Winter Oil Heating Costs to Fall

There's less industrial activity, and more countries look to alternative fuels

(NEWSER) - The recession will help the world achieve something this year few laws have been able to: cut the output of greenhouse gases. Emissions will be down 3% mainly due to lower industrial activity, the International Energy Agency said today, with countries also helping by switching to alternative energy sources. More»

(NEWSER) - The very strategies that made Gazprom an international force are now causing the energy giant—and consequently, Moscow—unaccustomed financial stress, the New York Times reports. Vladimir Putin built Gazprom into a goliath by aggressively dominating natural gas supplies, but to do it, he entered into long-term contracts to buy gas from Central Asian countries at now-insane prices. With demand and prices down drastically, Russia is being forced to sell at huge losses. More»

(NEWSER) - It doesn't pay to drill, baby, drill anymore. Falling world prices have brought an end to the boom in domestic drilling for oil and natural gas, the New York Times reports. Last summer, 2,400 gas and oil rigs were deployed in the hunt for energy. Today, that figure is 1,200 and still dropping. “The big bonanza is over,” said one Texas driller whose company has gone from 35 rigs to 8. “Everyone is really shocked how fast everything has turned.” More»

Those considered sectors 'smart money' see opportunity in sector

(NEWSER) - The energy sector is recharging, the Wall Street Journal reports, at least if a pair of deals by billionaire oil and gas investor George Kaiser is any indication. Kaiser, who built his fortune buying energy assets during downturns, is jumping back into the market, penning a $412 million natural gas deal with Chesapeake Energy and buying $50 million in shares from Sand-Ridge Energy, a 5% stake in the gas producer. More»

A symbol of Moscow's resurgence a year ago, the natural gas giant is foundering

(NEWSER) - Just a year ago, Russian natural gas titan Gazprom was burning through global competition on its way to becoming the world's largest corporation. Now the state-owned darling of investors worldwide is deep in debt and flirting with a government bailout. A symbol of Russia’s resurgence as a global economic power, the company has tumbled from third to 35th place in global market cap rankings, shedding 76% of its value along the way, the New York Times reports. More»