China to continue expanding its influence in the oil and gas sector

In his 2012 State of the Union Address, President Barak Obama called for the end of federal oil subsidies and a doubling of clean energy grants.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) today announced plans to invest approximately $140 million to further expand its coal handling facilities along the Gulf Coast.

A new survey out Tuesday shows South Africa’s appeal for mining investment has declined dramatically since 2006 and the country now ranks a lowly 67th out of 79 countries in the study.

Thomas Drolet, a nuclear expert, warns of a coming uranium deficit as Cold War-era supplies dry up.

The Scotland Herald reports plans to build a $4.6 billion coal-fired power station in the UK with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology suffered another serious setback this week after the French firm that operates near-by reactors warned that the proposed coal plant endangers the safety of the nuclear facility.

Comex gold and silver futures prices made strong gains in morning trade Monday, with the February gold contract powering to a six week high of $1,679.50 an ounce, up just shy of 1% by midday. Gold is now up over 5% for the year, but still well of the record high above $1,900 hit in September.

While miners and explorers may be hitting the investment conferences looking for funding, NGOs are successfully using crowd sourcing to get projects started.

FLSmidth, a global engineering company out of Denmark, is planning a A$267 million acquisition of Ludowici Limited, an Brisbane-based company that manufactures coal centrifuges, vibrating screens and complementary wear resistant products.

Jose Sergio Gabrielli is no longer CEO of Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled oil company. He was replaced by Maria das Graças Foster, a business leader with close ties to the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff.