The Prize: Oil

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June 2009
- Shell Settles Nigeria Case for $15.5M
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Jun 9, 09 5:40 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Royal Dutch Shell agreed to settle a lawsuit over the 1995 deaths of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Nigerians for $15.5 million, reports the Financial Times . Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists against petroleum exploitation were executed by the Nigerian military government, allegedly at the behest of the oil giant. In a statement Shell continued to deny it had any role in their deaths, but said it would focus on "the process of reconciliation." More »
May 2009
- As Long as We Use Oil, We'll Spill Oil
  
  Yale Environment 360 | May 31, 09 2:21 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Exxon Valdez oil spill is still wreaking havoc on Prince William Sound 20 years later, and an increased push for drilling in Alaska has conservationists and fisherman girding for a repeat, Yale Environment 360 reports. The decimation of the sound’s herring population has affected everything from seabirds to killer whales. But the legacy of the Valdez isn’t all bad. More »
- Untapped Oil Could Lube US-Cuba Ties
  
  Washington Post | May 16, 09 7:25 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Oil trapped deep in the Gulf of Mexico could help ease the US-Cuba trade ban and decades of strained relations, the Washington Post reports. With 5 billion to 20 billion barrels of crude lying untapped in Cuba's territorial waters, some experts argue it's time for US companies to help drill it. But Washington's JFK-era trade ban stands in the way. It would "be a sea change, literally and figuratively, for the Cubans," one US professor said. More »
- Oil, Banks Steal 63 From Dow
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 15, 09 3:13 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Markets were off today on falling oil prices and a poor showing from the financial industry, the Wall Street Journal reports. The S&P energy index fell 2.4% and Bank of America, Pfizer, and Wal-Mart also saw declines. General Motors, whose low share price no longer significantly affects markets, was off 4%. The Dow was down 62.68, to 8,268.64. The S&P 500 slumped 10.19, to 882.88. And the Nasdaq finished down 9.07 at 1,680.14. More »
- Russia Warns of Arctic War
  
  Times (UK) | May 14, 09 3:41 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A document released by the Russian government suggests that the country should prepare for war in the Arctic within the next decade, as rising temperatures intensify the scramble for the region's vast oil and gas fields. Russia claims sovereignty over a 465,000-square-mile ridge, which the US and other northern countries dispute. "It cannot be ruled out that military force could be used to resolve emerging problems," the report warned. More »
- Drugs, Oil Push Dow Up 50
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 12, 09 3:15 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Financials dipped today as firms continued stock sell-offs to finance TARP repayments, but strong performance by drug and energy companies stabilized the market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Merck and Pfizer were up as much as 2% and 6%, respectively; oil got a boost from $60 barrels. The Dow was up 50.34 to 8,469.11. The S&P fell 0.89 to 908.35 on bank concerns; the Nasdaq lost 15.32, ending at 1,715.92. More »
- Chavez Tightens Grip on Oil Industry
  
  BBC | May 8, 09 6:10 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is stepping up state control of his nation's oil industry, the BBC reports. The president has announced plans to seize the assets of some foreign oil contractors who threatened to stop work in protest over unpaid bills, and the country's national assembly has approved measures to nationalize all companies providing services to the industry. More »
April 2009
- Exxon Mobil Profits Plunge 58% on Low Oil Prices
  
  Associated Press | Apr 30, 09 7:57 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - Exxon Mobil’s first-quarter profit fell 58% from the previous year to $4.6 billion—its lowest profit in more than 5 years—as the world's largest publicly traded oil company, along with the rest of the industry, saw gas prices deflate dramatically. This time last year crude was in the triple digits, in the midst of a historic run-up to almost $150 a barrel. But prices spent the rest of the year retreating and have hovered around $50 a barrel since March. More »
- Oil Industry Squeezed as US Demand Tanks
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 13, 09 6:57 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Big oil execs, analysts, and government sources say a century-old American tradition is waning: after years of increasing oil consumption, US guzzling has peaked, they believe. Last year, demand plunged 7.1% for gas, diesel, and jet fuel—the biggest drop since 1950, when dependable records began. And major changes for the oil industry mean big changes for government budgets and consumers alike, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
- Big Oil Blows Off Obama's Clean-Energy Push
  
  New York Times | Apr 8, 09 8:18 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As the Obama administration seeks to spearhead a $150 million clean-energy overhaul, oil firms are conspicuously not getting on board—they're staying on the sidelines and, in many cases, betting against it, the New York Times reports. Shell is freezing its development work on wind, solar and hydrogen power, after selling its solar businesses and pulling out of a huge wind project. BP has been shrinking its renewable-energy efforts since 2007, and Exxon Mobil is ignoring the initiative. More »
March 2009
- With Oil Supplies Dropping, Look for Prices to Soar Again
  
  Wall Street Journal | Mar 27, 09 8:01 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A tough economy and falling prices have hit oil firms hard, forcing them to cut back capital spending and delay projects. So when demand again increases, supply could be short, the Wall Street Journal reports, driving prices back up. Slowing investment could hamper future supply growth by some 8 million barrels a day in the next few years, a new study says. More »
- Exxon, Chevron Scramble to Protect $40B Cash Booty
  
  Bloomberg | Mar 25, 09 11:22 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In times like these, everyone’s got problems. Exxon and Chevron? Finding safe places to stash $40 billion they stockpiled while oil prices were stratospheric last summer. “The biggest challenge we’ve had is making sure all the cash is there every morning,” Exxon’s CEO tells Bloomberg, adding of his treasurer, “I tell Don he has to count every dollar before he goes to bed.” More »
- 20 Years On, Valdez Lessons Haven't Been Drilled In
  
  Time | Mar 24, 09 3:25 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - It’s been 20 years to the day since the Exxon Valdez dumped about 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound, and the area has still not recovered. Oil, particularly below the surface, persists, and marine animal populations have not recovered. Still, Time reports, the Bush administration’s push to drill offshore in Alaska could subject the region to another ecological disaster. More »
- US Drilling Boom Stalls for Oil, Gas
  
  New York Times | Mar 14, 09 3:10 PM CDT
  
  (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 »
February 2009
- Cheap Oil Keeps World Economy Off Balance
  
  Washington Post | Feb 20, 09 5:18 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Oil surged 13% yesterday in New York trading—and still closed at less than $40 a barrel, reports the Washington Post . Cheap oil has been a boon for consumers in the recession, but the collapse in crude prices has contributed to further havoc in international markets from Canada to Kuwait. While OPEC is expected to cut supplies again next month, the organization is having trouble keeping pace with the world's shrinking demand for fuel. More »
- Oil Slips Below $35 a Barrel
  
  Associated Press | Feb 17, 09 11:47 AM CST
  
  (AP) - A new batch of lousy economic news dragged oil prices down nearly 8% today as signs from across the globe pointed to a prolonged and painful recession. Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $2.87 to $34.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after settling at $37.51 on Friday. Nymex was closed yesterday. More »
- Oil Prices Plunge, Gas Not So Much
  
  USA Today | Feb 16, 09 6:33 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Gas is pumping toward $2 per gallon—a 22% increase since Dec. 30—even though oil prices have dipped 16% over the same period. What gives? When penny-pinched Americans cut back on fuel last fall, oil refineries were slow to ease production. Now they're overcompensating with production cuts to recover lost profit. The gallon should peak at $2.50 next month, analysts tell USA Today . More »
- For Chavez, the End Is Near
  
  Washington Post | Feb 14, 09 4:04 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Hugo Chavez has a slight lead in tomorrow’s referendum that would allow him to extend his rule in Venezuela, but the realities of the country’s economy make the issue “mostly irrelevant,” Edward Schumacher-Matos writes in the Washington Post . No matter the outcome, his days are numbered. The steep drop in the value of oil, which accounts for 95% of Venezuela’s revenues, spells his doom. More »
- US Halts Bush Plan for Offshore Drilling
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Feb 10, 09 5:23 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Interior chief Ken Salazar isn't quite ready to drill, baby, drill. Salazar said today that a last-minute Bush initiative opening up millions of offshore acres to oil drilling would be shelved pending a 6-month review, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The policy affects much of the East and West coasts. Salazar, who denounced the Bush move as a "headlong rush of the worst kind," plans meetings with the oil industry and environmentalists alike. More »
- US Cancels Gas, Oil Leases Near Utah Parks
  
  Bloomberg | Feb 4, 09 4:50 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Obama administration is scrapping the sales of oil and gas leases on areas of federally protected land spanning 130,000 acres in Utah, Bloomberg reports. “Those are American iconic treasures we need to make sure are being protected,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said today, adding that the leases can easily be nullified because the transactions were still pending from a December auction. More »