Greenpeace stages ‘fracking’ at Westminster
Greenpeace has erected a life-like drilling rig outside the Houses of Parliament in London.
UK
Total reveals spending ambitions after Lagan-Tormore start-up
Start-up from the £3.5billion Laggan-Tormore gas development west of Shetland paves the way for £690million of investment in the area over the next 10 years.
Scottish Greens pledge to ban fracking
The Scottish Greens have launched their election campaign with pledges to deliver more than 200,000 “clean green” jobs, reform land ownership and ban fracking.
Cuadrilla five-week public inquiry to begin into Lancashire licences
A public hearing is expected to begin tomorrow examining two applications by Caudrilla Resources to drill as many as eight exploratory wells in the Bowland shale formation.
Opinion: You can fool all the people some of the time!
Our national broadcaster ran a headline recently that said “UK car manufacturing hits 10-year high in 2015”. Other outlets said similar things and one included some comment about the fact that Jaguar Land Rover was now outperforming Nissan.
Opinion: A real need for step change and efficiency
The announcement last week that £504million of public sector money will be invested in support of the Aberdeen City Region Deal is very welcome news for the north-east of Scotland.
Ewing calls for unity to aid North Sea revival
Scotland's energy minister has called for unity in the battle to put the oil and gas sector on the road to a bright future - and insisted now is not a time for political point-scoring. Fergus Ewing said everyone with an interest in the North Sea industry should pull out all the stops to help it through a crisis caused by the cocktail of rising costs, the collapse in oil prices and a tax regime in need of an overhaul.
Proposed tariff on Chinese steel imports a ‘slap in the face’ for UK industry
A proposed tariff of 1.65% on some Chinese steel products brought into Europe has been slammed as a “slap in the face” for the crisis-hit UK industry. The European Commission published the provisional figure after a nine-month investigation into imports of reinforced steel bar.
EDF sets up base for Hinkley Point C project workers
Energy giant EDF has leased offices to provide a base for a large part of the project team working on the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.
Scottish Secretary insists UK Government is here to help
The £250million Aberdeen City Region Deal underlines the UK Government's determination to help the North Sea oil and gas industry through its crisis. At least that was the message from Scottish Secretary David Mundell during a visit to subsea services firm Bibby Offshore in Westhill yesterday.
Scottish Government seeks more Westminster cash to support Aberdeen
The Scottish Government will continue to press the UK Government to offer more financial support to Scotland’s north east, after “inviting” David Cameron to match its own £379 million contribution, the First Minister has said. Nicola Sturgeon also told MSPs she will visit Aberdeen on Monday to announce further commitments to support the oil and gas industry.
M&A activity grows, set to continue in 2016
Worldwide M&A activity in the power and renewable sector almost doubled last year, according to a new report. PwC’s annual findings show momentum is expected to continue throughout 2016.
OGA branded an “insolvency practitioner” by Shadow Energy Minister
Shadow energy minister Clive Lewis has branded the new oil and gas regulator an “insolvency practitioner”. His characterisation of the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) prompted criticism from the SNP’s Callum McCaig and energy minister Andrea Leadsom.
Sturgeon urges Chancellor to lower oil and gas industry taxes
Scotland’s First Minister has called on the UK Government to lower taxes on the oil and gas industry in the forthcoming March Budget. Nicola Sturgeon said Chancellor George Osborne should take “urgent action” to protect jobs in the North Sea as she convened a special session of the Scottish Cabinet in Edinburgh. Ms Sturgeon said Finance Secretary John Swinney would seek an urgent meeting with the Chancellor to set out the Scottish Government’s view.
Shale gas offers ‘exciting’ opportunities for struggling steel industry
The shale gas industry offers “one of those rare opportunities” to create a new demand for steel, offering a potential boost to Britain’s troubled steel industry, a Labour MP has suggested. Angela Smith described the opportunities the shale gas industry could create for steel manufacturing as the “most exciting prospect”, adding it could offer a “new sense of hope therefore for a positive future for what is one of our foundation industries”.
Air Energi,Swift merge to create leading recruitment firm
Air Energi and Swift Worldwide Resources have merged to form a new company bringing together the two recruitment firms. The newly formed firm, Airswift, will create a $1.2billion turnover specialising in global workforce solutions for the energy, process and infrastructure services.
Union Jack Oil strikes farm-in deal with Egdon Resources
Union Jack Oil has entered into an agreement with Egdon Resources to farm-in to the conventional prospects of PEDL209 containing the Laughton Prospect. The company said under the terms of the agreement, it will pay 16.67% of the costs of the Laughton-1 well.
Prosafe boosts fleet utilisation by 62%
Prosafe said its fleet utilisation rate in the final quarter of 2015 rose by 62%.
Corrosion Solutions completes sale of business to Norwegian company
The founder of an Aberdeen corrosion company has joined forces with a larger Norwegian group as part of a global expansion plan. Allan Durham, the owner and managing director of Corrosion Solutions (CSL) has completed the sale of the business he founded in 1998 to Stavanger-based Presserv. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.
ConocoPhillips admits to safety breach on Lincolnshire platform
ConocoPhillips has admitted to three charges relating to an incident on the Lincolnshire Offshore Gas Gathering System platform in 2012. Lincoln Crown Court was told a “very serious international-level incident” could have caused an explosion at the platform.
Dulas makes gains on Welsh Water’s Five Fords project
Dulas has completed work on the second phase of a 2.4MW solar project which will provide energy for Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water’s Five Fords waste water treatment works in Wrexham.
Former oil worker launches petition for banker style bailout package
A former oil worker has started a petition calling for a rescue package for the UK oil and gas industry. Uchenna Nnamani, 36, worked in the sector until last year, when he was made redundant.
Struggle to find work for former steelmakers in Redcar
The “devastating” impact of the crisis gripping the steel industry has been revealed in figures showing how difficult it is for workers to find other jobs. A government report showed that over half of SSI steel workers in Redcar are still looking for work four months after the plant closed.
Aberdeen’s City Region Deal ‘almost sealed’
The long-awaited City Region Deal for the north-east has been announced – and could be finalised within days. Scottish Secretary David Mundell said last night the “full details” of the investment would be revealed “shortly”.
George Osborne: Changes in global economy may create more market shockwaves
Major changes in the global economy could send further shockwaves through the markets, George Osborne will warn political and business leaders. The Chancellor will say the combination of the slowdown in China’s economy, the US interest rate rise and the collapse in oil prices have created a “hazardous mix”.