Even after BP’s refinery in Texas City exploded in 2005 killing 15 workers and injuring hundreds, the company continues to break the safety standards it promised to meet as part of a settlement agreement. Four workers have died in separate occasions since. Yet documents obtained by the FT’s Sheila McNulty show that the company continues to cut…

“The U.S. military has come to serve as a global oil protection service, guarding pipelines, refineries and loading facilities in the Middle East and elsewhere.” – US academic Michael Klare The UPI article below references the Tullow discovery in Sierra Leone in the context of US attempts to increase military control over the African continent. The foundation of US…

Obama’s administration is continuing Bush’ policy of demanding that the Iraqi government hand over highly profitable oil contracts to Western oil companies. According to UPI, during a visit to Baghdad this month, Vice-Pres Biden was “hustling on behalf of the U.S. oil giants who have long dreamed of getting their hands on what may be the…

It’s my first morning in Bristol, living on a canal barge near Bristol Bridge. I go out into the sun on my bike to find some bits and pieces, and within 5 minutes see my first pirate of the day, in Castle Park, in full regalia, with cutlass. Every time I’ve been here i see…

Agitpod is a solar-powered cinema system mounted on a quadricycle. It was designed by students at Southwark College in a mobile eco-design project led by PLATFORM. Agitpod is designed to show agitational propaganda and is being cycled from Tower Bridge in London to Arnolfini Centre for Contemporary Arts, Bristol – for C Words, a season…

New oil finds off the coast of West Africa raise fears of oil corporations causing increased militarization in a region not yet touched by the crude resource curse. In mid-September US corp Anadarko and Irish/British company Tullow announced a major oil-discovery off the coast of Sierra Leone. The FT’s map below shows how this find…

“Where are they now?” is one of the questions PLATFORM likes to ask about former BP & Shell corporate executives.Brian Anderson, head of Shell Nigeria in 1995 when Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed, is now CEO of Addax Petroleum operating in the Niger Delta, Cameroon and Gabon. Meanwhile John Manzoni, Head of BP Refining at the…

Today was the first day of the Eid holiday (Eid As-Seghir or Eid Al-Fitr) bringing an end to a month of righteousness. By noon the streets of Yarmouk were witnessing epic gun battles between rival gangs from different sides of the refugee camp. Sharp-shooters hid behind every car and doorway, trying to get a clear…

While BP cuts investment into wind and solar, the company is pumping billions into controversial biofuels. The company is apparently planning to invest €4 billion euros into sugar cane ethanol production in Brazil. The company’s first ethanol refinery started production last year and a second is planned. Rainforest Rescue in Germany have criticised the plan for…