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| Expect More Fukushimas |
 The
gung-ho nuclear industry is in deep shock. Just as it and its
cheerleader, the International Atomic Energy Agency, were preparing
to mark next month´s 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl
accident with a series of self-congratulatory statements about
the dawning of a safe age of clean atomic power, a series of
catastrophic but entirely avoidable accidents take place in
not one but three reactors in one of the richest countries of
the world. Fukushima is not a rotting old power plant in a failed
state manned by half-trained kids, but supposedly one of the
safest stations in one of the most safety-conscious countries
with the best engineers and technologists in the world. Chernobyl
blew up not because the reactor... |
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| THE IKE PHASE |
| ON January 20, 1961, John Kennedy delivered
his rousing Inaugural Address. But this speech was preceded,
as William Galston of the Brookings Institution has reminded
us, by an equally important speech: Dwight Eisenhower´s
farewell address. Kennedy´s speech was an idealistic call
to action. Eisenhower´s speech was a calm warning against
hubris. Kennedy celebrated courage; Eisenhower celebrated prudence.
Kennedy asked the country to venture forth. Eisenhower asked
the country to maintain its basic sense of balance. While Kennedy
gloried in the current moment, Eisenhower warned the country
to "avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering,
for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of
tomorrow... |
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Syria to award onshore blocks by month-end
ZAWYA DOW JONES AMMAN THE Syrian government will award contracts to explore, develop and produce hydrocarbons from four onshore blocks later this month, the country’s oil ministry said in remarks published by his ministry’s website on Wednesday.
Sufian Alaw said international companies had submitted bids for four out of the eight blocks announced earlier.
The ministry last year offered production-sharing contracts to explore blocks 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 14, 16 and 18, located mostly on the eastern and northern parts of the country.
“The companies submitted their offers on four blocks only,” Alaw said.
“They are 3, 5, 7, and 12 while the remaining blocks didn’t receive bids,” he said.
The website said companies that had submitted bids for the four onshore blocks include Total SA, the UK’s Gulfsands Petroleum PLC in alliance with Italy’s Eni SpA, China National Petroleum Corp, Dallasbased Improved Petroleum Recovery, Sweden’s Svenska, and the UAE’s Dana Gas.
Alaw also said Syria is poised to unveil later this month a new licensing round off its Mediterranean coast sometime during this month, the minister said.
The move is intended to lure international companies interested in exploration drilling in the area following the recent big Leviathan discovery off Israel.
The minister said the ministry will be offering three offshore blocks.
The new round for offshore exploration will mark the third attempt by the Syrian government to revive interest in its offshore waters after two previous tenders.
The government put an offshore round on hold in 2008 following failure by countries like Cyprus and Egypt to lure up firms to explore for hydrocarbons on their own waters.
However, after the discovery of the potentially giant Leviathan gas find offshore Israel by US oil company Noble Energy Inc in December and significant gas discoveries in Egypt and the Gaza Strip in recent years could encourage companies to bid for Syrian offshore blocks, analysts said.
Syria aims to boost its crude oil production, which has declined from 590,000 barrels a day in 2006 to 380,000 barrels a day currently.
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