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The ‘Oil for war’ deal – Iraq
This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 10. In 2002 the future Oil Minister of Iraq, Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum, enthusiastically described the occupation as both a “sort of life insurance for continuing the social and political changes” and “a great incentive for attracting the international oil companies”. On one hand, the…
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Preventing an industrial tipping point
This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 10. BP, Shell & the Canadian tar sands Under the pristine boreal forest in Northern Alberta lie the Canadian tar sands, a vast carbon time bomb that if ignited will dramatically increase the chance of passing a climate change tipping point. While a rational…
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INTERVIEW: Kevin Smith of PLATFORM – Unravelling the Carbon Web
Fossil fuels are the primary cause of climate change, which threatens catastrophic damages including massive sea-level rise, rising incidences of flood, drought and other extreme events, major water and food supply reductions, and the spread of disease. PLATFORMs Unraveling the Carbon Web focus is to reduce the environmental and social impacts of oil and to…
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Cashing in on Coal – RBS, UK Banks and the Global Coal Industry
From concerns over air pollution and acid rain, to the recent rising awareness of carbon emissions and climate change, coal has been recognised as the dirtiest and most inefficient fossil fuel option. Despite this, coal is experiencing a global boom, with corporations opening new mines and commissioning new power stations. High street banks are making…
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Iraq oil on the block
The real significance of the Oil Ministry’s bid round July 2008 Published on niqash.org Also available in Arabic Last week saw the biggest step so far towards transferring Iraqi oil into the hands of foreign multinational companies, sparking renewed accusations that the US-UK war on Iraq was really motivated by an oil grab. The Oil Ministry announced on 30…
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Oil sell-off by stealth
Iraq’s oil service contracts are more than they seem 26 June 2008 By Greg Muttitt, Co-Director of PLATFORM Published on niqash.org Also available in Arabic and Kurdish Next Monday, the Iraqi federal government is set to sign oil development contracts with BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and Total – their first since their 1925 concession was cancelled in the early 1970s.…
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Shell blasted on Iraq oil – ‘Plans risk more conflict’
Protest at annual shareholder meeting British oil giant Shell threatens to trigger greater conflict in Iraq with plans to control the development, production and depletion of Iraq’s oil reserves, campaigners warn today. This warning, from the coalition Hands Off Iraqi Oil, comes as Shell holds its annual meeting amid growing resistance to the company’s bid…
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No Oil Law in Sight – Opposition Intensifies
Eighteen months since its first deadline and a year since cabinet approval, Iraq’s controversial oil law is still not on the statute book. The last four months have seen a consolidation of protests worldwide over the Bush administration’s top benchmark. Opponents of the oil law and the economic occupation it represents, including oil unions and…
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Out of Sight, Out of Mind
This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 9. Is carbon capture and storage a safe climate mitigation option? As climate change increasingly becomes a defining political theme for the 21st Century, coal, oil and gas companies have not suffered the existential crisis that might have been expected. Instead, they are betting…
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Burning Capital – Exit Strategy II
Back to Black – This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 9. John Browne is not the first head of BP to leave under a cloud. After Robert Horton, chairman & CEO from 1990-92, was ‘encouraged’ to leave his post, the corporate initiative with which he was identified – ‘Project 1990’…