Billionaire industrialist Sir Jim Ratcliffe has blamed Britain's lack of industrial strategy and levies on carbon polluters for the closure of the UK's last plant producing synthetic ethanol.
Christopher O’Shea, chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica, has said he is “worried” about low gas reserves this winter.
Aberdeen-headquartered ASCO has been awarded a £70 million contract by Aker BP for work across its Norwegian operations.
2024 ended on a high at Concordia Damen, with the Dutch shipbuilding group reaching the roughly halfway stage in the design, build and delivery of two 550ft (167.5m) roll–on–roll–off wind turbine systems carriers for fellow Dutch company Amasus, with delivery of the first sister expected later this year (2025).
Falcon Oil and Gas said it would be pursuing “all options” after its partner in a three-well drilling programme failed to complete work on time. Last year Falcon Oil and Gas extended an agreement with Nafta Industrija Srbije jsc (NIS) by five months. The companies had agreed in 2013 to complete a three-well drilling programme targeting the Algyo Play in Hungary.
A moratorium on fracking is needed amid concerns over local environmental risks and climate change, a committee of MPs has demanded. The cross-party Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) warned extensive production of unconventional shale gas, which is extracted through the controversial process of fracking, is not compatible with the UK’s goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The committee also called for fracking to be “prohibited outright” in protected areas such as national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and ancient woodlands, and banned in all water source protection zones, which feed drinking water aquifers.
Aberdeen Central SNP MSP Kevin Stewart has claimed politicians who supported amendments to a controversial piece of Westminster legislation are guilty of a “complete betrayal of oil workers across the north-east”. Scottish Labour MPs Mark Lazarowicz and Katy Clark and Scottish Liberal Democrat MP Alan Reid all put their names behind the changes to the Infrastructure Bill, which will be debated today. Members of Westminster’s environmental audit committee tabled an amendment calling for the removal of a section, which would enshrine in law “the objective of maximising the economic recovery of UK petroleum”.
Battle lines have been drawn between North Sea firms and thousands of workers over plans to shake-up shift patterns. American firms Apache and Marathon have both unveiled proposals to replace “two weeks on, two/three weeks off” rotations with “three weeks on, three weeks off” (3:3). The move was revealed after operators and contractors including BP and Talisman Sinopec announced plans to make hundreds of redundancies in recent weeks.
BG Group has become the latest firm to cut its contractor rates in the wake of the fall off in oil prices. A staff meeting was held Friday in Aberdeen where people were informed of the priorities for the year, the need to improve efficiency and the decision to reduce contractor rates by an average of 10%. BG employs 230 contractors in Aberdeen.
A group of MPs has been accused of putting thousands of jobs and the entire UK oil and gas industry in "peril" after launching a bid to derail crucial North Sea reforms. The 10 politicians were branded "ill-informed" after attempting scupper a "crucial" measure recommended last year by Sir Ian Wood in his landmark review. On Monday, MPs will discuss the Infrastructure Bill for the final time, including a section which would enshrine in law "the objective of maximising the economic recovery of UK petroleum".
Fire protection company Blaze Manufacturing Solutions is poised to increase both revenues and staff by more than 20% this year 2015 after securing a string of deals worth a total of £2million. Contracts won by the Laurencekirk-based firm, which supplies fire protection systems to oil and gas operators, include a chemical cleaning services deal worth around £1million. Blaze – which lists Amec, Petrofac, Taqa and Wood Group among its clients – secured a pair of multi-million pound contracts last year, [2013-14] which boosted turnover to £18.25million.
Global Energy Group is preparing to unveil over 2,000 feet of fresh quay at its base in Nigg Bay as ports all along the east coast get ready for a step-change in the offshore wind sector. Steve Thompson, business development director at Global, will tell Scotland’s largest offshore wind conference in Aberdeen on Tuesday [27 JANUARY] that the extra quayside space will provide services for the renewables industry. Global bought the former oil rig yard at Nigg Bay on the Cromarty Firth in 2011 and has signed a memorandum of understanding with Moray Offshore Renewables, which plans to erect wind turbines in the firth.
Faroe Petroleum said it was “well placed” to consider attractive acquisitions this year as the falling oil and gas price sees rivals selling off assets. The company said its strong cash position and undrawn debt facilities mean it expected 2015 to be “another year of growth”. The firm, which has the largest stake in Norwegian oil fields for a UK-based company, said post-tax exploration and appraisal costs were expected to run to £25million while production capex was expected to be £16million this year.
Oilfield technology company Plexus Holdings is on the brink of a major breakthrough in the global subsea industry, bosses said yesterday. Engineering and testing stages for its new subsea wellhead system are well advanced and the firm is preparing to take on the main players who currently dominate the market. Craig Hendrie and Graham Stevens, technical and finance director respectively, also highlighted the firm’s progress in adapting its innovative Pos-Grip technology for use in high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) exploration well tiebacks.
Energy Secretary Ed Davey has admitted that the world oil price collapse took him by "surprise" – but insisted the North Sea’s future was not all "doom and gloom". He also reassured MPs that the new Aberdeen-based Oil and Gas Authority remained on track to be up and running by April. The Liberal Democrat minister was giving evidence to Westminster’s energy and climate change committee.
Cairn Energy has completed a farm out agreement for the sale of the Catcher development. The firm will sell a 10% working interest in the North Sea to Dyas UK.
An investigation has been launched after a suspected gas leak in the North Sea. Oil major Shell, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will review the incident, which happened earlier this week close to the Curlew Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO). Specialist divers from the Bibby Polaris Dive Support Vessel (DSV) are currently on site to close two vales which will isolate the vessel from the Fulmar pipeline.
Proposals for “fracking” for shale gas at two sites in Lancashire should be refused, planning officers have recommended. Lancashire County Council has published reports with recommendations on planning applications from shale company Cuadrilla to develop two new sites to explore for shale gas by drilling, fracking and testing the flow of gas. The council’s development control committee is due to make decisions next week on the planning applications for the two sites, at Preston New Road, near Little Plumpton, and Roseacre Wood, near Roseacre, both between Blackpool and Preston.
George Osborne has confirmed that he will deliver new North Sea tax cuts within weeks – but also signalled that he wants to ban Scots MPs from voting on the Budget. The chancellor said he was "sure" that there would be "further steps" to protect oil and gas jobs in the Budget on March 18. The pledge was made by the Conservative minister as he gave evidence to Westminster’s Treasury select committee yesterday.
Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls has insisted Labour will announce “detailed plans” to reform the tax regime for the North Sea if George Osborne does not act swiftly. The Labour MP would not be drawn on the specifics of any future policy yesterday, but argued that the Chancellor cannot afford to wait until the Budget in March to make changes to secure jobs and safeguard investment. Speaking in Aberdeen amid news of fresh lay-offs in the north-east, Mr Balls also argued the Scottish Government could be doing more to mitigate against the wider impact of the oil industry downturn.
More than 150 investors including local authorities and the Church of England have filed a resolution calling on oil giant BP to assess and manage climate change risks. The shareholders, which include multibillion-pound pension funds, investors and insurers, have already filed an identical resolution to Shell. They are calling on the oil companies to transparently “stress-test” their business model against the commitment made by governments not to let global temperatures rise more than 2C above pre-industrial levels - the threshold above which “dangerous” climate change is expected.
Fresh measures to shore up the Scottish oil industry in the wake of tumbling prices are set to be announced in the Budget, George Osborne has indicated. Analysis by the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) that suggests an independent Scotland could have been up to £7 billion worse off as a result of falling oil revenue “reminds everyone of the risk of independence”, the Chancellor said. Mr Osborne lambasted predictions made by the SNP during the referendum campaign about the finances North Sea oil would generate for the nation as “wildly optimistic”.
Lundin Petroleum has confirmed the start of drilling on a North Sea well. Exploration well 26/10-1 will investigate the hydrocarbon potential of the Zulu prospect in PL674BS, 100 km west of Stavanger on the Norwegian west coast.
Talisman Sinopec said 300 jobs from its North Sea operations are set to go. The company, which has around 3,000 staff in the North East of Scotland, said the losses include 100 employees and 200 contractors. The move follows companies including Schlumberger and BP who both announced last week they would cut a number of positions.
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls will join Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy in Aberdeen today as the party launches a day of action on the “crisis” in the oil and gas sector. Mr Balls, who writes exclusively for Energy Voice's sister publication, the Press and Journal today, will meet industry representatives as pressure grows on the coalition to offer significant tax cuts in the Budget next month. Shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran will also lead the opposition response to a Commons debate on the North Sea, which has been called by Aberdeen MP Frank Doran.
ITC Hydraulics has launched a new rental division, investing more than £200,000 to get it up and running. The firm, which deigns, manufactures, services and refurbishes a range of specialist equipment for clients including Subsea 7, Aker Solutions and Oceaneering, said it was seeing increased demand for rentals. It previously sub-contracted rental work but is now taking it all in-house.
Work on EnQuest’s new North Sea headquarters in Aberdeen is proceeding as planned despite the firm’s plunging share price and oil and gas industry woes. It is understood that there is no threat to the development in the heart of the Granite City, where EnQuest’s new north-east home – Annan House – is taking shape. It is part of a bigger project, known as The Grande, which is helping to regenerate a long-neglected part of Aberdeen.
Union bosses have called for an end to what they branded "slash and burn" tactics in the oil and gas industry. They made the plea after offshore giant BP's announcement earlier this week 300 jobs would go. The price of Brent crude has dropped to a six-year low, fuelling fears of widespread redundancies.
Industry experts have given their perspective on what is happening in the sector, the price of oil, and the current challenges and opportunities there could be. It follows the announcement by a number of companies, including BP and Schlumberger, that job redundancies would be made across their global and North Sea operations. Graham Stewart, chief executive of Faroe Petroleum, said it would be the companies "with good growth prospect, strong balace sheets and good hedges in place who will ride this storm most effectively."
