oil industry news stories on Newser

Most Dangerous Part of Oil Jobs: Driving Home

Kevin Spak — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:43:05 CDT

You know what's more dangerous than working on an oil rig? Driving home from one. More than 300 oil and gas workers have died in car crashes in the past decade, making it the top cause of death in a dangerous industry, the New York Times reports. The probable culprit?...

Obama Vows to Speed Up Part of Pipeline

Rob Quinn — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:17:19 CDT

President Obama defended his oil policy yesterday, pledging to speed up approval of the southern leg of the controversial Keystone pipeline project. "Anyone who says that we're somehow suppressing domestic oil production isn't paying attention," he said, adding that boosting production in the US won't be enough to bring prices...

Did Drilling Cause Oklahoma's Quakes?

Kevin Spak — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:16:00 CST

Scientists aren’t entirely sure what caused the earthquakes that rocked Oklahoma last week , but many in the state are wondering whether it might have something to do with the oil wells and fracking operations that dot the state, the LA Times reports. Oil companies scoff at the notion—“To try...

Oil Giants Battle Over 5-Inch Lizard

Kevin Spak — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:52:05 CDT

To hear some politicians and lobbyists tell it, the fate of New Mexico’s oil industry rests on the fate of a five-inch lizard. The federal government is considering listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species, the Wall Street Journal reports, and that spooks the industry, because Sceloporous arenicolus...

Big Oil Defends Profits

John Johnson — Thu, 12 May 2011 13:15:05 CDT

Oil executives had to march up to Capitol Hill today amid $4 gas prices and huge profits to argue why their industry deserved to keep tax subsidies. In response to Democrats' criticism, the execs said ending their tax breaks would do nothing to bring down gas prices, hurt R&D, and...

Gas Prices Drain Obama Approval Rating: Poll

Matt Cantor — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:43:40 CDT

Gas prices are hurting Americans—and they’re hurting President Obama’s poll numbers, too, a Washington Post /ABC News survey finds. Some 60% of respondents said they are reducing their driving thanks to the prices, while 70% said the prices were causing money woes, the Post reports. Of those who saw...

UK Consulted Big Oil Before Iraq Invasion

Rob Quinn — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 03:21:16 CDT

Contrary to official denials, British oil firms were jockeying for a share of Iraq's oil wealth the year before Britain took a leading role in the 2003 invasion, newly released documents reveal. Government ministers held at least five top-level meetings with execs from BP and Shell in late 2002, and...

Feds: Big Oil Not Using the Leases They Have

Kevin Spak — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:37:53 CDT

With oil companies and Republicans criticizing the Obama administration for being too slow to issue new offshore drilling permits in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Interior Department hit back with a report yesterday revealing that the industry isn’t using the majority of the leases it already has....

Biotech Firm Says It Can Grow Diesel

Rob Quinn — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 07:18:05 CST

A Massachusetts biotech company says it has created an organism capable of radically transforming the energy business—and the world. Joule Unlimited claims its genetically-engineered organism can create diesel fuel or ethanol using only the same ingredients grass needs to grow: sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Skeptics, however, doubt whether...