Environment news

• How do you drill into a 500C volcano?

  14-12-2016 23:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists in Iceland are drilling in to a volcano to harness the energy from beneath the Earth.
  
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• Tillerson to hand over reins to Exxon's president Woods

  14-12-2016 23:49
  Exxon Mobil Corp said on Wednesday its president, Darren Woods, will become chief executive and chairman in January following the retirement of Rex Tillerson, who is U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's choice for secretary of state. Tillerson, 64, will retire at the end of the year and Woods, 51, will take over effective Jan. 1, Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said. Woods, who was named president and elected to the board in January 2015, was widely expected to become the
  
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• World's hottest borehole nearly complete

  14-12-2016 23:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Geologists in Iceland are drilling into the heart of a volcano to create a super-hot borehole they can tap for energy.
  
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• Geologists target 500C volcano's energy

  14-12-2016 23:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Geologists in Iceland are drilling into the heart of a volcano to create a super-hot borehole they can tap for energy.
  
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• California adopts first U.S. energy-saving rules for computers

  14-12-2016 23:35
  By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California regulators on Wednesday adopted the nation's first mandatory energy efficiency rules for computers and monitors - devices that account for 3 percent of home electric bills and 7 percent of commercial power costs in the state. The state Energy Commission said that when fully implemented the industry-backed plan will save consumers $373 million a year and conserve at least as much electricity annually as it takes to power all of San Francisco's ho
  
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• Treated sawdust may help sop up, burn off Arctic oil spills

  14-12-2016 23:08
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Federal researchers looking for ways to contain petroleum spills in frigid Arctic waters are investigating whether a powder form of humble sawdust can provide a solution.
  
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• Three Gulf central banks hike rates to avert currency pressure after Fed move

  14-12-2016 22:34
  By Andrew Torchia DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain raised interest rates within minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to do so on Wednesday as they scrambled to avoid downward pressure on their currencies due to low oil prices. Early this year, speculators attacked the Saudi riyal and other Gulf currencies as cheap oil pushed the state finances of those countries into deficit. The riyal and most other Gulf Arab currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar.
  
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• U.S. oil industry cheers Trump energy pick, seeks gas export boost

  14-12-2016 22:24
  The U.S. oil and gas industry on Wednesday welcomed President-elect Donald Trump's choice of former Texas Governor Rick Perry to head the U.S. Department of Energy, and wasted no time making its first specific request of him: to support increased exports of America's natural gas overseas. Trump named Perry as his pick for the top U.S. energy job on Wednesday morning, handing the portfolio to a climate change sceptic with close ties to the oil and gas industry, and who previously proposed abolish
  
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• Exxon says CEO Tillerson to hand over reins to President Woods

  14-12-2016 22:24
  (Reuters) - Oil major Exxon Mobil Corp said on Wednesday that President Darren Woods would become chief executive and chairman in January after the retirement of Rex Tillerson, who is U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state. Exxon said Tillerson, 64, will retire at the end of the year and Woods, 51, would take over as chairman and CEO, effective Jan. 1. Woods joined Exxon in 1992, and in January he was elected to the company's board and appointed president.
  
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• Sentinels map Earth's slow surface warping

  14-12-2016 22:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  British researchers are now routinely mapping a great swathe of Earth's surface, looking for the subtle warping that ultimately leads to quakes.
  
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• Researchers modify sawdust as possible Arctic oil spill tool

  14-12-2016 21:15
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Federal researchers looking for ways to contain petroleum spills in frigid Arctic waters are investigating whether a powder form of humble sawdust can provide a solution.
  
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• Exxon says CEO Tillerson to retire at year-end

  14-12-2016 21:15
  (Reuters) - Oil major Exxon Mobil Corp said Chief Executive Rex Tillerson, who is U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Secretary Of State, would retire at the end of the year. Exxon said President Darren Woods would take over as chairman and CEO, effective Jan. 1. (Reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
  
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• Protesters agree to end blockade of western Libya oil pipelines - officials

  14-12-2016 21:02
  Protesters blockading pipelines to Libya's Sharara and El Feel oil fields have promised to reopen them and production could restart in the coming days, security officials and an oil industry source said on Wednesday. Reopening the fields could add 365,000 barrels per day (bpd) to Libya's production, which has been drastically reduced by conflict and political disputes. A faction of Libya's Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) that has blockaded one pipeline since November 2014 and another since Apri
  
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• Researchers Solve Mystery Of Historic 1952 London Fog And Current Chinese Haze

  14-12-2016 21:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  Few Americans may be aware of it, but in 1952 a killer fog that contained pollutants covered London for five days, causing breathing problems and killing thousands of residents.  The exact cause and nature of the fog has remained mostly unknown for decades, but an international team of scientists that includes several Texas A&M University-affiliated researchers believes that the mystery has been solved and that the same air chemistry also happens in China and other locales.
  
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• Oil prices fall 3 percent on stronger dollar, renewed glut worries

  14-12-2016 20:57
  By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slid more than 3 percent on Wednesday as the dollar jumped after the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to hike U.S. interest rates and after a jump in crude inventories at the biggest U.S. storage centre renewed concerns about a glut. Russia has never actually done any cutting in the past," Michael Wittner, global head of oil research at Societe Generale said in a note.
  
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• Long Window for Life on Mars: Hundreds of Millions of Years?

  14-12-2016 20:37
  
  Parts of Mars were capable of supporting life as we know it for lengthy stretches in the ancient past — perhaps hundreds of millions of years at a time, new observations by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity suggest. Since it landed inside the Red Planet's Gale Crater in August 2012, Curiosity has studied a number of different rocks over an elevational range of about 650 feet (200 meters), which represents a time span of tens of millions to hundreds of millions of years. The rovers
  
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• The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s team: not the new normal | Editorial

  14-12-2016 20:24 via theguardian.com
  
  The president-elect has appointed oilmen, bankers, generals and anti-government ideologues. It is a tainted team for a tainted president chosen in a tainted electionThe idea that Donald Trump might become a “normal” American president once he moved into the White House was always for the birds. The 2016 contest was an abnormal election won by an abnormal politician. It was an abnormal election because hackers linked to the Russian government worked to help Mr Trump’s cause; bec
  
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• Getting better all the time? Not any more… | Brief letters

  14-12-2016 20:09 via theguardian.com
  
  VW pollution | Convalescence | Train guards | Unite election | Hellebores | Cocaine capital“We continue to push VW to take action to compensate the UK consumer,” says the Department for Transport (Report, 12 December). But why is it that comment on the “dieselgate” scandal focuses on compensation to owners? It is city residents in general that suffer the health impacts, and it is the NHS that bears the costs of caring for them. VW should make payments that reflect th
  
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• Oil prices fall 2 percent on renewed worries of oversupply

  14-12-2016 19:18
  By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell about 2 percent on Wednesday on renewed concerns about an oil glut sparked by a jump in crude inventories at a core U.S. storage centre and OPEC forecasts of a rising surplus absent output cuts. Inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, hub rose once again, the sixth build in seven weeks, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday. Crude inventories overall fell by 2.6 million barrels in the last week, compared wit
  
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• Massive Atlantic wave sets record, says World Meteorological Organization

  14-12-2016 18:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The highest-ever wave recorded by a buoy is detected in the North Atlantic, say experts.
  
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• UK prosecutor drops Somali corruption inquiry into Soma Oil

  14-12-2016 18:42
  UK prosecutors have closed a 17-month investigation into alleged bribery and corruption at Soma Oil & Gas, a private UK exploration company seeking oil in Somalia, despite finding "reasonable grounds" to suspect wrongdoing. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which opened the inquiry last July after a tip-off from the United Nations' Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG), said there was not enough evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction. "Whilst there were reasonable grounds to sus
  
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• Solar thermal remains part of renewable heat reforms

  14-12-2016 18:10
  
  The Government has today (14 December) set out new proposals for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). All four currently-supported technologies will remain part of the scheme.
  
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• Buried at sea: the companies cashing in on abandoned cables

  14-12-2016 18:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Companies are starting to realise the value of defunct communications cables on the sea bed. But some say they’re better left untouchedFrom the telegraph wires laid across the Atlantic in the 1860s to the fibre optic wires carrying digital data today, our oceans are criss-crossed with lines used for 98% of our communication (pdf). But when technology is superseded or a company ceases to trade, what happens to the cables and their copper, aluminium, steel and plastic?
  Some companies upgrade
  
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• Fall of Aleppo puts Iran on cusp of 'Shi'ite crescent' of influence

  14-12-2016 17:57
  By Babak Dehghanpisheh BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran has played a pivotal role in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's campaign to crush rebel resistance in Aleppo and is now close to establishing a "Shi'ite crescent" of regional influence stretching from the Afghan border to the Mediterranean Sea. Revolutionary Guards commanders and senior clerics in Tehran have this week praised Iran's defeat of "Wahhabi terrorists" in Syria and the country they characterise as the rebels' patron, Sunni Muslim regiona
  
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• Nigerian deficit to rise as Buhari presents record budget

  14-12-2016 17:29
  By Paul Carsten and Ulf Laessing ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria expects its 2017 deficit to rise to 2.36 trillion naira ($7.75 billion), President Muhammadu Buhari said on Wednesday, as the government tries to drag Africa's biggest economy out of recession with a budget that foresees record spending. Buhari is facing rising disenchantment with his handling of the economy as Nigeria struggles with 18 percent inflation and its first recession in 25 years, brought on by low global prices for the oil it
  
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• EU tightens fishing rules in North Atlantic, ups some quotas

  14-12-2016 16:39
  
  European Union nations have reached a deal to tighten some fishing rules in its Northeastern Atlantic waters and the North Sea to edge closer toward a fully sustainable industry by 2020, but environmentalists ...
  
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• Oil prices fall 2 percent on rise in U.S. crude stocks

  14-12-2016 16:18
  By Devika Krishna Kumar and Ahmad Ghaddar NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell about 2 percent on Wednesday as glut worries resurfaced after a reported rise in U.S. crude inventories and as OPEC signalled a growing crude surplus next year unless production cuts by the world's top exporters are implemented. Data from the American Petroleum Institute late on Tuesday showed U.S. crude inventories rose by 4.7 million barrels in the week to Dec. 9, compared with analysts' expectations for a 1.
  
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• World’s oldest water gets even older

  14-12-2016 15:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists have discovered a new deep source of ancient water that is at least two billion years old.
  
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• Hundreds of Scientists Rally to Protect Climate Science

  14-12-2016 15:48
  
  For a few hours at least, throngs of scientists stepped out from behind their PowerPoint slides about sea ice extent and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to make a more political statement. The scientists, who were attending the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, rallied here in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday (Dec. 13) to support climate science and to reject government meddling with scientific facts. "I know you're here because you understand just how essential science a
  
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• California to adopt first U.S. energy-saving rules for computers

  14-12-2016 15:43
  By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California regulators were poised on Wednesday to adopt the nation's first mandatory energy efficiency rules for computers and monitors - devices that account for 3 percent of home electric bills and 7 percent of commercial power costs in the state. The state Energy Commission said that when fully implemented, the plan will save consumers $373 million a year and conserve as much electricity annually as it takes to power all San Francisco's homes. The Natur
  
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• Trump picks climate sceptic Perry for top U.S. energy job

  14-12-2016 15:36
  President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named former Texas Governor Rick Perry to head the U.S. Department of Energy, handing the job to a climate change sceptic with close ties to the oil industry who once proposed abolishing the department. The choice adds to a list of drilling proponents who have been tapped for top jobs in Trump's administration, pleasing an industry eager for expansion but worrying environmental groups concerned by the U.S. role in global climate change. Trump, who takes
  
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• Nigeria's Buhari presents record budget for 2017 in bid to end recession

  14-12-2016 15:34
  By Paul Carsten and Ulf Laessing LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday presented a record 7.298 trillion naira (18.91 billion pounds) budget for 2017 to lawmakers which is aimed at pulling Africa's biggest economy out of its first recession in 25 years. The budget, which Buhari said marked an increase of 20.4 percent on last year's spending plan, seeks to boost spending to revive the economy. The recession was largely caused by low global oil prices, as crude sales
  
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• 'Great' message

  14-12-2016 15:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Land Speed Record holder Andy Green has been visiting India to share insights about the Bloodhound supersonic car.
  
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• Trump picks oil-drilling proponent Rick Perry as energy secretary

  14-12-2016 15:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Pending Senate approval, the former Texas governor will lead a federal department he previously pledged to scrapThe US president-elect, Donald Trump, has formally named the former Texas governor Rick Perry to lead the Department of Energy, adding to the list of oil-drilling advocates sceptical about climate change filling out his cabinet selections. The choice of Perry, first disclosed on Monday, is likely to further worry environmentalists concerned about the incoming Trump administration&rsquo
  
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• World’s oldest-known seabird lays an egg at age of 66 in Pacific refuge

  14-12-2016 15:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, is also world’s oldest-known breeding bird in the wild and has had a few dozen chicksWisdom the albatross, the world’s oldest-known breeding bird in the wild, has laid an egg at 66 years of age after returning to a wildlife refuge in the Pacific Ocean, US wildlife officials have said.
  Photos of the large seabird incubating her egg between her webbed feet at the Midway Atoll national wildlife refuge, the world’s largest albatross colony, were posted o
  
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• Oil prices fall on rising U.S. crude stocks, 2017 overhang

  14-12-2016 14:57
  By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday following a reported rise in U.S. crude inventories and as OPEC signalled a growing crude surplus next year unless production cuts are implemented. International Brent crude futures were down 82 cents at $54.90 per barrel at 1334 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were down 92 cents at $52.06 a barrel. Traders said the price falls followed an industry report of surprise increases in U.S. crude inventori
  
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• Gazprom, OMV reach outline deal on swap of Norway, Siberia assets

  14-12-2016 14:29
  By Shadia Nasralla VIENNA (Reuters) - Russian energy company Gazprom and Austrian oil and gas group OMV reached an outline deal on Wednesday to swap a 38.5 percent stake in OMV's Norwegian unit for a 25 percent stake in a section of Gazprom's Urengoy gas field. OMV Chief Executive Rainer Seele, who took the top job at Austria's biggest company last year, is reversing the policy of his predecessor who achieved output growth by buying assets in the North Sea, where production is expensive but reli
  
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• Mark Carney and Michael Bloomberg set out recommendations for climate disclosure adoption

  14-12-2016 14:23
  
  The first global, industry-led effort to create recommendations for climate-related financial disclosures has been published by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
  
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• Carney and Bloomberg lay-out recommendations for climate disclosure adoption

  14-12-2016 14:23
  
  The first global, industry-led effort to create recommendations for climate-related financial disclosures has been published by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and calls on businesses to promote senior management engagement on climate-related issues.
  
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• UK's Petrofac halting Tunisia gas output again due to protests - officials

  14-12-2016 14:21
  Oil and gas industry contractor Petrofac is halting gas production in Tunisia after two weeks of renewed protests on the southern Kerkennah islands, officials said on Wednesday. The announcement comes just three months after Petrofac restarted operations at Kerkennah's Chergui gas field, following nine months of disruptions due to protests. Petrofac had threatened in September to shut down operations entirely and leave Tunisia, but the government reached a deal with protesters demanding jobs and
  
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• OPEC signals larger 2017 oil surplus, unless cuts implemented

  14-12-2016 14:17
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC on Wednesday signalled a growing oil supply surplus next year unless members implement their deal to curb output from record levels and outside producers also deliver on cutback pledges made at the weekend. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 33.87 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, according to figures OPEC collects from secondary sources, up 150,000 bpd from October, OPEC said in a monthly report. OPEC's own figures show th
  
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• Trump's energy pick Perry likely a boost for oil, worry for environmentalists

  14-12-2016 13:58
  U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday formally named former Texas governor Rick Perry to lead the Department of Energy, adding to the list of oil-drilling advocates sceptical about climate change filling out his Cabinet selections. The choice of Perry, first disclosed on Monday, is likely to further worry environmentalists concerned about the incoming Trump administration's impact on the climate, while an eager energy industry ready for expansion welcomes the selection. "Rick Perry crea
  
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• Greenpeace activists target EDF Paris HQ in anti-nuclear protest

  14-12-2016 13:44
  Greenpeace activists blocked access to the Paris headquarters of French power utility EDF on Wednesday in a protest against the company's nuclear activities. Some 30 activists of the environmental organisation scaled the front of the building close to the Champs Elysees and unfurled a banner with a picture of EDF Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy. The banner stated EDF was 74 billion euros ($79 billion) in debt, which would continue if it pursued its nuclear policy.
  
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• Exclusive - Maersk, DONG oil and gas merger talks stall over price: sources

  14-12-2016 13:28
  By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Ron Bousso COPENHAGEN/LONDON (Reuters) - Talks between shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk and DONG Energy to merge their oil and gas business have stalled after the two Danish firms could not agree on a price, industry and banking sources said on Wednesday. Maersk entered talks with DONG in November after announcing plans to merge or spin off its energy assets as part of a major restructuring to shift the company's focus to its transport and logistics businesses. Th
  
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• Energy giants throw financial weight behind Britain's kite energy aspirations

  14-12-2016 12:59
  
  Three major energy firms, including E.ON and Shell, have secured a £5m investment into an innovative British company that aims to deploy the country's first high-altitude wind facility.
  
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• Rick Perry formally announced as Trump's pick for energy secretary

  14-12-2016 12:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Pending Senate approval, the former Texas governor will lead a federal department he previously pledged to scrapUS president-elect Donald Trump has formally announced Rick Perry as his choice to lead the US department of energy.If the nomination is confirmed by the Senate, the move would put the former Texas governor and Trump’s one-time presidential rival in charge of a federal department that he had proposed eliminating during his bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Cont
  
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• Atlantic wave biggest ever recorded by buoy

  14-12-2016 12:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The highest ever wave recorded by a buoy is detected in the North Atlantic.
  
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• Science-based targets top choice for sustainability leaders, edie survey reveals

  14-12-2016 12:07
  
  The adoption of science-based targets to drive climate action is continuing to move rapidly up the corporate agenda, with more than half of sustainability leaders either beginning to apply or fully embedding the methodology within their organisation.
  
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• Oceanographers offer clues to Malaysian airlines crash | John Abraham

  14-12-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Deploying drifters and using computer models, oceanographers identified the most likely crash area for flight MH370
  No doubt nearly everyone is familiar with the story. In early 2014, Malaysian flight MH370 left Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, on a flight to China. The flight disappeared from communication and was never found; despite great search efforts. It isn’t that there is no evidence of the crash. In July of last year, a portion of a wing was found near Madagascar and Reunion Island in the I
  
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• Exclusive - Maersk, DONG oil and gas merger talks stall: sources

  14-12-2016 11:18
  COPENHAGEN/LONDON (Reuters) - Talks between shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk and DONG Energy to merge their oil and gas business have stalled after the two Danish firms could not agree on a price, industry and banking sources said on Wednesday. The breakdown in talks aimed at creating a joint company worth more than $10 billion (7.90 billion pound) may open the door for other bids for DONG's operations, which it is spinning off as it moves away from fossil fuels to focus on offshore wind, the s
  
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