The proposal from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to establish a sovereign wealth fund based on future revenues from the extraction of shale gas, is, in principle a good idea. Many countries now have such a fund, turning current oil and gas revenues into a national asset for the long term. Norway's fund is most often quoted as an example; another lesser known example is the state of Texas in the US which has such a fund for its universities.
The details of the proposal from DECC are yet to be released so its final shape and impact is unknown. Given the size of the UK economy, and our budget deficit, the idea that we can build a large financial fund of the type enjoyed by Norway is unrealistic.
However, I would argue that there is still a great deal that could be done with a shale gas fund. Most sovereign wealth funds build financial capital taking revenues from the oil and gas industry and investing them in the stock exchange. I would propose DECC consider a fund for human capital, not financial capital.
The UK government has caused uncertainty with its ‘panicked, last minute’ referendum tactics, the chief executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping has claimed.
Guy Platten will claim Scottish business has been left vulnerable by the methods used by the Better Together campaign to win the Scottish referendum two months ago.
He describes the devo-max plans outlined by Westminster as being written on the ‘back of a fag packet’.
Most countries in Europe look on Norway with envy. As the UK and other European countries struggle with reducing public spending, Norway benefits from a sovereign wealth fund worth around £500 billion. It has wisely invested the income from its oil and gas reserves, with its fund considered by many to be the world’s largest.
The regulations imposed on shale gas fracking are “unnecessarily restrictive”, according to research by two University of Glasgow academics.
In a new paper, Dr Rob Westaway and Professor Paul Younger from the School of Engineering, claim widely applying restrictions similar to those in force on fracking would require a ban on heavy vehicles from passing houses or walking on wooden floors.
The report also states that the threat of serious earthquakes caused by fracking activity is considerably lower than commonly feared.
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said greater fiscal control over the oil and gas sector would not be “the right thing to do.”
Mr Alexander said he welcomed the Smith Commission report next year, but said the oil and gas industry needed stability and certainty.
He was speaking in Aberdeen on a visit to the headquarters of Archer, the global oilfield service company.
Petrol firms and supermarkets will be pressed by the Government to pass on the benefit of falling oil prices to customers filling up at the pumps.
Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander will demand an assurance from fuel companies and distributors that they are doing all they can to pass on the price cuts to motorists.
Mr Alexander will use a speech in Aberdeen to warn people would "rightly be angry" if they felt prices were not coming down as much as they should.
The collapse of a deal for the oil refinery in Milford Haven is “very disappointing”, David Cameron has said.
But the Prime Minister insisted ties should not be cut with Klesch Group, which is also in the process of buying Tata Steel’s long products division.
Mr Cameron made the remarks in answer to Labour MP Tom Greatrex who highlighted concern about the Swiss-based firm’s intentions given its record of “asset stripping”.
A third UK refinery shutdown in five years will put hundreds of people out of work while making only a small dent in the estimated TWO million barrels a day of European capacity that must go by 2020.
Murphy Oil Corp (MUR) will close the Milford Haven refinery in Wales after a sale to Klesch Group collapsed, ending a four-year search for a buyer and resulting in “significant” redundancies, the U.S. oil company said late yesterday.
UK Oil and Gas (UKOG) has submitted a bid for a 200km area covering the Southern part of the Isle of Wight as part of the UK 14th landward licence round.
The company said its board had drawn the first $1million of a new $10million unsecured debt facility to submit its application.
Oil has been discovered at the Horse Hill-1 well, which sits just 3km from Gatwick airport in the Weald Basin.
UK Oil and Gas, which owns a 20% working interest in the development, said preliminary evaluation of the electric logs has shown an oil accumulation in the conventional Upper Jurassic Portland Sandstone.
UK Oil and Gas have announced operations at the Horse Hill-1 site produced oil shows during mud logging.
The discovery, which shows evidence of reservoirs with oil, was found between a measured depth (MD) of between 2,100 to 2,140 feet.
The UK's appeal as a destination for renewable energy investment has fallen dramatically, according to a survey published today.
Ernst and Young LLP's survey Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness found that the UK was 7th in the rundown of desirable renewable energy locations, its lowest level in almost five years
