Shell’s chief executive has staged a defiant performance at the company’s annual shareholders meeting, claiming calls to curb new oil developments were “unrealistic” and saying there would always be opponents to plans to drill in the Arctic. Ben van Beurden insisted Shell is sensitive towards global warming and the environment – telling shareholders “your company […]
Enbridge reaches settlement on major pipeline spill
The company responsible for one of the largest inland oil spills in U.S. history will restore or create 300 acres of wetlands as part of a sweeping agreement to improve the Kalamazoo River watershed in southwestern Michigan. The settlement comes nearly five years after a broken pipeline released more than 800,000 gallons of oil. Enbridge […]
Bio-remediation – a practical tool for oil clean-ups
Bio-remedation consists of utilizing living organisms (such as bacteria, fungi and plants) to absorb organic-molecules, converting them into safer byproducts such as carbon dioxide and water. The process can be carried out on either land or water, but has gained some attention in recent years, especially following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (Gulf of Mexico) Oil […]
Shell gets high power support for plans to drill in the Arctic
Royal Dutch Shell has developed safeguards to conduct offshore oil exploration in the Arctic and U.S. President says he’s impressed with what he sees. Obama says his administration delayed Shell’s application for exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea northwest of Alaska until it could provide necessary assurances. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has […]
Oil industry going to court to fight for its rights
America’s largest energy trade association is suing the US government, contending its timeline for upgrading oil tank cars for freight trains isn’t realistic and, in some cases, too expensive. In its suit filed on May 11 in the US District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the American Petroleum Institute (API) asked the […]
Comment: The Age of Innovation and How Ingenuity Became a Necessity by Neil Poxon
Neil Poxon, CEO of ProSep looks at the spur to innovation created by a low-price environment and what it means for the global oil and gas industry worldwide. On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy announced to the U.S> Congress that America would land a man on the moon and return him to Earth before the […]
Comment: Want to blame someone for killing pipeline projects-blame Stephen Harper
An oil leak right in Vancouver harbour, with slicks washing up on the pristine shores of English Bay and Stanley Park — that certainly gets voters paying attention to the environment in an election year. April’s spill from a cargo ship’s own fuel tank was small as these things go — less than 3,000 litres, […]
Comment: CAPP has warning for politicians in race to form next government in Alberta
These are volatile times for the oil and natural gas industry. The impact on Albertans has been hard as thousands of jobs have been cut. Drilling and service rigs are idle. Tools are down in machine shops. More office spaces are empty. Restaurants are quieter. Economic activity across Alberta is slowing as uncertainty clouds the […]
Oil spill cleanup made easier
In Ohio, scientists are experimenting with a mesh that could clean up oil spills and save a lot of money in the process. Research out of Ohio State University’s nano lab has developed a type of steel mesh which traps oil, while letting water flow through it. The high-tech mesh is coated in a nearly […]
Oil industry abandons more wells
The drop in oil prices coupled with new regulations and changes in drilling have prompted a lot of junior oil companies to walk away from their wells. In fact the numbers of orphaned wells have jumped dramatically, going from 162 to 702 in the past year. The problem now is the clean up. For the past […]