Biden Announces Return to Global Climate Accord, New Curbs on US Oil Industry
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced America's return to the international Paris Agreement to fight climate change, the centerpiece of a raft of day-one executive orders aimed at restoring U.S. leadership in combating global warming.The announcements also included a sweeping order to review…
MWV Expects Druzhba Shipments Within Days
German oil industry lobby group MWV expects German refineries to receive shipments of clean Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline via Belarus and Poland within the next several days, a spokesman said on Tuesday.The spokesman for the Berlin-based association (Mineraloelwirtschaftsverband), that represents 14 companies…
Senate Confirms Wheeler to lead EPA
The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed President Donald Trump's candidate, a former coal lobbyist, to lead the nation's top environmental regulator, infuriating Democrats and conservation groups who said his policies were endangering public health.Environmental Protection Agency Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler…
Norway Oil Investment to Rise in 2019
Oil and gas investment in Norway is expected to grow for a second year in a row in 2019 but will fall back between 2020 and 2023, an industry lobby group said on Monday.Western Europe's largest oil producer has seen a recovery in oil industry activity thanks to higher crude prices, after a slump in 2014…
KeystoneXL Opponents Vow Long Fight as Nebraska Hearing Concludes
Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline vowed on Thursday to block construction of the controversial project if Nebraska regulators approve the proposed route later this year. Nebraska regulators wrapped up a final public hearing a day early on Thursday on TransCanada Corp's proposed Keystone XL pipeline after four days of contentious exchanges between lawyers.
Europe to be Natural Gas Kingmaker
It's probably not quite here yet, but the trend is unmistakeable; the world is moving to a globally-linked natural gas market and the rise of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the key driver. Much of the increase in LNG capacity is because of the rapid boost to plants in Australia and the United States…
Norway Oil & Gas Output at Risk if Labor Walks
Five Norwegian oil and gas fields will shut down production unless a wage deal is agreed with the Lederne trade union, an industry lobby group said on Friday. The shutdown would affect fields operated by Statoil , Shell and Eni and would cut output by 443,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG) said in a statement.
Output Spike Brightens North Sea's Twilight Years
New oil projects over the next two years in the North Sea will have combined capacity to produce 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), offsetting a slide in output from the oldest deepwater basin that produces the world's benchmark crude. The projects stretch from the West Shetlands to the icy fringes of the Arctic Ocean, Reuters research shows.
White House Temporarily Freezes EPA Grants, Contracts
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily halt all contracts, grants and interagency agreements pending a review, according to sources. The White House sent a letter to the EPA's Office of Administration and Resources Management ordering the freeze on Monday, an EPA staffer told Reuters.
Statoil to Resume Sikorsky S-92 Helicopter Flights Gradually
Norway's Statoil said on Tuesday it expected to gradually resume flights of Sikorsky S-92 helicopters it uses to transport offshore workers, after all flights were stopped earlier in the day for safety checks. The Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, which manufactures the helicopters, issued a service notice on Tuesday…
Europe's Power Market Reform a Boon for Struggling Utilities
European utilities welcomed long-awaited power market reform proposals on Wednesday, hoping a framework to subsidise fossil fuel plants and plans to wind down a key support for renewable energy could turn the page on years of crisis. The European Commission's 1,000-page draft reform "Winter Package"…
Subsidy-Reliant Offshore Wind Takes Cue from Big Oil
From a helicopter, it looks like just another North Sea oil rig, a grey cube supported by massive yellow pillars, 90 kilometres (56 miles) off western Denmark. But the DanTysk facility is the world's first accommodation platform for offshore wind, which is borrowing techniques and labour from the crisis…
BP India Head Says India Can Produce 10-15 tcf of Gas by 2022
India has the potential to unlock gas reserves of at least 10-15 trillion cubic feet (tcf) by 2022 on the basis of discoveries made so far, Sashi Mukundan, country head for BP India said in a conference on Tuesday. This production requires up to 3 trillion rupees (about $45 billion) investment by 2022 and can generate revenue of 2.5 trillion rupees…
French Renewables Lobby Wants More Offshore Wind Power in Policy Review
French renewables lobby SER said on Thursday it plans to argue for a major boost to offshore wind power targets at a review of government energy policy on Friday. On Friday the French government will submit a renewable energy investment plan to the Conseil Superieur de l'Energie (CSE), a consultative industry body.
Norway Oil Lobby: 2016-2017 Investments to Fall
Norwegian oil and gas investments will fall sharply in the next two years as low crude prices lead oil firms to cut back on spending, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association, the industry's lobby group, said on Wednesday. 2016 investments are expected to fall to 149 billion crowns next year from 185 billion crowns in 2015…
Shipping Braces for post-Paris Pollution Tax
Brussels sets end-2016 deadline for CO2-cutting proposals by IMO. The shipping industry expects to be stung by a carbon levy as momentum building from climate talks in Paris starting this month makes a cut to its greenhouse gas emissions likely. Any tax - either a levy based on fuel use by diesel-driven…
Oil Services Firms 'Trim Fat'
A slump in oil prices is forcing the oil and gas services industry for the first time in 15 years to trim costs in a way that executives say will create a lasting change away from their usual lavish way of doing business. Navigating a new environment in which oil prices have halved in a year and their customers are slashing investments, oil service firms face a rough ride.
ConocoPhillips Signals Conditional Support for UN Climate Deal
The comments by the Houston-based company were a clarification of its position on the proposed UN agreement after it earlier in the week answered 'yes' to a question in a climate change survey that asked whether it backed a 2015 UN accord. The company's partial endorsement comes as pressure grows on U.S.
Dozens of U.S. Companies Bet on Nuclear Power Revolution
The Pentagon's top arms provider and firms partly funded by Silicon Valley billionaires Bill Gates and Paul Allen are among dozens of companies collectively betting more than $1.3 billion that a new wave of nuclear power can be a force to fight climate change. Advanced nuclear power plants, which will…
France Needs Wind Turbine Investment to Meet Targets
France needs to boost investment in wind turbines if the country wants to reach its targets for renewable energy use, wind industry lobby France Energie Eolienne (FEE) said on Tuesday. FEE said in a statement if France wants renewables to provide 40 percent of its electricity by 2040 - as specified by the energy law now going through parliament - it needs to build 1…
