New Zealand-focused oil and gas company Kea Petroleum today announced the relinquishment of its Mercury licence, PEP 52333, offshore Taranaki, and an update on its ongoing strategic review. The Mercury permit was awarded to Kea on October 13, 2010. It covers an area 90 square miles, mainly offshore in the north Taranaki area.
China’s emissions of climate-warming carbon dioxide fell last year for the first time in more than a decade, offering fresh evidence that efforts to control pollution in the nation of 1.4billion people are gaining traction. Total carbon emissions in the world’s second-biggest economy dropped by 2% in 2014, compared with the previous year.
Labour will legislate to give the regulator the power to order energy companies to cut their prices by the end of the year if the party gains office at the UK general-election in May, Ed Miliband is promising. The Labour leader has indicated that one of his first acts in government would be to push through a bill requiring Ofgem to conduct a review of energy prices by the autumn, with the power to enforce reductions if they are deemed to be too high.
Energy service giant Wood Group has been awarded a contract by Statoil, on behalf of Gassco, for engineering modifications and upgrades to its Kollsnes gas plant, west of Bergen, Norway. The estimated value of the contract, including options and procurement, is more than £41million.
Canadian energy firm Husky Energy has started oil production at the Sunrise Energy Project in northern Alberta. Chief executive Asim Ghosh said: "Sunrise is the latest in a series of resilient, low sustaining capital projects to come online from our diverse portfolio.
Brent oil rose more than a dollar to above $58 a barrel today as the US currency weakened and Iraqi security forces battled Islamic State fighters in Tikrit. The dollar fell after US retail sales unexpectedly fell for a third straight month in February as harsh weather likely dampened consumer spending.
We all know the North Sea is in uncharted territory and the headlines over the past few months speak for themselves. “North Sea oil industry close to collapse”, “North Sea oil at point of no return”, and “oil price crash threatens the future of the North Sea oil fields” are just a few. I’m sure you get the gist.
The UK Government “sailed too close to the wind” before taking measures to keep the lights on, at a cost to taxpayers and the environment, peers have said. An inquiry by the Lords science and technology committee, prompted by concerns over blackouts as the country’s capacity to meet peak demand was squeezed, found it would take an “improbable” sequence of events to put the lights out nationally.
The entire board of Spain’s Banco de Madrid has resigned after its Andorran owner was accused by the US of siphoning money from Venezuela's state oil on behalf of clients. The seven-member board stood down to “defend the interests of employees and clients” and “eliminate any doubt about the stability” of the bank.
GDF Suez Exploration and Production UK and co-venturers today announced a new discovery in the UK central North Sea. The 22/16-6 well on the Dalziel structure flowed at rates in excess of 8,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The UK is to use its "world-leading" climate and adaptation expertise to help countries successfully tackle climate change, Energy Secretary Ed Davey said today. Launching the initiative at a round-table meeting of leading environmental organisations and UK Government officials in London, he said: "The UK is a global leader in tackling climate change and the major threat it poses to our prosperity and security.
Shares in Iraqi Kurdistan oil producer Gulf Keystone Petroleum fell in London trading after it said it was trying to change the conditions of a bond as it attempts to raise funds. Gulf Keystone's stock dropped as much as 11% at one point this morning.
Celtic Renewables, said to be the world’s first company to produce biofuel capable of powering cars from residues of the whisky industry, has received £500,000 in a new round of investment. The latest cash injection takes the Edinburgh company's valuation to £10million.
French oil major Total is reportedly selling its stake in the North Sea Laggan-Tormore oil and gas field as it seeks to shed assets after a steep fall in oil prices. According to banking sources, Total hopes to get up to £1billion for its 80% operating stake in the field, located about 78 miles north-west of Shetland.
Recent weeks have seen much focus on whether Scotland will have the right balance of generation to keep the lights on as some of its older power stations start to close. There is, rightly, an intense scrutiny of the system’s capacity to ensure that electricity supplies are secure.
Europe’s biggest oil companies are gaining support from an unlikely source as they confront the industry’s worst slump since the financial crisis: lower oil prices. Although better known for their oil fields, refineries, and petrol stations, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total are also the world’s biggest oil traders.
Oil and gas explorer SOCO International today rewarded investors with an offer of share dividends worth a total of more than £33million despite a slump in 2014 profits. The company posted a pre-tax gain of £101.9million, down from £222.4million the year before.
The escalating final cost of cleaning up hazardous waste at the nuclear site at Sellafield is still uncertain, as UK Government officials and the site's owners and managers cannot guarantee when costs will plateau. Last year, Parliament's public accounts committee criticised the management of Sellafield for huge cost overuns, project delays and expensive staff.
Shell boss Ben van Beurden received a pay package worth a total of £19.5million in 2014, the oil and gas giant's latest annual report shows. The figure includes a £1.4million salary, a £3.3million bonus, £10.7million pension top-up and various other benefits.
Oil giant ExxonMobil said today its fire brigade had quickly put out a fire at its 155,000-barrel-a-day Torrance, California, refinery. There were no injuries in the blaze, it added.
UK Oil and Gas Investments (UKOGI) said today it has completed the previously announced acquisitions of interests in offshore licence P1916 (offshore Isle of Wight) and onshore licence PEDL 126 (containing the Markwells Wood oil discovery). The licence interests acquired by UKOGI comprise a 7.5% interest in P1916 from Egdon (E&P), a 5% interest in P1916 from Montrose Industries and a 10% interest in PEDL126 from Egdon Resources UK.
Blue-chip shares staged a muted recovery yesterday following a £44billion fall in the value of the FTSE 100 Index in the previous session. The index closed 18.7 points higher at 6,721.5 but it was a small gain after three days of losses culminating in the steepest fall in five months on Tuesday, when it fell by 173 points or 2.5%.
An explosion has killed three people and injured one at an oil and gas field in west Texas, well owner Parsley Energy said yesterday. America's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it was investigating the disaster about 50 miles south of Midland.
Greenpeace has appealed to Britain's transparency watchdog, the Information Commissioner, over the UK Government’s "repeated refusal" to publish the full version of a heavily redacted report on the impacts of fracking. The environmental campaigners want ministers to release the report in full before a crucial vote by Lancashire authorities on whether to allow shale firm Cuadrilla to frack in the area.
A north-east well technology company says it is on the brink of significant growth as it chases projected turnover of nearly £20million for 2017. Delphian Ballistics, formed in 2013, claims its perforating gun can “unlock efficiencies” and increase well flow performance by 50%.
