`The US Army has reimbursed a subsidiary of Halliburton Co, the oil services giant formerly run by Vice President Dick Cheney, most of the costs disputed by government auditors on a on a no-bid contract in Iraq.
The Army Corps of Engineers said the Army decided to reimburse Halliburton engineering and construction unit Kellogg Brown & Root all but about million ($12 million) of .9 million in costs that Pentagon auditors had questioned as possibly inflated or unwarranted.
This was part of an overall .4 billion contract to deliver fuel and fix oil equipment in Iraq, the Army said.’
`Los Angeles officials were still scratching their heads today over what caused a mysterious black goo to burble from streets downtown, forcing the evacuation hundreds of apartment dwellers.
A Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman said investigators had yet to identify the “black tarry substance” more than 24 hours after it erupted at Olive Street and Pico Boulevard.
But he said there might be “a correlation” with a petroleum company drilling operation nearby.
“The samples we have taken _ this was determined to be (a) nontoxin, nonflammable, nonhazard,” said fire Capt. Ernie Bobadilla. “We’re looking to I.D. the scope of the problem.
“This problem is not a simple fix.”‘
`Ford is developing a new form of automotive propulsion, and the implications for the American Auto Industry are huge. The Hydraulic Hybrid could be the greatest innovation since the internal combustion engine itself, and Ford is on the inside track with its F-150 Hybrid. New Tech Spy Has learned details about the system that are simply amazing and could put Ford in a commanding position in the fiercely competitive full size pickup market.
The Idea behind the current crop of Hybrid cars is well known; the cars main energy comes from gasoline which recharges batteries that move the car at low speeds. Hydraulic Hybrids work in the same manner, only instead of batteries, excess energy is stored in hydraulic cylinders.That in itself is not revolutionary, except for the fact that Nickel Metal Hydride batteries used today are not an efficient way to store energy, and hydraulic storage blows them away with 3X the efficiency. Even next generation Lithium Ion batteries do not come close to Hydraulic Energy Storage.’
`The huge profits reported by oil and gas companies would turn into losses if the social costs of their greenhouse gas emissions were taken into account.
That is the conclusion of research by the New Economics Foundation (Nef).
Nef found that the £10bn-plus profits just reported by Shell and BP are dwarfed by costs of emissions associated with their products. [..]
Reporting previously undisclosed figures, Nef’s policy director Andrew Simms writes: “Our new calculations from research in progress with WWF, based on Treasury statistics, show that UK government income from the fossil fuel sector – conservatively estimated at £34.9bn ($61bn) – is greater than revenue from council tax, stamp duty, capital gains and inheritance tax combined.’
`US oil giant Exxon Mobil has posted a quarterly profit of $9.9bn (£5.55bn), the largest in US corporate history, on the back of record oil and gas prices.
Profit was up 75% and revenue rose 32% to more than $100bn. [..]
Oil and gas companies have been benefiting from the rising cost of oil, brought on by the two hurricanes which hit the Gulf of Mexico in late summer, disrupting output.’
`Iceland has energy to spare, and the small country has found a cutting-edge way to reduce its oil dependency. Volcanoes formed the island nation out of ash and lava, and molten rock heats huge underground lakes to the boiling point.
The hot water — energy sizzling beneath the surface — is piped into cities and stored in giant tanks, providing heat for homes, businesses and even swimming pools.
The volcanoes melted ice, which formed rivers. The water runs through turbines, providing virtually all the country’s electricity.
Iceland wants to make a full conversion and plans to modify its cars, buses and trucks to run on renewable energy — with no dependence on oil.’
`Iran stepped up its defiance of international pressure over its nuclear programme yesterday by warning of soaring oil prices if it is subjected to economic sanctions. As diplomats from the US, Europe, Russia, and China prepared to meet today in London to discuss referring Tehran to the UN security council, [..]
In a provocative move, Iran also announced plans yesterday to convene a “scientific” conference to examine the evidence supporting the Holocaust. The news comes weeks after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad provoked a global outcry by describing the slaughter of 6 million Jews by the Nazis in the second world war as a “myth”.’
`Alberta’s oilsands could become the single biggest contributor to the world’s supply within 10 years, says a report released Wednesday by CIBC World Markets. [..]
The study of 164 new oilfields and projects indicates oil markets “will become even tighter over the next three years” if global demand continues to grow at its current pace, said Jeff Rubin, Chief Economist at CIBC World Markets. [..]
Rubin suggested global conventional oil production peaked in 2004. New supply in 2007 is expected to grow by less than 1.5 million barrels per day and will fall to less than one million barrels per day in 2008, the report says.’
`Large explosions have rocked a fuel depot near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire shooting flames hundreds of feet into the sky.
Police say there are 36 casualties, with two people seriously hurt. [..]
The fire, which police believe was caused by an accident, could last days with more explosions expected. [..]
In total, 20 petrol tanks are involved in the fire, each said to hold three million gallons of fuel.’
`Water supplies in Harbin , home to more than 3 million people, were cut off last night and will not resume “until further notice”. Schools have been closed whilst many residents are trying to leave the cities because city authorities have warned that pollution is threatening the water supply, which comes from the Songhua River.
An assessment by the Heilongjiang Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau found the river had been contaminated by chemicals released by a massive explosion at the Jilin Petroleum and Chemical Company plant in the city of Jilin on November 13. [..]
The November 13 explosion in the Jilin chemical plant released highly toxic substances, killing at least five people and forcing the evacuation of more than 10,000 nearby residents. It also contaminated the partially frozen Songhua River with benzene and phenyl, which can lead to hepatitis, urinary tract diseases and possibly cancer.’
Some British MP at a senate enquiry in the US talking about Iraq. It’s very cool, he lays into them and pretty much tells them they’re all cunts.
(5.7meg Flash video)
see it here »
`A huge explosion at an oil refinery in Texas has killed at least 14 and injured more than 70.
The blast took place at a facility owned by British-owned company BP in Texas City. [..]
Texas City resident Mike Martin described “a real loud explosion, like a sonic boom”.
“It shook the pictures bad enough to where it knocked them off the wall. And it frightened me, so I jumped out of bed.”
Judith Mantell, 62, told the Houston Chronicle the blast lifted her vehicle off the ground at her home five miles (8km) away.’
An amusing song about train drivers..
(721kB Shockwave)
see it here »
` The disc is to be taped or glued to the bottom of your car’s gas tank. Promoters say it significantly increases gas mileage and improves air quality. They don’t say how it works, beyond claiming it sends “holographic frequencies into the gas tank and changes the molecular structure of the gasoline.”
“It doesn’t work,” says Dr. Terry Parker, a physics professor at the Colorado School of Mines. Parker and graduate student John Dane of the chemistry department tested the device for 9News.
“It’s clear that it’s just a sticker and nothing else,” Dane said.’
