President Barack Obama is set to use the sombre setting of the Oval Office for the first time since coming to power.

NZ oil shares have fallen as the latest Tui well has come up short.

Solid Energy says that gas produced from burning coal deep underground in Waikato will help boost our energy security.

Kabul/Houston - British Prime Minister David Cameron offered on Thursday to help deal with BP Plc's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, saying he would take it up with US President Barack Obama, as the beleaguered company's shares rebounded from 14-year lows.

The environmental nightmare unleashed by the crippled BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has reached the white-sand paradises of Florida.

The oil still gushing into the Gulf of Mexico after more than 50 days could also spell disaster for the presidency of Barack Obama.

BP is done and dusted in the US, for a generation at least.

Oil giant ExxonMobil says new rules to curb drilling should be held off until the lessons from the Gulf of Mexico disaster are fully understood.

Opponents say there is no place for oil exploration in New Zealand, but the government is sticking by its deal with oil giant Petrobras.

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is the worst environmental catastrophe that the US has ever faced