Turkey top envoy goes to Niger in bid to secure uranium supplies
The trip comes after Niger’s military government withdrew mining rights from Canadian and French companies to develop uranium deposits.
Climate Spectator raises new questions about BHP Billiton’s $20 billion investment in the US shale gas business – a figure that could rise to $60 billion in the next decade – and reports Mike Yeager, the Houston-based boss of the world’s number one miner’s petroleum division, has been on quite a roadshow to explain the company’s rationale.
But despite spending some time addressing the issues around the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing, one question went unanswered, indeed unasked, in the 45 pages of transcript from the presentation made available on the company’s website: What about your water supply? Read more at Climate Spectator.
MINING.com reported last week BHP (NYSE:BHP) says it plans to spend about $4.5 billion on developing shale gas assets in 2012 after splashing nearly $17 billion buying Petrohawk Energy and Chesapeake Energy this year, and quoted Yeager: “This is going to be a gamechanger around the world and for BHP Billiton not to be part of it would be irresponsible.”
MINING.com reported in August record profits meant BHP still has $60 billion left for expansion after Petrohawk deal. Profit at BHP surged 86% for the 12 months to $23.6 billion, a full $1.4 billion ahead of expectations, on the back of earnings from iron ore, its biggest division, which jumped 122% to $13.3 billion.
The Melbourne-based company raised its dividend by 22%, but did not start a new buyback program, preferring to keep its powder dry for further expansion – the Petrohawk acquisition left BHP with more than $60 billion remaining from a $80 billion budget for growth projects over the next five years. Read more >>
MINING.com reported in July analysts are skeptical about the prospects of BHP Billiton, the world’s most valuable miner, making a success of the Petrohawk deal, its biggest single acquisition in the shale business, considering its poor track record with acquisitions, its relatively limited experience in the fracking business, environmental concerns and warnings that it is again buying at the top of the cycle. Read more >>
BusinessLive describes the importance of of shale gas in the US saying it has altered the country’s energy mix by cutting its dependence on fossil fuels, and reduced the volumes of its imports. Extraction of shale gas in the US has tripled the lifespan of gas reserves and offered a lower-carbon alternative to coal. Shale gas is expected to account for half of the US gas output by 2030.
Fracking technology has dramatically increased natural-gas extraction and made it economically viable but a widely-cited study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has raised concerns over the possible pollution of drinking water through methane leaks. The process involves pumping a mixture of water, sand and chemicals into a well to fracture the rock and release the natural gas.
