Two years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which killed 11 workers and released 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ocean, BP has finally agreed an out of court settlement to the value of $7.8 billion with many of the plaintiffs. The damages will be paid from the $20 billion trust fund established after the spill. BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley released a statement announcing that, “the proposed settlement represents significant progress toward resolving issues from the Deepwater Horizon accident.” James Roy…

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There might be enough shale gas reserves in China to keep the country’s energy needs quenched for the next 200 years, the natural resources ministry said. While Beijing said it doesn’t yet have the capability to take full advantage of the reserves, the recent shale boom in United States shows there’s no lack of commercial interest in shale. Beijing expects shale gas to start playing a major role in its energy mix by the next decade. With that comes more foreign investments and it might not be long before China takes the lead in the emerging shale…

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Here in northern California gasoline is now retailing for $4.20 a gallon. Prices haven’t been this high since mid-2008. Forecasts for $5 per gallon gas in the US this summer are now commonplace. What’s driving prices up? Most analysts focus mostly on two factors: worries about Iran and increased demand from a perceived global economic recovery. However, as we will see, there are also often-overlooked systemic factors in the oil industry that almost guarantee us less-affordable oil. Iranian Poker Iran wants nuclear power and (probably)…

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While most Western politicians remain enthralled by events unfolding in the Middle East during the Arab spring that unexpectedly blossomed a year ago, an equally dramatic political tectonic shift is happening in Europe, where rising Scottish nationalism is putting the fear of God into Westminster’s politicians. The Scottish National Party, founded in 1934, is suddenly rising in power and visibility. Four years ago in the Scottish Parliamentary election, the SNP became the largest political party in the Scottish Parliament for the first time,…

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Every husband has been there.  It is not a good place to be. But when you are the former President of the United States and your wife is the current Secretary of State charged with carrying water for her boss on the Keystone XL pipeline project, prudence suggests caution when exercising your First Amendment rights to ‘say whatever you please.’ As we all know, just because we have a right to our opinion does not mean we aren’t going to pay a price for privilege.  So why did Bill Clinton do it? “The extra cost of…

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There is not much to say about Natural Gas from a technical perspective. The weekly chart says everything. The main trend will change to up on the weekly chart when 2.984 are violated. Otherwise the market is destined to continue its series of lower-tops and lower-bottoms. It is possible that it will remain inside of the short-term 2.411 to 2.984 range. If this occurs, then the odds are the market will have run out of sellers and is getting ready to mount a strong short-covering rally. Short traders may have covered positions ahead of the week-end…

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Despite global economic difficulties over the last few years, investment in renewable energy projects has increased and in 2010 actually surpassed investments in fossil fuel based power. A new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) was written based upon a survey of 280 senior executives from the renewable energy industry, with the aim of studying the perceived risk involved in renewable projects.  The report shows how the executives are managing and reducing risk and the risk management challenges they must overcome. To start the…

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It is not often that good things result from economic slowdown and recession, but the UK government could be forgiven for quietly praising the recent economic difficulties as, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, they mean that the UK could retire old coal, oil, and nuclear power plants without risking blackouts between 2015 and 2020. The recession and European debt crisis have caused electricity consumption to fall 9% from its 2005 peak. This, along with the increased renewable energy capacity and additional gas power plants, should provide…

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