_Economy and Finance

Norway's Arctic idyll shivers at oil plans By Alister Doyle and Balazs Koranyi SVOLVAER, Norway | Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:04 am EDT (Reuters) - Oil companies seeking new Arctic areas for exploration face a battle with environmentalists, fishermen and hotel owners over Norwegian islands where jagged snow-capped peaks rise sheer from the sea. With oil production falling to a 25-year low this year and the state depending on oil revenues, Norway's ruling Labour Party is warming to drilling in Lofoten's pristine waters, setting up the issue as the year's biggest political fight ahead of elections in September. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/12/us-energy-arctic-idUSBRE92B0I720130312

Japan to Begin Test Production for Frozen Gas Locked in Seabed By Tsuyoshi Inajima & Yuji Okada - Mar 11, 2013 Japan, which has almost no natural energy resources of its own, will begin the world’s first offshore drilling operation this week to extract frozen natural gas locked under the seabed. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-11/japan-to-begin-test-production-for-frozen-gas-locked-in-seabed.html

Analysis: Renewables turn utilities into dinosaurs of the energy world By Geert De Clercq PARIS | Fri Mar 8, 2013 4:13am EST (Reuters) - Every new solar panel installed on European rooftops chips away at power utilities' centralized production model. Unless they reinvent themselves soon, these giants risk becoming the dinosaurs of the energy market. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/08/us-utilities-threat-idUSBRE92709E20130308

EU Carbon Market Is at Risk of Total Collapse, Lawmaker Says By Ewa Krukowska - Jan 22, 2013 The European Union’s emissions trading system, the world’s largest, is at a risk of “total collapse” and a draft measure to fix it must become a top priority for governments, a member of the EU Parliament said. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-22/eu-carbon-market-is-at-risk-of-total-collapse-lawmaker-says.html