Energy & Fuel

Shell CEO Ben van Beurden ruled out drilling in Alaskan offshore waters during 2014 -- as part of a restructuring aimed at restoring falling profits.

"HOUSTON — Faced with growing criticism and lawsuits, an oil industry task force representing hundreds of companies in North Dakota pledged on Wednesday to make an all-out effort to capture almost all the natural gas that is being flared in the Bakken shale oil field by the end of the decade."

"HAZARD, Ky. — Joseph Nantz still looks back fondly at his job as a heavy machinery operator at the mountaintop coal mine here, helping to blast and cart away layers of rock to reveal seams of coal and then restore the rubble for a handsome $24 an hour."

"EUNICE, N.M. — While the only American-owned company that enriches uranium prepares for bankruptcy, its competitor is zooming ahead with construction of what it describes as a cluster of far more economical and efficient new centrifuges."

"WASHINGTON — From climate change to natural gas, energy issues have figured prominently in all of President Barack Obama’s annual State of the Union addresses. Expect the same on Tuesday night, when Obama goes before a joint session of Congress and a nationally televised audience to deliver his assessment of the United States’ health and pitch his policy priorities for the nation."

"CASSELTON, N.D. — Kerry’s Kitchen is where Casselton residents gather for gossip and comfort food, especially the caramel rolls baked fresh every morning. But a fiery rail accident last month only a half mile down the tracks, which prompted residents to evacuate the town, has shattered this calm, along with people’s confidence in the crude-oil convoys that rumble past Kerry’s seven times a day."

"SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — In conservative politics, solar power is often dismissed as an affectation, part of a liberal agenda to funnel money to 'solar cronies' of the Obama administration and further the 'global warming hoax.' So one would not expect to see Barry Goldwater Jr., the very picture of modern conservatism and son of the 1964 Republican nominee for president, arguing passionately on behalf of solar energy customers."

"ST. PIERRE-JOLYS, Manitoba — Several thousand people in southern Manitoba have been told that a pipeline explosion could mean they will be without natural gas service for up to several days as temperatures dip below zero."

"Looking overseas for profits, industry giants are building shipping terminals that pollute nearby communities."