A billion-dollar Nigerian oil bribe equals the nation’s entire health budget

Dec 20, 2017
In Italy a judge declared that two multinational oil giants — and executives — will go on trial for a major bribery case involving Nigeria. At its core, it alleges Shell and the Italian oil giant Eni paid more than a billion dollars for oil-drilling rights that were actually bribes. Click the audio player above […]

For oil giant Shell, service station means electric cars, too

Nov 27, 2017
Running cars on something other than gas stands to greatly reduce the world’s need for oil. That has energy company Shell moving into the electric vehicle charging business. On top of last month’s purchase of major European electric vehicle charging network NewMotion, it’s got a new partnership to put high speed EV chargers in dozens […]

Documents show undisclosed EPA health concerns on fracking chemicals

Nov 14, 2017
The agency approved chemicals that carry risks including tumors and poisoning of the lungs.
Pump jacks are seen using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
David McNew/Getty Images

The U.S. shale boom is big, but not an economic silver bullet

Nov 14, 2017
One front where the U.S. is closing its trade deficit: oil and gas. The International Energy Agency’s new World Energy Outlook forecasts astounding growth in U.S. shale oil production, a growth rate that rivals that of Saudi Arabia at its fastest. The agency said the U.S. will eventually sell more oil than it buys, and […]

What the corruption arrests in Saudia Arabia mean for the economy

Nov 6, 2017
How will it affect efforts to modernize the country? Bloomberg investigative reporter Peter Waldman discusses it with us.
Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman, second from left, arrested  more than 60 people over the weekend.
Jonathan Ernst - Pool/Getty Images

What happens to a neighborhood when oil and gas companies move in next door?

Nov 2, 2017
Residents of Broomfield, Colorado are fighting to keep oil and gas drilling out of residential areas.
A drilling rig near homes in Erie, Colorado. 
Leigh Paterson/ for Marketplace

Russia boosts soft power with energy investments

Nov 2, 2017
Venezuela’s state-owned oil company must make a $1.2 billion payment to creditors tomorrow as it risks defaulting it’s debt. Russia’s state-owned oil company Rosneft has made billions of dollars in loans to cash-strapped Venezuela and is likely to step in again. This is part of a strategy for making energy investments in unstable countries where […]

For public good, not for profit.

Oil companies make do with breaking even

Oct 27, 2017
A few years ago, oil prices were hitting record highs. A barrel of West Texas Intermediate went for $107 dollars in the summer of 2014. Then, there was a fracking boom in the U.S., a worldwide oil supply glut and prices collapsed. Many oil producers went out of business. But oil prices are now picking […]

Oil earnings bubbling up

Oct 27, 2017
Exxon and Chevron report earnings today. Yesterday ConocoPhillips reported income that beat analysts’ estimates. Earlier in the week oil services firm Halliburton delivered strong earnings, with revenue up 10 percent. The earnings indicate the energy industry is in a minor rebound — after years of slump. Click the audio player above to hear the full […]

Theft of oil and gas from Mexican pipelines an increasing concern

Oct 26, 2017
The loss of oil and gas from Mexican pipelines currently totals more than $1 billion a year, leaving some U.S. companies skittish about entering the market.
Refinery workers in Veracruz finish their shift. Mexican gov't statistics indicate mounting theft from pipelines that ferry refined gasoline from here to Mexico City. 
Lorne Matalon/ for Marketplace