Oil Today

Crude oil at lowest price for six weeks

Crude oil prices including red diesel have fallen to their lowest price for six weeks, at a time when the US dollar is experiencing strengthening, but global equities markets have seen notable declines. Investors also remain nervous about the future of the oil industry and the extent to which the global economic recovery from the recession is taking hold.

The Brent crude oil company reported falls of $1.15 dollars to $74.15 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. Meanwhile, More

BP continues negotiations to avoid a government takeover

As BP shares of the FTSE Index rise 7% in the wake of negotiations concerning the company’s desperate attempts to to avoid a takeover, BP may be selling off much of its shares to US oil companies Chevron and Exxon. BP has highlighted it will introduce a $40 billion defence plan which will be released on July 27th. Currently, shares are up by 10.45p, 2.62%, to a figure of 409.40p.

The company is currently waiting to find out whether its More

Seafood from the Gulf of Mexico is still safe to eat, despite oil spil

Despite the endless negative media output over the Gulf of Mexico oil leak, many journalists fail to acknowledge that seafood is still perfectly edible, despite the large amount of oil that has been deposited in the affected area. In reality, everyone who eats fish is taking a risk. There are all kinds of chemicals in our oceans, most of which originate from waste from landfill sites. For example, finfish are unable to absorb metals or other chemicals underwater. All seafood More

BP installs new cap, stops oil leak for the first time since crisis began in April

BP has managed to complete a new containment system this week after Gulf of Mexico residents expressed a sigh of relief. A series of underwater cameras and photographs taken at the Deepwater Horizon have confirmed that no oil was leaking at the site at the time. The explosion, which occurred on April 20, killed 11 personnel and damaged the oil rig, which resulted in a massive spillage and threw red diesel suppliers and ecologist alike into a collective panic.

Officials are unable to guarantee that the oil leak has been permanently halted and have suggested that it may not be until August until they are confident enough to confirm that well has been properly sealed.

Meanwhile, BP shares rose by 10 percent amidst news that the leak had been contained. President Obama announced that the crisis was still in a ‘testing phase’ and BP’s chief operating officer, Doug Suttles said that valves may have to be reopened in order to determine whether certain pressure levels will lead to further leakages in the future.

Officials have also spoken of the importance finishing tests in the oil rig before a hurricane strike. If a hurricane had taken place during the height of the oil spillage, large volumes of oil would have been washed onto the shores and the containment plan would have been delayed by several months. Luckily, such a scenario has not occurred, although no one is taking their chances.

By shutting the well now, US Coast Guard Thad Allen says that this will enable workers to abandon the oil rig in the event of a tropical storm or hurricane. On average, the peak period of hurricane activity along the Gulf Coast occurs in August and September and the oil spill began just over a month before the official start of the 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

How Do We Protect The Environment From Oil Spills

Following the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, once again it has been shown just how disastrous and devastating to the environment an oil spill can be. However, that does not mean we don’t continue drilling offshore or that small oil spills cannot affect the environment. As we have learned from the Gulf Oil spill, clean-up has to be the top priority.

As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. We should always have a backup plan in case More

Oil Spill In The Gulf Of Mexico: How Much Should BP Be Punished?

Recently, we’ve all heard of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The question is, should BP be held accountable, and what would a proper punishment be? Many will argue they should pay billions of dollars in fine for endangering the environment, the public, and failing to show proper regard by failing to install a safety shut off valve.

Does that mean they were just trying to save a quick buck? Will gas prices jump now and cause an More

How To Prevent Oil Spills: What Oil Companies Should Do

Though the recent oil spill in the Great Barrier Reef on 3^rd April 2010 is still persistent in our memory, here we get another similar incident near Venice, LA. Despite frequent debate and discussions the oil companies are denying their responsibility regarding this matter. According to the report of Chevron Pipe Line Company more than 18,000 gallons of crude oil dripped from a pipeline into a channel which is located near Venice. Before they were able to fix it, More

Is The UK Oil and Gas Sector In Trouble?

The world’s supply of oil and gas has been hit hard in the past decade, but no other nation has felt the effects of this shortage more than the UK.

The UK’s gas and oil reserves, both existing and potential, have dropped more than 40%, from 9.2bnboe to 5.25bnboe, in the past two years, according to Oil and Gas UK.

Although 11bnboe have been discovered since 2008 (an increase of 15%), an investment of 60 billion Pounds is required to More

Drilling for oil in Alaska: Should The US Do It?

The entire political fraternity in America, including environmentalists and other concerned citizens, have been debating the issue of drilling in Alaska and rightly so. This is a sensitive issue since it deals with wildlife that is likely to suffer damages due to drilling and the other things surrounding it. There are the Oil Companies on one side pressing the government to give them the go ahead to drill within the Alaskan Wild Life Reserve. However, this could have a great More

Shetland Fields Now Set For Development With New Tax Break

“Shetland fields” is an area of interest to oil companies. It is an area of North Sea’s last frontier in Britain. Britain has moved a step closer to the development of Shetland fields by making a new announcement to extend the “new field allowance”. In this announcement, government has promised to provide the tax relief of £160 million approx for every gas field. According to the estimation, Shetland fields have 20% of oil and gas reserves in UK.

Understanding the More