News Archive: 2001

Conoco to spend up to $110 mln at oil refineries top

USA: December 21, 2001

WASHINGTON - Conoco Inc. reached an agreement with the U.S. government to spend between $95 million and $110 million on pollution control equipment at the company's oil refineries, the Justice Department said yesterday. Full Story

Fortum declines comment on oil spill report top

FINLAND: December 20, 2001

HELSINKI - Finnish energy group Fortum on Wednesday declined to comment on local media reports that an oil spill off Finland's west coast had been traced to the company's Naantali refinery. Full Story

Royal Dutch/Shell makes major oil find off Brazil top

19/12/2001

Royal Dutch/Shell group announced the discovery of a large oil deposit in the Santos basin south of Rio de Janeiro. Full Story

Governor seeks more oversight of Alaska oil wells top

USA: December 14, 2001

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles announced on Wednesday a plan to boost enforcement of environmental protection and worker-safety rules at the state's oil and gas fields. Full Story

Halliburton Expands Its Relationship With Vanco Energy Company for Growing Deepwater Exploration Projects top

DALLAS and HOUSTON, Dec 12, 2001

Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) continues to build upon its relationship with Vanco Energy Company with the signing of an agreement for the provision of engineering and consulting services in several deepwater regions offshore West Africa. The agreement comes as Vanco, the largest holder of deepwater exploration licenses in Sub- Saharan Africa, prepares for a major drilling program offshore West Africa, commencing in late 2002. Full Story

British Columbia still seeks offshore oil drilling top

CANADA: December 7, 2001

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - British Columbia still wants to develop energy reserves off its pristine Pacific coast and said yesterday it believed environmental and Indian rights issues could be overcome. Full Story

Health & Science: Environmentalists protest opening of bids for Gulf of Mexico drilling top

NEW ORLEANS (December 5, 2001 3:51 p.m. EST)

The federal government opened bids for offshore petroleum leases off the Florida coast on Wednesday, but environmentalists promised to "consider every option" to keep the sites from being developed. Full Story

UPDATE - Senate vote on Alaska oil drilling bill blocked top

USA: December 5, 2001

WASHINGTON - A sharply divided U.S. Senate failed this week to adopt legislation to open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil drilling, a key part of the Bush administration's plan to boost domestic energy supplies. Full Story

Alaska oil-search plans favor western North Slope top

USA: November 30, 2001

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - In the search for new oil on Alaska's North Slope, west is best, at least this winter. Full Story

Global Warming Is Nothing New, Ocean Project Indicates top

Wednesday, November 28, 2001

Global warming may be a more common occurrence than scientists previously believed, according to the findings of a deep-sea drilling expedition recently completed in the western Pacific Ocean. Samples extracted from the ocean bed show evidence of global warming dating as far back as 135 million years ago. Scientists believe the data will provide important new information about the causes of global warming and its effects on the earth. Full Story

Russian, U.S. officials officially open Caspian pipeline top

Wednesday, November 28, 2001

ANAPA, Russia — Energy officials from Russia, Kazakstan, and Oman joined international oil company executives Tuesday for the official opening of the pipeline connecting Kazakstan's Tengiz oil field with an export terminal in this southern Russian port. Full Story

New urgency in the battle to save Mediterranean ecology top

November 23, 2001 By Zafrir Rinat

Representatives of the Mediterranean countries, including Israel, this week met in Monaco to seek ways of improving the ecology of the sea off their shores. The conference was held under the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea. Full Story

Brazil Petrobras gets 1st ok to install new big rig top

BRAZIL: November 22, 2001

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Brazil's state oil giant Petrobras was preparing to install its new platform yesterday after receiving an environmental license after long delays which had affected its production plans. Full Story

US senators to push oil drilling in stimulus bill top

USA: November 15, 2001

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans said yesterday they will try to move through Congress a comprehensive energy bill that would allow drilling in an Alaskan refuge by attaching the measure to a pending multibillion-dollar economic stimulus package. Full Story

FEATURE - Life extended for Cook Inlet oil and gas fields top

USA: November 9, 2001

KENAI, Alaska - New-found oil promises to extend the life of a world-class Alaska oil field. New seismic work suggests a giant deposit of yet-untapped natural gas. And oil and gas companies, encouraged by favorable exploration results, are boosting their spending here. Full Story

Exxon Valdez appeals ruling stuns Alaskans top

USA: November 9, 2001

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Exxon Mobil Corp.'s reprieve this week from a $5 billion punitive fine stunned and angered Alaskans who had sued the energy giant for punitive damages from the 1989 Valdez oil spill disaster. Full Story

Appeals Court Throws Out Exxon Valdez Penalty top

SAN FRANCISCO, California, November 8, 2001

A federal appeals court has overturned a $5.3 billion punitive damages award against Exxon stemming from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The court called the amount, which was determined by a jury in Alaska, excessive, and ordered a judge to set a lower penalty. Full Story

OCEANS AT RISK IF POLICY TOOL NOT RESTRICTED top

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, October 19, 2001 (ENS)

a policy tool key to arresting global warming could wreak havoc on the oceans if instituted with no restrictions, warn an MIT professor and colleagues in the October 12 issue of the journal "Science." Full Story

French judge probes TotalFinaElf on Erika oil spill top

FRANCE: October 18, 2001

PARIS - French oil company TotalFinaElf is to be placed under judicial investigation over the sinking of its oil tanker Erika, which caused huge marine and coastal pollution in 1999, the company said this week. Full Story

Northern European Marine Environment Gets Official Attention top

GOTHENBORG, Sweden, October 16, 2001

To reduce the effects of radioactive contamination, marine litter, and oil pollution from shipping on coastal communities in northern Europe, Swedish Environment Minister Kjell Larsson has offered to host an intergovernmental ministerial meeting as early as 2003. Full Story

Alaska drilling would win in Senate vote - Murkowski top

USA: October 11, 2001

WASHINGTON - Senate Democratic leaders abruptly stopped work on a broad U.S. energy supply and conservation bill partly out of concern it would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, the Republican leader on the Energy Committee said yesterday. Full Story

Oil spill in Sydney top

October 11, 2001

A TONGAN flag of convenience ship has spilled oil into a Sydney Harbour bay.

The Tavakeoma is believed to have been involved in an incident overnight in which a crack formed between the ballast and the fuel tank. Full Story

Energy giant Shell prepares for end of oil era top

USA: October 4, 2001

NEW YORK - Big Oil must prepare itself for the end of the hydrocarbon age as alternative energies win over consumers in coming decades, chairman of world No. 2 energy firm Royal Dutch/Shell said yesterday. Full Story

Alaska drilling not put in Senate defense bill top

USA: October 3, 2001

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate voted yesterday to limit debate on the multi-billion-dollar Defense Department spending bill, blocking an attempt to attach an amendment that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Full Story

US senator pushes for drilling in Alaskan refuge top

USA: October 1, 2001

WASHINGTON - A leading Republican lawmaker last week welcomed OPEC's decision to maintain production levels, but said the U.S. needs to boost its own energy supplies by opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. Full Story

FEATURE - Panel taking stock of Alaska's ocean health top

USA: September 28, 2001

ANCHORAGE - Environmental strains ripple on the oceans that border Alaska.

In rural stretches of the state, global warming has thinned Arctic pack ice, making travel dangerous for Native hunters. Full Story

UPDATE - Bubbles stop diesel spilling into UK canal top

UK: September 28, 2001

LONDON - A diesel leak from a barge into a canal dock at a Shell refinery in northwest England was stopped by a barrier made of air, a company spokesman said yesterday. Full Story

Canada urges against hasty U.S. move on Arctic oil top

CANADA: September 25, 2001

OTTAWA - Canada urged the United States yesterday not to take a "hasty and ill-considered" decision to start drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge, something which Ottawa implacably opposes. Full Story

Nation: Texas ship channel reopens after weekend oil spill top

HOUSTON, September 24, 2001, USA

A weekend oil spill caused by a collision between a ship and a barge closed the ship channel that services the nation's second-largest port. Full Story

Canada still opposes drilling in Arctic refuge top

CANADA: September 24, 2001

OTTAWA - Canada said last week that despite the previous week's attacks and Washington's concerns about the security of its energy supplies, it still opposed U.S. plans to open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil drilling. Full Story

Red Alert on Oil Spill as Ships Collide top

Emergency measures have been taken to prevent oil leaking from a stricken Chinese oil tanker which collided with a Greek container carrier early Thursday morning near Xiamen, a coastal city in Southeastern China, according to today's China Daily. Full Story

Petrobras halts one offshore rig after small spill top

BRAZIL: September 20, 2001

RIO DE JANEIRO - A relatively small oil spill at one of the offshore rigs owned by Brazil's state oil giant Petrobras forced the company to shut the rig in the Campos Basin yesterday. Full Story

US seeks comment on oil drilling in Alaska waters top

USA: September 20, 2001

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Interior Department asked for public comment yesterday on a government plan to lease tracts in Alaska's Beaufort Sea to energy firms for oil and natural gas drilling. Full Story

Poor management of Nigeria's environment costs $5 billion per year top

NIGERIA: September 19, 2001

ABUJA - Poor management of Nigeria's environment is costing Africa's most populous country around $5 billion a year in ruined land and lost forests, an ecology expert said yesterday. Full Story

Coral reefs are shrinking fast - UN report top

UK: September 12, 2001

LONDON - The world's coral reefs are far smaller than scientists thought and are shrinking fast under a deadly combination of pollution, climate change and dynamite fishing, according to a U.N. study released yesterday. Full Story

Coral reefs 'much rarer than thought' top

Tuesday, 11 September, 2001

Scientists who have compiled the first world atlas of coral reefs say they cover a far smaller area of the globe than they had thought. Full Story

Oil Spills Pollute Far-Flung Waters top

WASHINGTON, DC, September 10, 2001 (ENS)

A Vietnamese oil tanker and a Liberian registered cargo ship collided early Friday in the Vung Tau Sea spilling thousands of tons of oil spill, about 75 miles southeast of Ho Chi
Minh City, official news reports said Saturday. Full Story

Baltic Sea Ministers Launch Strict Pollution Rules top

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, September 10, 2001 (ENS)

At an "extrordinary" meeting today in Copenhagen, ministers of Baltic Sea countries who are responsible for maritime transportation and the environment agreed on a
package of measures to prevent pollution in their common sea. Full Story

Government to Evaluate Oil Reserve top

The Guardian (Lagos) September 10, 2001

PREPARATORY to a fresh round of bidding scheduled to hold next year, plans are afoot by the federal government to evaluate the level of hydrocarbon reservoir in unallocated oil blocks in deep offshore areas. Full Story

Energy Conferences ... click here

US Senate panel delays action on Alaska drilling top

USA: September 10, 2001

WASHINGTON - The Senate Energy Committee resumes debate this week on a broad U.S. energy bill, but will postpone until later this month any action to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, a panel spokesman said last week. Full Story

UPDATE - Taiwan tanker collides with Vietnam ship top

VIETNAM: September 10, 2001

HANOI - A Taiwanese-owned tanker collided with a stationary Vietnamese tanker while entering an anchorage off Vietnam's southern coast last week, causing a spillage of several thousand tonnes of diesel oil, officials said. Full Story

World coral reefs to die by 2050, scientist warns top

UK: September 7, 2001

GLASGOW, Scotland - The world's coral reefs will be dead within 50 years because of global warming and there is nothing we can do to save them, a scientist warned this week. Full Story

UPDATE - Norway suspends oil exploration in Barents Sea top

NORWAY: September 6, 2001

OSLO - Norway has suspended exploration for oil and gas in the Arctic Barents Sea after complaints about possible pollution, suspending Norsk Agip's exploration of the region's first major oil find. Full Story

Gas field development in Thai- Malaysian waters goes ahead top

September 6, 2001

The development of the first gas field in the once disputed Thai-Malaysian waters is moving into top gear in spite of uncertainties about whether the offshore gas will be piped to Thailand or Malaysia. Full Story

Australia rules out barring ships from Barrier Reef top

AUSTRALIA: September 6, 2001

CANBERRA - An Australian maritime report ruled out yesterday stopping ships using transport routes inside the Great Barrier Reef off the country's northeast coast. Full Story

Caspian environment polluted by oil pipeline leak top

Moscow, Tuesday, September 04, 2001

Despite word from Makhachkala, that the Caspian sea was no longer threatened with an oil leak pollution, oil has flown into the river Achesa and the Caspian sea, Itar-Tass learned from the duty officer at the Russian fuel-and- energy sector headquarters. Full Story

Senate Democrat vows filibuster on Alaska drilling top

USA: September 4, 2001

"I will follow through on my promise to filibuster, yes. Whether or not the votes are there, we're going to have to see," Kerry of Massachusetts said on the NBC television program "Meet the Press." Full Story

United Nations Restates Support for Environmental Protection top

Lagos, August 28, 2001

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has pledged renewed support to the African process for the Development and Protection of the Coastal and marine Environment in Sub-Sahara Africa and Nigeria in particular. Full Story

Sea Shepherd Ship Seized by the Ecuadorian Navy top

PUERTO AYORA, Galapagos, Ecuador, August 27, 2001 (ENS)

The Ocean Warrior, flagship of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was seized today by the Ecuadorian Navy in the Galapagos Islands. Full Story

UPDATE - Coastguards scoop up half Baltic oil slick top

SWEDEN: August 24, 2001 STOCKHOLM

Rescue boats have scooped up almost half of an oil slick in the southern Baltic Sea, coastguards said. Full Story

Coastguards hope to scoop up Baltic oil slick top

SWEDEN: August 23, 2001 STOCKHOLM

Rescue boats were converging on a long slick of thick oil in the southern Baltic Sea this week evening to try to scoop up as much as possible before it disperses, coastguards said. Full Story

UPDATE - US seeks $7 mln to pay for 1999 freighter spill top

USA: August 22, 2001 WASHINGTON

The U.S. Justice Department said this week it is seeking more than $7 million in costs from the owner of a Panamanian-registered oil freighter that ran aground off Oregon in 1999. Full Story

Oil Exploration Possible Near Great Barrier Reef top

CANBERRA, Australia, August 21, 2001 (ENS)

In Parliament today, Australian Environment Minister Senator Robert Hill left open the option of future oil drilling near the Great Barrier Reef, raising fears that the environment of world's longest reef might be damaged. Full Story

Pollution alert after oil spill on Dublin's Liffey top

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: August 20, 2001 DUBLIN

A major cleanup swung into action on Dublin's River Liffey last week after thousands of litres of oil spilled into the waterway. Full Story

EU aims to achieve Kyoto through energy efficiency top

EU: August 20, 2001 BRUSSELS

Forget nuclear power, hydrogen-fueled cars and carbon "sinks" - the low-cost, low-tech way to cut greenhouse gas emissions is loft insulation and double glazing, European Union lawmakers are claiming. Full Story

Tiny Pacific isles seek meeting with Bush on Kyoto top

NAURU: August 20, 2001 AIWO, Nauru

Six of the world's smallest island nations said last week they want to meet U.S. President George W. Bush to try to win his support for the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and prevent what they call a modern holocaust. Full Story

White House confident Senate will okay Alaska drilling top

USA: August 16, 2001 WASHINGTON

The White House is confident its plans to open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil and natural gas production will win approval in the Senate in September, an administration official said yesterday Full Story

US oil industry pushes for easing of gasoline rules top

USA: August 14, 2001 NEW YORK

The U.S. oil industry has asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to back the elimination of oxygen-content rules in clean-air gasoline as a way to lower pump prices, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said Yesterday. Full Story

Niger Delta Records 4,835 Oil Spills in 20 Years top

This Day (Lagos) August 3, 2001

A member of the governing council of the National Human Rights Commis-sion (NHRC) Mr. Ray Ekpu, has disclosed that the Niger Delta region recorded a total number of 4,835 oil spills from 1976 to 1996. Full Story

NZ sets September 2002 target to ratify Kyoto pact top

NEW ZEALAND: August 10, 2001 WELLINGTON

New Zealand aims to ratify the Kyoto pact on fighting climate change by September next year, the government said yesterday. Full Story

UPDATE - OECD calls for Australia to adopt pollution taxes top

AUSTRALIA: August 10, 2001 SYDNEY

The OECD has urged Australia to introduce taxes and charges to deal with the environmental problems of salinity, water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Full Story

Iran team to clear up slick from sunken Gulf ship top

BAHRAIN: August 8, 2001 MANAMA

A ship that sank in the Gulf this week while apparently smuggling Iraqi crude oil is still leaking and an Iranian team has been sent to clean up the spill, a regional marine organisation said on Tuesday. Full Story

Statoil's clean ships could offset NOx emissions top

UK: August 8, 2001 LONDON

Norwegian energy firm Statoil said on Tuesday savings in acid-rain-causing nitrogen oxide (NOx) from two new low-emitting ships would allow it to meet its NOx emissions reduction targets from one new power station. Full Story

Sunken ship leaks fuel into Prince William Sound top

USA: August 7, 2001 ANCHORAGE, Alaska

A fishing ship that sank last week and is leaking diesel fuel has caused the biggest spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound since the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, posing a threat to the area's wildlife, state environmental officials said yesterday. Full Story

Ship with Iraq oil sinks in Gulf fleeing patrol top

UAE: August 7, 2001 DUBAI

A ship apparently smuggling Iraqi oil sank in the Gulf, with all 12 crew rescued, after it was intercepted by a U.S.-led naval force monitoring U.N. sanctions against Baghdad, a force spokeswoman said yesterday. Full Story

Japan, Australia agree US entry vital to Kyoto pact top

JAPAN: August 6, 2001 TOKYO

Japan and Australia agreed last week that it was vital to push forward with efforts to bring the United States back to the Kyoto climate change treaty for the pact to be effective. Full Story

Canada regrets US vote on oil drilling in Arctic top

CANADA: August 3, 2001 OTTAWA

Canada said yesterday it was disappointed by the U.S. House of Representatives' decision to open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil drilling and expressed the hope the Senate would block the move later this year. Full Story

UPDATE - Senate Democrats vow to fight Alaska refuge drilling top

USA: August 3, 2001 WASHINGTON

Democrats in the U.S. Senate said yesterday they would fight any Republican efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, a key plank in the White House's proposed energy policy. Full Story

Valdez mishap slows oil-tanker loading in Alaska top

August 02, 2001 By Reuters ANCHORAGE

The U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday it temporarily halted oil loading at one berth of the Valdez marine terminal on the trans-Alaska pipeline after a loading arm broke off and fell onto a tanker. Full Story

House Approves Arctic Refuge Drilling top

WASHINGTON, DC, August 2, 2001 (ENS)

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an omnibus energy bill early this morning that would authorize opening a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and natural gas exploration. The controversial legislation would also promote so called clean coal technology, and provide tax breaks for the nuclear power industry. Full Story

It's go or bust in Congress for Bush drilling plan top

USA: August 2, 2001 WASHINGTON

The U.S. House of Representatives begins debate yesterday on a comprehensive energy bill that could doom attempts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, destroying a key part of the Bush administration's plan to boost domestic energy supplies and reduce American dependence on foreign oil. Full Story

UPDATE - Bush Alaska drilling plan under threat in Congress top

USA: August 1, 2001 WASHINGTON

A cornerstone of the Bush administration's plans to boost U.S. energy supplies, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, could crumble on Wednesday as the House of Representatives begins debate on a comprehensive energy bill. Full Story

Alaska oil spills raise worries ahead of ANWR vote top

USA: July 27, 2001 NEW YORK

Oil spills on Alaska's North Slope have raised environmental hackles, days before a Congressional vote on the Bush administration's plan to open the nation's arctic refuge to oil drilling. Full Story

More than 300 firms sign up for UN Global Compact top

UNITED NATIONS: July 27, 2001

The Global Compact, a U.N. program intended to help businesses become better world citizens, celebrates its first anniversary yesterday with more than 300 corporate partners, up from 44 at its launch. Full Story

Parties to UN climate change treaty adopt agreement on Kyoto Protocol top

United Nations, 26 July, 2001

Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have formally adopted an operational rulebook for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which sets legally binding targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Full Story

Hawaiian coral reef reserve under Bush administration review to dismay of environmentalists top

HONOLULU: July 26, 2001

Environmentalists are on edge over the Bush administration's review of a Hawaiian coral reef reserve created during former President Bill Clinton's final month in office. Full Story

ANALYSIS - Obstacles to Kyoto remain - politics and people top

GERMANY: July 25, 2001 BONN

Fresh from saving the planet, ministers from 180-odd governments roared away from Bonn's main conference hotel in fleets of powerful limousines, air conditioners humming against the muggy Rhineside heat. Full Story

Protesters picket Exxon Mobil UK HQ over Kyoto top

UK: July 25, 2001 LONDON

About 25 people picketed the headquarters of U.S. oil company Exxon Mobil's British operations yesterday in protest against the "watered down" Kyoto pact on climate change agreed by countries in Bonn. Full Story

Ruptured pipeline at Prudhoe Bay spills oil top

USA: July 25, 2001 ANCHORAGE, Alaska

A corroded pipeline ruptured and spilled about 420 gallons of crude oil onto the tundra at the eastern side of the Prudhoe Bay field, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said this week. Full Story

Annan welcomes Bonn agreement on Kyoto Protocol rules 23 July top

July 23, 2001

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the broad political agreements reached in Bonn by the 180 members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on the operational rulebook for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which sets legally binding targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Full Story

UPDATE - US unveils 5-year oil, natgas drilling plan top

USA: July 23, 2001 WASHINGTON

The U.S. Interior Department on Friday proposed holding 20 oil and natural gas lease sales in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska between 2002 and 2007. Full Story

Oil clean-up begins on beach top

Sunday, 22 July, 2001 UK

A clean-up operation has begun after a mysterious oil was found washed up on 12 miles of north Wales coastline. Full Story

Iran discovers oil field with some 400 mln barrels top

TEHRAN July 22, 2001

Iran on Sunday announced the discovery of an oil field in the south of the country with estimated reserves of "some 400 million barrels," state radio reported. Full Story

Remnants of Valdez Oil Spill Remain in Alaska Environment: Pockets of black crude are still found on beaches, but official cleanup is done. top

KNIGHT ISLAND, Alaska July 22, 2001

Mike Angaiak crouches on his knees on the rocky beach at Snug Harbor, scraping the bottom of a sandy pit with a trowel. Full Story

UPDATE - US House panel OKs oil drilling in Arctic refuge top

USA: July 19, 2001 WASHINGTON

A House committee voted on Tuesday to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling over the objections of Democratic lawmakers who want to keep energy companies out of the pristine wilderness. Full Story

Overturned gas tanker sparks hazard scare top

JERUSALEM (July 19)

In an accident which came close to realizing one of the worst case scenarios for the emergency services, a tanker full of highly inflammable gas overturned yesterday at a major road junction less than 500 meters from the Pi Glilot petroleum and gas storage facility. Full Story

House Set to Review Arctic Drilling Proposal top

WASHINGTON, DC, July 18, 2001

The House Resources Committee has approved legislation that would open a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to energy exploration. The committee's action Tuesday sends the bill to the full House, marking the first time that Congress has voted on the Bush administration's controversial proposal to open the Refuge to drilling. Full Story

Bush stands firm on missile defence and Kyoto top

UK: July 18, 2001 LONDON

President George W. Bush said on Tuesday he would not back down over his plans for a national missile defence system or his opposition to the Kyoto global warming pact. Full Story

Delay calls for unrestricted US oil drilling top

USA: July 18, 2001 HOUSTON

Republican Congressman Tom Delay drew cheers from supporters but jeers from environmental activists Monday by calling for unrestricted domestic oil and gas drilling to reduce US dependence on imported fuel. Full Story

US House panel oks oil drilling in Arctic refuge top

USA: July 18, 2001 WASHINGTON

A House committee rejected on Tuesday efforts by Democratic lawmakers to block oil and natural gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and instead voted to open the pristine wilderness to energy companies. Full Story

US Senate bans Great Lakes energy drilling for 2 yrs top

USA: July 18, 2001 WASHINGTON

The US Senate voted on Tuesday to ban oil and natural gas drilling in the Great Lakes, underscoring the wave of political sentiment to protect environmentally sensitive areas from energy exploration. Full Story

INTERVIEW - Cutting Gulf lease a mistake - Global Marine chief top

USA: July 16, 2001 NEW ORLEANS

The US government's decision to prevent drilling in a crucial part of the eastern Gulf of Mexico shortsightedly ignores massive oil and gas demand that cannot be met fast enough at current exploration levels, the head of offshore drillers Global Marine Inc. said. Full Story

UPDATE - US has no Kyoto alternative for Bonn meeting top

USA: July 16, 2001 WASHINGTON

The United States, which angered Europe with its decision in March to pull out of the Kyoto pact on climate change, will have no alternative strategy to offer at international talks in Germany next week. Full Story

US oil industry pushes for easing of gasoline rules top

USA: August 14, 2001 NEW YORK

Niger Delta Records 4,835 Oil Spills in 20 Years top

This Day (Lagos) August 3, 2001

NZ sets September 2002 target to ratify Kyoto pact top

NEW ZEALAND: August 10, 2001 WELLINGTON

New Zealand aims to ratify the Kyoto pact on fighting climate change by September next year, the government said yesterday. Full Story

UPDATE - OECD calls for Australia to adopt pollution taxes top

AUSTRALIA: August 10, 2001 SYDNEY

The OECD has urged Australia to introduce taxes and charges to deal with the environmental problems of salinity, water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Full Story

Iran team to clear up slick from sunken Gulf ship top

BAHRAIN: August 8, 2001 MANAMA

Statoil's clean ships could offset NOx emissions top

UK: August 8, 2001 LONDON

Sunken ship leaks fuel into Prince William Sound top

USA: August 7, 2001 ANCHORAGE, Alaska

Ship with Iraq oil sinks in Gulf fleeing patrol top

UAE: August 7, 2001 DUBAI

Japan, Australia agree US entry vital to Kyoto pact top

JAPAN: August 6, 2001 TOKYO

Japan and Australia agreed last week that it was vital to push forward with efforts to bring the United States back to the Kyoto climate change treaty for the pact to be effective. Full Story

Canada regrets US vote on oil drilling in Arctic top

CANADA: August 3, 2001 OTTAWA

UPDATE - Senate Democrats vow to fight Alaska refuge drilling top

USA: August 3, 2001 WASHINGTON

Valdez mishap slows oil-tanker loading in Alaska top

August 02, 2001 By Reuters ANCHORAGE

House Approves Arctic Refuge Drilling top

WASHINGTON, DC, August 2, 2001 (ENS)

It's go or bust in Congress for Bush drilling plan top

USA: August 2, 2001 WASHINGTON

UPDATE - Bush Alaska drilling plan under threat in Congress top

USA: August 1, 2001 WASHINGTON

Alaska oil spills raise worries ahead of ANWR vote top

USA: July 27, 2001 NEW YORK

Oil spills on Alaska's North Slope have raised environmental hackles, days before a Congressional vote on the Bush administration's plan to open the nation's arctic refuge to oil drilling. Full Story

More than 300 firms sign up for UN Global Compact top

UNITED NATIONS: July 27, 2001

Parties to UN climate change treaty adopt agreement on Kyoto Protocol top

United Nations, 26 July, 2001

Hawaiian coral reef reserve under Bush administration review to dismay of environmentalists top

HONOLULU: July 26, 2001

Environmentalists are on edge over the Bush administration's review of a Hawaiian coral reef reserve created during former President Bill Clinton's final month in office. Full Story

ANALYSIS - Obstacles to Kyoto remain - politics and people top

GERMANY: July 25, 2001 BONN

Protesters picket Exxon Mobil UK HQ over Kyoto top

UK: July 25, 2001 LONDON

Ruptured pipeline at Prudhoe Bay spills oil top

USA: July 25, 2001 ANCHORAGE, Alaska

Annan welcomes Bonn agreement on Kyoto Protocol rules 23 July top

July 23, 2001

UPDATE - US unveils 5-year oil, natgas drilling plan top

USA: July 23, 2001 WASHINGTON

The U.S. Interior Department on Friday proposed holding 20 oil and natural gas lease sales in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska between 2002 and 2007. Full Story

Oil clean-up begins on beach top

Sunday, 22 July, 2001 UK

A clean-up operation has begun after a mysterious oil was found washed up on 12 miles of north Wales coastline. Full Story

Iran discovers oil field with some 400 mln barrels top

TEHRAN July 22, 2001

Iran on Sunday announced the discovery of an oil field in the south of the country with estimated reserves of "some 400 million barrels," state radio reported. Full Story

Remnants of Valdez Oil Spill Remain in Alaska Environment: Pockets of black crude are still found on beaches, but official cleanup is done. top

KNIGHT ISLAND, Alaska July 22, 2001

Mike Angaiak crouches on his knees on the rocky beach at Snug Harbor, scraping the bottom of a sandy pit with a trowel. Full Story

UPDATE - US House panel OKs oil drilling in Arctic refuge top

USA: July 19, 2001 WASHINGTON

Overturned gas tanker sparks hazard scare top

JERUSALEM (July 19)

House Set to Review Arctic Drilling Proposal top

WASHINGTON, DC, July 18, 2001

Bush stands firm on missile defence and Kyoto top

UK: July 18, 2001 LONDON

President George W. Bush said on Tuesday he would not back down over his plans for a national missile defence system or his opposition to the Kyoto global warming pact. Full Story

Delay calls for unrestricted US oil drilling top

USA: July 18, 2001 HOUSTON

US House panel oks oil drilling in Arctic refuge top

USA: July 18, 2001 WASHINGTON

US Senate bans Great Lakes energy drilling for 2 yrs top

USA: July 18, 2001 WASHINGTON

INTERVIEW - Cutting Gulf lease a mistake - Global Marine chief top

USA: July 16, 2001 NEW ORLEANS

UPDATE - US has no Kyoto alternative for Bonn meeting top

USA: July 16, 2001 WASHINGTON

Groups Fights Costa Rica Oil Drilling Plan top

WASHINGTON, DC, July 13, 2001

Environmental groups are urging Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodr�guez to fight plans by Houston based Harken Energy to drill off the country's Caribbean coast. Full Story

UPDATE - US Senate backs offshore Florida oil deal top

USA: July 13, 2001 WASHINGTON

The Senate on Thursday backed a White House compromise that drastically reduced proposed oil and natural gas drilling off Florida's Gulf Coast, rejecting a bid by the state's Democratic senators to temporarily block development of the tract. Full Story

Shell Explains Oil Spill Spread top

Lagos, July 12, 2001 Posted to the web

The Management of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has attributed the rapid spread of the recent oil spill at Ogbodo in Rivers State to rainfall and fast flowing rivers along the spill site. Full Story

Exxon global warming boycott gets new push top

UK: July 12, 2001 LONDON

Green protestors widened their boycott campaign against Exxon Mobil on Wednesday and although analysts said retail sales showed no sign of suffering they warned there might be some damage longer term to the oil giant's famous brand. Full Story

US energy companies propose carbon dioxide emission caps top

USA: July 12, 2001 NEW YORK

In an effort to foster investment in coal-fired power plants, US energy companies are backing legislation that would define future limits for carbon dioxide emissions. Full Story

UPDATE - Senate backs drilling ban on national monuments top

USA: July 12, 2001 WASHINGTON

The US Senate on Wednesday joined the House of Representatives in voting to prevent new oil drilling on millions of acres protected as national monuments, showing Congress' skepticism over White House calls for an all-out effort to boost energy production. Full Story

Galapagos Marine Reserve Recommended as a World Heritage Site top

SANTA CRUZ, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, July 11, 2001

Ecuador's Minister of the Environment, Lourdes Luque de Jaramillo, is preparing the country for the likely declaration of the Galapagos Marine Reserve as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This wider ocean area surrounds the 19 Galapagos Islands which were listed as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Full Story

Nigeria Supreme Court to resume oil resource case top

NIGERIA: July 11, 2001 LAGOS

Granting states control over the oil and mineral resources in their territorities is the only way to wean Nigeria's economy off its dependency on oil, the governor of the oil-rich Delta state said yesterday. Full Story

ANALYSIS - Bush drilling a dry hole in US energy output boost top

USA: July 10, 2001 WASHINGTON

President George W. Bush may end up drilling a dry hole when it comes to his much-touted energy policy to boost American oil and natural gas supplies. Full Story

Mobil investigates Australia petrol spill top

AUSTRALIA: July 6, 2001 MELBOURNE

Mobil Oil Australia Ltd said yesterday it was investigating the spill of about 4,000 litres of petrol at the mouth of Melbourne's Yarra and Maribyrnong rivers. Full Story

Hawaiian Coral Protected in New Deep Water Refuge top

HONOLULU, Hawaii, July 5, 2001 (ENS) - The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council has agreed to the establishment of a massive refuge for deep water precious corals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI).
Full Story

Bush Proposes Drilling for Oil in Gulf of Mexico top

Washington, DC, July 5, 2001

The Bush administration has announced it will open a previously untouched 1.5 million acre span of the Gulf of Mexico to oil and natural gas drilling - the first new leases offered in more than a decade. The new energy exploration was tailored to avoid Florida waters, heading off conflicts between President George W. Bush and his brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Full Story

Florida oil spill fears top

4 July, 2001

Environmentalists say there is a greater risk than ever of an oil spill off the Florida coast, despite US President George Bush's scaled-back plan for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Full Story

PanCanadian says Buzzard oil discovery among the best in North Sea Canadian Press top

CALGARY July 4, 2001

PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. (PCP) says its latest discovery off the coast of Britain has the potential to be a world class oil development, on par with the biggest oilfields in the North Sea. Full Story

Body Shop joins UK Esso boycott over Kyoto stance top

UK: July 4, 2001 LONDON

The Body Shop said yesterday it will become the first company to publicly back a UK boycott of Esso service stations in protest at its parent company's support for the U.S. withdrawal from the Kyoto climate change pact. Full Story

Bush Gulf drilling decision sets up Florida battle top

USA: July 4, 2001 MIAMI

While environmentalists praised and panned the Bush administration's landmark decision to allow oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, Democrats yesterday accused the Bush brothers of breaking a promise to Florida voters to protect the state's priceless beaches. Full Story

Japan may propose Kyoto pact changes to lure US top

JAPAN: July 3, 2001 TOKYO

Japan has not abandoned hope that the United States can be lured back to the Kyoto climate treaty and might propose changes to make the pact more palatable to Washington, Tokyo's top government spokesman said yesterday. Full Story

Oil tankers face safety inspection rethink top

UK: July 3, 2001 LONDON

Shipping's myriad safety inspections are facing a radical overhaul after high level meetings between the United Nations agency that regulates them, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), and oil industry officials. Full Story

UPDATE - Interior says Florida coast off-limits to drilling top

USA: July 3, 2001 WASHINGTON

The Bush administration will lease about 1.5 million acres of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil companies, but in a nod to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, no drilling will be allowed near that state's shoreline, the Interior Department said yesterday.
Full Story

U.S. to offer new oil leases in Gulf of Mexico top

July 2, 2001

The Bush administration will propose to offer new oil leases for offshore drilling in an area covering about 1.5 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico, two senior administration officials said Monday. Full Story

Akwa-Ibom needs N30b to check erosion top

Lagos, July 2, 2001

The Akwa Ibom State government requires a whooping N30 billion to effectively control the menace posed by marine, gully and coastal erosions in 10 out of the 31 local government areas of the state by the Atlantic Ocean. Full Story

Bush climate change programs fuel dispute top

June 28, 2001

The White House says it will turn over a 50-page budget-related report on climate change to Congress, but only after House Democrats demanded a full accounting. Full Story

Oil Companies Grapple With How To Dispose of Abandoned Platforms top

By THADDEUS HERRICK Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL HIGH ISLAND A-548, Gulf of Mexico

Over its lifetime, this enormous drilling platform has produced enough natural gas to supply 250,000 American homes for a decade. Full Story

First offshore gas discovery under NELP-I top

NEW DELHI, June 27

A significant deep water gas discovery in the Krishna-Godavari basin, in offshore Andhra Pradesh, has boosted the government�s efforts to raise indigenous natural gas production. Full Story

What To Do With Old Oil Drilling Platforms? top

June 27, 2001

As some of the oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere play out, drilling companies are left with the problem, what to do with those multimillion dollar oil platforms? Full Story

Americans threaten to derail Timor oil talks top

June 26, 2001

A United States company is stepping up efforts to settle a 25-year dispute over the oil and gas riches of the Timor Gap, announcing yesterday it would launch legal proceedings to validate its claims. Full Story

Little environmental risk from oil spill - Cameroon top

CAMEROON: June 25, 2001 YAOUNDE

Fuel that spilled from a tanker at Cameroon's main port of Douala this week poses little threat to animal and plant life thanks to a speedy response from port officials, authorities said on Friday. Full Story

UPDATE - Federal judge halts oil, gas exploration off Calif top

USA: June 25, 2001 SAN FRANCISCO

A Federal judge on Friday halted all oil and natural gas exploration off the central California coast, a blow to oil companies which hoped to ramp up new offshore oil drilling operations after years of legal wrangling. Full Story

Brazil oil rig sinking probe ends top

June 25, 2001 By Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil � Federal oil giant Petrobras closed its investigation into the sinking of its biggest offshore oil rig without discovering what caused it. Full Story

UPDATE - Protesters jeer tankers in Bosphorus straits top

TURKEY: June 22, 2001 ISTANBUL

A flotilla of small boats assembled in the narrowest section of one of the world's narrowest waterways yesterday to draw attention to the environmental threat posed by growing oil traffic in Istanbul's Bosphorus Straits. Full Story

Natives fail to sway Norton from ANWR oil stance top

USA: June 22, 2001 ANCHORAGE, Alaska

Interior Secretary Gale Norton said this week a visit to an Alaska Native community this week had not changed her opinion about oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but had given her a "better appreciation" for local concerns.
Full Story

UPDATE - Lawmakers vote to block drilling in Fla. waters top

USA: June 22, 2001 WASHINGTON

The U.S. House of Representatives Yesterday voted to temporarily block drilling for oil and natural gas in Florida's offshore Gulf waters. Full Story

Burning could clean up oil spills top

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, June 19, 2001 (ENS)

Penn State researchers have shown in laboratory experiments that some oil spills in open waters that were thought to be incombustible may be cleaned up by burning them. Full Story

Norton names oil lobbysit as special assistant for Alska top

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, June 19, 2001 (ENS) - Interior Secretary Gale Norton has named Camden Toohey, an oil lobbyist, as her Special Assistant for Alaska. Full Story

Coral Reef Survival top

June 19, 2001

In recent years, conservation biologists have become alarmed about the bleaching of coral reefs around the world. A reef becomes bleached when its symbiotic algae die because of warmer water temperatures or some other environmental shock. Without its algae, the coral too can die. Full Story

Fear of explosion delays Malaysian spill clean-up top

MALAYSIA: June 19, 2001 KUALA LUMPUR - Fear of an explosion or further leaks has delayed the transfer of a toxic chemical from a ship that capsized between Malaysia and Singapore last week, a Malaysian official said yesterday.
Full Story

Greenpeace says protest targeted legitimate rig top

NETHERLANDS: June 19, 2001 AMSTERDAM

Greenpeace insisted yesterday that it had legitimately targeted an oil rig in a weekend protest against U.S. President George W. Bush's rejection of the Kyoto climate change pact. Full Story

Alaska drilling supporters get key Interior posts top

USA: June 19, 2001 ANCHORAGE, Alaska

The head of a group campaigning for oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and an Alaska lawmaker who has promoted North Slope oil development were named to key Interior Department positions. Full Story

SPECIAL REPORT - Gulf oil drilling a Bush dilemma in Florida top

USA: June 19, 2001 MIAMI

Already frothing over the election that put George W. Bush in the White House, Florida Democrats see a potential political gusher in a Bush brothers' rift over oil drilling off the Sunshine State's sandy shores. Full Story

Greenpeace boards "wrong" oil rig in Bush protest top

NETHERLANDS: June 18, 2001 AMSTERDAM

Greenpeace activists on Saturday boarded a North Sea rig they said was operated by U.S. oil major Conoco, in protest at President George W. Bush's rejection of the Kyoto climate change pact. Full Story

Wrecked Indonesian Tanker Spills Phenol Diesel top

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, June 15, 2001

A tanker that capsized in the straits between Malaysia and Singapore has spilled a large amount of diesel fuel and the industrial solvent phenol. The spill has poisoned seafood farms and breeding grounds along the shores of the Tebrau Straits. Full Story

Toxic spill kills fish after Indonesian tanker capsizes off Malaysian coast top

JAKARTA June 15, 2001

An Indonesian-registered vessel has capsized off southern Malaysia, spilling an unknown quantity of a toxic chemical into a fish-farming ground, authorities said on Thursday. Full Story

Australia to end commercial coral harvest on Reef top

AUSTRALIA: June 15, 2001 CANBERRA

Australia is to phase out commercial coral harvesting on the Great Barrier Reef in a bid to protect the world's largest living reef formation. Full Story

What East Africa Can Learn From Baltic Sea States top

African (Nairobi) June 14, 2001

The three East African countries bordering Lake Victoria could benefit from studying the co-operation between the Scandinavian countries who share the Baltic Sea's borders, according to environmental experts. Full Story

New Greenpeace action against export of Nowegian oil to the US, "Kyoto with or without Bush" top

14 June 2001 Mongstad/Norway

While US President George W. Bush meets European Union leaders in Gothenburg to discuss the Kyoto protocol, 15 Greenpeace activists protested the arrival of the super tanker "Patris", which is loading Norwegian oil for export to the United States. Greenpeace demands that both Norway and the EU make it clear to Bush that they will ratify the Kyoto Protocol with or without him, and that no other alternatives will be accepted. Full Story

Bush faces Kyoto backlash top

Thursday, 14 June, 2001

President George W Bush is likely to face further criticism over his environmental policy on Thursday as he arrives in Sweden on the latest stage of his first presidential visit to Europe. Full Story

Greenpeace boards second oil tanker in Bush protest top

Wednesday, June 13, 2001 By Reuters AMSTERDAM

Greenpeace activists boarded an oil tanker in Norway Tuesday in a bid to stop it sailing for the United States, in their second such protest this week against President Bush's rejection of the Kyoto pact on cutting greenhouse gases.
Full Story

UN warns of growing environmental threat posed by industrialization in Arctic top

12 June

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warned today that by the year 2050, up to 80 per cent of the Arctic would be affected by mining, oil exploration, and other man-made impacts if the industrialization of one of the world's last wilderness areas continued at current rates. Full Story

Bush Will Continue to Oppose Kyoto Pact on Global Warming top

Washington, June 12, 2001

President Bush made clear today that he had no intention of reversing his opposition to a global warming accord supported by the European leaders he will meet with this week. And he strongly suggested that any new accord would have to bind developing nations, especially China and India, to the kind of commitments that would be made by the United States. Full Story

Greenpeace raids tanker in anti-Bush protest top

FRANCE: June 11, 2001 PARIS

Activists from the environmental group Greenpeace boarded an oil tanker off the French coast on Sunday, preventing it from delivering a cargo of U.S. oil to the nearby port of Le Havre, maritime authorities said. Full Story

Bush seeking to assure Europe on global warming top

USA: June 11, 2001 WASHINGTON

President George W. Bush will outline steps on Monday to advance research into global warming as he tries to assure Europeans of his concern about climate change just before his first visit to Europe as president, aides said on Friday. Full Story

Alaska seen as big oil supplier for 15 more years top

USA: June 11, 2001 WASHINGTON

Alaska's North Slope could contain enough oil to keep production in the region at about 1 million barrels per day for about 15 more years, according to a U.S. government report released on Friday. Full Story

Chilean oil spill damages birds, salmon farm top

CHILE: June 8, 2001 SANTIAGO, Chile

An oil tanker that ran aground in a remote southern Chilean fjord in late May spilled 92,600 gallons (350,528 litres) of crude, leaving an oil slick 70 miles (112 km) long and damaging wildlife and a salmon farm, the Chilean Navy said this week. Full Story

Warming report pressures Bush - environmentalists top

USA: June 8, 2001 WASHINGTON

Environmentalists yesterday said a scientists' report that found global warming was worsening should prod President George W. Bush to change his energy policy and focus on addressing climate change. Full Story

New England Republicans say no to offshore oil drilling top

USA: June 8, 2001 WASHINGTON

The five U.S. Republican senators from New England yesterday said they sent a letter to President George W. Bush urging him to maintain a ban on offshore oil and natural gas drilling near their states, noting any move to lift the ban would cause them "grave concerns." Full Story

UPDATE - No Kyoto alternative seen from Bush on Europe trip top

USA: June 8, 2001 BEDFORD, Va.

U.S. President George W. Bush is likely to give his views on international efforts to fight global warming when he visits Europe next week but is unlikely to offer a detailed alternative to the Kyoto climate treaty he rejected, U.S. officials said this week. Full Story

Oil leak feared as foreign vessel hits reef off Pattaya top

Pattaya, June 7, 2001

A foreign cargo vessel has struck a reef two nautical miles off Pattaya, sparking fear of an oil spill. Full Story

Sea pollution controls needed top

TIAN XIUZHEN 06/06/2001 SHANGHAI

China needs to work out a compensation scheme for sea pollution caused by shipping, according to experts at a seminar held in Shanghai yesterday. Full Story

Opinion: Bush Energy Policy - Fuels Rush In top

SAN FRANCISCO, California, June 6, 2001

Lobbyists for the oil, gas, coal and nuclear industries can congratulate themselves on a job well done. The Bush administration's energy plan reads as if it were drafted by a second GOP - gas, oil and power interests. Full Story

U.N. environment Official Urges Ratification of Kyoto Protocol top

Rome, June 6, 2001

Contrary to President Bush�s opinion that the Kyoto protocol in damaging to economic progress, Klaus Topfer, director of the United Nations Environment Program said in Turin Tuesday, (6/5/2001) �On the contrary, it is an opportunity and creates possibilities for integration of developing countries." Full Story

Bush Moves on Global Warming Initiatives to Reduce Emissions Seek to Assure U.S. Allies top

Wednesday, June 6, 2001

President Bush, seeking to convince America's allies that he takes global warming seriously, plans to announce efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States at a meeting with European Union leaders next week, an administration official said yesterday. Full Story

Pollution killing Australia's Barrier Reef - report

AUSTRALIA: June 6, 2001 SYDNEY

The Great Barrier Reef's inshore coral and seagrass meadows are choking under a blanket of mud laced with toxic pesticides being washed off farmlands and many reefs are unlikely to survive the next five to 10 years. Full Story

Environment Bush Will Not Overturn Clinton Marine Protections top

WASHINGTON, DC, June 4, 2001

The Bush administration has decided to retain an executive order passed by former President Bill Clinton, which authorized a new nationwide system of marine conservation areas. The announcement comes as President George W. Bush works to win over skeptical environmentalists amid a storm of criticism of his environmental policies. Full Story

Vulnerable Caribbean Nations Prepare for Global Warming top

KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 4, 2001

Global warming is predicted to hit the Caribbean islands with natural disasters of increasing number and severity, regional climate change experts are warning. Governments and inter-governmental agencies, community groups and scientists are mobilizing to deal with the danger. Full Story

Global warming melts Australia's glaciers top

AUSTRALIA: June 4, 2001 SYDNEY

Australia's glaciers are melting. In the land of outback deserts this is not as strange as it sounds. Full Story

CORRECTED - Denmark to ratify Kyoto global warming treaty top

DENMARK: June 1, 2001

In COPENHAGEN story headlined "Denmark ratifies Kyoto global warming treaty" published yesterday, please note vote was not actual ratification of treaty but approval by parliament for the Danish government to ratify the treaty at a later unspecified date. A corrected version follows: Full Story

Sea Shepherd Brazil Drags Fishing Company into Court top

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil, May 31, 2001 (ENS)

For the first time in Brazil�s history, a non-governmental organization is taking a fishing company to court to collect damages on behalf of the fish and the marine environment. Full Story

Fast-response device for oil spills top

May 31, 2001

Two of Britain�s leading oil spill specialist companies have joined forces to develop a weapon in the fight against pollution in the North Sea oil and gas industry. Full Story

Weather slows oil clean-up off Bahamas top

BAHAMAS: May 31, 2001 FREEPORT, Bahamas

Rough weather has hampered the clean-up of an oil spill off the northern Bahamas, caused by the May 23 collision of a double-hulled tanker with a tug boat, government officials said yesterday. Full Story

Denmark ratifies Kyoto global warming treaty top

USA: May 31, 2001 COPENHAGEN

Denmark`s parliament yesterday ratified the 1997 Kyoto Treaty on global warming by a sizeable majority. Full Story

Toxic spill in ocean could affect China for years top

CHINA: May 30, 2001 SHANGHAI

Chinese environmental experts are struggling to contain damage from toxic styrene which leaked from a ship last month and fishermen along the eastern coast fear their livelihoods could be threatened for years to come. Full Story

Norway to Strengthen Marine Conservation top

OSLO, Norway, May 29, 2001

The Norwegian government has appointed an expert working group to draw up a first ever national marine conservation plan, the country's environment ministry announced today. Full Story

California Salt Marsh May Contribute to Ocean Pollution top

HUNTINGTON BEACH

California, May 29, 2001

A team of California researchers may rewrite environmental textbooks after uncovering evidence that a manmade saltwater marsh is a source of potentially hazardous fecal bacteria that is contaminating the swimming and surfing waters of one of the state's most popular beaches. The study suggests that environmental managers should take care in designing artificial wetlands. Full Story

Australia ups fines to protect Great Barrier Reef top

AUSTRALIA: May 29, 2001 CANBERRA

Australia has passed tough new laws to protect its landmark Great Barrier Reef from pollution and illegal fishing, increasing the maximum fine for environmental offences tenfold to A$1.1 million (US$571,000). Full Story

Offshore seismic survey for oil, gas begins tomorrow top

28 May 2001

MANGALORE: The offshore seismic survey from Kasargod to Bhatkal for exploring oil and gas reserves will take place from May 29 to June 10. Full Story

UPDATE - Rigs back on after new unexplained Brazil oil spill top

BRAZIL: May 28, 2001 RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil

Brazil's state oil giant Petrobras put 12 offshore oil rigs back into operation on Saturday following a stoppage on Thursday that was due to a a second unexplained oil spill in a week, officials said. Full Story

Banks should face oil spill liability - ship manager top

UK: May 28, 2001 LONDON

Banks that finance rust-bucket tankers should be held liable for the costly oil spills they cause, a leading maritime administration said on Friday. Full Story

Protecting coral reefs a must to maintain sea habitat top

When human activities such as dredging, shrimp trawling, fishing with explosives, pollution, nutrient dumping and over-fishing damage fragile coral reefs, ecological impacts may be far more widespread than we previously assumed, according to a new study of marine wildlife ranging from the Red Sea to the Gulf of California. The research appears in the May 25 issue of the journal, Science. Full Story

Oil Rigs Jostle Sperm Whales in the Gulf of Mexico top

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 24, 2001

A breeding population of about 530 endangered sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico may be feeling the effects of an increase this year in deepwater oil and gas drilling. Full Story

Global Energy Firms Claim Global Warming Milestone top

LONDON, United Kingdom, May 24, 2001

Global energy industry association the World Energy Council has claimed important progress in its efforts to show that voluntary action by industry can play an important role in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. But the evidence it advances contains some startling flaws. Full Story

Fears allayed over oil spill top

May 23, 2001

A senior naval officer said yesterday that a 30,000-litre crude-oil spill off the Rayong coast could be contained and would not be swept on to beaches along the province's coastline. Full Story

Oil giant faces $150,000 fine for Stanvac spill top

23 may 01

MOBIL faces a fine of up to $150,000 after pleading guilty to spilling 271,000 litres of crude oil into the sea near its refinery at Port Stanvac. Full Story

UN Secretary General Denounces U.S. Global Warming Stance top

Massachusetts, May 21, 2001

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan sounded an alarm Sunday that climate change "may well be the greatest global challenge" for the next generation, while expressing the "concern throughout the world" over the recent U.S. decision to reject the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. Full Story

UN chief attacks US global warming stance top

Mon, 21 May 2001

United Nations' secretary general Kofi Annan has again criticised the approach the United States takes to global warming.
Full Story

WRAPUP - Environmentalists say US energy plans disastrous top

UK: May 18, 2001 LONDON

International environmental groups slammed energy plans unveiled by U.S. President George W. Bush as disastrous, saying they would distance the United States from the rest of the world. Full Story

FACTBOX - Bush plan has oil, coal, nuclear options top

USA: May 18, 2001 WASHINGTON

President George W. Bush yesterday unveiled his long-term energy proposals aimed at increasing U.S. energy supplies and encouraging conservation. Full Story

Une simulation de lutte contre la pollution au Port de Lom� top

Dakar May 18, 2001

Lom�, Togo Un exercice de simulation de lutte contre la pollution marine accidentelle, destin� � pr�parer les diff�rents acteurs � d'�ventuelles catastrophes de d�versement de produits p�troliers, s'est d�roul� jeudi au quai p�trolier du Port de Lom�. Full Story

OECD urges greater efforts to tackle global warming top

France, May 17, 2001 Paris

The OECD international thinktank urged ministers from the industrial world meeting in Paris yesterday to do more to tackle global warming, warning current policies would lead to a surge in greenhouse gas emissions. Full Story

Chevron Loses 140 Barrels to Oil Spill top

May 17, 2001

An oil spill has occurred at the Delta Oil Field, an offshore location about six nautical miles off Nigeria's coast, operated by the NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture in the Western Niger Delta. The spill, estimated at 140 barrels, was first noticed by officials of Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) on Monday, April 30. The cause was leakage from a pipeline valve. Full Story

Energy Fight Heats Up in Washington top

Washington, May 16, 2001

Union leaders expressed cautious approval Monday for Bush administration plans to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, saying the proposal could generate thousands of new jobs. But Tuesday afternoon, House Democrats unveiled their own energy plan, focusing on energy efficiency instead of new production. Full Story

Taiwan to finish clean-up of oil spill in June top

TAIWAN: May 16, 2001 TAIPEI

Taiwan's environmental authority said yesterday a typhoon over the weekend did not affect its clean-up of the island's worst oil spill in decades, and added that it expected to wrap up the operation by early June. Full Story

Baltic Sea Cleanup Focus of European, Russian Efforts top

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 15, 2001

Swedish State Secretary Sven-Eric S�der is in Kaliningrad, Russia as the main speaker at a waste management conference today. His visit is part of work being done by the Swedish Presidency of the European Union, a six months rotating position occupied by Sweden from January 1 through June 30, 2001. Full Story

Theodore W. Kheel, eminent lawyer and mediator, to moderate new Web site on climate change top

May 15, 2001

Theodore W. Kheel, the eminent lawyer and labor mediator, will moderate a new Web site on climate change and globalw arming. The site, htp://www.climatewarming.com, will be operational later this week. Full Story

Experts argue over UN report on rising sea level top

SWEDEN: May 15, 2001 STOCKHOLM

Rising sea levels may not be connected to global warming and a U.N. report making the link is simplistic, a world authority on sea changes said yesterday. Full Story

Cimaron threatens Kenting oil spill cleanup top

May 13th, 2001

UNEXPECTED SETBACK: As the tropical storm was approaching, the EPA said the early arrival of typhoon season would further delay the cleanup of January's oil spill. Full Story

Tension in Ogoni Over Oil Spill top

Lagos, May 10, 2001 Boniface Okoro, Port Harcourt

Palpable tension is brewing in Ogoniland as the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is now battling to contain a major oil spill in Ogoniland of Rivers State. Full Story

Planet Ark Home page National Recycling Week top

WRAPUP - Unrest, spill curb Nigerian oil exports

NIGERIA: May 11, 2001 EKET, Nigeria - Crude oil exports from Nigeria hit a bump yesterday following unrest by youths at a major shipping terminal and an oil spill at another, but supplies were already set to resume at the bigger facility.
Full Story

Protect the High Seas before its too late, Governments urged top

10 May, 2001

Gland, Switzerland - Urgent measures are needed to protect the vast hidden treasures of the deep seas from over-exploitation, according to a new report by WWF, the conservation organization, and IUCN, the World Conservation Union. Full story

US allies may drop out of Kyoto - EU commissioner top

SWEDEN: May 10, 2001 STOCKHOLM

Traditional U.S. allies Canada, Japan and Australia could follow a U.S. move to abandon the Kyoto protocol aimed at curbing global warming, an European Union commissioner said yesterday. Full Story

European Compliance with Kyoto Protocol Deemed Affordable top

BRUSSELS, Belgium, May 9, 2001

The European Union could cut its greenhouse gas emissions in line with Kyoto Protocol commitments at an annual cost of under 0.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product, says a study released by the European Commission. The estimated cost is considerably lower than previous figures and will strengthen the European Union's hand in the global argument over the "affordability" of responding aggressively to climate change. Full Story

Australian scientists fear heat surge minus Kyoto top

AUSTRALIA: May 9, 2001 CANBERRA

Pressure mounted on the Australian government yesterday to resume international climate change talks after a report by a government agency foreshadowed a dramatic surge in temperatures in the next 70 years. Full Story

Celebs launch UK Esso boycott over climate stance top

UK: May 9, 2001 LONDON

Environmental groups and celebrities yesterday launched a UK boycott of Esso, the European brand of giant Exxon Mobil , over its support for Washington's withdrawal from the Kyoto climate pact. Full Story

Ocean Whitecaps Impact Global Temperatures top

San Diego, California, May 8, 2001

A new study by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography shows that ocean whitecaps can influence global temperatures. Full Story

Ocean Fund Awarded $770,000 in Environmental Grants top

MIAMI, Florida, May 8, 2001 (ENS)

The Ocean Fund of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has awarded a three year, $450,000 grant to the National Audubon Society, plus grants to seven other marine conservation organizations.
Full Story

Houston Oil Experts Not Held Hostage in Nigeria top

HOUSTON, Texas, May 8, 2001 (ENS)

Three Texas oil control specialists have arrived safely back in the United States after they capped a huge, potentially explosive oil spill in southeast Nigeria. Full Story

UPDATE - Oil experts briefly blocked after capping Nigeria spill top

NIGERIA: May 8, 2001 LAGOS

U.S. oil-well specialists capped a major, week-long oil spill in southern Nigeria on Sunday but were briefly detained by Ogoni villagers before being released, Shell officials said. Full Story

Experts say missing bolts caused Ogoni oil spill top

NIGERIA: May 7, 2001 YORLA OILFIELDS, Nigeria

U.S. oil well specialists said on Saturday that someone had apparently removed bolts from a wellhead to cause the spill that continues to gush in southern Nigeria. Full Story

Oil spill feared in pirate-infested Asia top

Australia, April 27, 2001 SYDNEY

Surging Asian piracy and militants searching for soft targets pose an increasing threat to the world oil tanker trade, and oil spills are seen as an inevitable consequence, piracy experts warned. Full Story

Council of Europe slams US decision on Kyoto top

Strasbourg: April 27, 2001, France

The Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly yesterday slammed the U.S. decision to ditch the Kyoto protocol on global warming, saying it cast doubt on Washington's reliability as a global partner. Full Story

Greenpeace pressures US oil top

April 27 2001

Greenpeace, the environmental pressure group, on Thursday threatened to damage the business interests of several US oil companies until they agree to back the Kyoto agreement on global warming. Full Story

European Assembly blasts U.S. on Kyoto Protocol top

Thursday, April 26, 2001

The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly questioned on Thursday whether the United States remains a "reliable partner" for Europe following President Bush's rejection of the Kyoto climate accord. Full Story

UK oil industry looks to sustainable development top

UK: April 26, 2001 LONDON

Britain's offshore oil industry joined the environmental debate yesterday by publishing its first strategy document describing how the sector, seen by many as a global polluter, can contribute to sustainable development. Full Story

Florida approves largest U.S. no-fishing sanctuary top

USA: April 26, 2001 TALLAHASSEE, Fla.

Florida's Gov. Jeb Bush and the state Cabinet put the finishing touches this week on what will be the largest no-fishing sanctuary in the United States, a reserve rich in coral and marine life just west of the Florida Keys. Full Story

Bush says he wants to drill in Alaska refuge top

USA: April 26, 2001 WASHINGTON

President George W. Bush said yesterday drilling should be allowed in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, saying he was convinced it could be done in an "environmentally friendly fashion." Full Story

Officials refute oil tank criticism top

April 25, 2001

PUBLIC SAFETY: Taipei City officials said yesterday the oil tanks at Taipei City Hall are safe and legal, dismissing city councilors' claims that the tanks are 'super time bombs' . Full Story

Greenpeace launch cruise against Baltic pollution top

RUSSIA: April 24, 2001 ST PETERSBURG, Russia

Activists from Greenpeace, the international ecological watchdog, set sail from Russia yesterday on a month-long cruise aimed at focussing attention on chemical pollution in the Baltic Sea. Full Story

US lawmakers urge Bush to drop Arctic oil drilling top

USA: April 24, 2001 WASHINGTON

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers are pressuring President George W. Bush to drop his administration's plans to allow oil and natural gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Full Stopry

Harbour pollution brings $7000 fine top

24.04.2001

Two companies have been fined $7000 for the accidental discharge of hundreds of litres of diesel oil into a stormwater drain that polluted Wellington harbour. Full Story

French fishing boat tears hole in oil tanker top

April 24, 2001

COASTGUARDS have launched an investigation after a rogue French fishing boat crashed into a 32,000-tonne tanker off the Kent coast near Dover yesterday, leaking up to 70 tonnes of oil into the English Channel. Full Story

Oil slick alert after Channel collision top

24 April 2001

Oil spill response A major environmental accident was feared in the English Channel yesterday, after more than 70 tonnes of oil were reported to have spilled after a heavily laden tanker collided with a fishing boat. Full Story

Environmentalists bash US global warming stance top

UNITED NATIONS: April 23, 2001

UNITED NATIONS - Environmentalists warned on Friday against delaying the fight against global warming just to give the United States more time to come up with a new policy after it spurned the Kyoto treaty on climate change. Full Story

UAE to impose high penalities on rogue tankers top

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES : April 23, 2001 DUBAI

The United Arab Emirates, battling one of the worst oil spills to affect its coastline in years, has stepped up measures against tankers smuggling Iraqi oil in defiance of a U.N. embargo, local media said yesterday. Full Story

Oil spill threatens northern parts of UAE top

UAE : April 23, 2001 DUBAI

Strong winds have pushed an oil slick from an Iraqi oil tanker that sank in the Gulf last week into northern shores of the United Arab Emirates, witnesses and state media reported on Saturday. Full Story

Scientists say Great Barrier Reef choking to death top

AUSTRALIA: April 19, 2001 BRISBANE

Australia's Great Barrier Reef risks choking to death on fertiliser-soaked silt thanks to the clearance of wetlands and rainforests along the neighbouring Queensland coast, scientists said yesterday. Full Story

UPDATE - Kazakh OKIOC reports minor oil spill in Caspian top

KAZAKHSTAN: April 19, 2001 ALMATY

The international consortium developing Kazakhstan's huge Kashagan oilfield in the Caspian Sea reported a minor oil spill yesterday, but said the oil had quickly dispersed.

Pipeline break leaks oil, saltwater on Alaska tundra top

USA: April 19, 2001 ANCHORAGE, Alaska

A hole in a pipeline used for transporting by-products at the Kuparuk oil field on Alaska's North Slope has resulted in the biggest spill of industrial material onto the tundra in recent years, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said on Tuesday. Full Story

Environment Tanker Spills Iraqi Oil into the Persian Gulf top

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 18, 2001

Cleanup crews are working to ensure Dubai's popular tourist beaches are free of oil from a ship which sank in the Persian Gulf off Jebel Ali four days ago. Fears that the 30-mile oil slick would lead to serious contamination of beaches proved unfounded, UAE officials said today. Full Story

UAE deploys hundreds of workers against oil spill top

UAE: April 18, 2001 DUBAI

The United Arab Emirates has deployed hundreds of workers to combat an oil slick threatening the beaches of Dubai after a 3,500-tonne Iraqi tanker sank in the Gulf last week, Dubai municipal officials said yesterday. Full Story

Green Parties 1st Global Conference Backs U.S. Oil Boycott top

CANBERRA, April 17, 2001, Australia

A boycott of U.S. oil companies was endorsed at the first worldwide gathering of Green political parties and movements in Canberra on the weekend. International campaign networks were strengthened with the formal declaration of a Global Greens Network and a Green Shield program to protect Green politicians at risk of their lives. Full Story

Too Many Cetaceans Dying In EU Nets, UN Says top

BONN, , April 17, 2001, Germany

Pressure to reduce the number of dolphins and porpoises accidentally killed by fishing nets in the North Sea and adjacent waters off Europe has come from a United Nations agency. Full Story

Grim Future Forecast for World's Coastal Areas top

WASHINGTON, DC, April 17, 2001

Human modification and destruction of the planet's coastal zone is endangering marshes, estuaries, coral reefs and mangrove forests that provide a host of ecosystem services to humans, warns a new study released today. These services are vital - flood protection, water filtration, nursery habitat for fish and other species. Full Story

Green groups vow boycott of oil firms over Kyoto top

CANBERRA, April 17, 2001, AUSTRALIA

Green political parties from around the world vowed yesterday to launch a boycott against multinational oil companies such as Exxon Mobil in an attempt to rescue world climate change talks. Full Story

UPDATE - Brazil Petrobras reports new offshore oil spill top

RIO DE JANEIRO, April 17, 2001 BRAZIL

An offshore oil rig dumped a small oil slick into the ocean off the Rio coast last week, less than a month after explosions sank a nearby platform, Brazil's state oil giant Petrobras said. Full Story

Fuel tanker sinks off UAE coast top

DUBAI: April 17, 2001, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

A tanker carrying 1,300 tonnes of fuel oil sank off the northern coast of the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, and the fate of its crew remains unknown, officials said on Sunday. Full Story

Emirates says oil spill under control top

DUBAI, 4/16/01, United Arab Emirates

Holes in the hull of tanker that sank off the coast of Dubai, leaking thousands of gallons of smuggled Iraqi oil, have been plugged and the spill brought under control, the official Emirates news agency reported Monday. Full Story

Warming Oceans Attributed to Greenhouse Gases top

WASHINGTON, DC, April 16, 2001 USA

Greenhouse gas emissions have caused the world's oceans to heat up significantly over the last 50 years, show two studies released last week. The studies, focused on warming oceans rather than warming air, provide some of the strongest evidence ever reported that human activities are changing the world's climate. Full Story

Greens to fight US rejection of Kyoto treaty top

13 April 2001

More than 700 environmental activists from 60 countries are meeting in Canberra this weekend to formulate a "global action plan" that may include a boycott of US oil companies. Full Story

Brazilian oil leak forces evacuation top

13 April 2001

An uncontrolled leak from a Brazilian offshore oil rig has forced the evacuation of 80 workers, and spilled 13,000 litres of crude oil into the Atlantic Ocean before being contained. Full Story

New Climate Proposals Aim to Appease USA top

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, April 12, 2001

The chairman of the United Nations climate negotiations, Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk, has offered a new set of compromise proposals on rules for the Kyoto Protocol that are aimed at persuading the United States to rejoin the process. Full Story

Government Bans Sand Extraction From Lagoon top

Dakar April 11, 2001

Determined to protect the marine environment and the tourism industry that relies on it, the Mauritius government says it will ban sand extraction from the Port Louis lagoon. Full Story

EU WORLD TRIP CONFIRMS U.S. ISOLATION ON KYOTO top

BRUSSELS, Belgium, April 11, 2001 (ENS) - A world trip undertaken by a European Union delegation following America's withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol has resulted in five key countries pledging firm support for the climate change negotiation process, according to team leader Kjell Larsson. Full Story

Bush�s former oil firm threatens sea turtles top

April 10, 2001

The endangered green turtle, Chelonia mydas, has the largest nesting site in the Western Hemisphere at Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Plans by a Texas oil company, Harken Energy Corporation, to drill for oil and natural gas off the Caribbean port of Lim�n in southeastern Costa Rica are being challenged by hundreds of scientists, and the company faces a legal challenge from indigenous people in the supreme court of Costa Rica. Full Story

Environment Fight Arctic Drilling at Summit, Ex PM Tells Canada top

WHITEHORSE, Yukon Territory, Canada, April 10, 2001

A former Canadian prime minister wants Canada to use the forthcoming Summit of the Americas to categorically state its opposition to American plans for oil and gas development in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Full Story

La mer a aval� plus de 3 kms en 20 ans top

Abidjan, April 9, 2001 , C�te d'Ivoire

Les villes c�ti�res du sud-ouest de la C�te d'Ivoire sont menac�es de disparition suite � l'�rosion marine, selon les r�sultats d'une �tude men�e par l'Institut de g�ographie et des grands travaux sur les villes de Grand Lahou et de Jacqueville, situ�es respectivement � 90 km et 60 km sur le littoral ouest. Full Story

UK Leases Its Sea Bed to 18 Offshore Wind Farmers top

LONDON, April 9, 2001 United Kingdom

More than a million United Kingdom households are a step closer to getting their electricity from wind power, after 18 offshore wind farm developers were granted leases to build on the sea bed. Full Story

Annan hopes US will change mind on greenhouse gas top

UNITED NATIONS: April 10, 2001

UNITED NATIONS - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday called it "unfortunate" that the United States had rejected a global treaty cutting greenhouse gas emissions and expressed hope Washington would change its mind.
Full Story

Court battle over Nigerian oil wealth Delta people want more benefits from oil wealth top

Monday, 9 April, 2001

The Nigerian federal government is bringing an action in the Supreme Court on Monday, asking it to rule on the contentious issue of how to share oil revenues. Full Story

Protesters vow to stay on oil rig 'as long as they can' top

07 April 2001

Six environmental activists from Greenpeace boarded an oil rig in the North Sea yesterday and secured themselves to the underside of the platform in a protest over global warming. Full Story

UPDATE - Britain gears up for offshore wind power top

UK: April 6, 2001 LONDON

Britain cleared the way yesterday for a 1.6 billion pound ($2.3 billion) offshore wind power investment, the first large scale British attempt to tap the clean energy source. Full Story

NMA Embarks On Strategies For Maritime Development top

Lagos April 6, 2001

Francis Ugwoke Lagos In a desperate bid to redeem its image and live up to its statutory responsibilities, the National Maritime Authority (NMA) is embarking on various measures aimed at developing the nation-s maritime industry.
Full Story

Warmer oceans drive climate change-Sea surface temperatures linked to subtle long-term pattern top

Washington, April 5, 2001

Major climate changes seen in the Northern Hemisphere over the past half century have been driven by a progressive warming of tropical oceans, probably sparked by the human-caused buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, scientists say. Full Story

Companies Challanged to Voice Support for Kyoto Protocol top

Amsterdam , April 5, 2001, Netherlands

The top 100 U.S. companies have been given one week to declare their opposition to President George W. Bush's rejection of the Kyoto Protocol, or face the consequences from concerned consumers, institutions and organisations around the world, Greenpeace said today. Full Story

Environmental group's first-ever paid TV spots take on President Bush over drilling in the arctic top

April 4, 2001

In an attempt to build grass-roots opposition to President Bush's proposal to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the country's leading environmental organizations is launching its first-ever paid television spot. Full Story

New industry-wide effort to improve monitoring of corrosion and flow in deepwater pipelines top

April 4, 2001

InterCorr International and Shell Global Solutions introduce joint deepwater development program

Exploration and production in the deep waters offshore can be compared to exploring in deep space. In both areas, it is extremely difficult to maintain equipment because of inaccessibility. And, in the famous words of Gene Kranz, flight director at NASA during Apollo 13, "Failure is not an option." Full Story

Environmental threat near Copenhagen top

April 3, 2001

Denmark's oil spill is still proving difficult to contain, and while experts are trying to limit the effects, environmental campaigners are warning of serious damage. Full Story

Oil spill has killed 1,000 birds in Denmark top

COPENHAGEN, 3 April, 2001 Denmark

With at least 1,000 ducks, swans and seagulls already dead, hunters combed oil-soiled Danish beaches Monday to destroy birds coated in oil and beyond saving after a tanker collision. Full Story

UPDATE - Greenpeace ends UK oil rig occupation top

London, April 3, 2001 United Kingdom

Greenpeace activists yesterday ended their occupation of a U.S. oil rig off Scotland - the first major protest by the group since President George W. Bush pulled out of the Kyoto accord. Full Story

Greenpeace Takes On British and U.S. Oil Industry top

ABERDEEN, Scotland, April 2, 2001

Seventeen Greenpeace volunteers appeared in a Scottish magistrate's court this morning in connection with the occupation of an oil drilling rig that was about to leave Cromarty Firth to explore for oil and gas in the North Sea.
Full Story

Greenpeace mounts oil rig protest top

Monday, 2 April, 2001

Environmental activists in Britain have spent the night on a North Sea oil rig in a protest over global warming. Full Story

Oil rig occupation continues top

INVERNESS, April 2, 2001, Scotland

Nine environmental activists are still occupying an U.S.-owned oil rig off the Scottish coast in a protest against global warming. Full Story

UPDATE - Half of leaked oil hits Danish coasts - police top

DENMARK: April 2, 2001 COPENHAGEN

Danish authorities said on Friday that half the oil from the tanker which collided with a freighter in the Baltic Sea between Denmark and Germany on Wednesday evening had hit the Danish coast. Full Story

As Global Warming Debate Heats Up, Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change Meets In Nairobi To Review Latest Scientific Findings top

Nairobi, 30 March 2001 - An important meeting to chart the future of the official scientific body which advises governments on climate change will take place next week at the Nairobi headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Full Story

Baltic Sea Ship Collision Splills Tons of Oil top

Helsinki, Finland, March 30, 2001, Finland

The collision of a cargo ship with an oil tanker in the Baltic Sea late Wednesday night has spilled about 1,900 tonnes (2,090 tons) of heavy fuel oil into the water. The oil has formed a slick 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) long between the German peninsula Darss and the Danish island of Moen. Full Story

Coastguards battle oil slick The spill is threatening marine life top

Copenhagen, March 30, 2001, Denmark

Coastguards have resumed efforts to contain an oil slick which is threatening the Danish coastline. Nearly 2,000 tonnes of oil spilled into the Baltic Sea between Denmark and Germany when a tanker and a freighter collided overnight on Wednesday. Full Story

Tanker leaks fuel oil after collision in Baltic top

Schwerin, March 30, 2001, Germany

A tanker leaked over a thousand tonnes of heavy heating oil yesterday after a collision with a freighter in the Baltic Sea between Germany and Denmark, officials said. Full Story

Pacific atolls could "drown" without climate pact top

AUSTRALIA, March 30, 2001 BRISBANE

The tiny South Pacific nation of Kiribati warned yesterday it could "drown" if the world did not act to halt global warming. Full Story

Thousands of ducks threatened by oiling in the Baltic, WWF says top

29 March, 2001

Following the collision of tanker and freighter outside the Darss peninsula, the Baltic sea is threatened by an oil catastrophe. At least a thousand tonnes of oil have leaked from the tanker and are now floating towards the Danish coast.
Full Story

Tanker collision sparks slick fear top

29 March, 2001

Nearly 2,000 tonnes of oil has leaked from a tanker after it collided with a freighter in the Baltic Sea, say Danish officials. The Baltic Carrier, carrying 30,000 tonnes of oil, was en route from Estonia to Gothenburg in Sweden when the accident happened on Wednesday night. Full Story

Oil spill after ships collide The oil spill is drifting towards the Danish coast top

Berlin, March 29, 2001, Germany

More than 1,000 tons of oil has spilled into the Baltic Sea after an oil tanker and a freighter collided, authorities say.
Full Story

Asian Nations Put Quarrels Aside to Save South China Sea top

BANGKOK, Thailand, March 28, 2001

For the first time, the seven nations bordering the South China Sea have overlooked competing territorial claims and signed a joint agreement to protect the environment of the sea. Full Story

Petrobras faces inquiry top

Sao Paulo March 28 2001

Petrobras, the Brazilian state-controlled oil company, struggled on Tuesday to fend off pressure to clarify the cause of the sinking of a $450m offshore oil platform, which killed 11 people. Full Story

Long Island oil spill clean-up seen complete by weekend top

USA March 28, 2001 NEW YORK

Clean-up activities of an oil spill that affected about 25 miles (40 km) of the north shore of Long Island, New York, are expected to be complete by the end of the week, the U.S. Coast Guard said yesterday. Full Story

Genetically Modified Engineered Fish Threaten World's Oceans - Greenpeace calls for Ge-free Seas top

27 March 2001 Boston/London/Ottawa

Greenpeace activists today sealed off a research facility containing genetically engineered (GE) salmon, owned by A/F Protein, in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The international environmental organisation demanded a global rejection of the world's first application to commercially produce GE fish, and a global ban on all releases of genetically engineered organisms into the oceans. Full Story

Liability Set for Spills of Ships' Fuel Oil top

LONDON, United Kingdom, March 27, 2001

At a meeting last week in London, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) approved a convention that it says will close "a significant gap" in global oil spill compensation rules.

Petrobras informed of P-36 oil rig's technical problems before accident top

SAO PAULO March 25, 2001

Petroleo Brasileiro SA said it was informed of technical problems in the P-36 oil rig three days before the series of explosions which killed 11 people on March 15. Full Story

Cleanup begins of Long Island oil spill top

March 25, 2001 NEW YORK

The Coast Guard on Saturday began cleaning up an oil spill off the north coast of Long Island that forced the closure of a 10-mile stretch of the beach. Full Story

Moscow pushes ahead in Caspian oil pipeline battle top

March 25 2001 1

Moscow will strike a first blow on Monday in the battle for pipeline superiority in the Caspian region, as government and oil company officials gather in north-west Kazakhstan to inaugurate a 1,580km pipeline to Russia's Black Sea. Full Story

Spill Anniversary Energizes Opposition to Arctic Drilling top

WASHINGTON, DC, March 23, 2001

Twelve years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, oil drilling and transport still threaten to contaminate pristine Arctic ecosystems. This year, President George W. Bush will press to open a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, despite warnings that more drilling will lead to more air and water pollution. Full Story

Oil spill from sunken Brazil rig contained so far top

March 22, 2001

The spill caused when the world's biggest oil rig sank off Brazil's coast has been contained and environmental damage "is relatively small," the offshore platform's owners said Wednesday. Full Story

Brazil oil workers strike for safety A mass was held outside Petrobras headquarters in Rio de Janeiro top

Sao Paulo, 22 March, 2001 Brazil

Oil workers in Brazil have been holding a 24-hour strike demanding better safety procedures, following the accident which led to the sinking of the world's largest floating oil platform. Oil workers held demonstrations to call for greater safety.
Full Story

Amec wins landmark oil platform deal for Shell top

22 March 2001

The �300m contract that Amec won last week for a 300,000 tonne floating production vessel in Nigeria could prove a landmark in realising the UK offshore industry's export ambitions. Full Story

UPDATE - Oil spill from sunken Brazil rig contained top

Rio de Janeiro, March 23, 2000, Brazil

The spill caused when the world's biggest oil rig sank off Brazil's coast has been contained and environmental damage "is relatively small," the offshore platform's owners said on Wednesday. Full Story

Brazilian oil rig sinks with 400,000 gallons of fuel, crude top

MACAE, March 21, 2001, Brazil

With nearly 400,000 gallons of fuel and crude oil aboard, one of the world's largest oil platforms sank into the South Atlantic off Brazil Tuesday and immediately began leaking. Full Story

BP, Shell find more oil in Angolan deep water top

HOUSTON, March. 21, 2001

Amoco Angola BV, a unit of BP, has two more discoveries on deepwater Block 18 off Angola. Full Story

Brazil battles to contain spill top

21 March, 2001

Ships with floating barriers and oil-dispersing chemicals have gone into action after the world's biggest oil rig sank off the coast of Brazil. Full Story

CHRONOLOGY - Petrobras rig disaster latest in series top

SAO PAULO. March 21, 2001 , Brazil

Brazil's oil giant Petrobras was fighting on Monday to save the world's biggest offshore oil rig from sinking, four days after a series of explosions killed 10 people, also threatening to provoke a major oil spill. Full Story

WWF Concern at Sinking Oil Rig off Brazilian Coast top

Brasilia, 20 March, 2001 Brazil

WWF-Brazil wishes to publicly assert its concern regarding the series of oil spills caused by the Brazilian oil company Petrobr�s, which have resulted in severe environmental impacts throughout the country and loss of life for several oil workers. Full Story

Petrobras says 5,000 l. of oil has spilled from P-36 top

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 20, 2001

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) said Tuesday the crippled P-36 platform sank and 5,000 l. of crude had spilled but was being blown out to sea by high winds. Full Story

Sunken Oil Rig Leaking Fuel top

Experts: Environmental Damage From Leak Will Not Be Great; Environmental Cleanup Ships Containing Spills; Petrobras Oil Rig Was Largest In The World

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 20, 2001, Brazil

The world's biggest floating oil rig sank in the South Atlantic on Tuesday, and the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras said some of the 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board had already started to leak. Full Story

Giant Oil Rig Sinks Off Brazilian Coast top

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 20, 2001 Brazil

The world's largest oil rig, located 130 kilometers (80.7 miles) off the northeastern coast of Brazil, hit bottom today, despite salvage attempts by its owner, the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras. Full Story

World's biggest oil rig stops sinking off Brazil top

MACAE, March 20, 2001, Brazil

The world's largest offshore oil rig has stopped sinking three days after massive blasts rocked the structure, killing 10, its Brazilian owners said on Sunday, raising hopes the $350 million rig can be salvaged. Full Story

New Initiative to Help Protect Coral Reefs top

UN Integrated Regional Information Network (Nairobi) March 20, 2001

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) on Monday announced the launch of a major initiative to boost the fortunes of East Africa's coral reefs and their globally important wildlife. Full Story

Environment Beyond Earth's Dying Coral Reefs top

WASHINGTON, DC, March 19, 2001

A pioneering project aimed at reversing the decline of the world's coral reefs today received the largest grant ever given by the United Nations Foundation. Full Story

Brazilian Oil Giant Tries to Save Sinking Rig top

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, March 19, 2001

The world's largest oil rig, located 130 kilometers (80.7 miles) off the northeastern coast of Brazil, continued to sink today, despite salvage attempts by its owner, the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras. Full Story

Petrobras rules out major oil spill in rig accident top

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 19, 2001, BRAZIL

Brazilian oil giant Petrobras ruled out the possibility on Saturday that oil would spring from deep sea wells if its rig sank following an explosion two days ago. Full Story

North end of Texas City port re-opens after oil spill top

NEW YORK, USA, March 19, 2001

The northern end of the Texas City, Tx. port has been reopened after a storm late Wednesday caused a spill of about 100-barrels of crude oil, U.S. Coast Guard officials said. Full Story

Vietnam island cleans up minor diesel oil leak top

HANOI, March 19, 2001, VIETNAM

Vietnamese authorities were cleaning up diesel oil leaked after a tanker containing 10,000 litres of oil sank in a small port on Phu Quoc island in the Gulf of Thailand, a senior environment official said on Friday. Full Story

Europe Spooked by Bush's U-turn on CO2 Limits top

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 16, 2001

U.S. President George W. Bush has spread gloom through Europe's climate change community by abandoning an election campaign promise to limit the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fueled utilities and reiterating his opposition to the United Nations Kyoto Protocol. Full Story

Texaco Refinery Fined $4 Million fro Waste Violations top

LOS ANGELES, California, March 16, 2001

Texaco Refining and Marketing, Inc. (TRMI), a Texaco, Inc., subsidiary based in Los Angeles, pleaded guilty on March 12 to two felony violations of the Clean Water Act. Full Story

World's Biggest Oil Rig Tilts Into Sea After Blast top

MACAE, March 15, 2001, Brazil

The world's biggest offshore oil rig, owned by Brazil's state oil giant Petrobras, threatened to sink into the ocean spilling crude oil on Friday, a day after an explosion that apparently killed 10 people. Full Story

Explosions Damage Brazilian Oil Rig top

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 15, 2001, Brazil

Explosions and fire ravaged Brazil's largest offshore oil rig Thursday, killing at least one worker, weakening the nation's currency and shaking its biggest company. Full story

US blow to treaty on global warming top

15 March 2001

President Bush has dealt a blow to plans to tackle global warming, telling senators that he opposes the Kyoto climate treaty and has no intention of regulating carbon dioxide emissions from power stations. Full Story

Satellite Data Confirm 'Greenhouse' Impact on Global Warming top

March 14, 2001

A comparison of satellite data from 1970 and 1997 has yielded what scientists say is the first direct evidence that so-called greenhouse gases are building up in Earth's atmosphere and allowing less heat to escape into space. Full Story

BP AMOCO agrees to clean up Pennsylvanie sites top

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, March 14, 2001

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary James Seif announced today that DEP and BP Amoco have signed an agreement to clean up petroleum releases at 177 sites across Pennsylvania. Full Story

Lithuanian Mazeikiu says 2.9 tonnes oil leaked top

LITHUANIA: March 14, 2001 VILNIUS

Lithuanian oil concern Mazeikiu Nafta said yesterday nearly three tonnes of oil spilled into the Baltic Sea from its Butinge terminal last week. "Work groups determined a total of 3,427 litres (2.94 tonnes or 21.5 barrels) of crude was released into the Baltic Sea during the incident," Mazeikiu said in a statement. Full Story

Flood danger in global warming top

March 13, 2001

AUSTRALIA could expect to see many more floods like those afflicting northern NSW if global warming were not slowed, an international climate change expert said yesterday. Full Story

Alaska governor proposes new cruise - ship controls top

USA: March 13, 2001 ANCHORAGE

Passengers on large cruise ships sailing Alaska waters would pay a $1 fee to fund state efforts to control pollution from the large vessels, under a bill introduced on Friday by Gov. Tony Knowles. Full Story

DOE sets up institute to study climate change top

USA: March 13, 2001 WASHINGTON

The U.S. Energy Department yesterday said it would create a global warming research institute to study the cheapest ways to curb carbon dioxide emissions and other economic impacts of the changing climate. Full Story

Chevron denies Angolan oil spill responsibility top

ANGOLA: March 12, 2001 LUANDA

U.S. oil company Chevron has denied responsibility for an oil spill that has affected fishing near its operations in northern Angola, church-run radio reported on Friday. Full Story

Cabinda Enclave Suffers Oil Spill top

UN Integrated Regional Information Network (Nairobi) March 12, 2001

A valve was left open at a coastal oil site operated by US oil company Chevron in northwest Angola, spilling around 14,000 litres (3,700 gallons) of crude, AP reported on Monday, quoting a government official. A team of officials from the company, the government and environment groups are investigating the leak, which occurred on Thursday at the Malongo site in the enclave of Cabinda, Oil Minister Botelho de Vasconcelos said. Full Story

A shift in the wind on global warming: confounding some allies, Bush talks tough top

12 March, 2001

An important new force is nudging President Bush toward a new global-warming policy, and it's scaring the pinstripes off some of his business buddies. The source of the pressure? Bush's allies in the business world. Full Story

EU could ratify climate pact by next summer top

Sweden EU: March 9, 2001 BRUSSELS

The European Union could ratify a 1997 United Nations agreement to combat global warming ahead of an Earth Summit of world leaders next year, Sweden's environment minister said yesterday. Full Story

Latvia PM says wants oil spill deal with Lithuania top

LATVIA: March 9, 2001 RIGA

Latvian Premier Andris Berzins said yesterday an oil spill at neighbouring Lithuania's Butinge oil terminal has strengthened his resolve to push for a deal on a compensation mechanism in oil pollution cases. Full Story

Alaska governor wants big share of oil royalties top

USA: March 9, 2001 WASHINGTON

Alaska Governor Tony Knowles said on Wednesday he would push for his state to get a larger share of the royalty revenue from any oil found in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Full Story

Balance of Political Will Tips Scale of Climate Change top

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 7, 2001

Global warming can be conquered, an international panel of scientists reported Monday, but development paths leading to low greenhouse gas emissions "depend on a wide range of policy choices and require major policy changes in areas other than climate change." Full Story

Climate change offers commercial chance - Blair top

UK: March 7, 2001 LONDON

Efforts to tackle global warming will founder unless big business is convinced of the commercial opportunities offered by renewable energy, British Prime Minister Tony Blair will say on Tuesday. Full Story

FEATURE - Oil frenzy in Alaska as Congress debates drilling top

USA: March 7, 2001 ANCHORAGE, Alaska

As the debate heats up in Congress on whether to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, oil companies have launched a mini-frenzy of exploration just across the North Slope at another federal reserve in Alaska without much notice. Full Story

UN agency says new report has answers for rising greenhouse gas emissions top

United Nations 6 March

A new report compiled by leading experts from some 100 countries points to available solutions for tackling the problem of rising greenhouse gas emissions which are blamed for global climate change, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Full Story

Global warming fixes available now at low cost top

UN GHANA: March 6, 2001 ACCRA

Effective technologies and measures to combat global warming are available now, at a lower cost to society than sometimes imagined, but need the political will to implement them, a United Nations report said yesterday. Full Story

G8 Environment Ministers Keep Climate Ball Rolling top

TRIESTE, Italy, March 5, 2001

Environment ministers from the world's eight most powerful countries have reaffirmed their desire to reach a global accord on implementing the Kyoto Protocol. This addition to the United Nations climate change treaty governs the greenhouse gas emissions of 39 industrialized nations. Full Story

G8 ministers to take environment's temperature top

Rome, March 2, 2001 Italy

Environment ministers from the world's seven largest Western industrialised nations and Russia meet in Trieste on Friday to take the globe's temperature and examine how much the climate is changing. Full Story

Climate change talks to resume in Bonn on July 16 top

Amsterdam, March 2, 2001 The Netherland

International talks to limit the pollution blamed for global warming will restart on July 16 in Bonn, Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk said on Wednesday. Full Story

Two Taiwan ministers offer to quit over oil spill top

Taipei, March 2, 2001 Taiwan

Two Taiwan cabinet ministers offered to resign yesterday over the island's worst oil spill in decades which has turned into a new political headache for embattled Premier Chang Chun-hsiung. Full Story

Americans oppose Alaska drilling - green poll top

Wasinghton, March 2, 2001 USA

A majority of Americans oppose a Republican-backed plan to allow oil and gas drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), according to a survey issued on Wednesday by a green group. Full Story

Bush budget seeks funds for Alaska oil, gas drilling top

Washigton, March 2, 2001 USA

President George W. Bush delivered on one of his most controversial campaign promises on Wednesday when he formally asked Congress to pave the way for oil and natural gas drilling on an Alaskan wildlife reserve. Full Story

Greenhouse gas cuts are economically feasible, say UN officials top

United Nations, 1 March

As diplomats and experts converge on Accra, Ghana, to finalize a major assessment of the technology and policy options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, senior United Nations officials are calling on governments to recognize the economic and competitive benefits of making an early transition to climate-friendly economies. Full Story

Three New Drilling Rigs to Operate in Indonesian Oil Block top

Pekanbaru, March 1 Asia Pulse

Three new drilling rigs to in the Coastal Plains Pekanbaru [CPP] block will soon be operational, according to PT. Caltex Pacific Indonesia [CPI]. Full Story

Stalled climate change talks to resume in Bonn this summer top

United Nations 28 February

Talks on global climate change which were suspended last November will resume in Bonn from 16 to 27 July, the chief negotiator announced today. Full Story

Whitman considers global warming top

Wednesday, February 28, 2001

Calling global warming "a real phenomenon," Environmental Protection Agency chief Christie Whitman said Tuesday the administration is considering limits on carbon dioxide emissions as part of a broader anti-pollution strategy. Full Story

Climate Change Linked to Civilization Collapse top

February 28, 2001

Two Massachusetts scientists have linked climate variations to the collapse of societies around the globe. Sometimes slight, sometimes intense, the scientists argue in a recent issue of the journal Science that the changes were enough to forever alter the lifestyles of the people living under changed conditions. Full Story

South African Environmentalists Condemn Water Harbour top

Cape Town, February 28, 2001, South Africa

Environmental groups in South Africa Wednesday condemned the start of a multi-billion rand Coega deep water harbour and industrial development project near Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. Full Story

Study reveals global warming threatens Australia's climate top

February 28, 2001

Leading atmospheric scientist is warning that much of Australia will become drier as global warming bites. Full Story

Energy Bill Would Open Arctic Refuge to Drilling top

Washington, DC, February 27, 2001

Senators Frank Murkowski and John Breaux introduced new energy legislation Monday that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and place increased emphasis on developing other domestic energy sources. Environmental groups lambasted the bill, warning it would threaten sensitive lands around the nation. Full Story

Arctic Refuge dispute extends to oil estimates top

February 26, 2001

To oil drillers, Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) coastal plain is a desolate and frozen place whose most interesting feature is the natural oil that seeps in the rock outcroppings. Republicans in Washington on Monday will unveil a broad energy bill that in part proposes opening the ANWR to drilling. Touting a recent government estimate of up to 16 billion barrels, they assert the coastal plain will yield a petroleum bonanza. Full Story

Emergency bid to save 150 swans affected by oil spillage top

February 27, 2001

An emergency operation was under way in Galway last night to rescue the city's Claddagh swans. Full Story

Arctic Refuge dispute extends to oil estimates top

USA, February 27, 2001 ANCHORAGE, Alaska

Oil puts penguins at risk top

February 26, 2001

A joint New Zealand and American environmental team investigating an abandoned Antarctic research station has discovered oil-contaminated pools that may have killed up to 200 Adelie penguins. Full Story

US tanker spills down 75 percent since Valdez top

New York, February 26, 2001 USA

Pollution from petroleum tanker spills has dropped 75 percent in the decade following legislation enacted after the enormous 1989 Exxon Valdez crude oil spill, oil shipping experts said on Friday. Full Story

Committee Set Up to Investigate Oil Spill in Akwa Ibom Submits Report top

February 24, 2001 Lagos

The Technical Committee set up by the Akwa Ibom State Government to investigate if there was an oil spill within the coastal zone of the state last November has submitted its preliminary findings with the confirmation that "there was a major oil spill during the period within the Akwa Ibom shores and coastal waters". Full Story

Global Warming: Africa Hit Hardest top

Nairobi, 22 February, 2001

Rising levels of disease, famine and poverty are forecast for Africa by scientists studying the impacts of global warming. A report, published today (MON) by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says heavy, monsoon-like, rains and higher temperatures will favour the breeding of disease-carrying mosquitoes, allowing them to thrive at higher altitudes. Full Story

UNEP Press Release - Significant Changes Likely In The Arctic From Climate Change top

From Nick Nuttall, UNEP CPI Media Officer

Nairobi/Arendal 22 February, 2001

Massive changes in the Arctic, which are likely to have dramatic impacts on the world�s weather systems, fisheries, wildlife and people living in the far North, are today (MON) forecast by scientists studying global warming. Full Story

Unspoiled Alaska worth billions, say eco-advocates top

February 21, 2001

Alaska is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including caribou. They can be found in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. About one in four jobs in Alaska and almost $2.6 billion in annual income are dependent on a clean environment and healthy ecosystem, according to a study released Tuesday by the Alaska Conservation Foundation. Full Story

UK Simplifies Rules For Offshore Wind Farms top

London, February 21, 2001, United Kingdom

The UK government wants to make it easier for companies to build offshore wind farms. Potential developers currently face up to seven steps to gain the approval they need. Full Story

A Festering Sore top

February 21, 2001

The Mobil Idaho spillage which occurred when a 12-inch pipeline belonging to Mobil Producing Nig. Unlimited, ruptured in January 1998 is on record as one of the worst singular cases of oil spillage in Nigeria. The exact quantity raised some controversy. While Mobil put it at 40,000 barrels, environment watchers believed it was more. But an undisputable truth is that the spillage caused wide spread damage and nuisance that overran the Niger Delta coastline up to the shores of Lagos. Full Story

Brazil Petrobras given max. fine for small oil spill top

Rio de Janeiro, February 21, 2001 Brazil

Environmental officials in Brazil's southern Parana state have fined state oil giant Petrobras a maximum 150 million reais ($75 million) for a recent minor fuel spill, which they said was a repeated offence. Full Story

U.N. Report Forecasts Crises Brought On by Global Warming-Poor Countries Would Bear Brunt of Climate Consequences top

February 20, 2001

Rising global temperatures already responsible for shrinking glaciers and vanishing permafrost eventually could touch off climate changes that would literally alter ocean currents, wipe away huge portions of Alpine snowcaps and aid the spread of cholera and malaria, according to a study released yesterday. Full Story

Tanker still stuck in Galapagos, will it stay? top

Quito, February 20, 2001 Ecuador

A month after a tanker ran aground in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands spilling thousands of gallons of fuel into the pristine waters, the question is: what will become of the boat? Full Story

UN officials and NGOs urge action on climate top

Geneva, February 20, 2001 Switzerland

United Nations officials and environmental bodies on Monday urged governments to act quickly to slow global warming by shaping meaningful international pacts to reduce carbon emissions. Full Story

UNEP News Release: Global Warming report details impacts on people and nature top

UNEP/WMO Press Release

Bonn/Geneva/Nairobi, 19 February 2001

The second volume of a major climate change report describing in greater detail than ever before how global warming could impact civilization and the natural environment has been finalized here by an international group of leading scientists.
Full Story

San Francisco Bay Oiled Wildlife Rescue Center Opens top

California, February 19, 2001 California

A new San Francisco Bay regional rescue center for wildlife injured in oil spills will open Tuesday in Cordelia. Full Story

Governments Agree: Global Warming Impact Serious top

Geneva, February 19, 2001 Switzerland

The poorest and least adaptable parts of the world will suffer most from climate change over the next 100 years, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said today in a major report on the impacts of increased global temperatures. Full Story

New report spells out risks from global warming top

February 18, 2001

Poor countries and above all small island states, will be hardest hit by global warming, while melting ice caps and other changes in polar regions likely will continue for centuries, a new U.N. report says. Full Story

UK Nuclear Firm Invests in Offshore Wind Power top

London, February 16, 2001 United Kingdom

The United Kingdom's nuclear power generator, British Energy, is to begin developing large scale offshore wind power in a joint venture with Renewable Energy Systems, one of the largest wind energy companies in Europe. Full Story

NASA tests satellite on Argentina landscapes top

Buonos Aires, February 16, 2001 , Argentina

NASA is using Argentina's diverse ecology to test the ability of its Earth-observing satellite to evaluate environmental phenomena like deforestation or the habitat of disease-bearing bugs. Full Story

UNEP Advocates Streamlining of Environmental Conventions top

Dakar, February 16, 2001

Nairobi, Kenya The United Nations Environment programme (UNEP) is proposing a streamlining of all international conventions, with a view to ensuring ready availability of funds for the conservation of the world's flora and fauna.
Full Story

Alaska Gov. "optimistic" on oil drilling in refuge top

USA: February 16, 2001 Houston

Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles said on Wednesday he was optimistic about the chances of opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling. Full Story

Senator to keep Arctic refuge oil drilling in bill top

USA: February 16, 2001 Washington

Republican Senator Frank Murkowski of Alaska has said that the Bush administration has not asked for language allowing oil and natural gas drilling in an Alaska refuge to be stripped out of a broader Senate energy bill that will be introduced later this month. Full Story

Oil spill off coast of Taiwan threatens ecological preserve top

February 16, 2001

Taiwan government is pondering what to do with a half-sunk Greece registered ship that became trapped on submerged reefs in mid January and led to the worst oil spill in the country since 1977. Full Story

INDONESIA Oil tanker runs aground off Java island top

February 15, 2001

Indonesian police are trying to refloat a Singapore-registered oil tanker that ran aground in rough seas off Indonesia's Java island. Full Story

BP reiterates support for opening Alaska reserve top

UK, February 15, 2001 London

BP Amoco on Tuesday reiterated its support for opening a natural refuge in Alaska to commercial oil drilling but said it would reserve any decisions on whether to be involved. Full Story

Climate change talks to resume end-June, early July top

Netherlands, February 13, 2001 Amsterdam

International talks to limit the pollution that causes global warming will restart in late June or early July, the Dutch Environment Ministry said on Tuesday. Full Story

Senator threatens to block Bush Arctic oil plan top

USA: February 13, 2001 Washington

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry yesterday threatened to block any legislative plan from President George W. Bush for opening the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling, saying energy exploration in the pristine wilderness was wrongheaded. Full Story

At Daggers' Drawn top

Newswatch (Lagos) February 12, 2001

The people of Funiwa in Bayelsa State brace up for a showdown with Texaco Overseas (Nigeria) Petroleum Company Limited over an oil spillage in their area. Full Story

Oil Spill Rescues Highlight Massachusetts Event top

Cape Cod, February 12, 2001, Massachusetts

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History will host a public event in Cape Cod on Tuesday highlighting their unique work to protect the local environment and wildlife. The theme of the evening, to be held from 7 pm to 8 pm at Nauset Middle School, is Penguin Night. Presentations will highlight the success of the IFAW Emergency Relief Team, which helped save tens of thousands of penguins after an oil spill last year.
Full Story

SeaRiver tanker that leaked oil departs Valdez top

USA, February 12, 2001 ANCHORAGE, Alaska

An oil tanker that leaked some oil from a small crack while in port departed with its cargo on Sunday from the Valdez terminal of the trans-Alaska pipeline, officials said. Full Story

U.N. Likely to Postpone Next Round of Global Warming top

12 February 2001

A United Nations mediator overseeing global warming talks is likely to delay until July the next round of negotiations, setting back hopes for an earlier agreement on measures to limit climatic damage. Full Story

Troops used to fight oil spill Agence France-Presse top

Taipei, 12 February 2001 Taiwan

Hundreds of soldiers were mobilised yesterday to rescue Taiwan's ``Greater Barrier Reefs'' after public outrage erupted over the government's slow response to a major oil spill. ``We sent a total of 660 soldiers this morning ... They arrived there by 8am,'' an army spokesman said. ``Because of the rocky terrain, they had to use simple tools like buckets to remove the sticky oil stains.'' Full Story

Taiwan PM vows to mop up oil spill in one month top

Taipei, February 12, 2001 Taiwan

Taiwan Premier Chang Chun-hsiung has pledged to mop up in one month the island's worst oil spill in decades from a grounded Greek bulk carrier after the opposition accused his government of stalling. Full Story

SeaRiver tanker held in Alaska port after oil leaks top

USA: February 12, 2001 ANCHORAGE, Alaska

An oil-laden SeaRiver Maritime oil tanker was being held at the Valdez port of the trans-Alaska pipeline after it leaked some of its cargo from a small crack, officials said on Saturday. Full Story

UNEP Aims for Stronger Global Role top

Nairobi, February 9, 2001 Kenya

The Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has ended its latest biannual meeting Nairobi with agreement to strengthen the agency with a view to developing it into a global environmental governance body.
Full Story

Groups oppose oil exploration in the Great Barrier Reef top

February 9, 2001

Australian environmental groups are protesting a proposed oil exploration to be conducted off the Great Barrier Reef. The protest follows an application lodged by TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company, a leading international provider of non-exclusive seismic data for the oil and gas industry, to survey oil prospects in a region only 30 miles from the Unesco World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef. Full Story

UN warns global warming is melting Arctic soil top

Nairobi, February 9, 2001, Kenya

UN scientists said on Wednesday that global warming was melting the Arctic's permafrost, causing it to release greenhouse gases that could in turn raise temperatures even higher. Full Story

EU proposes to meet US demand to delay climate talks top

Stockholm, February 9, 2001 Sweden

European Union officials will reluctantly propose postponing climate talks until mid-July at the request of the United States, the EU's chief climate negotiator said on Wednesday. Full Story

UK BG Grp To Drill Pakistan Offshore Blk 4Q 01-1Q 02-Exec top

Singapore, February 8, 2001

U.K.-based oil and gas major BG Group PLC (U.BG) is expected to start drilling at its offshore exploration block in the Arabian Sea between October this year and March 2002, a Pakistan-based senior manager with the company told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday. Full Story

Taiwan government under fire over oil spill delay top

Taipei, February 8, 2001 TAIwan

Taiwan's government has come under fire from the largest opposition party for stalling on the clean-up of an oil spill threatening the island's southern coast, the state-funded Central News Agency said on Wednesday. Full Story

Well complexity leading factor in offshore accidents top

Houston, February 7, 2001

The complexities of deep wells and extended-reach drilling are bigger factors in offshore accidents than water depth or whether the operator is a major or independent producer, an academic analyst said at an International Association of Drilling Contractors conference here. Full Story

Melting Arctic Permafrost May Accelerate Global Warming top

Nairobi, February 7, 2001, Kenya

Global warming may be set to accelerate as rising temperatures in the Arctic melt the permafrost causing it to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, a United Nations scientist warned today. An estimated 14 per cent of the world's carbon is stored in Arctic lands. Full Story

Galapagos Pelicans Oiled in Tanker Spill Released top

Galapagos Islands, February 6, 2001, Ecuador

The aftermath of the mid-January oil spill from the tanker Jessica in the eastern Galapagos Islands is winding down with the release today of the last of 22 pelicans to the wild after special treatment to clean them of oil. Full Story

Australia slaps $220,000 eco fine on Malaysian firm top

Camberra, February 6, 2001 Australia

An Australian court on Tuesday ordered the owners of a Malaysian container ship which ran aground on Australia's Great Barrier Reef last year to pay a record A$400,000 (US$220,000) environmental damage fine, local radio reported.
Full Story

Lawmakers urge US to keep Fla. from drilling plan USA top

Washington, February 6, 2001 USA

Florida's congressional delegation has urged the Interior Department to exclude oil drilling in all federal offshore waters that could harm the state's coastline. Full Story

Record fine for reef tanker top

February 6, 2001

An Australian court has fined the owners of a Malaysian cargo ship $220,000 for causing serious environmental damage when it ran aground on Australia's Great Barrier Reef in November. Full Story

Massive oil spill pollutes coast top

Lunckeng, 5 February 2001, Taiwan

Residents were working to remove hundreds of tonnes of oil threatening a southern Taiwan wildlife reserve in the worst maritime oil spill on the island since 1977, officials said yesterday. Full Story

Statoil evaluating Barents Sea discovery top

London, February 5 2001, UK

Norway's Statoil AS said Friday that it was evaluating an oil and gas discovery on production license 202 in the North Cape Basin of the Barents Sea. Full Story

Galapagos spill a drop in the oil-pollution bucket top

February 4, 2001 By David Suzuki

I have had the privilege of traveling to every continent in the world, and of all the places I've seen, one of the most magical is the Galapagos Islands. These isolated lands off Ecuador's coast are home to species not found anywhere else, and because humans are newcomers, birds, lizards and seals have not learned to fear people. The islands are a perfect place to study biology, and it was here, more than 100 years ago, that Charles Darwin developed the theory of evolution through natural selection. Full Story

Oil spill may threaten Taiwan park top

February 4, 2001

More than 1,000 tons of fuel have leaked from a tanker that sank last month near a maritime park in what could be the worst oil spill off Taiwan in decades, a leading newspaper reported Sunday. Full Story

Energy taxes must rise to save climate - EU's Wallstrom top

Brussels, February 4, 2001 EU

Energy prices must rise if the European Union is to face up to the challenge of global warming, the EU's environment policy chief said on Thursday. Full Story

Global warming to cost $300 bln a year - UN report top

Nairobi, February 4, 2001, Kenya

An increase in natural disasters as a result of global warming could cost the world over $300 billion annually by the year 2050, a new United Nations commissioned report says. Full Story

Offshore wind blows life into UK green policy top

London February 4, 2001, UK

A wave of new wind power fields is set to sweep down Britain's coastlines and could help the government as it scrambles to meet renewable energy targets, industry experts said on Thursday. Full Story

Melting Antarctic glacier raising sea level - study top

USA: February 4, 2001 WASHINGTON

A huge but remote Antarctic glacier is thinning at rates fast enough to raise global sea levels, British researchers said on Thursday. Full Story

NNPC oil tanker on fire at Port Harcourt refinery top

February 1, 2001

An oil tanker, M.T IFE, caught fire at the Port Harcourt refineries last Thursday. The fire, caused by an explosion in the engine room of the vessel, started at about 9.50 a.m. on Thursday after the vessel had completed loading 8,000 (eight thousand) metric tonnes of petroleum products, scheduled for delivery in Lagos. Full Story

Great bio-treasure hunt in Australia's barrier reef top

Brisbane, February 1, 2001, Australia

Scientists, hunting cures for cancer and AIDS or ways of harnessing nature to make sunscreen or pesticide, have turned their attention to one of Australia's national treasures - the Great Barrier Reef. Full Story

Rs. 80 m Norwegian grant for marine environment protection top

February 1, 2001

The Norwegian Government has given an outright grant of over Rs. 80 million for infrastructure strengthening and preparedness for oil spill and other marine contingencies in Sri Lanka. Full Story

Namibia Accedes To Maritime Conventions top

Dakar, February 1, 2001

Namibia has acceded to three International Maritime Conventions in its bid to comply with standards prescribed by the International Maritime Organisation or IMO. Full Story

Pacific Coral Reefs get Ecosystem Based Management Plan top

Washington January 31, 2001

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has developed the first ever ecosystem based plan for a U.S. fishery. The agency has released an environmental impact statement on the Fishery Management Plan for coral reef ecosystems in the Western Pacific. Full Story

Environmentalists Strike Back top

January 31, 2001

Opponents of the plan to drill for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have a message for Interior Secretary Gale Norton: There are better and cheaper ways to address the nation's huge appetite for oil. Full Story

Brazil's Petrobras to help clean up Galapagos spill top

Sao Paulo, January 31, 2001 Brazil

Brazil's state oil group, Petrobras, whose image was tarred by a series of oil spills last year, on Tuesday sent tonnes of equipment to help clean up an oil spill at Ecuador's pristine Galapagos islands. Full Story

Shell Australia Reports New Gas Find Offshore Northwest top

31 January, 2001

CANBERRA (Dow Jones)--A local unit of Royal Dutch/Shell Group (RD) Wednesday reported the discovery of natural gas in a new well drilled offshore northwest Western Australia state. Full Story

Triton Energy discovers oil off Equatorial Guinea top

31 January, 2001

US oil company Triton Energy said on Wednesday its G-4 exploration well off the coast of Equatorial Guinea was being temporarily abandoned after the discovery of oil on Block G, in which SA's Energy Africa also has a 15% interest. Full Story

Australia queries plan to map Barrier Reef for oil top

Sydney, January 30, 2001 Australia

The Australian government said on Tuesday it had asked for more information on the potential impact on marine life if seismic testing for oil deposits near the Great Barrier Reef was allowed to proceed. Full Story

Marine life to bounce back from Galapagos oil spill top

Quito, January 30, 2001, Ecuador

Ecuador's Galapagos islands should make a full recovery from the oil spill that tarnished its sandy shores, a sign of hope for the hundreds of unique species there that inspired British naturalist Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, scientists said. Full Story

Hunting for Oil: New Precision, Less Pollution top

January 30, 2001

ANCHORAGE � In the midwinter gloom of Alaska's Arctic, the annual rush is on to probe the North Slope for undiscovered pockets of oil. Full Story

Marine Life to Recover From Galapagos Oil Spill top

Quito, January 30, 2001, Ecuador

Qld Govt criticises Fed Govt response to reef oil test plan top

30 January, 2001

The Queensland Government has criticised the Howard Government's response to a proposal for a seismic survey for oil, near the Great Barrier Reef. Full Story

Garder un oeil sur l'�cologie des r�gions c�ti�res top

Dakar January 29, 2001, S�n�gal

Un r�cent rapport des Nations Unies d�finit la gestion des c�tes comme "un processus continue et dynamique qui conjugue... des int�r�ts sectoriels et publics dans le cadre de la pr�paration et de la mise en oeuvre d'un programme int�gr� pour la protection et le d�veloppement des �cosyst�mes et ressources c�tiers". Full Story

UPDATE - Galapagos tanker to remain in harbor, become reef top

Puerto Barquerizo Moreno, January 29, 2001, Ecuador

The stricken oil tanker that fouled Charles Darwin's Galapagos island paradise cannot be moved and is set to become an artificial reef, teeming with fish and home to seals and exotic birds, the US Coast Guard said on Sunday. Full Story

Ecuador tourism could slump post-Galapagos spill top

Quito, January 29, 2001 Ecuador

An oil spill in the pristine Pacific waters of Ecuador's Galapagos Islands could harm foreign tourism, a multimillion-dollar industry and one of the nation's biggest sources of income, tour operators said on Friday. Full Story

India quake causes oil spill near Kandla port top

New Delhi, January 29, 2001, India

A powerful earthquake which rocked western India on Friday has caused an oil slick around the country's busiest port of Kandla posing a major threat to the environment, The Hindustan Times newspaper said on Saturday. Full Story

FEATURE - Environment a priority for EU president Sweden top

Stockholm, January 29, 2001, Sweeden

Concern about the environment is growing after a year which saw floods from Africa to Europe and the failure of global climate talks. Full Story

Power Crisis Energizes Push to Drill for Arctic Oil top

January 29, 2001

Energy: Public's anxiety may be leading lawmakers to rethink development of the National Wildlife Refuge, proponents say. Bush sets a Cabinet-level meeting on his overall policy and problems in the West. Full Story

Tanker Wreck in Gal�pagos Will Be a Habitat for Marine top

Gal�pagos Islands, January 29, 2001

The sunken oil tanker that fouled an important harbor here cannot be moved and is likely to become an artificial reef for fish, seals and birds, a United States Coast Guard officer said today. Full Story

Galapagos tanker may become reef top

29 January, 2001

The tale of the stricken oil tanker that spilled its contents near the famous Galapagos Islands may have a happy ending for the plants and animals involved. Full Story

Second oil spill in Latin America top

28 January, 2001

A collision between two vessels in the Colombian port of Cartagena has spilled at least twenty tonnes of oil into the Caribbean. Full Story

Rio prosecutors sue Petrobras for Jan 2000 oil spill top

Rio de Janeiro, January 28, 2001 Brazil

Prosecutors in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state are taking the state oil giant Petrobras to court on environmental crime charges for last year's major oil spill in Rio's scenic Guanabara Bay. Full Story

Panama Canal partially blocked after tanker leaks oil top

Panama City, January 28, 2001 Panama

The Panama Canal was partially blocked Thursday after a Greek-flagged tanker spilled about 162 gallons of crude oil during a southbound transit of one of the waterway's three sets of locks, the canal's administration said. Full Story

US seeks more time to prepare for climate talks top

Washington, January 28, 2001, Usa

The United States has asked Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk for more time to prepare for the next round of talks on global warming, possibly until July, the State Department said on Wednesday. Full Story

Coral reef exposes worst El Ninos ever are now top

Washington January 28, 2001, Usa

An ancient coral reef in Papua New Guinea has let scientists check up on the history of El Nino and suggest the weather pattern, blamed for droughts, floods and storms, has never been stronger than it is now. Full Story

Bush to Bush - Don't drill off Florida top

Tallahasse, January 28, 2001 , Florida

The US government should not open up the eastern Gulf of Mexico to more offshore oil drilling, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said in a letter to federal officials that may put him at odds with his elder brother, President George W. Bush. Full Story

Concern over Bush's climate change stance top

Brussels 26 January, 2001, Belgium

The EU has expressed concern over President Bush's attitude to combating climate change. The EU Environment Commissioner, Ms Margot Wallstrom, said she was concerned that Mr Bush's approach to environmental issues could make it more difficult to reach an international agreement on reducing the emissions that many scientists believe to be the cause of global warming. Full Story

It's all my fault, says oil spill captain top

Janaury 26, 2001

The captain of the tanker that ran aground off the Galapagos Islands admitted yesterday that he was to blame for the accident, which caused international concern as oil leaking from the vessel threatened one of the world�s most important wildlife and scientific havens. Full Story

Effort to refloat stricken tanker continues top

January 26, 2001

Attempts to refloat an oil tanker which ran aground near the Galapagos Islands were continuing on Friday. Environmentalists believe the threat to the island's unique species is fading as strong ocean currents help to disperse the oil slick. Full Story

EU says worried by possible Bush stance on climate top

EU: January 25, 2001 Brussels

The head of environment policy in the European Union said on Wednesday she was worried at the possible approach new US President George W. Bush would bring to an international agreement to combat global warming. Full Story

UPDATE - Galapagos oil spill cleanup runs into problems top

EU: January 25, 2001 Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, Ecuador

The transfer of the remaining oil from a wrecked ship off Ecuador's famed Galapagos islands has run into difficulties as ocean currents moved the spill toward highly sensitive areas of the pristine ecosystem, authorities said on Tuesday.
Full Story

UN - global warming may heap disasters on Africa top

Nairobi, January 25, 2001, Kenya

Africa may face more natural disasters if the world's main economic powers do not ratify a key protocol on climate change as soon as possible, the top United Nations environmentalist said on Tuesday. Full Story

Britain provides cash for Galapagos clean-up top

London, January 25, 2001, UK

Britain announced on Tuesday it was providing 50,000 pounds ($74,000) to help the clean-up in the Galapagos islands, where unique animal species are threatened by an oil spill from a stricken tanker. Full Story

Captain, crew of Galapagos tanker arrested top

Puerto Baquerizo, January 24, 2001, Galapagos Islands

As rangers worked Wednesday to net wildlife stained and dazed by an oil spill, authorities arrested the captain of the leaking tanker and pledged stronger protections for these islands renowned for their unique animals and birds. Full Story

Oil Spill's Shift in Course Aids Gal�pagos top

Quito, January 24, 2001, Ecuador

With oil spills now covering more than 775 square miles of pristine waters in the Gal�pagos Islands and continuing to spread, Ecuador has declared a state of emergency and is stepping up its efforts to prevent the slicks from contaminating habitats that are home to some of the world's rarest marine and bird species. Full Story

Galapagos oil spill drifts off Winds, tides work to ease ecological effects on fragile islands top

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, 24 January, 2001, Ecuador

Shifting winds and prevailing tides were pushing about 643,500 litres of diesel fuel from a stricken tanker toward open sea and away from the fragile environment of the Galapagos Islands, officials said yesterday. Full Story

U.N. Reports That Global Warming May Heap Disasters on Africa top

Nairobi, January 24, 2001, Kenya -

Oil firm doubles North Sea investment top

24 January, 2001

CANADA�S Talisman Energy is almost doubling its investment in the North Sea oil and gas industry from $315 million last year to over $565 million. Full Story

Galapagos oil tanker 'breaking up' top

24 January, 2001

Rough seas arrived in the Galapagos Islands on Tuesday, rupturing the hull of the stricken oil tanker which has brought the archipelago to the brink of environmental disaster in recent days. The US Coast Guard, which is overseeing the clean-up operation, says the ship, Jessica, is now close to breaking up. Full Story

UPDATE - Oil spill spreads in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands top

Quito,January 23, 2001, Ecuador -

Ecuador declared a national emergency in the Galapagos Islands on Monday after an oil spill just a half-mile (0.8 km) from the shore floated toward the westernmost islands, threatening some of the world's rarest sea animals and birds, officials said. Full Story

INTERVIEW - German offshore wind power key to European target top

Germany, January 23, 2001, Frankfurt

Germany is on target to meet a 22,000 megawatt (MW), or one third, share of Europe's wind power production goal of 60,000 MW by 2010, the vice president of the European Wind Energy Association said on Tuesday. Full Stoty

EPA proposes special ocean sites top

Washington, DC, January 22, 2001

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new protections for "Special Ocean Sites" that have outstanding environmental value, including prohibitions for new and expanded ocean development. The proposal is dependent on the approval of the new administration. Full Story

Oil Spill Threatening Heart of Gal�pagos Ecosystem top

Gal�pagos Islands, January 22, 2001

More than 160,000 gallons of fuel that spilled from a stricken tanker threatened creatures today � from birds to iguanas to sea lions � off these fragile islands, where Darwin forged his theory of evolution. Full Story

$83.5 million settlement reached in Puerto Rico oil spill top

San Juan, Puerto Rico, January 22, 2001

Caribbean Petroleum Corporation, MetLife Capital Corporation and Water Quality Insurance Syndicate will pay $83.5 million to the United States and Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to settle claims related to a 1994 barge grounding that caused an 800,000 gallon oil spill, the Justice Department announced last week. Full Story

Coastal Areas Threatened by Climate Change top

Washington, DC, January 22, 2001

Climate changes in this century may cause coastal erosion, coral reef die offs, and other serious impacts on U.S. coastal and marine resources, concludes a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service. The report was released Friday, the last full day of the outgoing Clinton administration. Full Story

UPDATE - UN sees faster global warming, humanity responsible top

China, January 22, 2001 SHANGHAI

The earth's atmosphere is warming faster than expected, evidence is mounting that humans are to blame and tens of millions of people may be forced from low-lying areas as seas rise, the UN said on Monday. Full Story

Salvage operation starts for stricken Med tanker top

Cyprus, January 22, 2001 NICOSIA

A salvage operation began on Sunday to prevent a stricken petrol tanker lying off Spain cracking open and spilling thousands of tonnes of gasoline into the western Mediterranean, Cyprus, the flag state, said. Full Story

UPDATE - Oil spill near Ecuador's Galapagos is a "disaster" top

QUITO, January 22, 2001, Ecuador

An oil spill in waters just half a mile (800 metres) off Ecuador's Galapagos Islands grew worse on Sunday, threatening some of the world's rarest land and sea animals and birds, officials said. Full Story

UNEP Press Release: New evidence confirms rapid global warming, say scientists

SHANGHAI, 22 January 2001

Leading climate change scientists and government officials from around the world have finalized a major report confirming that the evidence for humanity�s influence on the global climate is now stronger than ever before. Full Story

Global warming 'will be twice as bad' top

January 22, 2001

A report to be published today will give warning that global warming is likely to be twice as severe as previously believed.
Full Story

WWF urges shipping ban round Galapagos top

ECUADOR: January 22, 2001 GENEVA

The global conservation body WWF called on Sunday for limits to shipping off Ecuador's Galapagos islands where oil pouring from a grounded tanker is threatening some of the world's rarest land and sea animals and birds. Full Story

UPDATE - Spill worsens in Ecuador's Galapagos islands top

Quito, January 22, 2001, Ecuador

An oil spill in waters off Ecuador's Galapagos Islands which is threatening some of the world's rarest land and sea animals and birds grew worse on Sunday, officials said. Full Story

UPDATE - Bush nominee defends Alaska oil drilling plan top

USA: January 22, 2001 WASHINGTON

President-elect George W. Bush's choice for interior secretary defended the incoming administration's plan to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and natural gas drilling, saying it should pose little risk to the environment. Full Story

Environmental workers to battle oil spill at Galapagos Islands top

January 21 2001

American environmental experts are on their way to the Galapagos Islands to try to contain an oil spill threatening the unique wildlife there. A tanker carrying almost one million litres of fuel ran aground and began leaking on Tuesday. The islands are home to rare plant and animal species including the giant tortoise. There are fears that the pollution could cause an environmental disaster. Full Story

January 22, 2001 Spill From Oil Tanker Imperils Rare Wildlife in the Gal�pagos top

Quito, Jananuary 21, 2001, Ecuador

Officials and volunteers for the Gal�pagos Biological Marine Reserve raced against the clock and nature today to try to keep an oil spill of an estimated 144,000 gallons from turning into an environmental disaster. Full Story

Maritime Watch - IMO's Safety Management Code top

Lagos, January 19, 2001 Lagos

The Federal Ministry of Transport has warned that it is now ready to sanction violators of the provisions of the International Safety Management (ISM) code for the safe operation of ships and for pollution prevention of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Full Story

Two new nationa wildlife refuges approved in the Pacific top

Washington, DC, January 19, 2001 (ENS)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has approved two new wildlife refuges extending protection to the lands and waters of two of the most undeveloped atolls in the Pacific Ocean. Full Story

BP Corporation spends $650 million for cleaning air top

Washingtong, DC, January 19, 2001 (ENS)

BP Corporation has agreed to spend an estimated $650 million to reduce air emissions from eight petroleum refineries by more than 40,000 tons per year. The environmental settlement between BP, the Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was filed Thursday. Full Story

Enviromentalists seek to ban oil hunt near Great Barrier Reef top

Australia, January 19, 2001 Sydney

Environmental groups on Thursday urged Australia to block a plan to explore for oil near the Great Barrier Reef. Full Story

EU issues hazardous chemicals hit list top

Belgium, January 19, 2001 Brussels

The European Commission issued on Thursday a list of 11 hazardous chemicals which it wants industry to phase out in a long-term plan to clean up Europe's rivers, lakes and seas. Full Story

Greenpeace demands cleanup of Rio de Janeiro bay top

Brazil, January 19, 2001 Rio de Janeiro

Environmental group Greenpeace charged on Wednesday that Rio de Janeiro's scenic Guanabara Bay is on its "death bed" due to oil spills, raw sewage and industrial waste, and blamed industry for the pollution. Full Story

Brazil oil giant to invest in Rio beaches cleanup top

Brazilol, January 19, 2001 Rio de Janeiro

Brazil's state oil giant Petrobras, which saw its image marred in 2000 by a series of oil spills and is still under heavy fire from environmentalists, has announced investment plans to clean up Rio de Janeiro's scenic bay. Full Story

UN concerned that Iraq not spending money from oil sales top

UNITED NATIONS, January 18, 2001

Despite Iraqi complaints that U.N. sanctions are punishing ordinary Iraqis, the United Nations said Thursday that Baghdad was not taking advantage of all the humanitarian aid available to it. Full Story

Displaced Ilajes Get N25m Relief Materials top

Lagos, January 16, 2001, Lagos

An indigenous oil exploration company, Express Petroleum and Gas Company, has distributed relief material worth N25 million to the displaced Ilaje communities who suffered untold hardship in refuge camps as a result of the two-year inter-communal crisis that raised down about 68 towns and villages in the coastal areas of the state. Full Story

Oil Companies Agree To Cut Gas Flaring top

Lagos, January 16, 2001

In what appears to be a major breakthrough for the present administration, all oil companies operating in Nigeria have agreed to effect not less than a 90 per cent cut in the volume of gas they flare during their operations by the second quarter of year 2001, reports Andrew Agbese. Full Story

Revenue loss tops $1 billion as Iraq slows exports under UN's oil-for-food scheme top

United Nations 16 January

Iraqi oil exports under the United Nations' oil-for-food programme continue to register below average figures, resulting in a loss of $1 billion in revenue during the month of December and an additional estimated loss of $380 million in the first 10 days of January, according to the latest figures issued today by the UN Office of the Iraq Programme, which administers the scheme. Full Story

UPDATE - Oil tanker explodes off SKorea Pusan top

SOUTH KOREA: January 16, 2001 SEOUL

A tanker exploded and sank off South Korea's southeastern port of Pusan on Monday, killing three crew and injuring seven, an official at the ship's charterer said. Full Story

National Academy Of Sciences Holds Oil Forum Jan 19 top

Lagos, January 15, 2001

The Nigerian Academy of Science the apex honour science society in Nigeria will hold a forum on the oil and gas industry in Port Harcourt between Jan. 19 and 20. Full Story

Oil Tanker Sinks off South Korea top

SEOUL, 15 January, 2001 South Korea

An empty oil tanker exploded and sank off the South Korean coast Monday, killing three crew members, maritime police said. Full Story

Divers begin reef clean-up top

By CATHY PRYOR

12 January, 2001

With a shark as an inquisitive visitor and poisonous scorpion fish providing an occupational hazard, divers were yesterday cleaning up the mess left by a Malaysian container ship that ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef late last year.
Full Story

Akwa Ibom Probes Oil Spill On Shores top

Lagos, January 11, 2001

The state Government has constituted a 12-man technical committee, headed by Prof. Etie Akpan, a marine geologist, to investigate the alleged November 2000 oil spill in the state, Environment Commissioner, Obong Isidore Akwan-Ebe, said on Monday in Uyo. Full Story

UPDATE - Clinton not making Arctic refuge national monument top

USA: January 11, 2001 WASHINGTON

President Bill Clinton will not designate the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska as a national monument because the wilderness is already protected by federal law, the White House said on Wednesday. Full Story

UNEP: Green Energy Could Save Climate, Forests, Wildlife top

PARIS, France, January 10, 2001

Accelerating the introduction of environmentally friendly energy such as solar, wind and wave power is one of the most pressing issues of the new millennium, the head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will tell a meeting of the G-8 countries on renewable energy today. Full Story

W. Australia charges Apache over oil spill top

January 10, 2001 MELBOURNE

The Western Australian Department of Minerals and Energy said on Wednesday it was prosecuting Apache Corp unit Apache Northwest Pty Ltd over an oil spill near its Varanus Island loading facility. Full Story

Shell says spill shuts in 46,000 bpd Nigeria crude top

Nigeria, January 10, 2001 LAGOS

Royal Dutch/Shell's Nigerian producing unit said on Tuesday it had shut in 46,000 barrels per day of output after an oil spill in Nigeria's southern Delta State. Full Story

Environment Minister critical of continued pollution from Sellafield top

January 10, 2001

Environment Minister Siri Bjerke (photo) says Norway cannot accept that radioactive emmissions from the British Sellafield plant continues to pollute the waters along the Norwegian coast. Full Story

BG Group faces second fine for offshore safety lapse top

January 10, 2001

Jeremy Cresswell

Offshore giant BG Group could face a massive fine following allegations that they risked the lives of 50 workers on its North Sea Rough gas storage facility, 18 miles north-east of the Humber. The company is said to have allowed safety critical valves to be tampered with. Full Story

Iraq's UN-administered oil sales slow in late December, early January top

United Nations, 9 January

Iraqi petroleum exports under the United Nations oil-for-food programme continued to be slow during the first week of 2001, according to the latest statistics released today by the UN office administering the sales. Full Story

Asia Crude - Gulf crudes up as availability dwindles top

JAPAN: January 9, 2001 TOKYO

Middle East sour crude grade prices firmed on the back of dwindling availability, traders said on Tuesday. Full Story

Energy from the sea floor could power equipment top

Washington DC, January 9, 2000

Fuel cells powered by energy from the sea floor could supply electricity to instruments used to monitor ocean currents and water temperatures, says a report in the December 28 issue of "Environmental Science & Technology," a journal of the American Chemical Society. Full Story

Damaged Great Barrier Reef gets clean-up top

AUSTRALIA: January 9, 2001 SYDNEY

A team of divers and scientists has begun a massive clean-up of Australia's Great Barrier Reef to repair damage caused by the grounding of a Malaysian container ship last year, newspapers reported on Saturday. Full Story

Cairn strike hydrocarbon off India's Gujarat top

INDIA: January 9, 2001 MADRAS, India

UK-based exploration firm Cairn Energy Plc has made a second hydrocarbon find in its CB-OS/2 block in the Bay of Cambay, off the coast of India's western Gujarat state, the firm said on Monday. Full Story

For A Healthy Environment top

Newswatch (Lagos) January 8, 2001

Clarice Azuatalam

Worried by the constant occurrence of oil spillage in the country, the federal government is working out a policy plan to combat the problem. Full Story

Oil boycott over Iraqi 'breach of UN scheme' top

January 08, 2001

Leading oil companies are boycotting sales of Iraqi oil administered by the United Nations oil-for-food programme because the Iraqi Government is demanding kickbacks for each barrel sold under the scheme. Full Story

Maritime Committee Acts On Sub-Standard Oil Ships top

Nairobi, January 4, 2001

Patrick Mayoyo Special Correspondent Nairobi

The Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organisation has come up with a preliminary list of proposed measures to eliminate sub-standard oil tankers and other ships. Full Story

Confirmation du potentiel p�trolier des eaux camerounaises top

January 3, 2001 Yaound�, Cameroun

Les eaux profondes du bassin Douala/Kribi-Campo offrent des perspectives p�troli�res prometteuses, a indiqu� mercredi � Yaound�, une source officielle � la Soci�t� Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH). Full Story

Company Prospects For Offshore Crude top

January 2, 2001 Algiers

The Algerian oil company, SONATRACH said it has launched a 5-million-US-dollar offshore research and prospecting programme in the eastern part of the Algeria, experts of the company said in Algiers. Full Story