BEIJING - China has achieved another world-beating status its leaders don't want: Biggest oil importer. China passed the United States in September as the world's biggest net oil importer, driven by faster economic growth and strong auto sales, according to U.S. government data released this week. Chinese oil consumption outstripped production by 6.3 million barrels per day, which indicates the country had to import that much to fill the gap, the Energy Information Administration said this [Read more]

AMSTERDAM - The head of Greenpeace International has written to Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting a meeting in Moscow — and offering himself as human bail for 30 environmental activists, including two Canadians, being detained in Murmansk, Russia. Kumi Naidoo of the Amsterdam-based organization delivered the letter to the Russian Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands on Wednesday. He said he would guarantee the activists' good conduct but said that piracy charges against them don't [Read more]

PEACE RIVER, Alta. - An environmental group says some Albertans want tougher rules for oilsands producers that operate close to where people live. Ecojustice says some people in northwest Alberta have moved away from their homes because of health concerns about an extraction process called cold heavy oil production. The group made the comments Monday as the Alberta Energy Regulator held a public meeting in Peace River to set the scope for an inquiry that will look into their [Read more]

The price of oil fell below US$103 a barrel Monday as a partial U.S. government shutdown entered a second week and crude production in the Gulf of Mexico got back on track after a storm system passed through. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for November delivery was down $1.03 to US$102.81 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contact rose 53 cents to close at $103.84 on the Nymex on Friday. The U.S. was forced to curtail government [Read more]