US voters support increased use of renewable power but would pay only about $10 per month extra for it, according to an opinion poll that highlights the difficulties facing many forms of lower-carbon energy.
The poll also identifies reduced US dependence on foreign oil as a top priority for energy policy and shows support for greater use of natural gas, in spite of concerns about possible pollu
Iraq on Monday invited foreign companies to bid for contracts developing eight of its oil and gas fields, launching a process that will let big international oil companies back into the country for the first time in more than 30 years. Hussein Shahristani, oil minister, said the six oilfields being offered for tender were the "backbone' of Iraq's industry, and hoped foreign investment would help lift output to 4.5m barrels per day by 2013, from 2.5m b/d today.
The good news in the International Energy Agency's report on the future of energy technologies is that there is enough oil left on the planet to allow a huge increase in consumption over the next few decades. The bad news is that the consequences for the climate of burning that much oil would be alarming. The IEA, the rich countries' energy watchdog, is urging the world to start weaning itself off oil, not because supplies are running out but to avoid "significant change in all aspects of life and irreversible change in the natural environment" as a result of global warming.
The struggle for control of TNK-BP is the first big test for Tony Hayward's leadership of BP. Since taking over as chief executive from Lord Browne a year ago, he has focused on reforming the company's structure and operations, to cut costs and raise performance. The threat to BP's future in Russia is forcing Mr Hayward to take on a huge strategic challenge as well. There are good reasons for him to hope that he can achieve at least a qualified success. BP needs Russia but Russia also needs companies such as BP. If Mr Hayward fails, however, BP will face a much darker future.
Qatar's pioneering plant to convert natural gas to liquid fuels operated by Sasol of South Africa will continue to run at well below full capacity until the second half of this year at the earliest. The technical problems that have dogged the Oryx project, which opened last year, are further evidence of the challenges in commercialising gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology. That technology is being touted by some oil companies as an important source of future fuel supplies.
Royal Dutch Shell, Europe's biggest oil company, is working on a process to turn sugars into a synthetic petrol, rather than ethanol, with the aim of moving to a commercial demonstration plant in two years' time. The company yesterday announced a joint venture with Virent, a US biotech business based in Wisconsin, saying results from research over the past year had been better than expected in terms of costs and yields.
