Centrica seeks £2.2bn to help fund nuclear stake
BRITISH Gas firm Centrica said yesterday it planned to tap shareholders for £2.2billion to fund the acquisition of a 25% stake in nuclear generator British Energy (BE).
Oil & Gas
OMV prepares to battle Tornado
OMV is seeking to reduce its exposure to risk at the Tornado prospect west of Shetland by farming out a large chunk of the licences which it straddles prior to drilling early next year.
Iran, Qatar and Russia setting up Opec clone
LONG talked about, the three biggest players in the global gas game are joining forces to create an Opec-style cartel. This, in turn, will drive up gas prices, especially in Europe.
Clough AMEC bags Barrow Island
AMEC'S Australian-based joint venture, Clough AMEC, has been awarded a contract by Chevron to provide engineering services for its oil production facilities at Barrow Island and Thevenard Island offshore Western Australia.
Flagship Iran field mired by delays
IRANIAN president Mahmud Ahmadinejad has inaugurated the South Pars phases 6, 7 and 8, and phases 9 and 10 are expected onstream within a few months, according to the Iranian News Agency.
Greater collaboration set to add value to the global industry
THE UK's Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) hosted a pioneering global technology summit in Aberdeen that has set the wheels in motion for greater collaboration between the world's leading technology organisations.
Targeting deep offshore
LAST year, PetroChina announced its Jidong Nanpu discovery in Bohai Bay, which could be China's biggest oil find in 50 years, at an estimated 7billion barrels.
National energy security – what’s that?
Meanwhile, the NOCs have been investing heavily in expanding their refinery capacity away from a dependence on light sweet crude, the mainstay of domestic production, so as to take advantage of a wider range of resource investments around the globe.
Keep your people, warns Simmons
Leading energy banker Matt Simmons is warning upstream oil&gas against knee-jerk reactions, especially cutting back on investment and jobs - battening down the hatches.
‘Not required back’ offshore – take care
Oil & Gas UK recently announced its intention to publish new guidelines with respect to the somewhat contentious practice offshore colloquially known as "NRB", or "not required back".
Roller-coaster oil prices may suit Opec
I don't know where world oil prices will be when you read this, but as I write they have collapsed from a peak of $147 per barrel to $65.
Commonsense decision – at last
Last month's Government reshuffle included two significant changes that I have been advocating for a long time. Indeed, coming on top of the Damascene conversion to nuclear power, I am feeling a little bit like the prophet whose hour has come.
China – the global oil game-changer
China's oil majors are counting a bundle of mixed blessings this year as they seek to recover their confidence abroad after striking out on the acquisition trail in 2007.
Banking on a better future?
Three or four years ago, and prompted by some comments from a friend at one of the universities who had some very ungenerous things to say about the man, I sent an e-mail to Fred Goodwin.
It’s time to keep a cool head
Last week, as oil prices threatened to slide below $60, the Press and Journal understandably reported on the potential for damage to the UK's offshore industry - and rightly so. But it was presented in a balanced, responsible manner, without sensationalising the issue and avoiding words such as panic.
First of three Awilco biggies launched
Yantai Raffles has successfully loaded out the first of three semi-submersible drilling rigs under construction for Awilco Offshore.
Offshore Wind Accelerator deal signed
The Carbon Trust has signed a groundbreaking agreement in offshore wind with five international energy companies: DONG Energy (Denmark), Airtricity Developments (UK), RWE Innogy (Germany), ScottishPower Renewables (UK) and StatoilHydro (Norway).
Carbon clock is ticking, warns agency
The cost of curbing even just carbon dioxide (CO) emissions will inflate by billions of dollars if 10,000 carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects are not in place worldwide by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) claims.
StatoilHydro’s perseverance pays off
StatoilHydro's latest appraisal of its North Sea Dagny discovery on block 15/5 indicates that the field holds reserves in the range 130-170million barrels oil equivalent.
Nautronix positions itself for big push with Petrobras
Aberdeen company Nautronix is shipping £4million ($7million) worth of its equipment to the US Gulf of Mexico to provide subsea acoustic positioning services to Brazilian company Petrobras, which is opening up the Cascade and Chinook fields as a co-ordinated development.
Going back to school pays off for AMEC
AMEC went back to school to win top honours at the Offshore Contractors' Association (OCA) awards in Aberdeen last night.
TAQA North Sea strategy unchanged by recent events
The boss of Abu Dhabi national energy company TAQA said yesterday that its strategic plan remained unaffected by recent events in financial markets.
EnerMech adds third business to its portfolio this month
Aberdeen mechanical service company EnerMech yesterday announced its third acquisition in less than a month.
Shell announces huge profits jump despite fall in production
OIL giant Royal Dutch Shell yesterday joined the profits bonanza from record prices with a 71% jump in third-quarter earnings.
New transatlantic shipping service up and running
A new scheduled transatlantic shipping connection between Aberdeen and the Gulf of Mexico will deliver its first cargo of oilfield equipment to the north-east port this weekend.