Drilling & production - 11 August 2010

Coal prices have dropped by 10% globally due to falling demand in China, while traditional markets in Europe and South East Asia remain depressed.

African National Congress (ANC) Youth League leader, Julius Malema, has announced that the party will debate nationalisation of the mining industry as part of its national conference in September. Barry Baxter asks whether the party is planning to publicly knock Malema’s proposals on the head?

Plans to drill for oil and gas in Sicilian waters have met with stiff opposition from local authorities and campaigners.

BP has started to scale back its clean-up operations but there is still disagreement about how much more work is necessary.