Oil exports from Iraq - which is estimated to have the world's second largest reserves - have hit a record post-war low, an Oil Ministry spokesman says.

Exports of crude, which had run at an average of about 1.6 million barrels per day (mbpd) since the end of the 2003 war, dropped to 1.2 mbpd in November and 1.1 mbpd in December, spokesman Assem Jihad said on Monday.

"This was due to a combination of bad weather in the Gulf" where tankers hook up at terminals to take on crude as well as to "lack of electricity" to pump the oil, he said.

Dec 01, 2005

(Tahltan Territory) The Tahltan Elders of Telegraph Creek, Iskut and Dease Lake reject the proposed Participation Agreement between Nova Gold and Tahltan Central Council (TCC).

Dec 20, 2005 | BBC News, Caracas | By Greg Morsbach

Venezuela has given the world's biggest oil company, ExxonMobil, until the end of this year to enter a joint venture with the state.

Failure to do so will almost certainly result in Exxon losing its oil field concessions in the country.

By MACDONALD STAINSBY | Counterpunch

You can be certain that there is a Canadian Federal election underway when a sitting Prime Minister of the Federal Liberal Party-- considered the party of permanent rule north of the 49th parallel-- takes direct shots at the President of the United States. Such words, even though guaranteed to never be followed with actions, tend to give many people who identify as Canadians a small measure of self-assurance and even pride.

[img_assist|fid=117|thumb=0|alt=No nukes]
On November 3, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization submitted its final recommendation to the federal Minister of Natural Resources. Calling it "Adaptive Phased Management", the NWMO wants to do what the nuclear industry has been wanting to do for the last thirty years - bury nuclear waste.

Many hurdles still face pipeline project; Status of Women NWT forced out

Last updated Nov 24 2005 09:15 AM CST
CBC News

Imperial, lead proponent in the $7-billion project to connect the territory's oil and gas fields to southern Canada, told the National Energy Board it was ready to proceed with public consultations on the proposal.

[A] document, obtained this week by The Washington Post, shows that officials from Exxon Mobil Corp., Conoco (before its merger with Phillips), Shell Oil Co. and BP America Inc. met in the White House complex with the Cheney aides who were developing a national energy policy, parts of which became law and parts of which are still being debated.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | November 11, 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) -- For a quarter-century, environmentalists have succeeded in blocking efforts to drill for oil in what they consider a pristine, cherished patch of tundra in an Alaska wildlife refuge.

But with sky-high fuel prices and a wider Republican majority in Congress, their long fight to keep oil companies out of the refuge looked to be in trouble. Then they got some help from an unexpected place: House Republicans angry over cuts to social programs.

By SOFIRI PETERSIDE, PATTERSON OGON, MICHAEL WATTS and ANN ZALICK

There are a number of lessons to be learned from of the events of September 11th and the carnage in Iraq that followed. One is that oil politics is a violent, corrupt and authoritarian business. Another is that life in the oil states is often nasty, brutish and short. The life and memory of Ken Saro-Wiwa, the Nigerian social activist, entrepreneur and acclaimed novelist is being celebrated this week, ten years to the day after he was hung by the Nigerian military tribunal on trumped up charges. Saro-Wiwa rose to international prominence precisely because he sought to expose, and to democratize, the sordid realities behind the quest for oil, money and power.

An American intelligence official told EIR on Sept. 6, that soon after Hurricane Katrina struck, the Bush-Cheney Administration was told by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other oil-producing countries that they had spare refinery capacity. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait offered to deliver gasoline and other refined petroleum products to the United States, to offset the temporary shutdown of some Louisiana and U.S. Gulf state refineries, and thereby drive down prices. The source said that the Cheney-led White House turned down the offers, knowing that they could disrupt the oil cartel's mechanism for price gouging. Instead, between Aug. 29, the day that Katrina made landfall, and Sept. 9, Cheney's friends in the cartel rigged gasoline prices, sending them soaring by 50%. Profits poured into the oil companies.

October 2005

Imperial not backing down// Petroleum News

"Despite a warning from the Northwest Territories government that the venture could be in trouble, Imperial Oil is unwavering in its commitment to the Mackenzie Gas Project.

Exactly how committed will be known in November when it advises Canada's National Energy Board whether it is ready to embark on public hearings in early 2006."

By BETH GORHAM | CNEWS

WASHINGTON (CP) - Canadians joined U.S. political heavyweights at a Capitol Hill rally Tuesday to oppose drilling for oil in the Arctic refuge, blasting supporters for exploiting high gas prices and fears of shortages unleashed by hurricane Katrina.

Alex Roslin | Hour.ca | September 22nd, 2005

The future of Hydro-Québec's $2-billion Rupert River hydroelectric project may be in doubt after the election of a key opponent to the project last Thursday as Cree grand chief.