EU Bans Syrian Oil Imports
The European Union has banned imports of crude oil from Syria in response to President Bashar al-Assad’s deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protestors, Bloomberg.com reported.
The oil embargo was approved Friday by EU governments in Brussels and expands existing sanctions against the Syrian regime.
The ban affects Syrian exports valued at $4.5 billion in 2010, according to the [...]
Libyan Production Set to Recover, but OPEC Waiting to Adjust Output
Libyan rebels took control of Tripoli today, further solidifying beliefs that the country’s oil production will soon return to levels seen before the violent civil war began in February. However, OPEC’s Gulf members probably won’t reduce oil output for some time, since relying on Libya too early could be a mistake, Reuters reported.
Before political upheaval [...]
Shell Spills Major Oil off Coast of Scotland
Oil giant Shell has contaminated at least 48 square miles of ocean in the North Sea from its Gannet Alpha platform, DigitalJournal.com reported. The latest estimates put the leak around 100 metric tons or 730 barrels worth. Though Shell operates the Gannet Alpha platform, Exxon Mobil Corp. is also a partner.
Echoing the dishonest rhetoric surrounding [...]
Venezuela to Increase Oil Production
Venezuela’s leading energy officials announced the government is hammering out long-term plans to drastically boost oil output while diversifying its struggling economy, according to an Associated Press report.
Last month, OPEC’s latest study revealed Venezuela had overtaken Saudi Arabia as the country with the most proven crude oil reserves – yet it doesn’t even rank on [...]
Heating Oil Use Rising in the UK
A recent study from the Office for National Statistics found that households in the United Kingdom are using more heating oil, and energy use on the whole is rising as well, BoilerJuice.com reported this week.
The study was conducted as part of a Social Trends report looking into the environment and factors affecting it. Researchers found [...]
Venezuela Beats Out Saudi Arabia as World Leader in Oil Reserves
According to OPEC’s annual statistical bulletin, Venezuela has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the country with the most proven crude oil reserves, the Miami Herald reported this week. Between 2009 and 2010, Venezuela’s known reserves climbed by 40% to level out at 296.5 billion barrels of oil. OPEC estimated Saudi Arabia’s reserves weigh in around 264.5 [...]
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NYC Schools Still Using Dirtiest Grades of Heating Oil
Despite strong encouragement from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a city-wide pledge to ban the two dirtiest types of heating oil by 2030, hundreds of New York City schools are cementing plans to continue using the controversial fuel for some time to come, New York 1 reported.
In April, the mayor announced the PlaNYC initiative would be [...]
The Top 10 Oil-Producing Countries
This isn’t breaking news, since the top oil producing countries in the world have the most natural stores of oil and don’t change very often. However, fluctuation in output from any of these countries can affect the heating oil and gas prices that affect our everyday lives. Staying apprised of news and developments in these [...]
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Heating Oil Price Trend for July 5: -2¢
Oil prices slipped late on Monday when concerns arose that a rollover of Greece’s debt will be considered a default, which could cause global oil demand to nosedive. Confidence in the global economy is already weak, and this latest report of Greece’s financial struggle from U.S.-based rating agency Standard & Poor’s demonstrated that this issue [...]
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New Bioheat Fuel Terminal Opens in New Jersey
When people hear the term “biodiesel,” they often think of it as an alternative fuel for vehicles, which it is. However, this biodegradable, nontoxic, and renewable substance is perfectly compatible with home heating equipment like oil-fired furnaces and boilers. When used for home heating, biodiesel is often referred to as Bioheat. And it was a [...]
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Heating Oil Price Trend for June 30: +10¢
Last week’s controversial decision to tap 60 million barrels of emergency oil reserves hasn’t had the impact the International Energy Agency desired, as heating oil prices surged ten cents and crude climbed $1.88 to finish at $94.77 a barrel on the NYMEX on Wednesday.
Reserves were released in an effort to bring prices down and stabilize [...]
Heating Oil Provider Releases Tools, Information to Help Consumers Understand Price Protection
Choosing a heating oil dealer and payment plan can be an intimidating and tedious decision. Understanding why prices fluctuate like they do is complicated and frustrating at times, but finding the right protection plan for your home heating needs is certainly worth the effort.
With that in mind, Irving Energy, a New England and Canada-based heating [...]
FTC Begins Oil-Trade Investigation
The Federal Trade Commission has begun investigating oil traders, producers and refiners to determine whether they’ve been engaging in anti-competitive practices or manipulation, or giving federal agencies misleading data about the price of crude oil, the Wall Street Journal reported this week.
“Let me assure you that the commission will conduct this investigation as efficiently and [...]
The Newest Biofuel Option: Straight Vegetable Oil
By Quinn Wonderling
GoVo Biofuels LLC has developed a new biofuel that some believe could solve the dilemma of affordably heating large older buildings with locally-sourced fuel and matching, modified boiler equipment, the Clean Tech Center reported this week.
GoVo works to provide vegetable oil-based fuels that can be used as substitutes for heating oil and diesel. [...]
A Glossary of Heating Oil Terms
AFUE Rating: An acronym for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, the AFUE rating indicates the percentage of heating oil that is successfully converted into actual heat for a home. The higher the AFUE percentage is, the better the conversion rate from oil to heat. For example, an AFUE of 85 percent means that 85 percent [...]
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Superior Plus Corporation: An American Heating Oil Giant is Born
After investing nearly $160 million in heating oil properties throughout the Northeast this fall, Superior Plus Corp. has become a major player on the U.S. heating oil scene. Although this is the Calgary, Alberta-based company’s first foray into the U.S. energy market it is backed by the unmatched weight of its $2.2 billion general [...]
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Hydraulic Fracturing (Hydrofracking): The Risks and Rewards of the Controversial Drilling Technique
Fracking—if you’re a Battlestar Galactica fan, “fracking” is a coarse term for an intimate activity, as well as being an all-purpose, heavy-duty swear word.
However, if you’re in the oil or gas industry, or just read the news relating to upstate New York and eastern Pennsylvania, fracking—or fracing, as it’s also spelled—means something very different: [...]
Fossil Fuel Subsidies: The Politics and Economics of Climate Change
When President Barack Obama spoke in front of the United Nations global warming summit and promised to “work with my colleagues at the G-20 to phase out fossil fuel subsidies so that we can better address our climate challenge,” his proposal was alternately applauded and condemned. “It’s a great idea,” said Frank O’Donnell, the [...]
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Profile of an Oil Producer: Iraq
History of Iraq’s Oil Industry
Discovery of oil in 1908 at Masjid-i Suleiman in Iran led to a subsequent search in Mesopotamia (later named Iraq by British mandate). When the Ottoman Empire (of which Mesopotamia had been a part since 1534) collapsed in the early 20th Century, Western powers jumped at the chance to [...]
Eye on Copenhagen: Can the World Agree on a Climate Treaty to Replace Kyoto?
From Kyoto to Copenhagen
Debate over climate change legislation in the United States rages on, and even the Obama administration has conceded that a climate bill will not be finalized until 2010. However, a more important agreement on climate change could take place before the year’s end: a new carbon emissions treaty—a successor to the [...]