John Manley, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management has stated his confidence in energy investment growth for 2016. [CNBC] MIT researchers have developed a simple procedure for making a promising type of solar cell using lead recovered from discarded lead-acid car batteries. [MIT News] The French oil and gas multinational Total has been… Keep reading →
Some of the world’s largest companies — and brands — announced their commitment on Tuesday to cutting carbon emissions and participating in practices that would support sustainable energy. [The NY Times] Asian stock markets were uneven Wednesday as commodity prices languished in a sign of uncertainty about world growth prospects. [U.S. News/AP] In the north… Keep reading →
Germany has hit a new milestone by using solar, wind, and other sources of renewable to meet 78 percent of its energy demand for a given day. [Yahoo News] French energy giant Total recent net profits dropped 4 percent in the second quarter as higher production helped offset a steep drop in the price of oil. [ABC/AP]… Keep reading →
Duke Energy has agreed to provide families in North Caroline with bottled water after state testing found private wells near where the company stores coal waste contaminated with potentially toxic chemicals. “Over the last week, the state’s department of environment and natural resources mailed out 87 letters to residents who live near sites where Duke has stored… Keep reading →
Western economic sanctions against Russian oil and energy interests are steadily playing out, this time affecting French oil major Total S.A.’s ability to finance part of the $27 billion Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Russian Arctic. Reports broke toward the end of last week that Total will seek as much as $15… Keep reading →
U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz stated his department’s commitment to reopening the federal government’s underground nuclear waste repository in New Mexico.”Moniz made assurances to a U.S. Senate subcommittee during a hearing Wednesday in Washington, D.C. He says reopening the troubled facility would be done safety, with worker safety in mind. A container stored at the… Keep reading →
Christophe de Margerie, CEO of major French oil company Total, was killed Monday night when his corporate jet crashed into a snow removal vehicle on the runway of an airport near Moscow. The company reportedly has no succession plant in place, but has strong corporate governance led by a long-standing board of directors. “Barclays France… Keep reading →
Germany, the UK and Poland have the dirtiest coal plants in the EU, where the share of coal in power generation is currently around 25%. The IEA says EU coal-fired generation needs to be below 4% by 2035 to combat climate change. Germany exported a record amount of power in 2013 as it generated more… Keep reading →
The energy industry – oil & gas sector in particular – is bracing itself for a massive wave of retirements over the short to medium term, which has been dubbed “The Great Shift Change.” As the industry prepares for this turnover, companies are looking to the next generation of candidates with skills ranging from finance,… Keep reading →
You can’t un-ring that bell, but Total CEO Christophe de Margerie laments the fact “hydraulic fracturing” became the widely accepted terminology for the controversial well completion technology. De Margerie’s dissatisfaction with the term appears to stem from a belief that it sounds overly complex and scares the general public. The French oil major’s chief made… Keep reading →
