Maritime Organization (IMO) has agreed that from 1st January 2020 the maximum permitted sulphur content…
Canada to Rule on Two Pipelines; Kinder Morgan Still Up In Air
Canada will this week decide the fate of two Enbridge Inc pipelines but is keeping quiet about its verdict on Kinder Morgan Inc's plans to more than double the capacity of its Trans Mountain line, a move environmentalists strongly oppose. The Liberal government is widely expected to veto Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline from Alberta's oil sands to the province of British Columbia on the Pacific Coast.
Britain's First U.S. Shale Gas Arrives in Scotland
Britain's first shale gas delivery from the United States sailed into a heated European political debate on fracking on Tuesday and immediately ran into its first practical problem - the Scottish weather. The huge "Ineos Insight" tanker had entered the Firth of Forth at sunrise, a lone Scots piper playing on its bow, as it headed for the Grangemouth refinery, west of Edinburgh.
EU Regulators Poised to Seek Deeper Cut in Energy Use
EU regulators are poised to propose a binding target to cut energy use by 30 percent by 2030, a more ambitious goal than previously discussed, according to a draft document seen by Reuters. The draft law, which the European Commission is expected to publish next month, is part of a set of proposals to implement 2030 goals on cutting emissions, increasing renewable energy use and preventing energy waste.
Brexit Could Provide Boost for Britain's Shale Gas
Britain's shale gas industry could get a helping hand from a falling pound and a supportive new prime minister just as it is gearing up for its first production this year, after facing economic and political challenges that slowed its start. The British pound's weakness since the Brexit vote has made it more expensive to import gas, helping…
German Government Agrees to Ban Fracking Indefinitely
Germany's coalition government agreed to ban fracking for shale gas indefinitely on Tuesday, after years of fractious talks over the issue, but environmental groups said the ban did not go far enough and vowed to fight the deal. Test drilling will be allowed but only with the permission of the respective state government, officials said.
U.S., India in Talks to Settle Solar Power Trade Dispute
The United States and India are in talks that could settle a long-running solar power trade dispute, delaying the announcement of a ruling by the World Trade Organization, an Obama administration official said on Friday. Washington filed the WTO challenge three years ago, claiming that India's national solar power program illegally discriminated…
'Kayaktivists' Take Shell Arctic Protest Nationwide
Environmental activists in the U.S. prepare to take their so-called “kayaktivism” nationwide as they urge lawmakers to revoke oil and gas exploration leases in the Chukchi Sea, says environmental group Friends of the Earth. The group’s “Shell No” day on July 18 will gather activists in 13 states and in Washington D.C. as they bring their…
Shell Steps Closer to Arctic Drilling
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service authorized the nonlethal, incidental, and unintentional take of small numbers of polar bears and Pacific walrus that result from Shell’s exploratory drilling activities in the Chukchi Sea. The agency gave authorization despite finding information gaps regarding walrus and polar bear behavior in offshore environments…
Union: Workers Need Care as Renewables Replace Fossil Fuels
Coal, oil and gas workers need a secure future as the world moves away from fossil fuel use, and governments and companies must plan to ensure any new global climate change deal is fair for all those impacted, a top trade unionist said. So far there has been little effort to design a "just transition" to a fossil-free future, putting workers in dirty energy sectors on the defensive…
Green Groups Ponder Hillary Clinton's Oil Ties
Hillary Clinton's connections to oil and gas interests has created a dilemma for some environmental groups, troubling activists for whom she would be the natural candidate to support for president. The presumptive Democratic presidential candidate's environmental record has come under renewed scrutiny after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Bill…
House GOP Spearheads Bill to Expand Domestic Drilling
Today, the House passed H.R. 4899, The Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America that Works Act by a vote of 229-185. If enacted the bill would expedite oil and gas leasing on federal lands, open new offshore drilling areas and expand drilling in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. This bill is everything Big Oil wants for Christmas.
Green Groups See Need To Nudge Obama's 'Opening Bid' On Carbon Cuts
In large part, the wide-ranging reaction to President Barack Obama's signature effort to cut power plant carbon emissions could have been written months in advance. Key Republicans and many industrial groups decried it as a job-killing war on coal that would drive up power prices; environmentalists and many Democrats hailed it as a landmark measure making good on Obama's pledge to tackle climate change.
Europe on Track for 2020 Energy Efficiency Goal -Report
The European Union is almost on track to reach its goal of improving energy savings by a fifth by 2020 and may consider a significantly higher target for the next decade, according to a draft European Commission document seen by Reuters. Energy efficiency has risen up the agenda in Europe as member states seek ways to reduce dependency on imported fossil fuels in the context of the Russia-Ukraine crisis…
