News from November 2008

Price swings in heating oil lash New England

There is no business plan for what New England heating oil dealers and customers have gone through this year. Thousands of people locked into heating oil contracts as the price of crude soared close to $150 in July, then watched prices descend below $50 even faster. Many are stuck with the contracts they signed and [...]

Big Oil is a Big Cheapskate to Charity

ExxonMobil and its brethren have enjoyed record profits recently, but they continue to pull up the rear when it comes to charitable giving At the same time ExxonMobil’s (XOM) record-breaking profits are making news, the company is running ads touting its philanthropic support for health and education programs in the U.S. and abroad. ExxonMobil’s commercials [...]

Don

The world’s most prominent environmentalist on carbon taxes, clean coal and the dangers of illusion. Former Vice President Al Gore ZAKARIA: Would you bail out the carmakers? GORE: Whatever assistance might be forthcoming should be focused on speeding the changes that are absolutely essential to ensure that our companies are competitive in the global marketplace. [...]

Oil majors eye $5-billion ships to cut costs

London Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell PLC is leading the charge but U.S. rivals Exxon Mobil and Chevron and Australia’s Woodside are also eyeing Floating LNG or FLNG. Companies hope FLNG will be cheaper than building onshore liquefaction facilities, speed up the time it takes to bring fields on-stream, reduce projects’ environmental footprints and [...]

Geothermal systems conserve energy and reduce bills for heating and cooling

You may not know anyone with a geothermal heating and cooling system in the house, but you will soon. With tax credits and financial incentives plus lowered utility bills and increased energy efficiency, the numbers of geothermal homes are growing A geothermal system taps into the consistently moderate temperatures underground. A closed system of pipes [...]

Iran presses case for OPEC output cut

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran’s oil minister said on Sunday the oil market is estimated to be oversupplied by about 2 million barrels per day (bpd) and OPEC will have to decide next month in Algeria about how to stabilize prices. Gholamhossein Nozari made the comments a day after OPEC ministers met in Cairo, where they [...]

US ethanol sector to shrink

In the ethanol industry’s infancy, small, locally owned plants were the way for farmers to capitalize on a booming industry. Then, all of a sudden, Wall Street found out there was money in ethanol and jumped on board. Today, the industry is struggling due somewhat to the global economic recession and bad gambles made by [...]

Higher power

Massachusetts: What if some nuns in Wrentham decided to put up a wind turbine? And then high school officials in Worcester? And a Canton bank chairman? And pretty soon, the question wasn’t where do wind farms belong, but how many windmills can we squeeze in to every last available space? That day is coming. While [...]

Pipelines race out of the mountains, into yards

DENVER (AP) In just the past 10 years alone, more than 20,000 miles of new natural gas pipelines have been built and brought on line. Those pipelines can carry more than 97 billion cubic feet of natural gas every day. The owners of property over which new pipelines are planned are concerned about leaks into [...]

Obama likely to move on several energy fronts

Before the financial crisis took over the public debate this fall, Americans were up in arms as gas prices soared above $4 per gallon. The economy’s steep decline has now sent gas prices tumbling below $2 per gallon in many areas. But Obama, in a recent interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” said falling gas prices [...]