Oil prices move lower after hitting 'soft ceiling'
New York (UPI) Jun 30, 2016 -
Crude oil prices reversed course in Thursday trading with an investment bank saying the $50 mark may be something of a "soft ceiling" for the long term.
Crude oil prices collapsed from around $100 per barrel in 2014 to below $30 per barrel earlier this year. Prices started recovering toward $50 per barrel over recent months as moderate global economic recovery and lower retail fuel pric ...
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Appeals court overturns Canada pipeline approval
Ottawa (AFP) June 30, 2016 -
Canada's federal court of appeal has overturned approval of the new Northern Gateway pipeline on grounds that builders failed to adequately consult with affected aboriginals, documents released Thursday revealed.
The oil conduit stretching nearly 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from the Alberta oil sands to the Pacific coast received regulatory and government approval in 2014, with 209 conditio ...
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ING: Saudi Aramco's IPO erodes OPEC
Amsterdam, Netherlands (UPI) Jun 30, 2016 -
The initial public offering of Saudi Aramco is likely to push the global market for crude oil toward the supply side and erode OPEC's influence, analysis finds.
An economic agenda, dubbed Vision 2030, aims to boost Saudi Arabia's non-oil revenue and relies in part on raising money through the public listing of shares in the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known also as Saudi Aramco. Billed as th ...
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Gas markets in flux after Mississippi plant explosion
Houston (UPI) Jun 29, 2016 -
Enterprise Products Partners said it closed down a gas facility in Mississippi after a fire erupted earlier this week within the confines of the plant.
Police in Pascagoula, Miss., notified residents that an explosion at an Enterprise gas facility was confined to the immediate area. No evacuations were ordered and no injuries were reported.
Enterprise, which has headquarters in H ...
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Media firms lose control of news as tech platforms rise
Washington (AFP) June 29, 2016 -
When allegations emerged that Facebook was skewing its trending news stories, many learned about it... on Facebook.
That underscored the rapid shift in media - not only is news moving from print to digital, but Facebook, Google and other tech platforms are increasingly becoming the main gateways for information.
Technology and social media firms are increasingly playing a role in filter ...
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Facebook to put friends, family ahead of media
Washington (AFP) June 29, 2016 -
Facebook said Wednesday it would give friends and family more prominence on user feeds, a move that may hurt media outlets that rely on the network to draw readers.
The social media giant said in a statement that the goal of the "news feed," which appears when users log in, "is to show people the stories that are most relevant to them" and that its update "helps you see more posts from your ...
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Scotland's tartan and whisky makers hold breath after Brexit
Selkirk, United Kingdom (AFP) June 30, 2016 -
In the production hall of the world's biggest tartan maker, huge iron spools rotate amid the roar of machines as threads of every colour are pulled together at lightning speed to produce its distinctive weaves.
A week after Britain voted to leave the European Union, the referendum has left dark clouds hanging over the business in Selkirk, near Scotland's border with England.
Lochcarron o ...
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Robotic vehicle's soft engine provides torque without bending
New Brunswick, N.J. (UPI) Jun 28, 2016 -
The only vehicles that can survive falls and keep driving through rough terrain tend to be in movies, but scientists have created a small vehicle that can do just that.
A small vehicle with squishy tires and a soft motor survived falls and kept moving over rocks and under water, suggesting the concept could be useful for everything from disaster rescue to exploration of other planets, a ...
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Global turmoil, drought and fish deaths slow Vietnam economy
Hanoi (AFP) June 29, 2016 -
Vietnam's economy slowed in the first half of 2016, official figures showed Wednesday, with a severe regional drought and a spate of fish deaths adding to losses caused by turmoil in global markets.
GDP growth dropped to 5.52 percent in the first six months compared to 6.32 percent in the same period last year. The country grew at its fastest pace for five years in 2015 thanks to strong exp ...
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VW still long way from drawing line under engine-rigging scandal
Frankfurt (AFP) June 29, 2016 -
Volkswagen cleared a big hurdle with a US deal over compensation for its engine-rigging scam, but the embattled auto giant is still a long way from drawing a line under the affair, observers say.
VW has agreed to a record payout in the US, pledging to buy back or fix vehicles that tricked pollution tests, and pay each owner up to $10,000.
In a settlement filed in federal court on Tuesday ...
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UH researchers discover a new method to boost oil recovery
Houston TX (SPX) Jul 01, 2016 -
As oil producers struggle to adapt to lower prices, getting as much oil as possible out of every well has become even more important, despite concerns from nearby residents that some chemicals used to boost production may pollute underground water resources.
Researchers from the University of Houston have reported the discovery of a nanotechnology-based solution that could address both iss ...
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Nigeria signs billions in oil and gas deals with China
Lagos (AFP) June 30, 2016 -
The Nigerian government announced Thursday that it signed $80 billion worth in oil and gas deals with Chinese companies.
Nigerian junior state oil minister and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) head Emmanuel Kachikwu met Chinese investors in Beijing this week to attract money for upgrading the country's ageing and run-down refineries.
Kachikwu's visit comes two months after ...
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EDF nuclear project 'more difficult' after Brexit: Sapin
London (AFP) June 29, 2016 -
A controversial project by French energy giant EDF to build two nuclear reactors in Britain has become "more difficult" following the country's vote to leave the European Union, France's finance minister said on Wednesday.
"It is more difficult," Michel Sapin told the BBC, adding that the French government however was still committed to the Hinkley Point project going ahead.
"We have to ...
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Record VW payout in US 'dieselgate' settlement
Washington (AFP) June 28, 2016 -
Volkswagen has agreed to a record $15 billion US payout over its emissions-cheating diesel cars, pledging to buy back or fix vehicles that tricked pollution tests, and pay each owner up to $10,000.
The German auto giant agreed in a settlement filed in federal court Tuesday to pay up to $14.7 billion to American consumers and US authorities, and announced a separate deal to pay $603 million t ...
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Huge helium discovery 'a life-saving find'
Oxford, UK (SPX) Jul 01, 2016 -
A new approach to gas exploration has discovered a huge helium gas field, which could address the increasingly critical shortage of this vital yet rare element.
Helium doesn't just make your voice squeaky - it is critical to many things we take for granted, including MRI scanners in medicine, welding, industrial leak detection and nuclear energy. However, known reserves are quickly running ...
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New, better way to build circuits for world's first useful quantum computers
University Park PA (SPX) Jul 01, 2016 -
The era of quantum computers is one step closer as a result of research published in the current issue of the journal Science. The research team has devised and demonstrated a new way to pack a lot more quantum computing power into a much smaller space and with much greater control than ever before.
The research advance, using a 3-dimensional array of atoms in quantum states called quantum ...
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