US EPA approves more ethanol in gas 10/17/2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved blending higher concentrations of ethanol into gasoline for newer vehicles, allowing the corn-based fuel to be up to 15 percent of mixtures sold a...

Final Orion expansion OK granted by state 09/19/2010
The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas has issued a final approval of the first expansion of the Orion participating area in the Prudhoe Bay unit. In a Sept. 13 decision, division Director Kevin Banks sa...

Energy fact or fiction? 02/28/2010
Myers argues for solid scientific data in solving world's complex energy issues
As the world's population continues to grow and energy demand continues to climb, scientific facts rather than misinformed policy making need to guide the way through the morass of energy-related issu...

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...

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...

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...

Home refining causes fires, explosions 05/31/2009
Fire officials warn of dangers, consider new restrictions after incidents in Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon
Trying to live green and beat high gasoline prices, some enterprising Americans are turning cooking oil into biodiesel in their garages. Problem is, some of these do-it-yourselfers are burning down th...

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...

Saudis say oil needs to be at $60-$75 03/22/2009
Saudi Arabia's oil minister said March 16 that petroleum-producing countries need a price of at least $60 a barrel to bring more energy resources on the market. "If we want all hydrocarbon resources...

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...

MGSC starts carbon disposal well 02/22/2009
Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium has started drilling a well in Decatur, Ill., for a full-scale test of carbon dioxide sequestration in the Mount Simon sandstone at a depth of 6,000 to 7,00...

All about the climate 01/25/2009
Challenging future for permitting as climate change initiatives gain traction
The question of whether climate change will impact the regulatory situation in Alaska is now past, attorney Eric Fjelstad from Perkins Coie LLP told the Seminar Group's Permitting Strategies in Alaska...

Alberta shifts ground with new report 12/21/2008
In rolling out new energy strategy, government indicates royalty changes possible; promises to be 'solid environmental citizen'
Out of favor with its own petroleum industry and scorned by environmentalists on a global scale, the Alberta government may have had a Road-to-Damascus conversion. In releasing a long-promised provinc...

Council: Global gasification will surge 10/05/2008
Pace of coal-to-gas conversion expected to accelerate as would-be developers learn more about and gain confidence
Gasification capacity is poised to grow 70 percent over the next seven years, setting the stage for greater acceptance in Canada, where the first commercial coal gasification project is making steady...

BP: Oil reserves adequate 06/29/2008
Cites supply constraints, increased demand, not lack of resources, for high prices
It may come as no surprise to learn that high and rising energy prices defined the worldwide energy scene in 2007. But a review of the inexorable increase in the price of crude oil and other fuels rev...

EIA: $126 per barrel average through '09 06/15/2008
The U.S. Department of Energy said June 11 that oil prices are expected to stay well above $100 a barrel and American motorists can expect gasoline prices around $4 a gallon through next year. Guy Car...

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...