Energy News

TOKYO (AFP) - It may sound like a sci-fi vision, but Japan's space agency is dead serious: by 2030 it wants to collect solar power in space and zap it down to Earth, using laser beams or microwaves. Full Story »

BALHAF, Yemen (AFP) - Yemen, one of the world's poorest countries, joined the international club of gas exporters Saturday with pumping starting at a newly built liquefied natural gas plant in the Gulf of Aden. Full Story »

WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (OneWorld.net) - Climate analysts are calling on the Obama administration to use an international finance meeting this week to press for a swift end to subsidies for coal, oil, and natural gas companies around the world. Full Story »

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Exxon Mobil on Thursday became the first US company to win a contract since Iraq's oil industry was nationalised almost 40 years ago, further expanding the role of foreign nations in the industry. Full Story »

STOCKHOLM - Sweden and Finland on Thursday approved a Baltic Sea pipeline project that would ship Russian natural gas to Germany, clearing two key obstacles for construction to begin next year. Full Story »

BAGHDAD - A consortium grouping U.S. and European oil giants Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Thursday signed a $50 billion deal to develop one of Iraq's most prized oil fields, as the OPEC nation looks to revamp its battered energy sector. Full Story »

BUSHLAND, Texas - Authorities say three people were injured when a natural gas pipeline explosion shook homes, melted window blinds and shot flames hundreds of feet into the air in northern Texas. Full Story »

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US major Exxon Mobil has won a contract to develop West Qurna 1 field, the oil ministry said on Thursday, as the foreign role in Iraq's oil industry widens with China leading the way. Full Story »

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq formally signed a deal with Britain's BP and China's CNPC on Tuesday to almost triple production at a giant southern oilfield. Full Story »

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex dropped 3.1 percent on Tuesday, a sixth straight fall that took it to its lowest close in two months, pulled down by a sell-off in energy giant Reliance Industries and weak global markets. Full Story »

MOSCOW - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged the European Union on Monday to lend Ukraine at least $1 billion to help it pay for natural gas supplies from Russia and avoid another disruption of flows to Europe. Full Story »

BAGHDAD (AFP) - A consortium led by Italian energy giant ENI has initialled a contract with the Iraqi government to explore the Zubair oilfield in southern Iraq, an oil ministry spokesman said on Monday. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Delays in sealing new orders forced Indian wind power company Suzlon Energy Ltd to cut its sales forecast, but the company will still see full-year profits near last year's level, an executive said on Saturday. Full Story »

CHICAGO (AFP) - British oil giant BP has been hit with a record US fine of 87.4 million dollars for safety violations at a Texas refinery where 15 people were killed in a 2005 explosion, officials said Friday. Full Story »

LONDON (AFP) - Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell is in "exclusive" talks to sell three European refineries to Indian conglomerate Essar, a company spokesman told AFP. Full Story »

KINSHASA (Reuters) - India has offered Democratic Republic of Congo $263 million in loans to build hydroelectric plants and repair battered infrastructure in the war-ravaged central African nation, Congo's foreign minister said on Friday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Videos posted online by US oil company Chevron purporting to show rampant corruption among Ecuadoran officials are actually a set-up meant to taint an ongoing trial against the energy giant, an attorney in the case alleged. Full Story »

MUMBAI (AFP) - Indian refining and energy giant Reliance Industries Ltd said quarterly net profit dropped by 6.5 percent on Thursday as core refining margins fell following a tumble in global crude prices. Full Story »