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President Obama yesterday unveiled what is the centre piece of his climate legacy, as his long awaited Clean Power Plan was outlined in a ceremony at the White House.

A year on from the start of one of the biggest oil price plunges in recent history, it seems there is going to be no let-up in the turbulence caused by the oil price fluctuations.

There is growing evidence that transporting tar sands oil maybe as inherently dangerous as carrying the volatile Bakken shale oil.

A state of emergency was declared late yesterday in two counties in the south of West Virginia after a crude by rail train oil derailed and exploded, in what is the latest in a long string of accidents in North America.

One of the great debates about fracking is whether it heralds a great new chapter in the age of oil or whether it is a small blip in the dying days of the fossil fuel era.

The oil industry often prides itself in pushing the boundaries of technology. The whole fracking revolution has been driven by the industry pioneering new techniques to exploit oil and gas that was previously out of reach.

Everywhere you look there is carnage in the oil industry as the reality of low oil prices begins to bite. From North America, to the North Sea and the Arctic, the low crude oil price is reshaping the size, shape and prospects of the industry.

Just how low can the oil price go? What was unthinkable even a few months ago is now becoming distinctly probable, even likely. As analysts dissect the ramifications for the oil industry of $40 dollar barrel, oil traders are now thinking that the price of crude will halve that to a staggering $20 a barrel. Prices have not been that low for twenty years.

Later today the Senate floor is expected to vote on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, although currently Senators do not have enough votes to override Obama’s promised presidential veto on the issue.

The new year has started just like the old one ended, with the oil price continuing its downward slide. This morning oil dropped to five and a half year low as over supply continued to spook the markets.