Oil & Gas News Archives

The nation's drive toward alternative fuels carries a danger many communities have been to slow to recognize: Ethanol fires are harder to put out than gasoline ones and require a special type of firefighting. Additionally, the Springfield News-Sun in Springfield, Ohio reports that..

The problem is that water doesn't put out ethanol fires, and the foam that has been used since the 1960s to smother ordinary gasoline blazes doesn't work well against the grain-alcohol fuel.

So now ongoing new developments in alternative fuels brings many other issues that need to be addressed both pro and con. Are we putting the cart in front of the horse before the infrastructure is developed across our nation to handle such problems ?

How many fire departments across our nation are equipped to fight an ethanol fueled fire?

Such fires require a special alcohol-resistant foam that relies on long-chain molecules known as polymers to smother the flames. Industry officials say the special foam costs about 30 percent more than the standard product, at around $90 to $115 for a five-gallon container.

“I really wonder, what do you do if you don't get a just decision out of the Supreme Court”

After years of legal battles, the Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday on why the company should not have to pay punitive damages. via MSNBC

Gasoline prices jumped Friday to their highest level since June, a possible preview of what many analysts believe will be a record spike in pump prices this spring.

VIDEO_INTERVIEW: Encana CEO, Randy Eresman tells investors what to expect from 2008 production, how he will counter lower Canadian natural gas output, why he is bullish on natural ...

Oil prices rose Tuesday in Asia as investors eyed the possibility that OPEC may cut production just ahead of the second quarter, when gasoline demand in the Northern Hemisphere usually becomes the central focus of the market.

A thunderous explosion rocked a Texas oil refinery Monday, injuring five people and shaking buildings kilometers away.

“Oil prices are remaining at firm levels, buttressed by perceived supply side risks”

Oil hovered above $95 a barrel on Monday, as investors weighed the effects of a slowing U.S. economy against an escalating row between OPEC member Venezuela and oil major Exxon Mobil. via Reuters UK

The Canadian oil industry is poised for another gusher of a year with 2008 profits rising 18 per cent to nearly $23 billion, the Conference Board of Canada says.

Oil futures rose moderately Wednesday as traders shrugged off a mixed U.S. government inventory report and focused on the economy and threats to crude supplies overseas.

A federal judge in Manhattan has confirmed the freezing of $300 million in cash held by Venezuela´s state-run oil company.

The annual Stewardship Report issued by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers shows increasing CO2 emissions and flaring, find out why...

China is close to signing a deal to buy liquefied natural gas from Qatar to fuel the fast-growing Chinese economy, a news report said Wednesday.

Venezuela´s state oil company said Tuesday that it has stopped selling crude to Exxon Mobil Corp.(NYSE:XOM) in response to the U.S. oil company´s drive to use the courts to seize billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets.

NEWS VIDEO _ Chavez Threatens US Supply - Natural Gas Price Indicators Change - Oilexco Stock Up on Discovery - NAL Acquisitions - Ottawa Clarifies Alberta Emissions Confusion - CAPP Stewardship Report...

“For a long time we have been denouncing Exxon Mobil as the typical multinational, U.S. company that has tried to attack oil producing countries”

By Brian Ellsworth

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela accused Exxon Mobil of legal "terrorism" on Friday after the giant U.S. oil company won court orders freezing $12 billion of the South American oil supplier's assets in a dispute at the heart of a worldwide tussle for control of natural resources.

Venezuela's oil minister Rafael Ramirez downplayed the rulings, reassuring investors they had little impact on the supplies, operations or cash flow of the state oil company, PDVSA, which he said has about $100 billion in assets. Read more

HARTSVILLE, Tennessee _ A massive fire erupted at a natural gas pumping station, shooting flames hundreds of metres in the air and rattling windows for kilometres.

Oil futures fell below US$89 Tuesday after financial markets were surprised by data that indicated the traditionally strong service sector shrank dramatically last month, raising the prospect that demand for energy will weaken along with the economy. Expectations that crude supplies are climbing also took prices lower.

TORONTO _ Heavy equipment dealer Toromont Industries Ltd. reported a fourth-quarter profit of $39.3 million up from $36.9 million a year ago on higher revenues.

NEW YORK - Oil futures rose Monday after the U.S. government reported strong data on factory orders, giving investors some hope that the U.S. economy will dodge a recession that would curtail demand for energy.