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“We are holding ourselves hostage to the weather”

Such has been the race to embrace biofuels that in the rush we forgot about the risks. We conveniently forgot about how food going to fuel would exacerbate food shortages and hence push up food prices. We conveniently forgot that...

Slick Senate Votes

Its not only the recent climate vote that suggests the influence of Big Oil in the Senate. Yesterday the Senate took two more votes where the influence of Big Oil was arguably a Big Factor. Yesterday the Senate voted down...

Niger Delta Leaders Dismiss Planned Summit

It’s not just the climate summit that looks like it will be a failure. Leaders from the Niger Delta have dismissed the proposed summit on the region by the Federal Government, describing it as a “jamboree.” They have also warned...

MEND launches another attack in Nigeria…

No let up in the chaos of Nigeria. Rebels from the Niger Delta blew up a Royal Dutch Shell pipeline yesterday, forcing the firm to cut production, helping keep world oil prices near record highs as a consequence. It was...

Nigeria: Shell & Exxon to Pay Billions?

More bad news for Shell in Nigeria. Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has ordered the state-run oil firm NNPC to recover payment arrears of some $2 billion from Shell and ExxonMobil. The sum supposedly represents outstanding payments on the Production Sharing...

In Peru, It’s All About The Oil

As Lima prepares to receive over 60 heads of state for the EU/LAC Summit to discuss poverty, sustainable development, climate change and energy, a grand drama of indigenous people versus oil is playing out in Peru’s vast Amazon region, 70%...

Trade War Over Biofuel Subsidies

Oh the irony, the poor starve, yet the rich squabble over subsidies. European biodiesel producers have triggered a fresh transatlantic trade war by urging the EU to impose punitive duties on cheap imports from the US. They claim that low-priced...

Biofuels: the Burning Question ….

From today in the UK, all petrol and diesel sold on forecourts must contain at least 2.5 per cent biofuel. Although the Government insists its flagship environmental policy will make Britain's 33 million vehicles greener, there is a huge amount...

Shell’s Future in Nigeria “in Doubt”

Interesting story this one. For fifty years, Shell and Nigeria’s future has been intertwined despite the lethal consequences. But now things are changing. According to press reports, the Nigerian government has withheld up to $1bn as part of a production-sharing...

Nigerian State Oil Reform Nears Completion

Nigeria's plans for the reform of its state oil behemoth will be presented to President Umaru Yar'Adua by the end of April, according to the country’s Oil Minister Odein Ajumogobia. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is a partnership with...