You've got to respect Global Witness ... for a watchdog NGO, they bring a lot of creativity and innovation to their cause (see this past campaign for another example).  GW has also done a tremendous job in the past unearthing all the corruption surrounding RosUkrEnergo, a subject which has come up again and again (let's just say the corruption scandal reaches pretty high).  Today they published another hot report to remind the European Commission how they've got it all wrong in selling out human rights and democracy to the brutal dictatorship in Turkmenistan in exchange for eventual access to natural gas ... including a collaboration with the political cartoonist David Rees.Click here ...

American Refiners Have a Problem… And the Government is Making it Worse

by Sheena Martin, Investment U Contributing Editor

America’s refining companies are under severe financial pressure.

As the recession has blanketed the markets, demand for petroleum products has collapsed, causing refiners to scale back production.

And a bill currently working its way through Congress could also have an adverse effect. Democrats support less reliance on foreign crude, but the hotly debated Climate Change bill would do just the opposite. The burden of carbon cap-and-trade provisions for refiners makes it reasonable for U.S. companies to consider moving production overseas.

Why? Because foreign refiners will enjoy a significant cost advantage. Assuming even a modest carbon allowance of $26 per ton, the American refining industry will be spending an additional $58 billion annually.

And recent studies put this closer to

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As per a recent research report "Emerging Biofuel Market in India" by RNCOS, on the back of various initiatives by the Indian government and growing concern of energy security, biofuel industry in India is expected to grow strongly

I'm grateful to the commenter John who guided me toward this link for the report sponsored by the Swedish Ministry of Defence on energy security and the North European Gas Pipeline, otherwise known as Nord Stream.  I was a little too hasty and did not see the link in the New York Times story.  One reason I may have missed this one is that it was published in back in 2006 - meaning we would certainly have to add to the quoted number of times (55) that Russia has cut energy supplies to apply political pressure.  At any rate, here is the section from the paper that details the methodology of coercive energy policy.

Russia's Coercive Energy Policy in Aggregated Terms

If these cases are penetrated and put in a wider context, a pattern emerges, namely that the energy lever can

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As the US strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) approaches capacity (721.5 million barrels filled out of a total possible 727 million, and will be filled by January 2010), the federal government will fade out of the oil-buying business. Some bearish traders believe that this factor can weigh in on prices, since most petroleum stocks in the United States are government-held rather than private. Bullish traders have also used the filling of the Chinese SPR as a reason that oil should go much higher.

The team at Casey’s Energy Opportunities believe that planned government buying or selling of crude oil for SPRs actually have very little impact in the overall market. However, an overall drawdown of worldwide inventory could put downward pressure on the price of oil. The various countries also have their particular reasons and influences in decisions to tap their reserves.

So which countries are executing preparedness plans to fill their strategic

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Smart Grid Investing: How Our Nation’s Future Energy Security Can Boost Your Portfolio Now

by Dave Fessler, Advisory Panelist

The “Smart Grid.”

You may have heard the media toss the term around recently. But ask the next 10 people you meet to tell you something… anything… about it, and I’ll wager that you’ll get deafening silence.

The reason? All of us take electricity – and the system that generates and distributes it – for granted. And despite having spent my entire professional life as an electrical engineer, I’m guilty as charged, too.

So what is the Smart Grid? How will it work? And why is it important to our nation’s future energy security? Read on for details, including two companies working to boost the nation’s power capacity that you can add to your portfolio today…

Why Our Current Systems Are Maxed Out…

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Russia's refusal to upgrade gas contracts with Ukraine jeopardizes gas transit to Europe, says Bogdan Sokolovsky, the representative of the Ukrainian president on international aspects of energy security.  The Ukrainian economics minister has reportedly assured Moscow that it will stick to the gas contract agreed in January.  The Kuwaiti Oil Minister, Sheikh Ahmed al-Abdullah al-Sabah, has advised that OPEC output quotas be retained - meanwhile Qatari Energy Minister, Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, has chastised Russia for not supporting the cartel more actively.  Russia may face a fall in oil production as geological prospecting significantly decreases.  The Kremlin is preparing a series of oil and gas agreements to be signed when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visits Moscow later this week.  Gazprom reportedly plans to increase investment in the Far East to $3.7 billion in 2010 to cater ...

Some weeks ago, I had noticed a new separation of tone and policy toward Ukraine between Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, with the former closing deals and renegotiating contracts, while the latter becoming more antagonistic and confrontational on the energy arrangements.  Taking a look at the details, Roman Kupchinsky at Jamestown sees an intensification of the inter-elite fighting behind these discrepancies.  Roman's quickly becoming the new Stratfor...Putin's new willingness to suddenly meet Ukrainian gas needs is in direct contrast to Medvedev's new anti-Ukrainian hard line and seems to be part of Putin's counter-attack in order to preserve the Gazprom Empire for himself and his clan of siloviki.This does not bode well for anyone. The Medvedev-Putin fight, which boils down to which camp will control billions of dollars of Gazprom's assets,is an internal Russian inter-clan battle with enormous consequences for European energy security. ...

Ryder System Inc. (R), a leading supply chain, warehousing and transportation solutions provider, has been recently recognized for its green initiatives and strong commitment to supply chain sustainability.

The company was named as “Inbound Logistics Green Supply Chain Partner" by Inbound Logistics, a leading trade magazine targeted toward business logistics and supply chain managers. It will feature as one of 25 companies selected by the Inbound Logistics magazine that are leaders in supply chain sustainable businesses.

Ryder’s recognition was due to the adoption of efficient and cost-effective supply chain solutions that add value for customers. The company offers various vehicle technologies and supply chain solutions that improve overall transportation efficiencies and reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions to a large extent.

Ryder is also an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay Carrier and Logistics Partner. This program is a joint collaboration between EPA and the freight sector as

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According to Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, during Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Turkey it is expected that deals on energy projects will be secured.  Russia will sign an agreement with Turkey on building a pipeline to transport Black Sea Oil to the Mediterranean, bypassing the Bosphorus Straits.  'The West's propaganda campaign regarding Nabucco creates a false impression that the EU will improve its energy security by diversifying Europe's gas suppliers', suggests Tatyana Mitrova in the Moscow Times, with the pipeline capable of transporting only 10 billion to 20 billion cubic meters of gas a year.  Both Shell and BP are postponing decisions on major projects on the basis that costs may drop.  Russian helicopter maker Vertolyoty Rossii and Israel's IAI are creating a new unmanned helicopter system for Gazprom to survey the working of gas pipelines.  Russia ...