German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday stood by her backing for a German-Russian gas pipeline project despite the Navalny case and the threat of U.S. sanctions Merkel said her government’s position on Nord Stream 2 is still unaffected by tensions over Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny who recovered in Germany …
Read More »ExxonMobil, Chevron Bosses Mulled Combining Operations amid Volatile Oil Markets
ExxonMobil and Chevron bosses last year discussed merging the two biggest oil producers in the U.S., Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the meeting. According to Bloomberg, ExxonMobil chief executive officer Darren Woods and Chevron CEO Michael Wirth discussed a potential consolidation of the oil …
Read More »The Best Performing Oil Major In 2020
Despite the devastating downturn of 2020, most global majors held up quite well during the market turmoil, a Rystad Energy comparative analysis reveals after measuring key upstream performance metrics. Total outshined all other peers, as the French company not only exceled in financial and operational performance, but also was the …
Read More »U.S. Set to Tighten Methane Rules as International Pressure Grows
The oil industry is now supporting U.S. federal methane regulations, after having opposed them in the past. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and emissions have climbed over the past two decades as oil and gas production continued to rise. Now, global efforts to rein in methane pollution are receiving …
Read More »New Concept for Rocket Thruster Exploits the Mechanism behind Solar Flares
A new fusion rocket thruster concept which could power humans to Mars and beyond has been proposed by a physicist at the US Department of Energy’s plasma physics laboratory at Princeton University. According to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) the rocket would use magnetic fields to shoot plasma particles …
Read More »The Five Factors Driving the Mass Adoption Of Electric Vehicles
Global electric vehicle sales grew by 43% during 2020, and in some markets such as Norway or the Netherlands sales outnumber petrol and diesel cars. In Europe overall, electric sales during 2020 exceeded half a million units, while in the United States, the new Biden administration is considering incentives to …
Read More »Nord Stream 2 Remains Sour Point in US-Europe Ties
Antony Blinken, Joe Biden’s Secretary of State nominee, said on Tuesday that the new government will use every persuasive tool to stop the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The statement triggered debate over why Biden’s administration, which voiced multiple times it would repair tattered transatlantic ties, persists …
Read More »Merkel Stands by Nord Stream 2, but Is Open to Discussing Russia with Biden
Angela Merkel said she’s willing to discuss energy ties with Moscow with the incoming U.S. administration, but the German chancellor reiterated her support for a controversial gas pipeline to Russia. “We need to also discuss which economic relations in the gas sector are possible with Russia, and which aren’t,” Merkel …
Read More »German Power Sector could Achieve 100% Renewables by 2040
On its planned path to climate-neutrality by the middle of the century, Germany could achieve complete decarbonisation of its power sector already by 2040 – and EU climate targets might even compel the country to greatly speed up the expansion of wind and solar power, government ministers have said at …
Read More »Biden Set to Supercharge Clean Energy Push with $40B Stash
Twelve years ago, the Department of Energy was so central to the incoming Obama administration’s stimulus plans that DOE staffers were among the first through the doors at the transition headquarters, helping the Secret Service take the plastic wrap off tables and chairs so they could get to work. Now, …
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