The risk of terrorists obtaining nuclear material to make a dirty bomb, or hijacking a nuclear plant, is real, observes Allison Macfarlane, a Professor at George Washington University and former Chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. According to Macfarlane, countries with nuclear plants need to improve security quickly before itâs too late. They can learn from the United States, whose nuclear power plants are among the most … [Read more...]
Russia: a global energy powerhouse that’s much more than a petro-state
Russia is not what you think. Most discussion about its energy influence has focused on oil and gas, particularly gas, and Russia and is routinely described, as a petro-state. But this is only partly accurate, writes Scott L Montgomery, Lecturer at the University of Washington. According to Montgomery, Russia has been building an altogether new kind of energy state, one with more global influence than even OPEC. This has profound implications for … [Read more...]
Can Nord Stream 2 be stopped?
Nord Stream 2, the controversial Russian-German pipeline project, is generating fierce opposition in Central and Eastern Europe as well as from the European Parliament and the European Commission. But could the opponents of the pipeline, owned 50% by Gazprom and 50% by some of the largest Western European companies, stop the project? They may be able to follow a complex legal route that could place formidable obstacles in the way of the pipeline. … [Read more...]
$85 crude oil by Christmas â interview with Mike Rothman
The consensus among oil analysts is that oil prices will not recover anytime soon, but Mike Rothman, President and Founder of the US-based research firm Cornerstone Analytics, expects prices to more than double by the end of the year to $85 per barrel. According to Rothman, analysts like the International Energy Agency (IEA) are underestimating demand growth and inventories are not as high as most people think. Courtesy of Oilprice.com. … [Read more...]
The world’s biggest oil bribery scandal
Last week, a sweeping investigative report published by The Huffington Post and Fairfax Media put a little known Monaco-based company, Unaoil, at the center of a wide-ranging bribery scandal that involved dozens of corporate giants from around the world. Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com tells the story. … [Read more...]
A Fukushima on the Hudson?
Entergyâs Indian Point nuclear power plant, located just 30 miles from Manhattan, has long been a cause for public concern. A major accident at this plant could make the entire area of New York City uninhabitable. Now a new high-pressure natural gas pipeline will be built within 105 feet of critical structures of the plant. Journalists Ellen Cantarow and Alison Rose Levy believe the authorities should take action. Courtesy of Tomdispatch. … [Read more...]
Is Belgiumâs nuclear security up to scratch?
In recent months a series of unusual and suspicious occurrences have taken place in and around nuclear power facilities in Belgium, some of them involving individuals linked to Islamic State (IS), write Robert J Downes and Daniel Salisbury, researchers at the Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS), Kingâs College London. According to Downes and Salisbury, there are doubts whether Belgian authorities are taking the threat to their nuclear … [Read more...]
The hypocrisy of French shale gas policy: France bans, imports and profits from shale
France has issued a radical ban on the exploitation of shale gas. Yet French companies ENGIE, in which the State has a large share, and EDF, which is 75% state-owned, will soon import and handsomely profit from shale gas imported from the United States, notes UK-based shale gas expert Nick Grealy. This is like banning sweatshops but importing cheap clothes made by child labour, says Grealy. … [Read more...]
European dash for gas at odds with climate ambitions
European energy and European climate policies, although often portrayed as being two sides of the same coin, are still not sufficiently harmonised, writes Stefan BöĂner, Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute. The EUâs new LNG and gas storage strategy serves as a prime  example where EU energy security concerns work against climate protection efforts. The strategy is likely to lead to costly investments into infrastructure which … [Read more...]
Wake up call for oil companies: electric vehicles will deflate oil demand
The major oil companies greatly underestimate the impact electric vehicles will have on their market, write independent energy advisors Salman Ghouri and Andreas de Vries. According to Ghouri and De Vries, the trends currently underway in the auto industry are likely to have a substantial impact on oil demand in the medium term, and even a devastating impact in the longer term. … [Read more...]
The oilman who loved dictators – or: how Texaco supported Fascism
Author Adam Hochschild tells the forgotten story of how Texaco and its CEO Torkild Rieber helped the Nationalists of General Franco achieve victory in the Spanish Civil War â and then went on to support Hitler. It serves as a chilling reminder of the power that oil companies have had â and still have â in shaping our world. Courtesty of TomDispatch.com. … [Read more...]
National Parliaments should approve Paris Climate Agreement before it is a done deal
The European Commission is taking steps to have the Paris climate agreement ratified and signed at EU level, without involving the parliaments of the Member States. Although this may be formally acceptable, it is a bad idea, writes Lucas Bergkamp, Partner at the Brussels-based law firm Hunton & Williams: it will aggravate the EUâs âdemocratic deficitâ, weaken popular support for climate action and will leave intact key weaknesses in the … [Read more...]
Exxonâs never-ending big dig
ExxonMobil not only appears to have ignored its own scientists when they warned about the dangers of greenhouse gas emissions in the 1980s, the company even took advantage of its inside knowledge by leasing large tracts for Arctic oil exploration, writes famous author and activist Bill McKibben in a revealing essay. What is worse, says McKibben, is that even today Exxon continues to spend billions finding and producing ever more fossil fuels. But … [Read more...]
World Energy Council: unconventional gas will conquer the world
The growth of unconventional gas is spreading across the world with major implications over many years for markets and prices according to a new World Energy Council study âUnconventional gas, a global phenomenonâ. The report notes that many countries have similar shale gas potential to the US and predicts an âaccelerated spreadâ across the world. … [Read more...]
Robert Johnston, CEO Eurasia Group: âTake a seat at the table and advocate for gasâ
The big question in the energy sector today is whether the world will move to a zero-carbon policy in which fossil fuels have no place, or a world in which natural gas is part of the solution, says Robert Johnston, CEO of US-based consulting firm Eurasia Group, in an interview with World Energy Focus. Johnston advises companies to âtake a seat at the policy table and advocate for gasâ to counter âgrowing demands to exclude natural gasâ. … [Read more...]
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