Oil is headed for 1st monthly price drop since August

Noble makes new deep-water discovery in the Gulf of Mexico

Posted on May 31, 2011 at 10:34 am by Tom Fowler in Social

The well in Santiago prospect, of which Houston-based Noble Energy is the operator but BP the largest stakeholder, was drilled to nearly 19,000 feet in 6,500 feet of water. More »

Dems to White House: Cut oil industry tax breaks in budget deal

Posted on May 31, 2011 at 10:29 am by Jennifer A. Dlouhy in Politics/Policy

The issue could loom large in negotiations this summer, as lawmakers and the Obama administration look for ways to pare the federal deficit and raise the current $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. More »

In California port, ships plug in to cut emissions

Posted on May 31, 2011 at 10:22 am by San Francisco Chronicle in General

California has mandated that by 2014 half of container-ship, passenger-ship and refrigerated-cargo-ship fleets must use local power while docked, a process called “cold-ironing.” Oakland is in the process of converting its port. More »

Oil spill, explosion hit crippled Japan nuclear plant

Posted on May 31, 2011 at 7:02 am by Associated Press in Accidents, Asia, Nuclear

The spill and a small blast caused limited damage – but no further radiation leaks – at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in northeastern Japan, TEPCO said Tuesday. More »

FuelFix Newslinks |05.31.11|

Posted on May 31, 2011 at 6:41 am by Tom Fowler in General

Lizard love a foil to oil. A rig dispute in Alaskan waters. The ying and yang of nat gas vehicle incentives. More »

BP unit mismanaged employee retirement plans, workers say

Posted on May 31, 2011 at 6:17 am by Bloomberg in Gulf oil spill, People, Social

BP’s safety record before the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon made buying shares in the company’s North American unit an “imprudent investment,” workers say in a lawsuit claiming BP lost hundreds of millions in retirement funds because it invested too heavily in its own shares. More »

Texas may soon make hydraulic fracturing chemicals public

Posted on May 31, 2011 at 5:48 am by Associated Press in Hydraulic fracturing, Natural gas, Politics/Policy

Legislation approved Sunday night in the Texas House could prompt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other states to make similar rules. The governor hasn’t indicated whether he’ll sign the bill. More »

Oil hub’s sway on prices slips

Posted on May 31, 2011 at 5:43 am by WSJ in Crude oil

Cushing, Okla., has been the center of the oil market for decades, housing millions of barrels of the light, sweet crude that make up the world’s most actively traded oil contract. But that contract isn’t what it used to be. (Via W$J) More »

Kremlin victory in Khodorkovsky case

Posted on May 31, 2011 at 4:48 am by WSJ in Legal issues

In a major victory for the Russia, the European Court of Human Rights rejected oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s claim that he was prosecuted for political reasons. (Via W$J) More »

China energy: supply vs demand

Posted on May 31, 2011 at 4:38 am by FT.com - Energy in General

Try as it might to outrun market forces, China’s decision to hike electricity prices from June 1 shows that even the mighty mandarins in Beijing cannot ignore basic laws of supply and demand. (Via FT.com) More »

Germany decides to abandon nuclear power by 2022

Posted on May 30, 2011 at 2:15 pm by chron.com Energy in Nuclear

Europe’s economic powerhouse outlined an ambitious strategy in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima disaster to replace atomic power with renewable energy sources over the next 11 years. More »