For background on the Iraqi Oil Law, please click here.

Barely days have passed since Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki hailed the country’s new oil law as a “solid base for unity of all Iraqis”, but Iraqi parliamentarians and oil unions have begun mobilizing against the draft legislation.

They argue it is a desperate attempt by al-Maliki’s government to satisfy Western oil company demands. Continue reading ‘Iraq Oil Law Runs into Opposition’

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Exxon Mobil’s 2006 profit rose to a record US$39.5- billion – the highest ever recorded by a corporation. It has also led to renewed calls over US policies that favour Big Oil.

The figure is up 9% from a year earlier. “T-Rex Tillerson”, Exxon Mobil’s CEO said the 2006 results were “driven by strong results in every business segment.”

The results keep Exxon Mobil at the top of the list for global companies for revenue, profit and market capitalization. But it also makes the company a magnet for critics of Big Oil and the Bush Adminstration. Continue reading ‘Exxon’s $40 Billion Profit Largest in History’

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In his first address on the issue, Mr Ban said environmental changes because of climate change were likely to become a major driver of future war and conflicts. He urged the US - the world’s biggest emitted of CO2 - to take the lead in fighting global warming.

Mr Ban said he would focus on the issue in talks with leaders of the G8 group of industrialised nations in June. The UN is also due to hold a conference on climate change in Bali in December. Continue reading ‘New UN Chief Warns About Climate’

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Shell plans to launch a new fuel made from wood chips and straw later this year from a pilot plant developed by Shell and Choren Industries, the German biofuel company.

The synthetic diesel, made using a novel biomass-to-liquids (BTL) process, will shift the biodiesel industry into a higher gear by using waste plant material instead of valuable food crops. Continue reading ‘Shell’s Wood And Straw Biofuel’

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Despite growing unrest and violence in Nigeria’s oil-rich delta region, and daily kidnappings Nigeria’s Oil Minister Edmund Daukoru has said that “there is reason to believe the worst is over” for Africa’s Number one producer. “It is a very, very temporary thing”.

To some, Daukoru’s assertions seem based on blind faith or simply blindness to the growing militancy in the Niger Delta. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo apparently also shares his minister’s optimism, telling officials and foreign oil representatives last month that the situation in Nigeria was becoming more controllable. Continue reading ‘Nigeria Hopeful Violence Will End’

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