Noreco’s wildcat well comes-up dry
Noreco’s wildcat well has come-up dry.
Statoil cancels contract with Diamond Offshore
Statoil has terminated its rig contract with Diamond Offshore drilling over a ‘technical aspect of the rig’.
Warren Buffett’s $26billion renewables bet set to pay off
Warren Buffett’s $26 billion bet on western U.S. power plants, transmission lines and wind farms is poised to pay off. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., with the help of California’s grid operator, is moving to unite the holdings under a single market capable of dispatching power across seven states every five minutes. The system, designed to handle sudden swings in supply and demand, would revolutionise the markets from Oregon to Nevada, where 38 transmission operators manually balance their territories on an hourly basis. The move would be a game-changer for the renewables that Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co. has accumulated over the past decade, including two of the world’s largest solar farms, and for other clean-power producers, according to those who trade in the region’s markets. Berkshire’s plants stand to run for longer periods of time, and its NV Energy Inc. and PacifiCorp utilities will save as much as $63.9million annually by 2017, Energy and Environmental Economics Inc. reports show.
Turmoil in Ukraine should trigger energy wake-up call
The turmoil in Ukraine should be a wake-up call for Europe’s looming fuel and food crisis, campaigners have warned.
CNR International plugs well
Work to plug an oil well on a North Sea platform amid fears it could start leaking has been completed.
Scottish Renewables call for hydro power potential to be unlocked
Scottish Renewables will today call for a new body to examine the potential of hydro power to unlock £1billion of investment and deliver a boost to UK energy security.
BP and Amec leaders head-up Oil & Gas UK board
Oil & Gas UK today confirmed two senior appointments to its board.
The Bennachie Oilfield
University of Aberdeen geologist Dr Stuart Archer explains how he brings reservoirs to life for his students.
Marathon Oil sells Norwegian assets, retains UK business
Marathon Oil today confirmed it will sell off its Norwegian units for $2.1billion.
Tory MSP branded a “hypocrite” over windfarm
A Highland Conservative MSP has been branded a "hypocrite" for trying to make millions of pounds out of a windfarm on his 3,500-acre estate.
Norwegian authorities reject Greenpeace’s Statoil appeal
The Norwegian authorities have rejected Greenpeace’s appeal to stop Statoil from drilling the country's northernmost exploration well.
Phil Sharp and Imperial College team-up to develop zero-carbon yacht for Vendée Globe
Phil Sharp Racing and the Imperial College London’s Energy Futures Lab have joined forces to develop a zero-carbon racing yacht.
India’s biggest energy explorer on the rise
Oil & Natural Gas Corp., India’s biggest energy explorer, reported its steepest increase in profit in seven quarters after writedowns from dry wells fell and a lower rupee countered discounts on crude oil sales.
Petroceltic’s wells come up dry
Petroceltic confirmed exploration wells in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Romania and Egypt all returned disappointing results.
Greenpeace activists in hands of police
A two-day rig stand-off between Statoil and Greenpeace activists has ended.
BP loses bid to stall disputed payments
BP has lost its bid to stall disputed payments while the U.S. Supreme Court reviews its case.
Solar farmers in Japan to harvest energy with crops
Japan’s campaign to boost renewable power supplies since the Fukushima nuclear disaster is producing some unlikely winners: vegetable farmers. Makoto Takazawa and his father Yukio earned 1.7 million yen ($16,700) last fiscal year selling electricity from solar panels that hang in a giant canopy above their farm east of Tokyo. The cash was almost nine times more than they made from the crops growing in the soil below. Harvesting dual incomes from sunlight was a godsend to the Takazawas. They’re among the majority of Japanese farmers who depend on a combination of outside work, pension payments and government subsidies to make a living. The easing of land-use rules and mandates for utilities including Tokyo Electric Power Co. to buy clean energy at premium prices is poised to fuel the spread of panels to more farms. “I was racking my brain to figure out what to do on this land that I’ll take over from my father one day, because growing rice and vegetables doesn’t bring in much money,” Takazawa said. “Then I heard about solar sharing for farmland.”
Greenpeace activists board two drilling rigs in protest of Arctic exploration
Activists from Greenpeace have boarded a rig due to begin drilling Norway’s northernmost exploration well.
Search is on for safety heroes
The search is under way for this year’s offshore safety heroes, with nominations now open for Opito’s Safety and Competency Awards 2014.
Greenpeace activists block Statoil’s most northerly well
Greenpeace activists have lodged a complaint against plans to drill the world’s most northerly well, stopping Statoil in its tracks.
NADL catches Russian break with Rosneft deal
North Atlantic Drilling (NADL) and Seadrill Limited have finalised an investment and co-operation agreement with Rosneft in a bid to capitalise on Russia’s onshore and offshore markets.
Technip strengthens LNG portfolio in China
French energy industry service group Technip has strengthened its LNG portfolio in China. The firm landed a contact with Fengzhen Wanjie Gas for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in China.
Video: Nigeria – the country, the potential, the business
Energy Voice sat down with Victor Onyenkpa of KPMG to understand what makes the Nigerian market tick and how Scotland businesses can be a part of it.
New shale gas proposals offer a fair deal, says minister
The Department of Energy and Climate Change today announced the government will launch a consolation on proposals aimed at simplifying deep underground access for shale and geothermal drilling.
Engineering expertise fostered in North Sea exploration can unlock potential on Mars
The engineering expertise fostered in North Sea exploration can unlock the potential on Mars, according to a leading petroleum engineering specialist.