What we can learn from China's latest military exercises around Taiwan
China's day of wargames around democratically-governed Taiwan was Monday a warning against'separatist actions. Although they appeared shorter, the drills were intense and fast-paced in their simulation of attacks and deployments of ships and aircraft. The last major war games were held in May, following the inauguration of Lai Ching Te as Taiwan's new president. What we know of China's strategic intent behind the drills this week and their new features. Chinese military officials said that part of the drills were a "key-port blockade", which would have cut off Taiwan's lifeline of imports for trade, food and power.
British Business – September 6
These are the most popular stories in the British business pages. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports. According to a new study, British pension funds have the lowest level of support for their own stock market among developed economies. This will fuel debates about reforming UK retirement pots in order to boost the London Stock Exchange. BMW plans to launch its first hydrogen powered vehicle in 2028 using the fuel cell technology it developed with Toyota Motor Corp.
Halliburton investigates cyber attacks with law enforcement
Halliburton, a leading U.S. oilfield service firm, said Friday that it was working with the law enforcement agencies to determine the scope of a breach in its computer system. It had not yet determined if this incident would have an impact on the company's business. In its first disclosure of the cyber breach, the $23 billion company said that it became aware of the attack on Wednesday. The company said that it has also taken certain systems off-line to protect them. A spokesperson refused to comment on whether or not the company was contacted by those responsible for the breach. The first report of the cyberattack on Wednesday was made by me.
Venezuelan Detains More than 30 PDVSA Workers
At least 38 workers from Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela’s, including the president of maritime subsidiary PDV Marina, were detained on accusations of trafficking fuel, Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said on Saturday, describing the accusations as "treason."The move comes just days after other state officials were detained and amid a shakeup at PDVSA after President Nicolas Maduro last month named a committee to restructure the OPEC nation’s oil industry, which is struggling under U.S.
Marine Firm James Fisher Reports Cyber Breach
Marine services provider James Fisher and Sons Plc (JFS) said on Tuesday that hackers had gained unauthorized access to its computer systems, sending its shares down as much as 5.7%.JFS said it had taken all affected systems offline as a precautionary measure and was working with cyber security experts to recover systems, applications and data from its disaster recovery back-up."Work is ongoing to complete the recovery as quickly as possible and to minimize any impact on our businesses," JFS said, adding that it had notified…
EU Commits USD 341 million for Clean, Healthy and Safe Oceans
The European Commission (EC) has announced EUR 300 million (USD 341 million) of EU-funded initiatives, which include projects to tackle plastic pollution, make blue economy more sustainable and improve research and marine surveillance.According to a communication from EC, this important contribution comes on top of the over €550 million committed by the European Union, when it hosted the Our Ocean conference last year in Malta.High Representative/ Vice-President Federica Mogherini said: "The state of our oceans calls for determined global action.
Russian Court Told That Oil Boss Gave Minister $2 Mln in a Bag
A Russian court was told on Tuesday that a close ally of President Vladimir Putin personally handed the country's then economy minister $2 million in cash inside a lockable brown bag as part of an elaborate bribery sting. Former Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev is on trial on charges of extorting the $2 million bribe from Igor Sechin, the head of state-owned oil company Rosneft, in exchange for Ulyukayev approving a business deal. In the courtroom, a state prosecutor read out the transcript of a secret recording of a late-night meeting between Sechin and Ulyukayev on Nov.
Company to Pay $9.5 Mln for Actions Leading to US Gulf Explosion
Wood Group PSN Inc., a Nevada corporation headquartered in Houston, was ordered to pay $9.5 million in two separate cases involving its conduct in the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically, Wood Group PSN was ordered to pay $7 million for falsely reporting over several years that personnel had performed safety inspections on offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico in the Western District of Louisiana, and $1.8 million for negligently discharging oil into the Gulf of Mexico in violation of the Clean Water Act after an explosion on an offshore facility in the Eastern District of Louisiana…
No Deadline Extension for Dakota Protesters
Federal officials and North Dakota's governor on Thursday refused to extend next week's evacuation deadline for activists living in camps that have been a base for months for demonstrations against the multibillion-dollar Dakota Access oil pipeline. Opponents of the 1,170-mile (1.882-km) line met with officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Republican Governor Doug Burgum and the state Department of Transportation on Thursday morning, asking to be given more time to remove their belongings and waste from the camps. In a statement on Thursday evening, Burgum and the Army Corps refused to extend next Wednesday's deadline.
Dakota Pipeline Gets Regulatory Approvals
Army cancels environmental study on pipeline impact and will grant permit to complete $3.8 bln line. The U.S. Army will grant the final permit for the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline after an order from President Donald Trump to expedite the project despite opposition from Native American tribes and climate activists. In a court filing on Tuesday, the Army said that it would allow the final section of the line to tunnel under North Dakota's Lake Oahe, part of the Missouri River system. This could enable the $3.8 billion pipeline to begin operation as soon as June.
Cuba, US Sign Oil Spill Deal before Trump Inauguration
Cuba and the United States agreed on Monday to jointly prevent, contain and clean up oil and other toxic spills in the Gulf of Mexico, as they rush to conclude deals before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. U.S. Charge d'Affaires Jeffrey DeLaurentis, upon signing the agreement, said it was one of a series of deals to protect the shared marine environment of the two neighboring countries separated by just 90 miles (145 km) of water. Trump has threatened to scrap a still-fragile detente between the two countries unless Cuba makes further political and economic concessions. U.S.
Five Arrested for Trespassing at Dakota Pipeline Site
Protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline flared briefly for the first time since the federal government ruled against the project last month, law enforcement said on Wednesday, as five demonstrators were arrested and less-than-lethal rounds were fired by authorities. The construction site of the $3.8 billion project had been the scene of fierce demonstrations by Native Americans and environmentalists for months. But in early December the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a key easement needed to allow the pipeline to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.
Police Fire Water Cannon at Dakota Pipeline Protesters in Freezing Weather
Police fired tear gas and water at hundreds of protesters in North Dakota opposed to an oil pipeline in freezing weather late Sunday and early Monday, in the latest violent clash between law enforcement and activists over the $3.7 billion project. A joint statement from several activist groups said protesters were trying to remove the burned vehicles blocking Backwater Bridge in order to restore access to the nearby Standing Rock encampments so emergency services and local traffic can move freely. Police fired volleys of tear gas at the protesters to prevent them from crossing the bridge.
Protesters Block Work yard at North Dakota Pipeline
Protesters against the Dakota Access oil pipeline briefly blocked two entrances to a pipeline work yard in a rural North Dakota town early on Saturday morning, causing workers to leave the area, police said. Morton County Sheriff's Department spokesman Rob Keller said law enforcement received a call at around 9 a.m. (CST) telling them a caravan of between 130 and 150 cars, each carrying three to four people, left the protest camps and headed north to the city of Mandan where equipment is located. "They went west for a few miles (from there)…
Part of Seaway Pipeline Shut After Oklahoma Spill
The Seaway Pipeline Co shut down part of its pipeline system following a leak of crude oil in Cushing, Oklahoma on Monday, said Enterprise Products Partners LP , which operates the pipeline in a venture with Enbridge Inc. The 500-mile, 30-inch diameter pipeline system connects the U.S. crude storage hub of Cushing to the Freeport, Texas area, and a terminal and distribution crude oil network that serves all the refineries in the Greater Houston area. The prompt crude spread, which often correlates to the supply-demand balance in Cushing, traded as wide as 69 cents on Monday, the biggest discount in nearly two months.
Demonstrators Arrested at North Dakota Pipeline
Around 80 protesters were arrested on Saturday for trespassing and rioting near a pipeline construction site in North Dakota, according to the local sheriff's department, who said pepper spray was used on some demonstrators. Rob Keller, a spokesman for the Morton County Sheriff's Department said by telephone that the department responded early in the morning to a group of around 200 to 300 protesters near the site of the Dakota Access pipeline. Police used pepper spray to subdue some protesters and a section of a state highway was shut down because of the demonstration, but had since reopened, Keller said.
Scramble to Protect Canada's Energy Companies Pipelines
Canadian energy companies and officials share intelligence, scour social media and send up surveillance drones but even so they say preventing a disruption to the country's vast pipeline network is near impossible and each side wants the other to do more. This week, five oil pipelines carrying Canadian crude were halted in the United States in an audacious act by protesters opposed to oil sands development and a proposed new pipeline in North Dakota. The coordinated attacks in isolated locations near the Canadian border sparked a flurry of exchanges among pipeline operators, police, Canada's national energy regulator and a U.S.
U.S. States Sought to Keep Exxon Climate Probe Secret
A pact that 15 U.S. states signed to jointly investigate Exxon Mobil Corp for allegedly misleading the public about climate change sought to keep prosecutors' deliberations confidential and was broadly written so they could probe other fossil fuel companies. The "Climate Change Coalition Common Interest Agreement" was signed by state attorneys general in May, two months after they held a press conference to say they would go after Exxon, the world's largest publicly-traded oil and gas company, and possibly other companies. The signed agreement has not been made public until now, and Reuters reviewed a copy of it on Thursday.
Oasis Petroleum Plug North Dakota Oil Well Blowout
Oasis Petroleum Inc said on Tuesday it successfully killed a North Dakota well that had leaked oil, saltwater and natural gas since a blowout last weekend. Oasis crews pumped more than 33,000 gallons of a bentonite clay and water mixture down the well and plugged it. The well is now permanently shuttered. More than 67,000 gallons of oil had leaked from the well. In response to the spill, law enforcement and federal regulators closed several roads on Monday evening around the site due to concerns about the effects of leaking gas.
New Charges in 2012 Fatal Platform Blast
Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations LLC, Grand Isle Shipyards Inc., Wood Group PSN Inc., as well as Don Moss, 46, of Groves, Texas, Curtis Dantin, 50, of Cut-Off, La., and Christopher Srubar, 40, of Destrehan, La., have been charged with crimes for a November 2012 explosion on an oil production platform that resulted in the death of three workers, the injury of others and an oil spill, announced the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
