David Blair's Blog, page 136

Protests called in gas-rich Azerbaijan

State television in Azerbaijan pumps out such a relentless diet of official propaganda that people here in the country's capital, Baku, tend to watch foreign channels instead. Why does this fact have any relevance to energy policy?

Oil groups seek Libyan rebels' assurances

International oil companies are starting to reach out to Libya's opposition to try to obtain guarantees for the security of their operations, industry executives said.

Oil companies rebuked for being too 'reliant'

Oil companies working in Libya relied too heavily on the government to evacuate staff and should have been better prepared for such an emergency, David Cameron has said.

Saudis lift oil output to fill Libya shortfall

Saudi Arabia has begun producing more oil to fill the shortfall in global supplies caused by Libya's political crisis, the International Energy Agency has confirmed.

Saudis increase oil output – official

We now have confirmation from the International Energy Agency that the Saudis have indeed raised their outpu t.

Oil spike: a word from Saudi Arabia

The fact that active negotiations are taking place between Saudi Arabia and European refiners to establish how the kingdom might replace Libyan supplies has calmed the market after Thursday's panic-buying sent a barrel of Brent crude above $119.

Libyan chaos threatens to spark oil crisis

Libya's oil output has plunged by at least a fifth as foreign companies have shut down production, running the risk of turning the political crisis in the Middle East into an oil crisis.

Opec ready to raise oil output

Saudi Arabia and other leading members of Opec stand ready to produce more oil if Libya's political crisis were to disrupt global supplies , the Saudi oil minister has said.

Centrica risks probe with £2bn bonanza

Centrica, the UK's biggest energy supplier, will court controversy by its very success this week when the company is expected to announce it earned £2bn of pre-tax profits last year.

Essar agrees break fee on Shell's Stanlow

Essar Energy has taken a significant step towards buying Shell 's refinery at Stanlow, on the south bank of the Manchester Ship Canal near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire.