Liquid bulk shipping requires complex planning and scheduling. For many oil, gas and chemical companies, getting the business in shape to manage incoming and outgoing shipments drives competitive edge. As prices fluctuate on a daily basis, understanding the options on large crude oil vessels and having up-to-date market information is vital when bidding on spot cargo to accurately schedule your fleet. Being able to take all unassigned ships to a legal berth, with all constraints considered, is a logistic and economic challenge. So, how can companies maximize profitability and avoid unnecessary demurrage costs?

The year 2013 saw record-breaking growth for solar electricity generation as the photovoltaic and concentrated solar thermal power markets continued to grow. With over 39 gigawatts installed worldwide, the PV solar market represented one third of all newly-added renewable energy capacity, according to Max Lander and Xiangyu Wu writing in the latest number of the Worldwatch Institute's Vital Signs Online publication.

According to the American Chemistry Council, following an upwardly revised 0.5 percent gain in May, the U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index continued to expand, rising by 0.3 percent in June. Chemical output was higher in all regions.

Analysis from IHS Technology forecasts a solid upturn for the global solar PV supply chain sector after a weak first six months of the year.

The Obama administration has taken its latest step away from the "all-of-the-above" energy strategy the president has professed to support, according to Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Stolt-Nielsen Gas (SNG), SunLNG Holding (SunLNG) and LNGaz have teamed up to provide natural gas to remote mining operations and other industrial customers in northeast Canada at a lower cost than diesel and residual fuel oil, which are the primary energy sources today.