Energy, Mining & Utilities

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Youths who seized an oil rig off southern Nigeria released their last 43 hostages and left the rig peacefully Thursday, after the oil company agreed to discuss their demands, officials said. Read More

The World Bank president's June meeting could do worse than to consider Uganda's Bujagali Dam project and Tanzania's Bulyanhulu Gold Mine. The two large-scale projects are being supported by the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (Miga), as part of a broad strategy to increase economic growth and alleviate poverty. Read More

Following a vote in the United States Senate last week to block changes to a bill which would have allowed oil exploration and development of a fragile wildlife habitat in the Arctic, activists are now planning their next steps to ensure that the area remains protected from future environmental threats. Read More

Last Friday, April 12, The Municipal Government of Talamanca (one of the counties where the Costa Rican government granted concessions to U.S. companies for oil development) declared Talamanca an ''Oil-Free'' County. As far as we know, this is the first government entity anywhere that has declared its territory ''free of oil and gas exploration and exploitation'' by initiating a ''moratorium on all activities related to petroleum exploration and exploitation within the Talamancan territory.'' Read More

WASHINGTON -- The Interior Department on Thursday approved final rules to allow energy companies to share the costs and revenues from drilling for oil and natural gas on leased tracts in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve. Read More

A letter from activists opposing the Senate Energy Bill. It addresses the massive changes to S. 517 of the Energy Policy Act of 2002. Read More

Despite ten years of effort, Esso/ExxonMobil hasn't been able to stop the world's climate scientists saying that global warming is here and is caused by burning oil, coal and gas. So what does Esso do next? It tries to change the scientists. Read More

WASHINGTON (April 3, 2002) -- The Bush administration this week moved to oust a top scientific official targeted by ExxonMobil in a confidential memo to the White House. Bold language in the ExxonMobil papers released today by NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) reflects a brazen, behind-the-scenes effort by the oil company and other energy giants to disrupt the principal international science assessment program on global warming. Read More

WASHINGTON, DC -- Just 20 electric utilities in the United States are responsible for half the carbon dioxide, mercury, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide pollution emitted by the 100 largest power generating companies in the nation, a new report finds. The study by a coalition of environmental and public interest groups found that between four and six companies account for 25 percent of the emissions of each pollutant. Read More

United Mine Workers president Cecil Roberts was one of 11 people arrested Thursday at the site of a huge coal sludge spill as they demonstrated against the environmental performance of Massey Energy. Read More