An international watchdog is warning that corruption is already rampant in Liberia’s oil sector — even before any oil has been discovered. Global Witness said Monday government officials and at least one company have paid bribes to get contracts approved. The report also accuses the government of giving oil concessions to companies with little or […]
Watchdog Warns of Oil Corruption in Liberia
Oil Production Resumes in Libya
Italian energy giant Eni says it is resuming large-scale oil production in Libya, a half year after its operations were brought to a near standstill by the uprising against Moammar Gadhafi. Eni, the largest foreign oil producer in Libya, said Monday that it is now drawing nearly 32,000 barrels of crude oil a day at […]
Study: Oil Still Fresh Along Gulf Coast
A new study says balls of tar from last year’s BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico off the southern United States are not breaking down as fast as officials had expected. Auburn University researchers in Alabama say oil samples that washed up on the beach after a recent tropical storm appeared very similar […]
New Gulf Oil Spill Report Blames BP, Partners for Disaster
A key federal report has leveled much of the blame on BP for last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the worst offshore spill in U.S. history. The U.S. Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement report , released Wednesday, says the disaster is the result of poor risk management, a […]
New Gulf Oil Spill Report Blames BP, Partners for Disaster
A key federal report is blaming British Petroleum and its partners for last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the worst offshore spill in U.S. history. The U.S. Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement report says the disaster was the result of poor management, a faulty cement job, and other […]
China Checks Safety of Offshore Oil Rigs
China says it has begun safety inspections on all offshore oil exploration and production facilities, to eliminate concerns spawned by undersea oil spills in a coastal area near Beijing. The official Xinhua news agency says the inspections, which began Saturday, will continue for three months and will cover fixed and mobile platforms, as well as […]
Chinese Premier Orders Official Probe of US Oil Giant
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has ordered a thorough probe of an oil spill at a site in northern China operated by U.S. oil giant ConocoPhillips. Environmentalists say an undersea well site that began leaking in early June has badly polluted the beaches in Bohai Bay, and impacted fishing and agricultural operations in the coastal region […]
US Oil Firm Apologizes Over Oil Leak in Chinese Waters
U.S.-based ConocoPhillips says it will create a fund to mitigate the damage caused by an oil spill off China’s northeastern coast. The oil giant issued a statement Wednesday saying the fund will cover the company’s responsibilities from the three-month oil leak, and to “benefit the general environment” in Bohai Bay. The company did not say […]
Chinese State Media Blast US Firm Over Oil Leak
Chinese state media are accusing an American oil company of lacking basic social responsibility in its handling of an oil spill in Bohai Bay, off China’s northeast coast. The company, ConocoPhillips China, said it expected to complete a shutdown of its operations in the bay by the end of Monday, complying with an order issued […]
China Shuts Down US Operated Oil Field
Beijing is ordering a U.S.-based oil company to stop drilling in one of China largest offshore fields, accusing the firm of failing to plug an ongoing leak. China’s State Oceanic Administration Friday told ConocoPhillips to stop production at the Penglai 19-3 oil field in Bohai Bay. It said the U.S. company’s efforts to repair the […]