Energy Bangla

By James Stafford : As the Canadian government pushes a new law rendering pipeline companies liable for all damages from leaks and spills, the only friend to both sides in this polarized world of dirty oil sands is leak prevention technology. On May 14, amid heightened opposition to two planned pipelines, Canada’s Natural Resources Ministry unveiled a new law making pipeline operators liable for all the costs and damages related... »

By Nicholas Cunningham: Several of the largest oil companies in the world are doubling down in Russia despite moves by the West to isolate Russia and its economy. ExxonMobil and BP separately signed agreements with Rosneft – Russia’s state-owned oil company – to extend and deepen their relationships for energy exploration. The U.S. slapped sanctions on Rosneft’s CEO Igor Sechin in late April, freezing his assets and preventing him from... »

Sir Frank Peters: A best-selling controversial book that calls for a ban on corporal punishment to children in the home, schools and madrasas, has won a prestigious award from America’s coveted 2014 Eric Hoffer Book Awards. Breaking the Paddle: Ending School Corporal Punishment by Dr. Nadine A. Block of the Center for Effective Discipline, set out to highlight the many dangers and long-term effects to children – and to society... »

By Nicholas Cunningham: The great hype surrounding the advent of a shale gas bonanza in California may turn out to be just that: hype. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) – the statistical arm of the Department of Energy – has downgraded its estimate of the total amount of recoverable oil in the Monterey Shale by a whopping 96 percent. Its previous estimate pegged the recoverable resource in California’s shale... »

By Ky Krauthamer : Grins were on the faces of China National Petroleum executives this week as they celebrated a blockbuster 30-year deal for Russian gas. It was a good day for CNPC, the state-owned colossus at the center of China’s oil and gas webs and one of Eurasia’s biggest energy investors. For some, however, those grins could soon turn to grimaces, because the deal comes against a backdrop of... »

By Nick Cunningham: A major gas deal between Russia and China could finally be sealed this week when Russian President Vladimir Putin visits China on May 20-21 and meets with President Xi Jinping. In the lead up to Putin’s arrival, the two sides have been working on putting the finishing touches on a 30-year contract for a gas deal a decade in the making, and Russian officials have suggested that... »

By John C.K. Daly: Amidst the deepening war of words over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, U.S. President Barack Obama on April 28 added more Russian individuals and companies to a sanctions list that already included influential members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and Bank Rossiya, which has close ties to the Russian leadership. The new list freezes the assets of Igor Sechin, head of Russia’s major oil company,... »

By. Daniel J. Graeber: Russian President Vladimir Putin said he doesn’t think the European community can do without the natural gas it gets from energy monopoly Gazprom. With a Russian economy starting to decline, however, it may be Gazprom that’s too strongly interconnected to the European market to break free. The narrative over European energy security reaches at least back to 2006 when Gazprom first cut gas supplies through Ukraine.... »

By Robert Bensh: As protests in Ukraine’s eastern region turned violent on Sunday leading to the death of a Ukrainian security officer in a shootout with pro-Russian militia, Kiev threatens military action while Moscow flexes its geo-economic warfare muscles. Pro-Russian militia groups have seized government buildings and police headquarters in Ukraine’s eastern city of Donetsk and Slovyanks–where the shoot-out took place–and despite a Monday morning ultimatum by the Ukrainian government,... »

Sir Frank Peters: It comes as no surprise that a new university study, conducted by German researchers, concludes that corporal punishment does “lasting psychological harm” and supports the Bangladesh law that bans it. “Parents aim to educate children through corporal punishment, but instead of learning good social behaviours, the beatings often have the opposite effect,” said study leader Tobias Hecker, a psychologist at the University of Konstanz. To test whether... »