oil

Join our newsletter

The best of EcoWatch, right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    Trump Admin Begins Process to Open Pristine Arctic Refuge for Drilling

    Trump Admin Begins Process to Open Pristine Arctic Refuge for Drilling

    The Interior Department has launched the process of holding lease sales for oil and gas drilling in the 1.6-million-acre coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Despite decades of fierce resistance from Democrats and conservation groups, pro-drilling Republicans were able to realize their goal of opening the refuge after quietly including the measure […]

    New Zealand Bans New Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration

    New Zealand Bans New Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration

    New Zealand will no longer offer new permits for offshore oil and gas exploration, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday. “The whole world is going in this direction,” Ardern said. “We all signed up to the Paris agreement that said we’re moving towards carbon-neutrality, and now we need to act on it.” The ban only […]

    Keystone Pipeline Spilled 407K Gallons in South Dakota, Double Previous Estimate

    Keystone Pipeline Spilled 407K Gallons in South Dakota, Double Previous Estimate

    TransCanada’s Keystone crude oil pipeline leaked 9,700 barrels (407,400 gallons) on rural farmland near the city of Amherst last year—nearly twice the original estimate of 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons), a company spokeswoman told the Aberdeen American News. The Nov. 16 incident was already considered the largest spill in South Dakota, but its new estimate makes […]

    Cracked Undersea Pipeline Caused Deadly Oil Spill in Indonesia

    Cracked Undersea Pipeline Caused Deadly Oil Spill in Indonesia

    A burst undersea pipeline owned by Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation Pertamina caused a deadly oil spill on Saturday that left Balikpapan Bay in Borneo “like a gas station.” The company initially said the disaster had nothing to do with its nearby refinery or undersea pipelines that run across the bay, noting that […]

    Deadly Oil Spill Leaves Indonesian Bay ‘Like a Gas Station’

    Deadly Oil Spill Leaves Indonesian Bay ‘Like a Gas Station’

    Indonesia has declared a state of emergency after a large oil spill ignited and killed at least four people in the port city of Balikpapan off the island of Borneo over the weekend. The blaze is now under control but the oil continues to spread. According to BBC News, the slick currently covers an area […]

    More Than 2,400 Animals Killed by Oil Spill in Colombia

    More Than 2,400 Animals Killed by Oil Spill in Colombia

    An oil spill of approximately 550 barrels (23,100 gallons) has killed more than 2,400 fish, birds and reptiles near the city of Barrancabermeja, Colombia, RCN Radio reported. Oil started spilling from the Lizama 158 oil field in early March and spread down 15 miles of the Lizama river and 12.4 miles of the Sogamoso river. […]

    Large Swath of Texas Oil Patch Rapidly Sinking and Uplifting, Study Finds

    Large Swath of Texas Oil Patch Rapidly Sinking and Uplifting, Study Finds

    West Texas is already home to two giant sinkholes near the town of Wink caused by intensive oil and gas operations. Now, according to an unprecedented study, the “Wink Sinks” might not remain the last in the region. Geophysicists at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas have found rapid rates of ground movement at various […]

    ‘Kayaktivists’ Board Rig Set to Drill Arctic

    ‘Kayaktivists’ Board Rig Set to Drill Arctic

    Peaceful “kayaktivists” from Greenpeace Norway boarded a Statoil-contracted rig set to drill two Arctic wells this year. Two people boarded the rig at the Skipavik yard on Norway’s west coast Thursday morning and have requested a meeting with the rig’s captain. Another 10 activists are in the water with signs that say, “Same shit, new […]