Australia to look at oil and gas industry in tax review
Australia is targeting the oil and gas industry for a tax review.
review
State review says Californian oversight of oil well injection sites ‘inadequate’
California's oversight of wells where oil companies dispose of wastewater brought to the surface is hindered by inadequate staffing and poorly organized paper records, a state review of the program said Thursday. In a report to the state legislature, California's Department of Conservation (DOC) found that wastewater injection wells also suffer from inconsistent permitting, monitoring and enforcement of their construction and operation, among other problems. "The division hasn't owned up to its responsibilities as a regulator in the past, but we are rapidly moving towards doing that," Steve Bohlen, head of California's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, which oversees the state's drilling activities, said on a conference call with reporters.
Iran’s parliament to review text of nuclear deal
Iran’s parliament is set to review the landmark nuclear deal reached with world powers last week. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who headed the Iranian negotiating team during the talks in Vienna, sent the text of the agreement to the house, state media reported. Under Iran’s constitution, parliament has a right to reject any deal - even one negotiated by the foreign ministry. However, it is not clear whether politicians will vote on the deal or whether they will simply discuss it and possibly express concerns about it.
UKCS spending could slump by nearly half over the next two years, WoodMac warns
UK North Sea spending levels could slump to just over half their 2014 total over the next two years, with low oil prices alone costing the industry £2billion of lost investment, according to energy research company Wood Mackenzie. The warning in WoodMac’s latest annual UK upstream review comes after a continued “boom” in offshore investment in 2014. A total of £12billion was pumped into offshore projects last year, keeping the UK in the top 10 countries for upstream spending worldwide, WoodMac said.