Drilling & production

Two die in second pipeline explosion in Texas.

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu sent the following letter to Senator Richard Lugar on 9th June regarding Senator Lugar’s ‘Practical Energy and Climate Plan Act of 2010’.

Siemens Energy has successfully completed the first firing of PetroAlgae Inc.’s biocrude fuel, a plant-based, micro-crop biomass material that is processed into a solid residue. The biocrude fuel was combined with pulverised coal in a pilot-scale burner with a thermal capacity of approximately 4 MBtu/hour.

Close to China and its huge demand for natural resources, Mongolia has vast untapped resources that are ripe for exploitation, including huge coal deposits. Hunnu Coal aims to help develop these resources and has recently acquired a 60% interest in the Buyan coal project, in the giant Tavan Tolgoi coking coal field in the Umnugobi Province of Mongolia.

BP’s projected liabilities for the Gulf spill dwarf those of Chevron over its toxic dumping in Ecuador.

Speaking in China, ExxonMobil’s Senior Vice President outlined the need for stronger partnerships and the use of cutting edge technology in the energy industry to access new reserves.

Yemen LNG is nearing 100% production capacity after second production train starts.

Alaska’s Governor has signed two new pieces of legislation encouraging the use of geothermal power; cutting royalty rates and deregulating renewable energy projects.

The new wind farm will have 160 wind turbines, making it one of the largest in Europe.

Xstrata has suspended some of its mining investments in response to the Australian government’s proposed new resource tax.

Baker Hughes has acquired Siberia based Oilpump Services (OPS), the second largest electrical submersible pumping (ESP) system service company in Western Siberia.

BP has announced that it supports the US government's decision to proceed with the construction of six sections of the Louisiana barrier islands. The company will fund the estimated US$ 360 million it will cost to construct the six sections.

Marine bacteria could be the key to cleaning oil spills in the sea, without further damaging the environment by using chemicals, according to microbiologists at Bangor University.

There are many pros and cons to taking over BP when it is vulnerable, but at the moment, the cons appear to outweigh the pros.

The Captain Sandstone in the Moray Firth is being investigated as a possible site for carbon storage due to the salt infused sandstone present there.