Oil

Shell Becomes First International Oil Firm To Open Baghdad Office Since '70s

BAGHDAD - Royal Dutch Shell PLC opened an office Monday in Iraq, the first major oil and gas firm to set up a new operation here since the industry was nationalized in the 1970s. Iraq has some of the largest proven crude-oil reserves in the world, and other firms are expected to follow suit.

The announcement followed the signing of an accord between Shell and the state-run Southern Oil Co. establishing a partnership to recover and market billions of dollars' worth of natural gas that's now being flared off.

Posted in Iraq, Oil

The Evolution of John McCain

Despite the media feeding frenzy, we still may be asking ourselves, "Just who exactly is Sarah Palin?" Mixed in with the Davy-Crockett-meets-SuperMom vignettes -- all those moose hunting, ice fishing, snowmobiling, baby-juggling, and hockey-momming moments -- we've also learned that she doesn't care much for her former brother-in-law and wasn't afraid to use her office to go after his job as a state trooper; that she was for the "bridge to nowhere" before she was against it; that she's against earmarks unless they benefit her constituents; that she can deliver a

Posted in Environment, Politics, Conservation, Oil

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 18, 2008
1:18 PM

CONTACT: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
Ceal Smith [Citizens for San Luis Valley Water Protection Coalition] (719) 256-5780;
Travis Stills [Energy Minerals Law Center] (970) 375-9231;
Bill Boteler [PEER] (202) 265-7337

Industry Lawyers Directed Baca Wildlife Refuge Drilling Study

Concerns of Refuge Scientists Overridden by Interior, Justice Officials

ALAMOSA, Colo. - September 18 - Industry attorneys have improperly collaborated with Bush administration officials in an ongoing attempt to pave the way for oil and gas exploration in Colorado's newest national wildlife refuge, newly disclosed documents show. Emails, memos and other records show lawyers in the U.S. Interior Department allowed lobbyists and attorneys for the Canadian firm, Lexam Inc., to improperly influence the analysis of Lexam's plan to drill exploratory wells in the Baca National Wildlife Refuge.

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Posted in Environment, Conservation, Oil

The Senate's 'Drill Drill Drill' Bill Hides Nuke Power Mega-Theft

The McCain/Palin push for endless oil drilling is being used as a smokescreen to gouge a half-trillion or more taxpayer dollars in subsidies and loan guarantees to build new atomic reactors. The mega-theft could be approved by the US Senate this week. Green activists throughout the nation are calling their Senators, as should you.

The atomic power industry can't get private financing to build new reactors. So while Wall Street plummets into catastrophe, it is using the "drill drill drill" mantra to hide this latest raid on the depleted federal treasury.

Posted in Energy, Politics, Nuclear Power, Oil

The World Bank Takes the Money and Runs From Chad

Now that the World Bank has announced its withdrawal of support for the $4.2 billion Chad-Cameroon pipeline, I can't help but remember the eyes of that boy. We were racing back from the Doba oil fields to the Chadian capitol city of N'Djamena in July 2006, traveling by van after dark.

Posted in Environment, Human Rights, Africa, Oil

Militant Group in Niger Delta Declares War on Oil Industry

$A naval officer assembles his machine gun before starting to patrol the restive oil-rich Niger Delta region. The most prominent militant group in oil-rich southern Nigeria, MEND, said it had declared an \"oil war\" and threatened all international industry vessels that approach the region. (AFP/File/Pius Otomi Ekpei)$

LAGOS - The most prominent militant group in oil-rich southern Nigeria on Sunday said it had declared an "oil war" and threatened all international industry vessels that approach the region.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ( MEND ) said in an email to the media it has code-named its operation Hurricane Barbarossa.

Posted in Africa, Oil

Drilling for a 'Comprehensive' Energy Plan

To drill or not to drill. We know the answer of the Republicans from their "drill, baby, drill" convention. Last weekend, President Bush again called for oil drilling on the outer continental shelf and blamed Democrats for blocking him. "This is their final chance to take action before the November elections," Bush warned. "If members of Congress do not support the American people at the gas pump, then they should not expect the American people to support them at the ballot box."

Posted in Corporatism, Politics, Oil

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 5, 2008
3:10 PM

CONTACT: Center for Biological Diversity
Amy Atwood, Center for Biological Diversity, (541) 914-8372,
atwood@biologicaldiversity.org

Center for Biological Diversity Statement

On the Bureau of Land Management's Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Oil Shale and Tar Sands Commercial Leasing Program

Bush Administration Forces Through Final EIS; Will Do Nothing to Lower Gas Prices

TUCSON - September 5 - Today the Bush Administration took another step toward finalizing a commercial leasing program for oil shale on some of the nation's most pristine public lands and released a final programmatic environmental impact statement for commercial oil shale production on more than 2 million acres of public lands in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah.

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Posted in Energy, Environment, Politics, Oil, Water

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 5, 2008
2:40 PM

CONTACT: The Wilderness Society
Drew Bush, 202/429-7441, drew_bush@tws.org
Chase Huntley, 202/429-7431, chase_huntley@tws.org

Bush Administration Issues Premature Oil Shale EIS

Rush to Score Political Points Places Americans, Lands in Harm’s Way

WASHINGTON - September 5 - Statement by Wilderness Society Energy Policy Advisor Chase Huntley on the U.S. Department of the Interior's Publishing of a final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for commercial oil shale development:

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The Wilderness Society's mission is to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places.

Posted in Environment, Oil

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 4, 2008
1:53 PM

CONTACT: Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)
Dan Beeton, 202-239-1460

Analysis: Myth That Offshore Drilling Would Lower Gas Prices Gets Boost From Major Media

WASHINGTON - September 4 - The media has played a significant role in convincing Americans that offshore drilling for oil in the United States could significantly lower the price of gasoline, according to an analysis released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Even though the U.S.

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The Center for Economic and Policy Research is an independent, nonpartisan think tank that was established to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives. CEPR's Advisory Board of Economists includes Nobel Laureate economists Robert Solow and Joseph Stiglitz; Richard Freeman, Professor of Economics at Harvard University; and Eileen Appelbaum, Professor and Director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University

Posted in Media, Oil

CommonDreams.org

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