Recent Gas News

CBS Evening News -- (CBS) An oil spill disaster that could rival the impact of the Exxon Valdez is playing out tonight off the coast of Australia. For 10 weeks, a crippled deep-water oil rig has been leaking millions of gallons into the ocean between Australia's northwest coast and the islands of Indonesia.  (go to article)

Bloomberg.com -- Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil is set to reach $91 a barrel in New York after breaking through its four-month trading range and 200-week moving average, according to technical analysis by Barclays Capital.

Crude is poised to close above its 200-week mean for a third week after staying below this level for the past year. The commodity has also breached a range roughly between $60 and $76 that held from June to October, the bank said. This creates the potential to form a new range of similar size that may take prices in a “measured move” up to $91 a barrel, Barclays said.

“The breakout of that range gives an upside target to the $91 area,” Barclays analyst MacNeil Curry said in a telephone interview from New York.  (go to article)

CNN Money.com -- BAKERSFIELD, Calif., Nov. 6, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cheyenne Resources Corp. (OTCBB:CYRS), an emerging company focusing on major exploration and production reclamation projects in the oil and gas sector, today reported that it currently is in negotiations to secure 1,000 acres of property in Abilene, Texas.

The site has reported reserves of 15.7 million barrels of oil at depths of less than 1,000 feet. There are 11 additional zones on the property with recoverable crude at depths of 500 to 4,500 feet.

"Upon successful completion of negotiations," states Cheyenne Resources President Thomas J. Cunningham, "re-work will commence immediately. Within six months, we expect production of 150 barrels of oil per day.  (go to article)

Reuters -- California AG investigated 1,000 Shell gasoline stations

* Shell failed to maintain gasoline tanks properly -AG

* Shell admits no liability, pleased to reach settlement

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov 6 (Reuters) - California was awarded $19.5 million in a settlement against Royal Dutch Shell Plc's (RDSa.L) U.S. unit for not storing fuel properly at filling stations in the state, Attorney General Jerry Brown said on Friday.

"Shell Oil company disregarded the state's underground fuel storage and hazardous waste laws, committing hundreds of environmental violations at its gasoline stations across California," Brown said in a statement.  (go to article)

REUTERS -- LONDON (Reuters) - Renewable energy firm Ocean Power Technologies has won a A$66.5 million ($61 million) grant from the Australian government for a project set to be one of the first to generate power from waves on a utility scale.

Ocean Power, which is listed in both the U.S. and London, said on Friday work on the 19 megawatt project, enough to power 10,000 homes, was expected to begin by the second quarter of 2010.

The company uses buoys floating up and down to drive an electrical generator, with the power generated being transmitted onshore via an underwater cable.  (go to article)

REUTERS -- LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Small wind energy companies could be taken over cheap because fresh funding for the sector is set to flow selectively to bigger names, placing them in a stronger negotiating position.

Analysts say the big firms are unwilling to pay premiums for the "pipeline" projects at the smaller players -- wind farms approved or awaiting construction -- which are normally added to current operating assets to arrive at a valuation.

Along with the solar sector, wind companies have suffered from a financial bottleneck over the past 18 months, hampering efforts to build cash-intensive wind farms, while customers have also delayed projects until next year due to funding problems.

But recent activity in the sector, such as the takeover bid for Britain's Novera Energy  (go to article)

bloomberg.com -- Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil tumbled after the Labor Department reported that the U.S. unemployment rate surged to a 26-year high, undermining speculation that fuel consumption will rebound next year.

Oil dropped 2.8 percent after the report showed that payrolls fell by 190,000 workers in October, sending the unemployment rate to 10.2 percent. Total U.S. fuel demand over the four weeks ended Oct. 30 was 4.5 percent lower than a year earlier, the Energy Department said on Nov. 4.

“The unemployment report raises fears that there will be a double dip to the recession,” said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts. “This doesn’t bode well for consumption of commodities such as oil.”
 (go to article)

CNN - www.cnn.com -- LOS ANGELES, California -- A 1965 Volkswagen van stolen 35 years ago in Spokane, Washington, was found by customs agents in a shipping container in the Los Angeles port last month, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official said.
The blue van, in pristine condition, was bound for Germany along with several vintage Volkswagens, Customs and Border Protection Port Director Todd Hoffman said.  (go to article)

WIRED.COM -- By Matthew Redd

My DIY electric car project has officially started: I bought a car to convert, a sky blue ‘67 VW Beetle. I’ve had my eye on it for awhile. Now that I’ve got the title in hand, there’s no turning back.

So why a Beetle? Easy. They’re cheap, they’re light and parts are easier to find than sand in the Sahara. They also have the complexity of a screen door, which is a plus because I’ve got no automotive skills to speak of. EVs are pretty simple machines: A motor, batteries and a controller. You can rig them to run extras like power steering and power brakes, but that adds complexity. The Bug doesn’t have such perks. It’s perfect for my needs.

I paid $500 for it. That’s a great price considering its condition and the number of new parts it’s got. The paint is a little dull, bu  (go to article)

The Concord Monitor -- Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell signed a deal yesterday with the Iraqi Oil Ministry to develop a major field, marking the first foray by a U.S.-led consortium into Iraq's promising but uncertain oil industry.

The agreement, the second of its kind signed this week, suggests that foreign companies that initially balked at the terms the ministry offered at a public auction in June now think the prospect of eventually tapping into Iraq's vast oil reserves outweighs the risks. Oil Minister Hussain Shahristani called the deal "another huge achievement in the pursuit of rebuilding this country."  (go to article)

Wall Street Journal -- By SCOTT PATTERSON
Adair, Iowa

Warren Buffett's blockbuster deal this past week for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. was based partly on the view that railroads are more efficient than trucks when energy prices are high.

But another company in Mr. Buffett's portfolio, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., also is making a "green" bet, building windmills and investing in high-tech batteries in one of the most significant pushes by a regulated utility in clean energy.

Dozens of state-of-the-art windmills that tower over rolling corn and soybean fields in this Iowa town are part of a MidAmerican wind project that generates enough electricity to power more than 50,000 homes.

It is one of several wind projects launched since 2004 by MidAmerican, of Des Moines, for billions of dollars. Iowa ha  (go to article)

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT -- How come, with all our technology and great scientific brains, we can't figure out how to neutralize nuclear waste? What is the problem (in terms a layman can understand)?
Click here to find out more!

Margaret Tabar

Pontiac, Mich.

The federal government and the nuclear industry figure it will take decades to create the kind of technology that would reduce the volume and radio-toxicity of high-level nuclear waste so that it can be recycled to obtain more energy and improve waste disposal, according to Steve Kraft, senior director of used fuel management at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

The reason no plan has been developed to take care of waste? "It's extremely complicated," said Ed Lyman, senior staff scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"Nuclear waste is a mixture o  (go to article)

Reuters.com -- By Kevin Krolicki

DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler has disbanded a team of engineers dedicated to rushing a range of electric vehicles to showrooms and dropped ambitious sales targets for battery-powered cars set as it was sliding toward bankruptcy and seeking government aid.

The move by Fiat SpA marks a major reversal for Chrysler, which had used its electric car program as part of the case for a $12.5 billion federal aid package.

As late as August, Chrysler took $70 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a test fleet of 220 hybrid pickup trucks and minivans, vehicles now scrapped in the sweeping turnaround plan for Chrysler announced this week by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne.

Chrysler spokesman Nick Cappa said on Friday that an in-house team of electric car develop  (go to article)

Bloomberg.com -- By Christian Wienberg

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and five other companies searching for oil and gas on Greenland formed a group to share information about exploration in the waters around the island that may hold as much in reserves as the North Sea.

The Greenland Oil Industry Association, or GOIA, will hold talks with the local Inuit government on environmental and safety issues, Skaerbaek, Denmark-based Dong Energy A/S, one of the seven companies, said today in a statement.

The companies, which also include Cairn Energy PLC, Husky Energy Inc., Nunaoil A/S and PA Resources AB, have bought licenses to explore on the island’s west coast where Greenland’s government has estimated reserves may equal those in the North Sea. Exploration hasn’t started and Greenl  (go to article)

Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News -- Shell, the giant oil company that hopes to open a new petroleum frontier for Alaska, says it will decide within months whether to risk sending a large fleet of vessels to drill for oil and gas in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas next summer.

Scientists say Alaska's Arctic waters could hide a massive storehouse for oil and natural gas, estimated to nearly rival the onshore discoveries of the North Slope. Betting on that, Shell two years ago spent more than $2 billion to obtain leases in the two seas and mobilized hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of equipment to Alaska.

But after spending all that money, the oil company has been stymied. Environmentalists and North Slope governments sounded the alarm about potential impacts...

Is it better to focus on problems or on finding solutions?  (go to article)

Kiplinger -- A cold war, literally and figuratively, is brewing over huge energy reserves. The U.S., Russia and Canada are jostling in the frigid Arctic to stake claims to develop what may be the world’s largest untapped supply of oil and natural gas.

Up for grabs: about 90 billion barrels of oil and 2 trillion cubic feet of gas -- around 25% and 30%, respectively, of the world’s undeveloped reserves of the two fuels. For perspective, the oil pooled beneath the Arctic Ocean and tundra amounts to nearly seven times the oil bonanza contained in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay field, the largest in the U.S.
The three nations plus Iceland, Norway and Denmark -- through Greenland, which is part of the Danish kingdom -- are hoping to lay claim to big stretches off their continental shelves before the United Nation  (go to article)

The Houston Chronicle - Online -- Shell Oil Co. will pay $19.5 million in fines and other costs in California to resolve allegations that the company violated rules about underground fuel storage at its gas stations, Attorney General Jerry Brown said.  (go to article)

The Houston Chronicle - Online -- NEW YORK — Oil prices tumbled today after the government said the U.S. unemployment rate topped 10 percent for the first time since 1983.

Benchmark crude for December delivery gave up $2.19 to settle at $77.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for December delivery shed $2.12 to settle at $75.87 on the ICE Futures exchange.

America's thirst for petroleum has slumped all year. With nearly 16 million people now out of work, traders found few reasons to expect it will return anytime soon. Crude prices shed most of their gains from earlier in the week, when financial reports showed consumers were spending more, and companies were squeezing more productivity out of their workers.  (go to article)

SUSAN MONTOYA / ASSOCIATE PRESS -- NM city prepares for salt cavern collapse
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press Writer
November 06, 2009, 2:10 PM / 0 comments
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Buzz up!
The bright yellow signs on U.S. 285 are the first indication that things aren't right in Carlsbad.

"US 285 south subject to sinkhole 1,000 feet ahead," motorists are warned.

But there is little other evidence that in southeastern New Mexico's oil country, a giant cavern sits beneath the earth, ready to swallow part of the highway and possibly a church, several businesses and a trailer park.

The cavern was formed over three decades as oil field service  (go to article)

MSNBC -- When it comes to driving, human beings have an appalling safety record. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 2.35 million people were injured in car accidents last year in the United States. That’s a breathtaking statistic until you consider that 37,261 others were killed — and that’s the lowest number since 1961.

But a new breed of prototype automobile can drive without the help of unreliable humans, and major car companies are paying attention.

In 2007, the federal government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency sponsored the Urban Challenge. Corporate-sponsored teams from all over the nation retrofitted regular cars with sensors and artificial intelligence, transforming them into fully autonomous ground vehicles.
 (go to article)

Christian Science Monitor -- Tom Reid likes his ride big – a 2000 Ford Explorer SUV with plenty of interior room and all the amenities. None of those prissy little hybrid vehicles will do for him.

But after gas hit $4 a gallon last year, Mr. Reid had a big fuel bill, too – and an epiphany: convert his gas guzzler to an all-electric vehicle.

So he did. Now Reid’s bright idea has become a sideline business for his shop, HTC Racing, which produces specialized protective coating for automotive and other metal parts in Whitman, Mass. He offers kits to convert any 1995-2004 gas-sucking Ford Explorer into a cheap-to-keep, no fuel, little maintenance all-electric SUV. Cost: $15,000.

He admits that the idea may be “ahead of its time.” Reid has yet to sell a single kit. With gas at only $2.50 a gallon, the ...  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- Crude oil fell after the Labor Department reported that the U.S. unemployment rate surged to a 26-year high, undermining speculation that fuel consumption will rebound next year.

Oil dropped as much as 2.9 percent as payrolls fell by 190,000 workers in October, sending the unemployment rate to 10.2 percent. Total U.S. fuel demand over the four weeks ended Oct. 30 was 4.5 percent lower than a year earlier, the Energy Department said on Nov. 4.

“We’re getting a little bashing because of the unemployment numbers,” said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “Seeing the rate rise above 10 percent has taken some of the air out the bubble, and raises questions about the recovery.”  (go to article)

Daily Tech -- It's no secret that when gas prices dropped early in the year and with the recession in full swing, hybrid sales saw their first drop in years. Faced with tough new fuel econmy restrictions, auto executives had come up with all sorts of unusual suggestions -- such as cutting crash testing -- but now had to puzzle over a new dilemma; what if consumers don't want the higher-priced electric vehicles that they plan to start flooding the market with in less that a year?  (go to article)

Central Valley Business Times -- California gas prices dipped very slightly in most cities this week but continue to stubbornly stick near $3 a gallon during a time of year that traditionally brings more significant price decreases, according to two price surveys Friday.

“This time last year, gas prices were in continued freefall just after the election and were 25 cents or more lower than where they are now,” says Jeffrey Spring, a spokesman for the Automobile Club of Southern California. “It seems unlikely that we’ll see a significant price drop … for the rest of this year.”

On Nov. 6, California’s statewide average price is $2.997 per gallon, marking the first time in weeks that it has slipped under the $3 mark. But a year ago, the average was $2.680, the AAA says.  (go to article)

The Examiner -- At the Aerospace and Defense Supply Chain Conference held this week in Phoenix, Arizona, it became even more clear that green biofuels are of the utmost necessity for the United States to reduce its dependence on foreign oil. Interestingly enough, oil consumption for aircraft, ships, ground vehicles and facilities makes the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), and namely the U.S. military, the single largest oil consumer in the world.  (go to article)

The Green Car Website -- Four electric Smart cars hit the roads of North East England this week as a regional trial was launched to give hundreds of people the experience of driving electric vehicles.

The cars have been delivered to the region by the quango Cenex, the UK’s Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell Technologies, and will form a six-month trial that will give more than 500 drivers the chance to drive an electric vehicle for the first time.  (go to article)

The Washington Post -- The retail industry posted solid sales increases last month compared with the previous year, according to data released Thursday, but performance among chain stores was uneven as shoppers become increasingly picky about where they spend their money.

Long-struggling Gap reported that October sales at established stores -- a key measure of health known as same-store sales -- jumped a surprising 4 percent compared with October 2008, when sales plunged 16 percent.

But several teen retailers suffered slumps. Same-store sales at Abercrombie & Fitch fell 15 percent in October, while they dropped 5 percent at American Eagle Outfitters. Luxury department stores fared better than expected, but J.C. Penney's sales declined 4.5 percent and Dillard's plummeted 8 percent.  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc reported a breakdown at its Dutch Pernis oil refinery, the biggest in Europe.

“There was a process upset in the western part of the refinery,” Wim van de Wiel, a Shell spokesman based at company headquarters in The Hague, said today by phone, declining to specify the units affected or when repairs are likely to be completed.

Earlier, the local environmental regulator said a furnace broke down, causing a “rotten egg” odor to surround the area. Shell released hydrogen sulfide in the incident, the company said on its Web site.

The Pernis plant, in Rotterdam’s refining hub, has the capacity to process 416,000 barrels of oil a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- Repsol YPF SA is shutting down its Petronor refinery in northern Spain as workers prepare for a four-day strike.

The protest in Bilbao is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Madrid time today and last until Nov. 10, according to a Petronor spokesman. It’s the company’s biggest refinery.

The Petronor refinery has a distillation capacity of 11 million tons a year, according to its Web site. That’s about 220,000 barrels of oil a day.

A crude distillation unit at the site was shut in mid- September because of low profitability caused by falling demand for fuels such as gasoline and diesel. That unit will remain out of operation when the refinery resumes after the strike, the Petronor spokesman said today.  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- Crude oil is set to reach $91 a barrel in New York after breaking through its four-month trading range and 200-week moving average, according to technical analysis by Barclays Capital.

Crude is poised to close above its 200-week mean for a third week after staying below this level for the past year. The commodity has also breached a range roughly between $60 and $76 that held from June to October, the bank said. This creates the potential to form a new range of similar size that may take prices in a “measured move” up to $91 a barrel, Barclays said.

“The breakout of that range gives an upside target to the $91 area,” Barclays analyst MacNeil Curry said in a telephone interview from New York.  (go to article)

MSNBC - www.msnbc.com -- The auto industry loves to find miracle workers. Thirty years ago, Lee Iacocca worked his magic by convincing Congress to deliver a package of loan guarantees that kept Chrysler from going broke. A decade ago, Carlos Ghosn was recruited to save struggling Nissan. Now Sergio Marchionne is being asked to pull together a miracle for the second time.

Nearly six years ago, he was tapped by the floundering Fiat, turning it into one of Europe’s most successful automakers. Now he’s got an even tougher challenge ahead of him as the new CEO of Chrysler Corp.  (go to article)

Popular Science -- Bolivia is primarily known for two things: being the poorest country in South America, and having a president with a terrible haircut. However, it might soon be known for a third thing: lithium. Turns out Bolivia has the world's largest reserves of the light metal, and according to Foreign Policy, that positions Bolivia as the Saudi Arabia of our carbon-less, battery-powered future.

Lithium already pervades our technology-obsessed society, powering everything from laptops to cell phones to, increasingly, cars. As more and more cars switch from gas to batteries, the demand for lithium will only increase. In fact, consumption of the metal is expected to rise three fold in the next 15 years.  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- South Korea should “level the playing field” by removing barriers to U.S. automobile sales in order to clear the way for a pending free-trade agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said.

Kirk, in a speech yesterday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said his office is developing proposals for South Korea to consider. Ford Motor Co. is among U.S. automakers calling for changes to South Korean regulations they say discriminate against imports.

“Our market is open to Korean autos,” Kirk said. “All we are asking for is the same for America’s auto industry.”

U.S. automakers sold fewer than 7,000 vehicles in South Korea last year, less than one percent of the market. By contrast, South Korean carmakers Hyundai Motor Co.  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. will receive normal supplies of auto components from an Indian vendor starting next week after a 45-day strike at the producer ended.

Rico Auto Industries Ltd. will resume full supplies to GM and Ford after workers agreed to end their strike last night, Surendra Singh Chaudhary, senior vice president in charge of human resources, said by phone today. About 2,200 workers struck at the company’s factory at Gurgaon near New Delhi, demanding that 16 of their colleagues who were suspended be reinstated.

GM and Ford temporarily shut factories because of the shortage of components, even as they strive to boost sales amid the worst global recession since the 1930s.  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-biggest carmaker, aims to increase U.S. sales as much as 17 percent next year as it rolls out new models and predicts a recovery in industrywide demand.

The automaker is targeting 350,000 retail sales of models including the Forte and Soul small cars in the U.S. on a preliminary basis, compared with a projection of about 300,000 for 2009, said Executive Vice President Thomas Oh, who heads Kia’s business in the Americas.

“Kia far outpaced the auto industry in terms of sales this year,” Oh said in an interview at the carmaker’s head office today. “We turned the economic recession into an opportunity to sell more cars. We’re very much prepared to grow and expand not only in the local market, but also overseas.”

 (go to article)

Bloomberg -- Oilman Alfred C. Glassell Jr., founder of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co., was manipulated by a Houston law firm into leaving most of his $500 million fortune to charity, his daughter told a Texas jury.

Curry Glassell, the oilman’s 52-year-old daughter, is challenging a 2003 will believed to be the final one Glassell signed before his death last year at age 95. She is asking a Houston probate court jury to honor a 1998 version of her father’s will that leaves her 10 times more than the 2003 one.  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- The lobbying group for oil companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. hired a nephew of U.S. Senator Richard Durbin to argue the industry’s case against climate-change legislation that threatens to slash profits.

The American Petroleum Institute named Martin J. Durbin as executive vice president of government affairs yesterday, just hours after Democrats who control the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee approved legislation that would impose limits on carbon-dioxide emissions and increase fuel-production costs.  (go to article)

Globe and Mail -- Carl-Peter Forster, the head of General Motors in Europe, is poised to leave the company, it emerged on Friday, just days after the U.S. car maker decided to hold on to its Opel/Vauxhall operations.

People close to the car maker told the Financial Times that Mr Forster was set to leave the company soon, adding that he was likely to be replaced by Nick Reilly, GM’s head of international operations who is known as a tough restructuring manager.

Mr Reilly will be an interim solution, however, as he will not take up the same position Mr Forster currently has. Instead, he will lead the transition team that will oversee Opel’s restructuring in the coming months.

 (go to article)

ABC News -- Some cars today have as many as 20 airbags – in the front, on the sides, to shield heads, even airbags to protect knees. Now, Ford is going one step further. The automaker has announced it will become the first automaker to offer seatbelt airbags for backseat passengers. The airbags will appear first in the company's next general Ford Explorer – due out in about a year  (go to article)

CNN Money -- Chrysler is scrambling to revamp its product line. These are the vehicles that will be critical to its success.  (go to article)

Bloomberg.com -- By Joe Carroll

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The lobbying group for oil companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. hired a nephew of U.S. Senator Richard Durbin to argue the industry’s case against climate-change legislation that threatens to slash profits.

The American Petroleum Institute named Martin J. Durbin as executive vice president of government affairs yesterday, just hours after Democrats who control the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee approved legislation that would impose limits on carbon-dioxide emissions and increase fuel-production costs.  (go to article)

Bloomberg.com -- By Grant Smith and Yee Kai Pin

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose in New York and was poised for a weekly gain on increasing signs the recovery is taking root, while a weaker dollar heightened crude’s appeal as a hedge against inflation.

Futures are heading for a 4.1 percent gain this week before an October report forecast to show that the U.S. lost the fewest jobs in more than a year. European equities advanced a third day. U.S. crude-oil stockpiles fell twice as much as analysts predicted last week, a Nov. 4 Energy Department showed.  (go to article)

Reuters.com -- LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sanyo Electric Co Ltd plans to ramp up investment in its battery and solar business as the world's largest maker of rechargeable batteries moves closer to being acquired by Japan's Panasonic Corp, a senior executive said in an interview on Thursday.Exceprts
The planned takeover could build a new powerhouse in hybrid car batteries, solar and other green-energy businesses.
In addition to lining up new customers for its auto batteries, Sanyo is expanding its solar business and expects to reach 600 megawatts of capacity by March 2011.

The company recently expanded operations in Mexico and opened a U.S. silicon manufacturing facility in Oregon that will reach 70 MW of capacity by April 2010.

"U.S. and many global automakers are betting that battery technology will m  (go to article)

Reuters -- Brazil's huge offshore oil find, though an economic treasure chest, threatens to undermine the renewable energy industry the country has worked so hard to build.

A possible oversupply of oil products in the local market once expensive exploration, production and refining initiatives are up and running could make ethanol, biodiesel and hydroelectricity less competitive.

This possibility is feeding a vigorous debate about the country's relatively "green" energy matrix falling into a fossil fuel trap.

The government says it won't make the same mistakes that some oil-rich countries have made -- such as selling gasoline cheaply at home and neglecting other industrial sectors as oil cash flows in -- but market fundamentals can undermine the best of intentions.  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- Iraq awarded a contract to develop the West Qurna oilfield to Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, a month before the country holds its second licensing round for oilfield contracts since the 2003 U.S. invasion.

The initial agreement, scheduled to be signed today, will be submitted to the Iraqi government for approval as early as next week, Asim Jihad, an Oil Ministry spokesman, said by telephone. The companies will be paid a fee of $1.90 a barrel for the oil they produce, he said, the maximum set by the government in a June licensing round. Exxon spokesman Patrick McGinn confirmed the agreement in an e-mailed statement today.  (go to article)

Businessweek.com -- By Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck

Excerpts

As executive chairman of innovation finance firm M-CAM, Martin has made it his life's mission to make sure an increasing number of people, companies and countries have access to this information. Most recently, in collaboration with the World Bank's Information for Development Program, he launched an online database of gadgets whose lapsed patents in advanced energy, water, and agricultural technologies represent potential license savings worth, according to the World Bank, more than $2 trillion.

"What Martin—and those who work with him at M-CAM—say they found is that one in three patents registered today on energy-saving technology duplicate gadgets that were first dreamed up in the wake of the 1970s oil crisis and are now freely available."

 (go to article)

Reuters.com -- By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Export-Import Bank on Thursday said it will provide up to $250 million to help finance exports of U.S.-built-and-designed technology used in generating renewable energy including solar, wind and geothermal.

"We want to help American manufacturers produce green technology for the world," said Fred Hochberg, chairman and president of Ex-Im Bank. "This common sense approach is good for the environment. It's good for business, and it's good for American workers."

The renewable financing facility is part of the Ex-Im Bank's new comprehensive carbon policy it adopted to support U.S. exports that fight global warming.

The bank said it wants to become a leader in financing climate-friendly technologies made by U.S. companies, including those that  (go to article)

Bloomberg.com -- By Bloomberg News

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. imposed duties of as much as 99 percent on steel pipes from China after American producers led by U.S. Steel Corp. complained they were being dumped at below-market prices.

The duties on $2.6 billion in annual imports of the pipes, used in oil and gas wells, will be 36.5 percent for the 37 largest exporters, the Commerce Department said in a preliminary decision announced by e-mail yesterday. The tariffs will be on top of separate duties announced in September averaging 21 percent to counter subsidies to Chinese producers.

The U.S. ruling comes ahead of President Barack Obama’s Nov. 16 visit to meet China’s President Hu Jintao. China and the U.S. have exchanged complaints about steel, poultry, tires and metals as the worst economic crisi  (go to article)

Bloomberg.com -- By Ben Sharples

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil traded near $80 a barrel in New York, poised for a weekly gain, on optimism fuel demand will increase amid improved prospects for an economic recovery in the U.S., the world’s biggest energy consumer.

Oil rebounded from last week’s 4.4 percent decline after crude oil stockpiles unexpectedly fell in the U.S., an Energy Department report showed this week. Futures also rose as the dollar traded near a one-week low against the euro.

“If you look at the trend over the past eight months, we’re certainly in a recovery phase,” said Toby Hassall, a research analyst at CWA Global Markets Pty in Sydney. “There are forecasts out there for $85 to $90 by year’s end, which I would say aren’t too far off the mark.”

Crude oil for December delivery rose  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- Mexican Finance Minister Agustin Carstens said the country stands to gain as much as $7 billion from its oil hedges to compensate for a drop in revenue after crude production fell at the fastest rate since World War II.

Mexico’s decision to spend $1.5 billion last year to purchase put options that give it the option, not the obligation to sell its oil for $70 a barrel in 2009 will deliver a gain of between $5 billion and $7 billion in revenue, Carstens said.  (go to article)

The Onion -- In order to meet the needs of all Americans in times of trouble, Ford introduces the 1993 Ford Taurus.  (go to article)