There was widespread anger and dismay today from anti-oil campaigners after it was revealed that four of the Britain’s biggest cultural organisations – the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Opera House and Tate – were going to renew their sponsorship deals with BP worth ÂŁ10m over five years. All four institutions have … Read More
BP
Tar Sands: “No Safe Way to Market”
The top brass of BP and Shell will have not been amused this morning when they opened their Financial Times to see a half page advert staring at them about the ecological cost of the tar sands. The advert, entitled: “Tar sands – 23 per cent more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil” demands that … Read More
A Culture Beyond Oil
“There is no money that is completely pure”, so says Nicholas Serota, the Director of the Tate gallery in London that is under fire once again for taking oil money from BP and Shell. Serota is right in many ways, there is no such thing as clean money but some funding is dirtier than others. … Read More
Tar Sands: Britain is “Canada’s Partner in Crime”
Late last week on the eve of the Durban climate talks, the British Climate Change secretary, Chris Huhne boasted that Britain was showing “leadership” in the UN negotiations. But whilst Britain is bragging about leading the climate change fight, it is still leading the pro-tar sands charge in Europe; a somewhat hypocritical position. This dirty … Read More
Bob Dudley: “All Mouth, No Trousers”
BP seems incapable of shrugging off the curse of the Deepwater Horizon at the moment, as the company jolts from one crisis to another. A quick flick at this morning’s headlines do not make great reading for CEO Bob Dudley, after the acrimonious collapse of BP’s $7.1 billion deal to sell a majority stake in … Read More
BP: Reprieved from Death Row
It’s been a good few days for BP. The company’s share price surged 5.1 per cent this morning after it was announced that Anadarko Petroleum will pay $4 billion to settle all claims for last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The US-based Anadarko Petroleum was a part-leaseholder of ill-fated Macondo well. As part of … Read More
Gov Report into Deepwater “Spreads Blame”
After numerous delays, and even the departure of a lead investigator, later today the US government is expected to release the report into last year’s Deepwater Horizon disaster that has been undertaken by the Coast Guard and the Agency responsible for regulating offshore drilling. According to the Wall Street Journal, the federal investigation into the … Read More
Comeback Kid Hayward Severs Final Link With BP
Finally after 29 years, Tony Hayward, the former chief executive of BP, will sever all his ties with the oil giant. Although he resigned from being Chief Executive last year in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Hayward has remained on board of its Russian joint venture, TNK-BP. But it has announced that he … Read More
Lockerbie: It was Freedom for Oil
One of the greatest shocks for many over the last few days has been just how cosy the relationship was between the secret security services, CIA and M16 and the Gaddafi regime. Just days before the Americans and British backed the rebels in bombing Gaddafi, his senior officials were saying their intervention would not happen … Read More
Exxon Beats BP to Arctic Prize
It will not just be Bob Dudley from BP who will be aghast at the news that Exxon and Rosneft have signed a historical deal to develop Arctic oil reserves, but many people from Alaska too. Just months after BP failed in a bid to form a strategic alliance with Rosneft, ExxonMobil has outsmarted its … Read More