Record-breaking world oil prices mean prospects are bright for Halliburton's oil field services business, which had profit margins of 14.2% in the three months to June 2004, up 1% on year-earlier.
Extracting the bitumen from the clay and sand and upgrading it into crude oil--by breaking its big hydrocarbon molecules into smaller, less viscous ones--is an expensive, energy-intensive process that consumes 650 cubic feet of natural gas for every barrel.
"It is sort of like breaking a fish oil capsule over a hot fudge sundae and expecting the effect of the calories and saturated fat to go away, " she said.
Moreover, environmental regulations and inevitable lawsuits from groups opposing refineries popping up in their backyard mean oil companies risk sinking billions into breaking ground, only to never see a facility get up and running.
But Greenpeace wanted Unilever to go further, and stop buying palm oil from producers the NGO believed were breaking the law.
It is thought that the breaking down of the fatty coconut oil by the enzymes turns it into acids which are active and effective against bacteria.
BP, a giant oil firm, were berated by their peers for breaking ranks.
Gasoline demand hit a record breaking 1.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in February, up 8.3% on the year.
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The recruitment company's annual review of the oil and gas sector analysed the impact of the record breaking 27th licensing round which saw the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) award 167 new licences on more than 300 North Sea blocks in October 2012.
Since South Sudan's independence, tension between the new neighbours has been strained, with rebellions breaking out on either side of the border and a dispute over oil which escalated to the brink of war last April.
Now that their populations are booming, thanks to the economic draw of oil and gas development, their innovative solutions from decades past are now reaching the breaking point.
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On March 6th the Pentagon, breaking its previous silence on the matter, announced that a division of Halliburton, the oil-services firm previously headed by Vice-President Dick Cheney, will co-ordinate the oil-fire fighting efforts if they are needed.
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