I don't want UK to be at forefront of tackling climate change, says Osborne

George Osborne has said he does not want Britain to be a world-leader in fighting climate change because the UK should not price itself out of international energy markets by placing too heavy an environmental burden on suppliers.

After Fukushima: Could Germany's nuclear gamble backfire?

(CNN) -- As Germany's switchover from nuclear power to renewable energy gathers pace, concerns are mounting over the cost to country's prosperity and its already squeezed consumers.

BP fights to keep fines down in new Gulf of Mexico oil spill trial phase

HOUSTON/LONDON: BP will battle to hold down fines that could hit $18 billion in a new phase of the Gulf of Mexico trial that will rule on how much oil it spilled in 2010 and judge its efforts to plug its well.

Cabot Oil & Gas leads energy stocks higher

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Energy stocks rose on Thursday, with Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. taking the lead after the exploration and production company said it sees production growth of up to 50% next year.

Caroline Lucas to be charged over anti-fracking protest

The Green party MP Caroline Lucas is to be charged over her part in an anti-fracking demonstration in Sussex.

Deep Thoughts by Alexander Mirtchev

Ashby Monk

For a variety of reasons, SWF employees are typically quite reserved and guarded when speaking to the press. Not so for Dr. Alexander Mirtchev, who is the Independent Director and a member of the Board of Directors of Kazakhstan’s $30 billion National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna.

 

Alexander Mirtchev

China Gains New Friends in Its Quest for Energy

ATYRAU, Kazakhstan — On the northern reaches of the Caspian Sea, not far from this old Soviet town known for its oil and sturgeon, lies a vast new oil find, the biggest outside the Middle East.

U.S. Fuel Use Slid in August as Oil Output Rose, API Says

U.S. fuel consumption slipped in August as crude-oil production surged to the highest level for the month in 25 years, the American Petroleum Institute said.

France to cut fossil fuels by 30 per cent by 2030: France President Hollande

France will reduce use of fossil fuels by 30 per cent by 2030 as part of a strategy to halve overall energy use by 2050, President Francois Hollande announced on Friday.

Energy firms expected to increase prices by 8%

Record average fuel bills of £1,500 a year were predicted for 2014 on Friday as British Gas and other big six power companies prepared to announced big price increases of around 8%.

Obama proposes carbon limits on new US power plants

US President Barack Obama has unveiled a proposal to limit carbon emissions on new power plants built in the US. It would be the first federal attempt to impose limits on the pollution blamed for global warming.

Carbon Trade Seen Losing Globally in Aussie Vote: Energy Markets

Australia is at risk of breaching a global agreement to cut greenhouse gases as power markets signal Prime Minister Tony Abbott will exploit the widest election victory in nine years to repeal the nation’s carbon system.

The Economist: “The Fed's have-it-both-ways policy”

R.A., regarding Bernanke’s Jackson Hole speech, your column notes that you “found the tone on monetary policy to be confusing and timid.” Expectations now turn to what President Obama will say next week and what the Fed will do (or not do) when they next meet. Uncertainty again prevails.

Alexander Mirtchev

Tidal energy scheme off northern Scotland gets go-ahead

Six vast underwater turbines are to be lowered into the tidal currents of the Pentland firth in the first phase of one of the largest tidal energy schemes in Europe.

Japan halts last nuclear reactor at Ohi

Japan is shutting down its last functioning nuclear reactor, with no timetable for a restart. Reactor 4 at Ohi in western Japan will stop generating electricity in the early hours of Monday.

China to invest 80 billion yuan in oil and gas exploration this year

BEIJING: China will invest 80 billion yuan ($13.07 billion) in oil and gas exploration in 2013, state media said on Sunday, as it tries to boost energy supplies reduce its dependence on energy imports.

Energy use in USA in 2012 was below 1999 level, though economy had grown 25%

SAN FRANCISCO: For as long as most of us can remember, the nation's energy news has trended from bad to worse, starting with the oil crises of the 1970s.

Canada Heavy Oil Falls to Weakest in 7 Months as Kearl Ramps Up

Canadian heavy oil slid to the weakest level in seven months against the U.S. benchmark grade as Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO) reported rising production from a new oil-sands project in Alberta.

US gas exports to Asia will narrow, not shut price gap: Kemp

LONDON: Large-scale gas exports from the United States will narrow the gap between US domestic prices and those in Asia, but the boost to US domestic gas prices is likely to be smaller than US gas producers hope and consumers fear.

China vows to tackle air pollution

China has revealed sweeping measures to tackle air pollution, with plans to close old polluting steel mills, cement factories and aluminium smelters, and slash coal consumption and boost the use of nuclear power and natural gas.

Canada to Work With U.S. on Emission Cuts, Minister Says

Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said his nation wants to work with the U.S. to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, including from Alberta’s oil sands, the source of crude to be carried by the Keystone XL pipeline.

Middle East must switch to natural gas to meet surging electricity demand: Study

DUBAI: If the current practice of generating electricity by inefficient oil-based power plants continue, the Middle East will soon run short of crude oil, according to a new study.

China buys into giant Kazakhstan oil-field for $5 bn

ASTANA: Chinese President Xi Jinping struck a deal with Kazakhstan on Saturday giving China a stake in its giant Kashagan oil project, a highlight of his tour of Central Asia to secure hydrocarbons for the world's largest energy consumer.

UK investors see bright future for solar power – if the nimbys can be won over

The late summer sun is shining on Britain's solar power sector with new investments worth almost £220m unveiled on Thursday by City-based groups.

Energy Department loses $42M on loan to van maker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Energy Department said Friday it will lose about $42 million on a loan to a now-shuttered Michigan company that made vans for the disabled.

The green new deal is the antidote that UK desperately needs

What does a recovery look like? On current evidence it involves an increasingly divided workplace with more people, especially the young, caught in low-paid, insecure employment.

Crude Advances as Obama Seeks Support on Syria

West Texas Intermediate crude advanced as U.S. President Barack Obama sought support in Congress for a military strike on Syria, bolstering concern that oil shipments from the Middle East will be disrupted.

China to become largest net oil importer before year-end

DUBAI: Energy-hungry China is expected to overtake the US to become the world's largest net oil importer before the end of this year, according to a report.

'We are fighting for survival,' Pacific islands leader warns

Pacific islanders will challenge world leaders this week to act on climate change, warning that their low-lying atolls are close to becoming uninhabitable because of rising seas and increasingly severe floods, droughts and storm surges.

The new EU External Energy Policy: an important move - if it is not too late

 By Alexander Mirtchev

With the adoption of its new External Energy Policy, the EU has finally made a first step towards its integration as a single negotiating bloc in the world energy market. As such the External Energy Policy could become an important factor in the global energy security picture and a possible geopolitical game-changer. However, it remains to be seen whether the big EU member states will be willing to subordinate their interests to the wider EU interest. The External Energy Policy has probably come five years too late, argues Alexander Mirtchev, President of Krull Corp. and Vice-President of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies. 

China partners with U.S. oil firm in Egypt

China's Sinopec and Houston-based Apache announced a long-term partnership Thursday, continuing a trend of U.S. firms selling foreign assets to focus on the domestic oil boom.

Energy Pipeline to hit stands Monday

Greeley Publishing Co. will unveil its newest venture Monday in the form of a magazine devoted to coverage of the oil and gas industry in northern Colorado and beyond.