Portal:Energy/Energy news/Archive/2007

 Energy portal archived news 2007

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2007

 * December 31, 2007: China's first coal-fired power station employing carbon capture and storage is planned to begin operations in 2009.
 * December 28, 2007: Commissioning of  Olkiluoto-3 Nuclear Power Plant is delayed until summer 2011.
 * December 21, 2007: The world's largest gas turbine began trial operation at the E.ON Irsching Power Station.
 * December 19, 2007: The commercial production launched on the Kyzyloi gas field, which is the first gas field in Kazakhstan operated by independent operator.
 * December 18, 2007: The inauguration ceremony launching production on the Yuzhno-Russkoye gas field was held.
 * November 30, 2007: Finnish oil company Neste Oil announced a plan to build the world's largest biodiesel refinery in Singapore.
 * November 30, 2007: Slovakia became a full member of the International Energy Agency.
 * November 23, 2007: Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil agreed to sell their German natural gas network joint venture BEB to Dutch pipeline operator Gasunie.
 * November 20, 2007: Ecuador resumed its membership in OPEC.
 * November 18, 2007: The Turkey-Greece pipeline was officially inaugurated.
 * November 15, 2007: The 20th World Energy Congress ended in Rome.
 * November 8, 2007: Petrobras announce that recoverable reserves in the Tupi oil field are between 5-8 billion BOE making it one of the largest finds this decade.
 * October 25, 2007: Gazprom and StatoilHydro sign a deal giving StatoilHydro a stake of 24% in the Shtokman gas field development company.
 * October 10, 2007: The agreement forming a consortium to expand the Odessa-Brody pipeline was signed by the presidents of Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Georgia and Azerbaijan.
 * October 1, 2007: The merger of Statoil and Norsk Hydro's petroleum business has been implemented under the name StatoilHydro.
 * September 17, 2007: The controversial Baltic sea gas pipeline Nord Stream is being constructed by the Italian oil and gas industry contractor Saipem.
 * September 8, 2007: The APEC Summit signed the Sydney Declaration on Climate Change, which agreed non-binding aspirational goal of a 25% reduction of energy intensity, relative to economic development.
 * September 3, 2007: Gaz de France and SUEZ announced agreed terms of merger, according to which the merged company will be named GDF Suez.
 * September 1, 2007: Nobuo Tanaka succeeded Claude Mandil as the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency.
 * August 30, 2007: Turkmenistan's media reported that the construction of the Central Asia-China gas pipeline has begun.
 * August 27, 2007: Kazakhstan has suspended work at the Kashagan oil development for at least three months due to environmental violations.
 * August 10, 2007: The commissioning of Olkiluoto 3, the first Generation-III+ nuclear power reactor, will be delayed until 2011.
 * August 7, 2007: The second unit of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant was connected to the national grid.
 * August 6, 2007: A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency start a four-day inspection of Japan's earthquake-damaged Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant.
 * August 3, 2007: It emerges that George Bush has invited representatives of the UN and major industrialized and developing countries to a conference for further discussions on a post-Kyoto agreement on greenhouse gas emissions.
 * August 2, 2007: The first-ever United Nations plenary session on climate change is extended into a third day due to the number of 'worried nations' wanting to describe their climate-related problems.
 * August 2, 2007: A Russian submersible plants the national flag below the North Pole in symbolic support of Russia's 2001 territorial claim in the Arctic Ocean, which is thought to contain a large proportion of the world's undiscovered oil reserves.
 * August 1, 2007: In a revival of the Russia-Belarus energy dispute, Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom threatens to cut supplies to Belarus by 45% from August 3 over a $456 million debt.
 * August 1, 2007: US petroleum prices reach a new high of $78.77 a barrel due to declining stocks and increased output.
 * July 31, 2007: In his message marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Pope Benedict XVI backed the increased peaceful use of nuclear energy to promote development for the world's poor.
 * July 31, 2007: It was announced that the launch of Turkey-Greece natural gas pipeline will delay until 15 September 2007.
 * July 30, 2007: The International Atomic Energy Agency begins inspecting Iran's nuclear facilities with a visit to Arak, the first such inspection since April.
 * July 27, 2007: The United States and India conclude negotiations on US-India civil nuclear co-operation.
 * July 26, 2007: Italy, Greece and Turkey signed a protocol on construction of the Greece-Italy natural gas pipeline.
 * July 23, 2007: Hungarian oil and gas company MOL signaled that it could reconsider merging with Poland's PKN Orlen to avoid hostile takeover by Austria's OMV.
 * July 16, 2007: Four reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Japan shut down automatically during the Chūetsu earthquake, which also caused radioactive leaks, a transformer fire and other damage.
 * July 16, 2007: International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors confirm the closure of the Yongbyon reactor in North Korea. (BBC)
 * July 13, 2007: Gazprom and Total S.A. sign a deal giving Total a stake of 25% in the Shtokman gas field development company.
 * July 12, 2007: It was announced that participants in the ITER will consider Kazakhstan's offer to join the program.
 * July 10, 2007: The Mexican leftist rebel group the Popular Revolutionary Army claimed responsibility for blasts on Pemex pipelines.
 * July 9, 2007: Live Earth concerts are held at eleven locations around the world to raise awareness of global warming and promote action on climate change.
 * July 6, 2007: San Francisco based solar farms developer Cleantech America announced its plan to create a 80 megawatt solar photovoltaic farm in San Joaquin Valley, California, which will be 17 times the size of the largest existing US photovoltaic farm, but smaller than the 354 megawatt SEGS solar thermal plant in the Mojave Desert.
 * July 6, 2007: Royal Dutch Shell has announced that it is preparing to undertake a multi well, multi year drilling programme in the Beaufort Sea. This is the largest such programme in more than a decade. A study by the USGS has suggested the  Arctic Ocean could contain up to 1/4 of the Earths petroleum reserves.
 * June 29, 2007: The European Pressurized Reactor, under construction in Finland and 18 months behind schedule, is reported as having a number of safety-related design and manufacturing 'deficiencies'.
 * June 28, 2007: Lithuania's parliament adopted a law on building a new nuclear power plant in Ignalina.
 * June 28, 2007: It is announced that people will be asked to commit to a 7-point pledge on global warming during the July 7 Live Earth concerts.
 * June 28, 2007: International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors visit North Korea to discuss arrangements for the delayed shutdown of the Yongbyon reactor.
 * June 23, 2007: Italy's Eni and Russia's Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding of construction South Stream, a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Italy.
 * June 22, 2007: TNK-BP, a subsidiary of British BP, agreed to sell its stake in the Kovykta field, one of the largest natural gas fields in Russia, to Gazprom.
 * June 19, 2007: A preliminary study by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency indicates that China's greenhouse gas emissions have overtaken those of the United States for the first time, exceeding those of any other country.
 * June 15, 2007: Research is published into a promising new method for producing DMF, which has the potential to challenge bioethanol and biodiesel as a common liquid biofuel.
 * June 8, 2007: Norwegian Parliament approves the $30 billion merger of Norsk Hydro's oil and gas business with Statoil. The merged company, StatoilHydro will be the world's largest offshore oil and gas producer.
 * June 7, 2007: Leaders at the 33rd G8 summit agree to 'aim to at least halve global CO2 emissions by 2050' under an agreement to be negotiated within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
 * June 5, 2007: The British Antarctic Survey announces that the flow-rate of 300 previously unmeasured glaciers increased by 12% between 1993 and 2003, adding to concerns over glacier retreat and the rise in sea levels caused by global warming.
 * June 4, 2007: The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that 40% of the world population will be affected by the loss of glaciers and snow on the mountains of Asia due to global warming. (UNEP)
 * June 4, 2007: China publishes its first National Action Plan on Climate Change, expected to cut national carbon emissions by up to 1.5 million metric tons annually by 2010.
 * May 25, 2007: It is reported that the Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican is to be fitted with over 1,000 photovoltaic panels to supply all its annual electricity requirements.
 * May 24, 2007: 38 miners are killed and 7 injured by a methane explosion at the Yubileinaya coal mine in the Kemerovo Oblast region of Siberia, Russia.
 * May 23, 2007: The British Government announce a carbon emissions trading scheme, the Carbon Reduction Commitment, that will apply to hotel chains, supermarkets, banks, and other large organisations.
 * May 8, 2007: 31 US states and 2 provinces of Canada launch The Climate Registry to record and track carbon emissions.
 * May 8, 2007: The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta blows up three oil pipelines in the Niger delta in the south of Nigeria.
 * May 4, 2007: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agrees the summary report on mitigating climate change, despite some concerns raised by China, India and other developing countries.
 * April 30, 2007: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meet in Bangkok to discuss the draft summary on the mitigation of climate change, part of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.
 * April 24, 2007: Ethiopian rebels from the Ogaden National Liberation Front kill 74 during the Abole raid on a Chinese-operated oil exploration facility in the Ogaden Basin.
 * April 19, 2007: The Norwegian prime minister announces that the government has agreed to unilaterally cut Norway's carbon emissions by 30% by 2020, and proposes carbon neutrallity for 2050.
 * April 18, 2007: The United States and Japan sign the United States-Japan Joint Nuclear Energy Action Plan, the first time the US has agreed to develop nuclear power technology with a foreign state.
 * April 16, 2007: The First South American Energy Summit meets and establishes the South American Energy Council to co-ordinate regional energy policy.
 * April 15, 2007: Iran announces that it is seeking bids for two more nuclear reactors for the Iranian nuclear programme.
 * April 9, 2007: Iran announces that it has begun using 3,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium for its nuclear programme.
 * April 2, 2007: The United States Supreme Court rules that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases and must do so unless it can provide some scientific reason proving otherwise.
 * March 24, 2007: The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1747, imposing additional sanctions on Iran due to its ongoing nuclear programme.
 * March 19, 2007: Over one hundred coal miners are confirmed dead in the Ulyanovskaya Mine disaster, Russia's worst mining accident in a decade.
 * March 13, 2007: A draft Climate Change Bill is published in the United Kingdom, outlining a framework for achieving a mandatory 60% cut in carbon emissions by 2050.
 * March 9, 2007: European Union leaders agree key elements of the EU Energy policy including a 20% cut in carbon emissions and a commitment to boost renewable energy to meet 20% of demand by 2020.
 * February 20, 2007: Funding for the world's largest wave farm is announced by the Scottish Executive as part of a 13 million pound package for marine power in Scotland.
 * February 20, 2007: Australia announces that normal incandescent light bulbs are to be phased out by 2010 to cut carbon emissions, becoming the first country in the world to ban them.
 * February 16, 2007: The G8 countries, plus Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, agree the 'Washington Declaration', proposing a global carbon emissions trading system to replace the Kyoto Protocol by 2009.
 * February 15, 2007: Al Gore announces plans for Live Earth concerts across seven continents in July 2007 to raise awareness of global warming.
 * February 15, 2007: A judge rules that plans to build a new generation of nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom are unlawful because elements of the 2006 Energy Review were 'seriously flawed', 'inadequate', or 'misleading'.
 * February 13, 2007: North Korea agrees to shut down the Yongbyon nuclear reactor in exchange for fuel aid and steps towards normalization of relations with the United States and Japan.
 * February 2, 2007: An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report concludes that it is "very likely" that global warming has a human cause.
 * January 19, 2007: Russian Parliament adopts a law which will create Atomprom - a single holding company for the Russian civil nuclear industry, including nuclear power production, facilities construction, and fuel production, supply & trading.
 * January 15, 2007: Delegates from 16 East Asian countries sign the Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security, an agreement to promote energy security and find alternatives to fossil fuels.
 * January 10, 2007: The European Commission publishes proposals for the first comprehensive European Union energy policy, aimed at achieving 20% cuts in carbon emissions and a 'post-industrial revolution'.
 * January 8, 2007: In an escalation of the Russia-Belarus energy dispute, Transneft stops pumping oil into the Druzhba pipeline, resulting in supply cuts to Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.
 * January 5, 2007: The head of the United States National Nuclear Security Administration, Linton Brooks, is forced to resign due to security issues.