Australia’s billionaires enjoy a pay bump of 52.4% thanks to demand from crippled overseas economies for the nation’s natural resources, but the spoils go to the chosen few, widening the gulf between the ‘gots’ and ‘not gots’. Rich lists are a funny thing – they never really give you a warm, fuzzy feeling. Quite the opposite in fact. While those who compile them are motivated by an inquisitive... 

Since the war started, Israel has already awarded a dozen oil and gas exploration licenses in Palestine to six different Big Oil companies, including BP. We should know by now that when both political parties in the U.S. show bipartisan support, something deeply sinister is happening behind the scenes. We should also know that when a superpower starts using human rights as a justification for their... 

Romania is halfway through the legislative process of approving the Neptun-Deep offshore gas platform in the Black Sea, but it will take years and billions of dollars for production before any measurable difference in the country’s energy balance is achieved, analysts have warned. The Romanian Senate adopted on Wednesday the legislative proposal to amend the Offshore Law, which regulates the oil... 

A submarine of the Chinese navy’s North Sea Fleet prepares to dive into the sea. A Chinese submarine has conducted its first deep dive in the Indian Ocean in search of various kinds of metals, including gold, in a four-month-long mission. The submersible vessel called Jiaolong carried out its first dive on Friday to collect samples of hydrothermal fluid and sulfide, a kind of seabed deposit containing... 

Canada has launched a scientific mission to map the seabed surrounding the North Pole, aimed at claiming the area. The Canadian government said in a statement issued on Friday that two ice-breakers will be sent to the Arctic waters to gather scientific information to support a plan to extend Canadian territory up to the North Pole. The coast guard vessel Terry Fox reportedly set sail from St. John’s,... 

According to declassified data Russia holds 17 billion tons of oil and 48 billion cubic meters of gas. Moscow believes revealing the extent of the vast reserves will lead to a surge of investment in the extraction and production of hydrocarbons. The country’s recoverable oil reserves in the C1 category (proven reserves) totals 17.8 billion tons; category C2 (preliminary estimated reserves) is 10.2... 

Britain’s gas reserves are running out in 36 hours amid an unreasonable cold weather leaving the country on expensive foreign imports, local media reported. According to the British media reports the country’s gas storage has less than two days’ supplies left, with lower-than-usual temperatures force millions to turn up their heating. The shortfall could force the long-term price of gas higher,... 

An Australian company claims it has found an untapped shale oil field with estimated reserves that could potentially put the country next to remarkably oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Still, extracting the discovered treasure poses a huge technical challenge. ­Brisbane-based company Linc Energy has presented two estimates by respected independent consultants claiming that drilling and seismic exploration... 

The US seeks to lift limitations on its LNG deliveries to Europe and strengthen competition in European energy markets. It’s to break the EU’s dependence on Russian gas, as “the Russians overplayed their hand”, says US Senator Richard G. Lugar. “In the past, Moscow showed itself quick to use energy as a club to punish and coerce its neighbors — but the Russians overplayed their hand,”... 

A YFP Gas tanker Argentina has ordered the seizure of YFP Gas, another company controlled by the Spanish firm Repsol, as part of plans to take control of the country’s natural resources and increase production. “There’s a division (of Repsol) called YPF Gas and that’s what will be expropriated,” Argentine Senator Marcelo Fuentes said on Wednesday. The move to declare YPF Gas...