Energy Tribune

Refinery Closures Lead to Rising Gas Prices and Job Losses
By Robert Rapier Feb. 03, 2012
There have been several announcements in recent months of refinery closures that will likely impact gasoline supplies (and prices) on the East Coast. Some of those closures have been on the East Coast.

In The Head Of U.S. Energy Secretary Chu
By Professor Ferdinand E. Banks Feb. 02, 2012
As most observers of the energy scene know, Dr Steven Chu is the Energy Secretary of the United States, a physicist, and a Nobel Laureate.

The Volt: What Happens When Ideology Gets Ahead of Reality
By Marita Noon Feb. 01, 2012
In a May 2007 speech before the Detroit Economic Club, Candidate Obama chastised American automakers for building the wrong cars. While they were building “bigger, faster cars,” “foreign competitors were investing in more fuel-efficient technology.”

Ninety Seven Percent Is Not What You Think
By Art Horn Jan. 31, 2012
I have given many lectures about the myths, misconceptions and outright lies in the global warming arena.

State of the Union: "All Out, All of the Above Energy"
By Geoffrey Styles Jan. 30, 2012
Anyone expecting the announcement of big new energy initiatives in this year''s State of the Union address was disappointed last night.

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DIY Solar Panels Made of Grass That Anyone Can Make
By Tafline Laylin Feb. 03, 2012
While Masdar and Suntech and other solar energy projects are laboring under expensive, high-tech materials in order to improve their energy-absorbing capability, MIT researchers in the United States are taking a different approach. They realized that nothing in nature absorbs energy as well as plants, so they have developed a solar technology that combines a small amount of grass (or other agricultural waste), a stabilizing powder made of zinc oxide and titanium oxide, and a glass or metal substrate which mimics the photosynthesis process. Eventually their technology will be so simple that anybody will be able to make their own solar panels for next to nothing.

UK Gas Curve Signals U.S. LNG Imports
By Oleg Vukmanovic Feb. 03, 2012
Forecasts that cheap gas from the United States will one day reshape the global natural gas market are increasingly commonplace. Now the first hard evidence is beginning to emerge.

S. Korea Faces 18-Percent Iranian Oil Cut Guideline
By Lee Chi-dong Feb. 03, 2012
South Korea will be forced to slash its oil imports from Iran by at least 18 percent if the U.S. Treasury Department accepts lawmakers’ guidelines on implementing a new Iran sanctions law mainly aimed at curbing its oil sales, sources here said Thursday.

Exxon Still Biggest Oil Stock, But No Longer The Best
By Forbes Feb. 03, 2012
Exxon Mobil (XOM) has long been the No. 1 destination for investors seeking exposure to the energy sector. It shouldn’t be any longer.

Once, Men Abused Slaves. Now We Abuse Fossil Fuels
By Jean-François Mouhot Feb. 03, 2012
In 2005, while teaching history at a French university, I was struck by the general disbelief among students that rational and sensitive human beings could ever hold others in bondage. Slavery was so obviously evil that slave-holders could only have been barbarians. My students could not entertain the idea that some slave-owners could have been genuinely blind to the harm they were doing.

[ Archived Articles for Opinions]

Nuclear Approvals To Be Resumed At Slower Rate
By Liu Yiyu Feb. 01, 2012
China will slow approvals of nuclear projects after the resumption, which is expected to take place this year, according to an industry expert from a national energy think tank.

Unusual Event At U.S. Nuclear Plant Not Threat
By People Daily Jan. 31, 2012
U.S. officials said Monday that there is no threat to the public as an "unusual event"occurred at the Exelon nuclear power plant in Byron, Illinois when the facility lost outside power, though diesel generators continue to supply the plant with backup energy.

S. Korea President Lee To Visit Turkey
By CRI Jan. 30, 2012
South Korean President Lee Myung- bak will visit Turkey between Feb. 4 and Feb. 7 for a possible nuclear cooperation deal, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News reported Monday.

Indo-Pak Civil Nuclear Cooperation Possible
By Daily Times Jan. 27, 2012
Speakers at a discussion on ‘Pakistan-India: A Security Route to Cooperation’ agreed on Thursday that civil nuclear cooperation is possible between Pakistan and India as long as it is mutually beneficial.

Turkey, Iran Calls On Quick Resumption Of Iranian Nuclear Talks
By Xinhua News Jan. 20, 2012
Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers on Thursday called on relevant parties to resume nuclear talks with Iran as soon as possible for regional stability.

[ Archived Articles for Nuclear]

Pemex Seeks To Add Conoco, Shell Subsidiaries To Suit
By Laurence Iliff Feb. 03, 2012
Mexican oil company Petroleos Mexicanos has filed a motion to add ConocoPhillips and subsidiaries of Royal Dutch Shell PLC to a 2010 suit in U.S. federal court that seeks damages against companies that had allegedly purchased natural-gas condensate that Pemex said was stolen from its operations in northern Mexico.

Petrobras Shuts Fifth Most Productive Well
By Lucia Kassai and Peter Millard Feb. 01, 2012
Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4), Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer, shut its fifth most productive well after detecting a leak of 160 barrels in deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

US Refiners, Union Prepare For Possible Strike
By Fox Business News Feb. 01, 2012
Contract negotiations continued for U.S. refiners and the United Steel Workers union Tuesday, with the looming possibility of a strike giving gasoline and diesel prices a slight bump.

Marathon Weighs Pipeline Option
By Gina Chon and Ryan Dezember Feb. 01, 2012
Marathon Petroleum Corp. said Wednesday it will explore a corporate structure for its pipeline operations that reduces tax liabilities, in addition to implementing a $2 billion share buyback.

Obama: Meeting US Energy Needs Will Require More Wind Power
By EV Wind Jan. 31, 2012
However, it remains to be seen whether Congress will pass an extension to the current Production Tax Credit which is due to expire at the end of this year. The credit has been a major driver to wind energy in the US for seven years.

[ Archived Articles for Americas]

Chinese Move On Uranium Explorer
By NZ Herald Jan. 25, 2012
A Chinese nuclear company has moved a step closer to bidding for Australian uranium explorer Extract Resources but the target says it is still seeking alternative suitors.

Chinese Company Sinopec Ready To Boost LNG Stake
By Neil Wilson Jan. 23, 2012
THE partners in Australia’s biggest coal seam gas project are expected to confirm plans to extend the venture within months after a Chinese company increased its investment.

China’s Shenhua To Open Coal Mine In Australia
By Reuters Jan. 19, 2012
Shenhua Group Corp Ltd, China’s top coal producer, plans to open a coal mine in Australia, the China Business Daily reported on Thursday.

China To Retrieve More Natural Gas
By Zhou Yan Jan. 12, 2012
China’s output of natural gas is expected to increase by 11 percent in 2012 to reach 113 billion cubic meters, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation said on Wednesday.

Japan Asks Qatar To Ensure Stable LNG
By Mainichi News Jan. 10, 2012
Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba asked Qatar to ensure stable supplies of liquefied natural gas and crude oil, and won a promise to cooperate during his meetings Monday with two Qatari ministers, Japanese officials said.

[ Archived Articles for China]

Rosneft Gets License For Three Oil And Gas Blocks
By Jake Rudnitsky Jan. 31, 2012
OAO Rosneft (ROSN), Russia’s largest oil producer, received a license to explore and develop three offshore oil and natural-gas blocks in the Barents Sea.

Russia Unveils Ambitious Coal Industry Program
By Svetlana Kalmykova Jan. 25, 2012
By the year 2030 Russia is going to boost its annual coal production to 430 million tons. Alongside other milestone of this long-term program for the development of the coal-mining industry, this was announced by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during his visit to a mining region of Kemerovo in Siberia on Tuesday.

Russia Orders Oil Companies To Freeze Gasoline Prices
By Fox Business Jan. 23, 2012
Russia’s government has reached an informal agreement with the country’s oil companies to freeze gasoline prices until the spring, the Kommersant daily reported Monday, citing Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko.

3rd Reactor Shut Down In Czech Republic
By Voice of Russia Jan. 23, 2012
The third unit of the Czech nuclear power plant "Dukovany" has been shut down for scheduled maintenance and the replacement of nuclear fuel rods, according to the Czech news agency CTK reports citing the press secretary of the Nuclear Power Plant Peter Spilka.

Miners Strike In Bulgaria Continues
By Sofia Echo Jan. 18, 2012
The first three days of the miners strike in the state-owned Mini Maritsa Iztok has cost the company four million leva, the company''s chief executive Evgeni Stoikov told Bulgarian news agency BTA on January 18.

[ Archived Articles for Russia]