A lawyer for the company found himself scolded Tuesday as he argued that it was urgent that the courts protect Chevron from an $18 billion judgment against it in Ecuador over damage done to the Ecuadorean rain forest decades ago.  More »

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman rejected Interior Department arguments that the issue was moot because it already has resumed issuing permits following the moratorium imposed last year after the BP oil spill.  More »

In an earlier part of the case, Shell paid $56 million to settle allegations that it had underpaid royalties on natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico. Today’s settlement resolved claims on Shell’s onshore leases.  More »

Analysts expect the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration will report Wednesday that oil supplies grew for the third straight week, though analyst Phil Flynn said prices may continue to rise, as Mississippi River flooding could knock out some refineries and tighten supplies of high-quality crude.  More »

The Sierra Club and the Clean Economy Coalition are challenging the state’s decision to grant an air permit to the proposed $3 billion Las Brisas Energy Center, a coal-fired power plant in South Texas.  More »

The Houston-based company said its net income rose to $420.7 million, or 49 cents per unit, for the three months ended March 31 versus $69.9 million, or 33 cents per share, a year earlier.  More »

Japan will abandon a plan to increase nuclear power from 30 percent to half of the nation’s energy source by 2030 and will promote renewable energy as a result of its ongoing nuclear crisis, the prime minister said.  More »

A weekend leak may have spilled up to 400 barrels of oil in southeast North Dakota, a TransCanada official said. The company plans to inspect all similar fittings along the Canada-to-Illinois pipeline before resuming operations.  More »

Investors jump back into oil, pusing it back over $100.  More »

Mexican officials said the blast last week was caused by a buildup of gas. The national mine workers union said the mine’s work force was not unionized and accused the government of allowing mines to operate with unsafe conditions.  More »

The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. jumped for the second straight week by 18 to reach 1,836.  More »

You probably won’t see a change at the gas station this weekend. But relief could come soon because oil prices fell 15 percent this week, the steepest decline in two and a half years. Oil hit a two-year high of $114.83 in Monday trading. It closed Friday at $97.18.  More »