ExxonMobil today has announced a massive $600 million partnership with Synthetic Genomics Corp to explore alternative energy.

More specifically, Exxon is looking at developing fuel with second-generation photosynthetic algae, a good clean and sustainable alternative that even consumes carbon dioxide.

ExxonMobil VP of Research told the AP today, “This is not going to be easy, and there are no guarantees of success,”

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Shell has posted its Q4 2008 and annual earnings today. The company performed fairly well, but took a hard hit with a $2.81 billion net loss in Q4 because of falling crude prices which reached five-year lows to about $33 per barrel. However, in Q4 2007, the company earned an $8.47 billion profit. Aggregately, in 2008, total revenue was up 29% to $458 billion. For the year, Shell had a net profit of $26.28 billion, down 16% from 2007. Read the full story