Petroleum

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The tensions between the Trump administration and two of the world’s significant oil producers, Iran and Venezuela, in addition to the campaign of warlord Khalifa Haftar in Libya to take the capital of Libya (another oil state) have raised the prospects of tightening world oil production. Then a few days […]

Petroleum

The Fuel for Global Rivalries, Iran to Venezuela: They’re All Wars for Oil!

contributors

By John Foster | – (Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives Monitor) – When we talk about today’s geopolitical hotspots, we need to talk about petroleum AT THE UN General Assembly in 2018, Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl broke an unwrit-ten taboo by talking about oil and war. “The recent wars imposed on the Middle East […]

Donald Trump

Leaked Audio Exposes Oil & Gas Execs Laughing With Joy Over Cozy Access to Trump Officials

Juan Cole

By Jon Queally, staff writer |- (Commondreams.org) – “It’s really a new world for us and very, very helpful,” said powerful fossil fuel lobby group’s CEO during closed-door meeting A newly-leaked audio recording reveals that oil and gas executives in a private meeting were “giddy” with laughter in the summer of 2017 as they rejoiced […]

Climate Crisis

ExxonMobil & 4 other Oil Giants Spent $1 bn on Greenwashing PR, $100 bn on New Fossil Fuels

AFP

By Patrick GALEY | – Paris (AFP) – The five largest publicly listed oil and gas majors have spent $1 billion since the 2015 Paris climate deal on public relations or lobbying that is “overwhelmingly in conflict” with the landmark accord’s goals, a watchdog said Friday. Despite outwardly committing to support the Paris agreement and […]

Featured

In Bellwether, Norway Wealth Fund Dumps Oil Exploration Stocks as Bad Investment

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Norway is an extremely ambiguous actor when it comes to hydrocarbons. The Scandinavian country is Europe’s biggest oil producer, and some 20% of its national income derives from oil sales. At the same time, Norway recognizes the dangers of the climate crisis, and has moved to ban coal and promote […]

Donald Trump

Bolton & Trump’s Gerontocrats may drag us into Venezuela over Oil when they could just buy an EV

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – There are many things wrong with National Security Adviser John Bolton, but the worst is his fixation on petroleum politics. His response to the complex crisis of Venezuela is to hope that US energy corporations can produce some of that country’s oil (“It will make a big difference to the […]

Climate Change

“Rogue Nations” of Saudi, US and Russia Angrily Derail Climate Summit Report

AFP

Katowice, Poland | AFP | – The refusal of the United States and Saudi Arabia to embrace a landmark environmental report has unsettled UN talks to breathe life back into the Paris climate pact, negotiators and observers said Monday. It may also signal more direct involvement of Donald Trump’s White House, they said, in the […]

Petroleum

Qatar, under Saudi Blockade, Quits a Declining OPEC

David Harding

By David HARDING | – Doha (AFP) – Qatar will leave OPEC next month in order to focus on gas production, the Gulf state’s new Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi announced Monday, denying the surprise move was a result of Doha’s bitter feud with oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Qatar has been a member of OPEC since 1961 […]

Featured

Will the Price of Oil Collapse within a Decade, Driven off Cliff by Electric Vehicles?

Juan Cole

One of the reasons that Saudi Arabia’s plans for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on its ARAMCO oil have not actually materialized is that investors are not dummies. Saudi Arabia’s oil is an asset with no future value, and the future in which its price collapses is nearer than the oil companies think. (I would […]