Greening of Oil: Canadian biofuels document triggers official denials 01/17/2010
Environment Canada at odds with U.S. study claiming subsidies a waste
A spreading North American debate over the costs and benefits of ethanol and biofuel policies lends itself to easy misunderstanding. Take the case of what has been described as a "poorly worded" Cana...

Gas could be answer in warming fight 01/03/2010
Utilities looking at natural gas because it emits half as much carbon as coal when burned to generate same amount of electricity
An unlikely source of energy has emerged to meet international demands that the United States do more to fight global warming: It's cleaner than coal, cheaper than oil and a 90-year supply is under ou...

Exxon seeks new life 12/20/2009
Bets heavily on unconventional gas as fuel of choice by 2030 in takeover of XTO
The tipoff was there for anyone caring to pay attention when ExxonMobil declared on Dec. 8 that natural gas would be the fuel of choice in the United States by 2030, shunting aside coal and oil. Less...

No quick carbon fixes 10/25/2009
Oil sands leader argues 'absolute' limits on oil sands' GHG would burden sector; Imperial boss says answers could take 100 years
Two leading players in the Alberta oil sands - the flashpoint of Canada's climate-change wrangling - have answered criticism that the sector is not doing enough to explain itself. In the process, the...

Algae: a fuel source for the future? 08/09/2009
Entrepreneurs seek ways to commercialize the use of tiny organisms that devour carbon dioxide to produce feedstock for biofuels
A July 14 announcement by oil giant ExxonMobil that it plans to form an alliance with biotech company Synthetic Genomics, to invest more than $600 million in biofuel generation from algae, has turned...

Oil sands improve showing 08/02/2009
Study shows direct greenhouse gas emissions from production, transport and refining are comparable to U.S. heavy crudes
Alberta is cleaning up its act to the point where direct emissions from the extraction, shipping and refining of oil sands output is roughly parallel to that of other crudes refined in the United Stat...

BP in Alaska: Legacy of corporate citizenship, social investment 07/12/2009
Alaska is large in landmass but small in population, and today more than ever, the company's 2,000 employees are making a difference across the state. Employees currently support more than 700 communi...

'And' rather than 'or' 07/05/2009
Lawrence urges balance between fossil and renewable fuels in energy transition
The world needs to achieve a balance between the use of traditional fossil fuels and new renewable energy sources, as the global community transitions into its energy future, David Lawrence, vice pres...

Refiners move into alternative fuels 06/28/2009
Oil companies shop for discounted ethanol plants forced into bankruptcy by economy, frozen credit, wildly swinging corn prices; of some 200 U.S. plants, about two dozen in bankruptcy
When Sunoco closed in mid-June on the acquisition of a bankrupt ethanol plant in Fulton, N.Y., for pennies on the dollar, it became just the latest oil refiner to step into the alternative fuels marke...

Biofuels - rethinking, reshaping, restarting; 5% ethanol considered 05/31/2009
Canada to copy US approach, shrugging off questions about indirect GHG emissions from grain-based fuels, shake-out in US sector; renewable fuels standard yet to be established
The Canadian government is falling into line with the United States as it plans a sharp hike in the use of grain-based ethanol in transportation fuels, ignoring the growing concerns over the greenhous...

Carbon cuts beyond reach 05/24/2009
Imperial CEO: Oil, natural gas, coal account for 80% of today's energy production, will satisfy demand for 'next few decades'
As Imperial Oil gears up for the expected start of construction on its Kearl Lake oil sands project, the company's Chief Executive Officer Bruce March is turning into one of the most outspoken promote...

Declining economy hits renewable fuels 03/15/2009
Hit by the double whammy of declining energy prices and frozen credit markets, renewable fuel businesses are struggling to survive, industry experts told the U.S. House of Representatives Small Busine...

EIA forecast for slowed energy growth 12/21/2008
U.S. oil consumption will be flat to 2030, with slower growth in energy use and carbon dioxide emissions and reduced import dependence, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Dec. 17 in its "...

Stevens and Begich promote energy plans 07/13/2008
Both want a similar mix of traditional, renewable and alternative fuels, plus conservation measures and consumer protection
As the election year entered its final half and the state embarked on a new fiscal year, Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Gov. Sarah Palin jointly discussed the energy issues facing Alaska on July 2. I...

One the oil sands can't 'duck' 05/11/2008
Dead birds in Syncrude Canada tailings pond stir international condemnation, industry contrition; incident derails Alberta's campaign to clean up oil sands' image; company's noise-making devices to scare birds were absent due to spring snowstorm
Oil sands giant Syncrude Canada, the world leader in pumping out synthetic crude, said April 28 it is working on a 33 percent expansion to 400,000 barrels per day by 2012, planning to add 100,000 bpd...

Fossil fuels to rule for 50 years 04/13/2008
Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali Naimi said April 10 that he expects fossil fuels will supply the bulk of global energy needs for at least the next 50 years. To meet future demand, the No. 1 producer,...

Germany backs off plan to double ethanol 04/13/2008
Germany's environment minister has scrapped a plan to double the amount of ethanol that can be mixed into gasoline, saying that too many cars would be unable to cope with the change. The government p...

Congress presses oil chiefs on profits 04/06/2008
Don't blame us, oil industry chiefs told a skeptical Congress. Top executives of the country's five biggest oil companies said April 1 they know record fuel prices are hurting people, but they argued...

In for the long haul 02/24/2008
John Hofmeister presents the big picture of Shell's strategy in Alaska
Audible gasps are still circulating around the oil industry in response to the magnitude of Shell's bidding in the Feb. 6 Chukchi Sea lease sale. "Internally we use words like 'well thought-through' t...

Energy bill passes 12/23/2007
Delegation herds legislation into law; includes Alaska-friendly provisions
President George W. Bush signed into law Dec. 19 bipartisan legislation sponsored by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, to increase fuel economy for cars and light trucks to 35 miles per gallon, or 40 percen...

Inter Pipeline chases oil sands growth 12/16/2007
Inter Pipeline Fund, with its eye fixed on the oil sands, will spend C$977 million in 2008, setting a record for the fast-growing Canadian pipeline company. Its 2007 capital budget was C$469 million. ...

Dow Jones: Shell exec says carbon capture must be global priority 09/09/2007
According to a Sept. 4 Dow Jones article, a top Shell executive thinks developing commercially viable carbon capture and storage technology should be a major priority for companies and governments all...

House bill provides training for 'Green Collar' jobs 08/12/2007
On Aug. 4 the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Green Jobs Act of 2007, legislation introduced by Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis, D-Calif., to help train American workers for jobs in the renewa...

House moves tax bill on oil firms 08/12/2007
Two bills impose $16B tax on oil companies, provide tax breaks, incentives for renewable energy, conservation; opponents say bills ignore need for more U.S. oil, gas, coal production
Declaring a new direction in energy policy, the U.S. House of Representatives approved US$16 billion in taxes on oil companies, while providing billions of dollars in tax breaks and incentives for ren...

Push to protect planet 08/05/2007
North American free trade partners sign alternative energy agreement
The United States, Canada and Mexico - the big energy user in North America and its two leading suppliers - have moved another step closer to lowering trade barriers to cleaner, alternative energy dev...