Total confirms oil refinery closure amid protests

Oil giant Total has announced the closure of its refinery in northern France but vowed to protect jobs by reassigning the workers to other plants.
 

Ethanol prices dip in Brazil

Interestingly, the lower prices for ethanol to producers in Sao Paulo has not been passed on to consumers at petrol pumps, threatening to make ethanol less competitively priced compared to petrol, according to data compiled by the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA).
 

European Activists Sue Over Biofuels Studies

Environmental lawyers and activists on Monday sued the European Commission for failing to release studies investigating the impact of biofuels on the environment.
 

Challenging conventional wisdom on renewable energy’s limits

In making the case for a rapid conversion away from heavily polluting energy sources like coal and nuclear power to cleaner generation, renewable energy advocates often confront the argument that their scheme is impossible due to the intermittent nature of sun and wind.
 

Time for ‘bold action’ to reduce oil use in Greater Sudbury

A report on peak oil and energy security, published in February 2010 by a United Kingdom industry task force, predicts steep oil price increases and gasoline supply shortages by 2014-2015.
 

Oil drops below $81 after monthlong rally

Oil prices dropped sharply to below $81 a barrel Tuesday, due to a stronger dollar and profit taking on a monthlong run fueled by growing investor optimism about global economic growth.
 

Mindanao Energy crisis just artificial?

Sen. Richard Gordon said the power crisis in Mindanao is artificial and may be part of a sinister plot, and demanded an explanation from the Arroyo administration.
 

CFTC official wants more energy market transparency

Energy commodities regulators worldwide will need to move carefully and cooperatively if they expect to make global oil markets more transparent, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission member Scott D. O''Malia said in Tokyo on Feb. 26.
 

Gasoline prices want to decline

Blame rising gas prices on investors raising the cost of crude oil. Blame them on government spending chasing money into commodities and away from currency. Don''t blame them on the local gas station.
 

Oil traders stop work with Iran

Some of the largest oil traders in the world have stopped working with Iran as U.S. pressure on the so-called Achilles Heel of Iran gains influence.
 

Pipeline to proceed without Alaska support

An official working on Alaska''s proposed Denali pipeline said the multibillion dollar project will move ahead without help from the Alaskan government, which its competitors have already secured.
 

China positive toward resolving gas field dispute

China has a positive attitude toward addressing a dispute with Japan over gas field development in the East China Sea, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Sunday.
 

China lawmakers call for more crude, fuel reserves

China should step up efforts to build up state reserves of crude oil and refined fuel to enhance the country''s energy security, state media cited lawmakers as saying.
 

Iran, Pakistan to finalize major gas deal

Tehran and Islamabad are to finalize a major gas deal on March 9-10 to prepare the way for the export of Iranian natural gas to Pakistan through the “Peace Pipeline.”
 

Azerbaijan ready to transit gas from Asia to Europe

Itar Tass cited Mr Rovnag Abdullayev President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijani Republic said during recent meeting with Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords Mr Lord Hunt a saying that Azerbaijan is ready to lend its infrastructure for the transportation of hydrocarbons from Central Asia to Europe.

Shell, PetroChina bid 3 billion for Australian gas company

Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina joined forces for a 2.96 billion US dollar bid for Australia''s Arrow Energy on Monday, hoping for a bigger slice of the country''s booming liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector.
 

Oil rises to near $82

Oil prices rose to near $82 a barrel Monday in Asia, extending gains from Friday amid signs the global economy may be improving.
 

Mideast oil demand to grow 5%

Middle East oil demand could grow by nearly five percent in 2010, outpacing a modest recovery in global energy demand as the world’s top oil exporting governments continue spending to boost economies, analysts said.
 

A need for new nukes? Modular reactors for energy attract interest

The entire budget of the U.S. Department of Energy branch that covers today''s energy mix, from cleaning up energy generation''s environmental aftermath to energy efficiency programs and renewable energy development, is $10 billion.
 

N.Korea, Russia Discuss Nuclear Talks

Senior government officials of North Korea and Russia held talks in Moscow to discuss issues regarding the resumption of the stalled six-party nuclear talks.
 

Natural gas tumbles nearly 4 percent

Natural gas prices tumbled Thursday after the government said supplies dropped less than expected last week.
 

Humans must be to blame for climate change

Climatescientists have delivered a powerful riposte to their sceptical critics with a study that strengthens the case for saying global warming is largely the result of man-made emissions of greenhouse gases.

Russia Will Own Majority of Turkish Nuclear Plant

Russia is likely to own at least 51 percent of the shares in the company building Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, Zaman newspaper reported, without saying how it got the information.
 

Norway oil wealth fund has best year ever in 2009

Norway''s vast fund for oil wealth posted a 25.6 percent return on investment for 2009 -- its best ever -- as international markets recovered from the global financial crunch, the central bank said Friday.
 

Yukos takes Russia to court in $109b suit

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is hearing the biggest case in its history, with managers from the defunct oil company Yukos claiming $US98 billion ($109 billion) in compensation from the Russian government.