OIL. House GOP votes unanimously to protect big oil subsidies. Koch Industries. BP Oil Disaster. Robert L. Cavnar: BP Wins: EPA Will Agree to Cut Oil Spill Estimate. I know I keep saying it, but I told you so. The Observer is reporting that, according to its sources, the EPA is likely to agree to cut its current estimate of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico by BP's Macondo well that blew out on April 20.
BP has officially disputed the government's estimate, saying that it could be half of the official estimate, citing multiple estimates and lack of actual measurement of the flow. The Observer is reporting that the EPA agrees that estimates are not 100% accurate, signalling the weakness of the government's position. You'll recall that I repeatedly rang the alarm bell in the middle of July that BP was foot dragging the containment of the flow and the fabrication of facilities that could have captured (and measured) 100% of the flow rate.
When the US government agreed that the well would be shut in for the "well integrity test" on July 13, the opportunity to actually measure the total flow was lost forever. So. So the die is cast. Oh. WikiLeaks Big Oil spills: BP covers up blowout, blackmails Azerbaijan - National Geopolitics. The latest WikiLeaks US embassy cables reveal that BP suffered a little-reported gas leak in Azerbaijan 18 months before a similar mishap led to the Gulf of Mexico disaster. According to The Guardian other cables allege the president of Azerbaijan accused BP of using "mild blackmail" to secure the rights to develop reserves in the Caspian Sea while accusing BP of stealing $10 billion of oil from his country. Gas Leak Cover-up BP was criticized for withholding information about the Azerbaijan incident from its gas field partners just as they failed to initially share information with US authorities with regards to the Gulf Spill.
The cables intimate that BP was lucky to evacuate its 212 workers safely in time, which resulted in two fields being shut and output being cut by at least 500,000 barrels a day with production disrupted for months. Tim Webb of The Guardian reports: BP blackmails Azerbaijan Cheveronn negotiates with Iran Click here for more GEOPOLITICS EXAMINER. Sen. Bernie Sanders Leaks Oil Trading Data: Americans Have A Right To Know Who Drove Up Gas Prices. Nine of the 10 loudest climate-denying scientists tied to Exxon. Climate change deniers like to point out that they have scientists on their side, too. But an analysis of more than 900 papers supporting climate skepticism showed that about 20 percent of those papers came from the same 10 scientists, and nine of them, according to The Carbon Brief, have ties to ExxonMobil.
Eight of the scientists were directly connected to organizations that took money from Exxon, and one other only showed up on papers written with an Exxon-affiliated scientist. Only one of those 10 could claim to be independent of the oil giant. (He or she probably had other problems.) Given Exxon's massive profits, it's not so surprising they could find nine people whose research fit nicely with the company's political agenda and underwrite their work. Shell admits liability for huge Nigeria oil spill - World news - Africa. LAGOS, Nigeria — Shell and Nigeria's government contributed to 50 years of pollution in a region of the Niger Delta that could need the world's largest ever oil cleanup, the United Nations said in a report Thursday, adding that the work would take up to 30 years and require an initial tab estimated at $1 billion.
The report came after Shell agreed not to oppose a move by one delta community to have their pollution claims heard by a British court, potentially opening itself up to bigger financial damages. Daniel Leader, a lawyer for the Bodo people, told msnbc.com that the case was the first of its kind because it would be heard in Britain, where payouts can be higher and cases tend to get wider media coverage. "What is highly significant is that Shell have agreed to do this through the jurisdiction of English courts," he said. Shell says most oil spills in the Niger Delta are caused by oil theft and sabotage attacks but says it cleans up whatever the cause.
"We will undertake any cleanup. Oil wealth 'must be shared' with citizens says Soros. 4 March 2011Last updated at 00:02 George Soros: Middle East turmoil caused by 'revulsion against the corruption' Citizens of oil producing nations must see more benefit from their country's national resources, billionaire investor George Soros has told the BBC. Revolts in Libya were partly the result of "revulsion against a corruption" fed by the misuse of oil money, he added.
More "transparency and accountability" was needed from other producers such as Russia and Saudi Arabia he said. Mr Soros also predicted the Iranian regime would be overthrown in the "bloodiest of the revolutions". 'Rebelled' Libya produces 1.6 million barrels of oil per day and is the 17th largest producer in the world. And Colonel Gaddafi's hold on power has been dependent on the billions of dollars in oil revenue that pour into the country. "Libya produced enormous wealth which Gaddafi took as his own and now the people rebelled against it.
" 'Tremendous improvement' Exxon Profit Surges as Consumers and Lawmakers Fume Over Gasoline Prices. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), the world’s largest company by market value, posted its largest profit in almost three years as soaring gasoline prices fueled discontent among consumers and policymakers. With U.S. motorists paying the most for gasoline since prices reached a record $4.11 a gallon in the summer of 2008, Exxon said today that its first-quarter net income jumped 69 percent to $10.7 billion.
The Irving, Texas-based company is sitting on a cash pile of $13.2 billion, even after distributing more than $7 billion to shareholders in buybacks and dividends. President Barack Obama has called for an end to decades-old tax breaks for domestic oil and natural-gas drilling, and urged Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, to help rein in surging world crude prices by boosting output. Exxon said inflicting higher taxes would drain funds the company needs to find new oil and gas fields. Signs sit on display at an Exxon gas station in Dearborn, Michigan. Close Close Open U.S. The war in Libya and the new scramble for Africa. 29 March 2011 Today’s international conference on Libya in London will be dutifully reported in the media as a gathering of concerned parties determined to honour their pledge to safeguard civilians from reprisals by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.
In reality, state dignitaries from 40 countries—including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and African Union Chairman Jean Ping—have gathered like vultures to either take part in or provide political cover for those picking over the spoils of a post-Gaddafi carve-up of Libya and Libyan oil reserves, the largest in Africa and the ninth largest in the world. The meeting’s agenda in deed, if not in word, is based on the drive for regime change, which will put opposition forces long cultivated by the CIA and other Western intelligence agencies in power. The NEDB has been a key conduit for US and UK penetration of the Libyan economy.
Chris Marsden. Dirty Money. SOURCE: AP/Alex Brandon Oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill makes a pattern in the waters of Chandeleur Sound, LA, on May 6, 2010. BP is spending $5 million a week on advertising to restore its image after its oil disaster. Meanwhile, Big Oil and its allies have spent more than $126 million on television ads this year to promote the expansion of offshore oil drilling and defeat efforts to eliminate their tax loopholes. By Daniel J. Weiss , Rebecca Lefton , and Susan Lyon | September 27, 2010 See full data on how much energy companies and trade associations spent on oil lobbying for 2009-2010 (.xls) There will be many bad memories from the summer of 2010. But as the case for action grew more urgent Big Oil, Dirty Coal, and other energy companies redoubled their efforts to block congressional adoption of global warming pollution reductions. This occurs while the United States still suffers high unemployment and slow growth as we emerge from the worst recession in eighty years.
Endnotes [1]. China to be biggest oil consumer by 2030 | beyondbrics | News and views on emerging markets from the Financial Times. Gas Dirtier Than Coal By Dr Gideon Polya. Gas Dirtier Than Coal By Dr Gideon Polya 20 March, 2011Countercurrents.org The current global Gas Boom, Gas Rush and Gasland perversion is enabled by corporate greed, lobbying and the lie that “gas is clean”. Methane (CH4) is a major greenhouse gas (GHG) that on a 100 year time scale has a relative global warming potential (GWP) that is 25 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2).
However a re-assessment by US scientists that takes atmospheric aerosol responses to CH4 into account has found that on a 20 year time scale CH4 is 105 times worse than CO2 as a GHG. Recent data from the US EPA indicates that the industrial leakage of CH4 in the US is 3.3%. Using this information it can be estimated that gas burning for power can be much dirtier GHG-wise than coal burning. The key technical quote from Shindell et al. (2009) provides an estimate that the GWP of CH4 relative to CO2 on a 20 year time scale is 79 (without aerosol effects) and 105 (with aerosol effects considered): “Fig.2. 107.75y = 275. GENOCIDE IN LIBYA? NATO INVASION UNDER WAY? ITS THE OIL, STUPID. - Conscious Being Alliance. Libya is a country of approximately six million people, having a huge geographical area but low population density. Claims that Gaddafi has uplifted his people over the course of his 40- year dictatorship are questionable.
Supporters claim that poverty is low and enemies claim that poverty is high throughout the country. However, in Tripoli in September 2009 there were the obvious signs of capitalism: overcrowding, traffic, poverty, pollution and destruction of nature. There was also an element of fear visible in people's faces. It is completely hypocritical of citizens of the United States to speak of the outrage of 'poverty' abroad when that poverty is so often the result of US militarization, unjust trade, and plundering entities like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Further, some of the worst poverty in the world can be found in US cities like Gary, Indiana and on Native American reservations like Pine Ridge. And Now, the Gaddafi Genocide "Gaddafi's Genocide! " Maxum. (119) Oil Exploration: What are the top five facts everyone should know about oil exploration. Chevron fined $8.6bn for pollution - Americas. A court in Ecuador has told oil giant Chevron Corp to pay $8.6bn in environmental damages, but the US company has termed the court order as "illegitimate and unenforceable" and said it would appeal.
An Ecuadorean judge ruled on Monday that Chevron was responsible for oil drilling contamination and also asked it to pay a legally mandated 10 per cent reparations fee. The amount - $8.6bn plus the legally mandated 10 per cent reparations fee - is far below the $27.3bn award recommended by a court-appointed expert, but appeared to be the highest damage award ever issued in an environmental lawsuit.
"We plan to appeal that and every other aspect of this illegitimate verdict and see to it that the perpetrators of this fraud are brought to justice," James Craig, a Chevron spokesman, told the Reuters news agency. In case Chevron appeals, the lawsuit, which dates from drilling in the Andean nation during the 1970s and 1980s, could drag on. "This ruling is an intermediate step. Plaintiffs disappointed.