Tag: oil

Activist fund says Royal Dutch Shell should break itself up

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – A leading activist investor called Wednesday for Royal Dutch Shell to break itself up, bolster its low-carbon investment and return more cash to shareholders. Bemoaning how the Anglo-Dutch giant’s stock valuation has lagged that of oil industry rivals, activist Daniel Loeb called for a “bold strategy” shift from the oil giant as he announced that he took a stake in the company. “Shell has too many competing stakeholders pushing […]

Bahrain aims for carbon neutrality by 2060

MANAMA, Bahrain (AFP) – Bahrain announced Sunday it aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2060, a day after neighbouring Saudi Arabia made the same pledge ahead of the COP26 climate summit. The Gulf kingdom “aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, in order to face the challenges posed by climate change and to protect the environment”, its official news agency said. Bahrain will use technology including carbon capture, as well as tree planting, to […]

Environment watchdogs condemn arrest of Ugandan activists

KAMPALA, Uganda (AFP) – Environmental watchdogs Saturday condemned the arrest of six Ugandan rights campaigners as a coordinated effort to silence critics of a contested energy project involving French oil giant Total. The activists from Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), the country’s highest-profile environmental defenders group, were detained without charge at a police station outside Kampala on Friday, the organisation said in a statement. Its French partners, Amis de la Terre France (Friends of the […]

Oil & gas giant Total downplayed climate threat: study

PARIS, France (AFP) – The French oil and gas major Total deliberately downplayed the threat of global warming from the 1970s onwards, according to research based on interviews with former company executives and internal company documents. The findings, published by a trio of historians Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Global Environment Change, follow similar revelations about US oil giant ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell. The pattern that emerges is one of oil and gas giants […]

Fire breaks out in Kuwait’s largest oil refinery

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (AFP) — A fire broke out Monday in Kuwait’s largest oil refinery, causing several injuries but no interruptions to site operations or petrol exports. Plumes of smoke rose above the Mina al-Ahmadi facility, located on the Gulf coast just opposite Iran, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the capital Kuwait City, according to an AFP photojournalist. The Kuwait National Petrol Company, after initially stating that there were no casualties, later tweeted […]

Energy crisis boosts oil demand: IEA

PARIS, France (AFP) — Shortages of natural gas and coal have triggered a switch to oil, boosting demand for crude and fuelling a rise in prices, the International Energy Agency said Thursday. The IEA, which advises governments on energy policy, said it now expects global oil demand for this year and 2022 to be higher than in its previous forecast. “Oil prices are scaling multi-year highs as a shortage of natural gas, LNG (liquefied natural […]

New Norway government to up climate ambitions but keep oil

OSLO, Norway (AFP) – Norway’s new centre-left government said Wednesday it wants to toughen the country’s targets for reducing emissions by 2030 while preserving its economically important oil sector. The incoming government, formed from the Labour and Centre parties after September elections, said it wished to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent of their 1990 level by 2030. Climate ambitions had so far targeted a range between 50 and 55 percent. The aim for […]

Oil spikes to fresh multi-year peaks

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — World oil prices vaulted Monday to fresh multi-year pinnacles on strong demand and tight supplies, sparking inflation woes and weighing on most European stock markets. London Brent oil jumped to a three-year high at $84.38 per barrel, while New York’s WTI crude leapt to a seven-year peak $81.72. The recent decision by OPEC and other major producers not to ramp up output has further strained global supplies. “Nerves are still […]

Lebanon firefighters quell huge fuel tank fire

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Firefighters in Lebanon put out a huge blaze that raged at a key fuel storage depot Monday to the relief of many in the country gripped by desperate energy shortages. There was no immediate report of casualties from the fire that sent large plumes of dark smoke billow into the sky. The fire broke out around 8:00am (0500 GMT) in a large petrol tank belonging to the army at the Zahrani […]

Surfers sidelined as California races to clean up oil spill

by Paula RAMON Agence France-Presse HUNTINGTON BEACH, United States (AFP) – Beaches normally thronged with the bronzed torsos of surfers are deserted as California races to clean up a huge oil spill. Up to 131,000 gallons of crude could have leaked into the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of the United States when a pipeline ruptured at the weekend. Authorities are investigating whether a ship’s anchor could have ripped open the pipe, dragging it […]

US Coast Guard probes anchor strike over California oil spill: report

by Huw GRIFFITH LOS ANGELES, United State (AFP) — The US Coast Guard is investigating a possible anchor strike as the cause of a broken pipeline that has spewed tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the sea off California, media reported Tuesday. Emergency responders say up to 131,000 gallons of thick, sticky fuel have fouled waters that are home to seals, dolphins and whales since a pipeline ruptured at the weekend. A […]

California authorities rush to mitigate impact of major oil spill

Authorities in California’s beachfront Orange County cities scrambled Sunday to mitigate the fallout from a major oil spill off the coast that caused “substantial ecological impacts.” As of Sunday, the oil plume from the 126,000-gallon (480,000 liters) spill of post-production crude was an estimated 5.8 nautical miles (6.7 miles, 10 kilometers) long and stretched along the popular shorelines of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, Huntington Beach city authorities said in a statement. “The spill has […]