Tag: energy

Texas restores power but still struggling with water

    by Brian KNOWLTON Agence France Presse HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — Texas authorities have restored power statewide bringing relief after days of unprecedentedly frigid temperatures, but millions were still struggling Saturday without safe, drinkable water. “Due to lack of power, frozen pipes, high use at certain times, we’ve seen the number of systems go up that are reporting (water) issues,” Toby Baker, executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality told reporters […]

Deadly winter storm blankets eastern US in snow

by Peter Hutchison with Francois Picard in Houston NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A deadly winter weather system that brought record-busting cold to the southern and central United States, knocking out power for millions in oil-rich Texas, was blanketing the East Coast in snow Thursday, disrupting coronavirus vaccinations. The historic frigid blast has over the past week seen Arctic cold envelope a US heartland unfamiliar with such extremes, leaving dozens of dead in its […]

Behind the power crisis in petroleum center Texas

by John BIERS and Daniel HOFFMAN Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Some 2.7 million households in Texas were still without power as of Wednesday morning in the wake of extremely cold weather buffeting the region. But while the unusual Arctic air mass has lashed numerous states with snow and sleet with more on the way Thursday, Texas, the heart of the country’s oil industry, has seen the worst of the power outages. […]

Oil giant Shell follows rivals into huge annual loss

by Ben PERRY Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday became the latest oil major to reveal huge annual losses as the coronavirus pandemic slashed energy demand and prices in 2020. Shell dived into a net loss of $21.7 billion (18.1 billion euros) last year as factories shut and planes were grounded. The Anglo-Dutch group’s loss compared with a net profit of $15.8 billion in 2019, the company said in […]

US leases long-sought Alaska oil rights in Trump’s final days

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump’s administration auctioned off 11 oil leases in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, in a last-ditch move to expand drilling in the areas coveted by some petroleum producers before he leaves office. Major oil companies however sat out bidding for tracts in the environmentally sensitive area, and nine of the leases went to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state agency, while […]

US extends Iraq sanctions waiver for further 3 months

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — The US has granted Iraq a three-month extension to a sanctions waiver allowing it to import Iranian gas, an Iraqi official told AFP Monday. The move represents a welcome reprieve for a country that relies heavily on its neighbour for energy supplies. Iraq buys gas and electricity from Iran to supply about a third of its power sector, worn down by years of conflict and poor maintenance and unable to meet […]

India’s Modi lays foundations for renewable energy megapark

AHMEDABAD, India (AFP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundations Tuesday for what he said would be the world’s largest renewable energy park, set to produce a massive 30 gigawatts of electricity. The vast project in the Kutch region of western Gujarat state spread over an area of 72,600 hectares (180,000 acres) — the size of Singapore — will contain solar panels, solar energy storage units and windmills. “The hybrid renewable energy park […]

Romania’s mining heartland faces up to post-coal future

by Mihaela RODINA and Ionut IORDACHESCU Agence France-Presse PETROSANI, Romania (AFP) — In the large, dark locker room of southern Romania’s Lonea coal mine, 20-year-old Liviu dons his uniform and helmet before embarking on a six-hour shift in a vanishing industry. “I found this job interesting because you retire faster, when you reach 45 years old,” Liviu tells AFP before descending 400 metres underground in an elevator dubbed “the birdcage” by his fellow miners. But whether […]

Oil exploration up in the air as prices dive

by Benoît PELEGRIN Agence France-Presse The coronavirus pandemic that has slammed oil demand and prices is forcing energy majors to tighten their belts on exploration, even if finding new deposits remain essential to their existence. While the sector is increasingly diversifying into greener energies such as electricity and wind power, its core business remains oil and gas. “Questions abound over whether it is still profitable to look for oil given subdued demand growth prospects and […]

Cambridge University to scrap fossil fuel investment

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s Cambridge University on Thursday pledged to stop investing in fossil fuels by 2030, bowing to pressure from environmentalists including its own students. The world-renowned seat of learning in eastern England said the pledge is part of its overall goal to slash carbon emissions to zero by 2038 — well ahead of the UK government’s 2050 target. The institution will now switch its £3.5-billion ($4.5-billion, 3.8-billion-euro) endowment fund — one […]

Has global oil demand hit peak? BP says it’s possible

by Jean-Baptiste OUBRIER Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Global oil demand might have already peaked and will likely not stop falling for the next 30 years, hit by virus fallout and moves towards greener energy, Britain’s BP predicted Monday. At the same time, the oil cartel OPEC has revised its forecast for global demand lower this year and next for essentially the same reasons. London-listed oil giant BP, which is seeking to achieve […]

Turkey says east Med ship will return after maintenance

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey said on Monday that an energy exploration vessel that had pulled out of waters claimed by Greece was only undergoing routine maintenance and would return soon. The Oruc Reis seismic survey ship has been unsettling the strategic eastern Mediterranean region since Turkey sent it along with a small navy flotilla into disputed seas on August 10. Greece responded by staging navy drills with France and several EU allies near ones Turkey […]