Chevron: Offshore rig near Nigeria's oil-rich delta catches fire; search for workers ongoing
By Yinka Ibukun, The Associated Press, Canadian Business, January 16, 2012
LAGOS, Nigeria - An offshore rig exploring possible deep-water oil and gas fields off Nigeria's coast for Chevron Corp. caught fire Monday, and the oil company said officials were still trying to account for all those working there.
0:9 Pipelines will fuel plenty of talk
By Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun, December 31, 2011
Final call on proposal expected at end of 2013, following multitude of hearings and reviews
Enbridge Inc.'s Northern Gateway pipeline project began life nearly a decade ago as a market study on how to open up Alberta's oilsands resources to ocean trade with Asia.
The Oil that comes in from the cold
Humberto Marquez, Interpress Service, Nation of Change, Dec 30, 2011
“Between 13 and 20 percent of the undiscovered oil on the planet is under the Arctic ocean, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).”
Why is a scientist at an offshore oil agency under investigation?
Patti Epler, Tony Hopfinger, Alaska Dispatch, Jul 28, 2011
Exhausted global oil supplies make Arctic the new hydrocarbon frontier
Terry Macalister, guardian.co.uk, 5 July 2011
The rich, cream-and-chocolate room furnishings, delicate finger foods and "speed networking" sessions at the five-star Jumeirah Carlton Tower hotel in Knightsbridge, London, are just what you would expect from an oil industry get-together.
Danish commandoes wade into Greenpeace Arctic oil protest
John Vidal, guardian.co.uk, May 24, 2011
Armed forces called in to prevent environmentalists interfering with Cairn Energy's exploration of Arctic waters
Russia Embraces Risky Offshore Arctic Drilling
By ANDREW E. KRAMER and CLIFFORD KRAUSS, New York Times, February 15, 2011
MOSCOW — The Arctic Ocean is a forbidding place for oil drillers. But that is not stopping Russia from jumping in — or Western oil companies from eagerly following.
ICC set to meet on resource development
NUNATSIAQ NEWS, February 9, 2011
Inuit leaders will seek a common position on resource development
Inuit from Canada, Alaska. Greenland and Russia plan to meet in Ottawa at the Chateau Laurier hotel Feb. 23 to Feb. 24 24, the Inuit Circumpolar Council announced Feb. 8.
West Coast senators push Pacific shore drilling ban
Richard Simon, Los Angeles Times, January 25, 2011
Democratic senators from the California, Oregon and Washington state launched a new drive Tuesday to ban drilling off the Pacific coast but face long odds of getting the bill past the House’s new Republican majority, especially at a time of high gasoline prices.
Feds sue BP, other companies over oil spill
By JENNIFER A. DLOUHY, Houston Chronicle, Dec. 16, 2010
Fines of up to $4,300 a barrel, cleanup costs, other damages sought
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Wednesday sued BP and eight other companies in legal action that could force the firms to pay tens of billions of dollars in fines, cleanup costs and economic damages related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Critics urge B.C. to confirm offshore oil ban
CBC News, December 10, 2010
Critics are applauding news that offshore drilling is not a priority for the B.C. government —but they are also urging the province to confirm a federal moratorium will stay in place.
West Coast oil exploration not on B.C. agenda
CBC News, December 9, 2010
B.C.'s new energy minister says he has no plans to open up the West Coast to oil and gas exploration, as this drillship is doing off the coast of Louisiana in 2006. B.C.'s new energy minister says he has no plans to open up the West Coast to oil and gas exploration, as this drillship is doing off the coast of Louisiana in 2006. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press)
Oil from BP spill moved faster than expected through Gulf's food web, study
Seth Borenstein, Washington— The Associated Press, Nov. 12, 2010
Scientists say they have for the first time tracked how certain nontoxic elements of oil from the BP spill quickly became dinner for plankton, entering the food web in the Gulf of Mexico.
Ottawa powerless to halt offshore drilling alone
Andrew Mayeda, National Post, Nov. 3, 2010
OTTAWA — Canada’s natural resources minister has been warned by officials in his department that the federal government would be powerless to unilaterally halt offshore drilling projects in areas where regulatory oversight is shared with the provinces, Postmedia News has learned.
Papua New Guinea gives green light to deep-sea mineral mine
Christine Ottery, guardian.co.uk, 21 October 2010
Plans for a new mine for ore that contains copper, zinc and gold have caused alarm among scientists and indigenous people
B.C. cities oppose northern oil pipeline, tanker traffic
By Jeff Nagel, Oak Bay News,October 01, 2010
A controversial pipeline that would carry oil sands crude from Alberta across northern B.C. to tankers on the north coast has taken a hit from the Union of B.C. Municipalities.
Production rig in Gulf of Mexico explodes; Coast Guard rescuing workers
David Hammer, The Times-Picayune, September 02, 2010
A shallow-water production rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded this morning, causing the thirteen crew members aboard to abandon the structure.
Tradeoffs in offshore drilling
By Carrie Tait, Financial Post, August 18, 2010
CALGARY -- Canada’s offshore drilling rules must not be so stringent that the industry is hampered and must find a balance between environmental restrictions and economic benefits, a Senate committee said Wednesday.
What laws would apply if there was a BP-type spill along the B.C. coast?
Graham Walker And Dionysios Rossi, Vancouver Sun, August 3, 2010
Perhaps no single story has dominated news coverage recently like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It has raised questions about the legal status of offshore oil and gas development and tanker traffic along the west coast of British Columbia.
Quebec seeking offshore deal
By JONATHAN MONTPETIT, Halifax Chronicle Herald, July 30, 2010
MONTREAL — Negotiations have been launched between the federal government and Quebec in an attempt to strike an offshore drilling deal similar to those that have enriched Atlantic provinces.
Oil companies' gulf spill history is a dirty secret
St. Petersburg Times, July 26, 2010
The oil and gas industry's offshore safety and environmental record in the Gulf of Mexico has become a key point of debate over future drilling, but that record has been far worse than is commonly portrayed by many industry leaders and lawmakers.
Oil Rig’s Siren Was Kept Silent, Technician Says
By ROBBIE BROWN, New York Times, July 23, 2010
KENNER, La. — The emergency alarm on the Deepwater Horizon was not fully activated the day the oil rig caught fire and exploded, killing 11 people and setting off the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a rig worker on Friday told a government panel investigating the accident.The worker, Mike Williams, the rig’s chief electronics technician, said the general safety alarm was habitually set to “inhibited” to avoid waking up the crew with late-night sirens and emergency lights.
Vampire Blues: Suckin' Blood From the Earth
Chris Genovali, Huffington Post, July 20, 2010
I'm a vampire, babe,
suckin' blood
from the earth
I'm a vampire, baby,
suckin' blood
from the earth.
Well, I'm a vampire, babe,
sell you
twenty barrels worth.
Oil seeping from Gulf floor near well, but Coast Guard allows cap to stay in place another 24 hours
Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune, July 18, 2010
Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen on Sunday evening agreed to allow a cap to continue to block the flow of oil from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead, despite the discovery of oil or natural gas seeping from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico at a location away from the well.
Technology’s disasters share long trail of hubris
The Associated Press, Las Vegas Sun, July 18, 2010
It's all so familiar. A technological disaster, then a presidential commission examining what went wrong. And ultimately a discovery that while technology marches on, concern for safety lags. Technology isn't as foolproof as it seemed.
