The long-awaited City Region Deal for the north-east has been announced – and could be finalised within days. Scottish Secretary David Mundell said last night the “full details” of the investment would be revealed “shortly”.
Major changes in the global economy could send further shockwaves through the markets, George Osborne will warn political and business leaders. The Chancellor will say the combination of the slowdown in China’s economy, the US interest rate rise and the collapse in oil prices have created a “hazardous mix”.
The pace of drilling in the North Sea, the center of UK oil production for the past 40 years, has sunk to a record as crashing energy prices force explorers to abandon costly projects. Just 63 percent of oil and gas rigs in the UK North Sea were being used as of Jan. 19, according to data provider RigLogix. That’s the lowest since the Houston-based company started tracking their operation in 2000. In the Norwegian North Sea, the 71 percent rate is also the worst on record.
Stick with oil, it’s could be the “trade of the year,” according to Citigroup Inc. The outlook for crude isn’t all bad, even as prices head for the worst start to a year since 1991 and there are dire warnings of the world drowning in supply. Forecasters from UBS Group AG to Societe Generale SA are predicting a rebound in the second half and Citigroup says the market just needs to weather a surge of exports from Iran after the removal of sanctions.
Cyberhawk said it has seen record growth of more than 100% since 2014 as demand increased from both domestic and global markets. The company, which carries out aerial inspection and survey work using drones, said it had completed work in Europe, the Middle East and North America.
Other energy suppliers must follow and improve upon E.ON’s “long overdue“ move to cut its standard gas price to reflect falling wholesale prices, consumer groups have said. E.ON is to cut its standard gas price by an average of 5.1% from February 1, which it says is the equivalent of £32 off an average annual gas bill.
An MP has resigned from his position on a government committee after it was revealed it had been given funding from companies involved with fracking. Kevin Hollinrake has stepped down as the vice-chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Commmittee on Unconventional Oil and Gas.
The Scottish Secretary has called for a “reboot” of the relationship between the UK and Scottish governments after May’s Holyrood elections.
Union Jack Oil has commenced the drilling operations for its onshore Keddington-5 development well.
ConocoPhillips said up to 50 positions could go after the company offered voluntary redundancy to staff.
Energy firms are overcharging customers and bills should come down for the vast majority of people, the boss of regulator Ofgem has said. The watchdog’s chief executive, Dermot Nolan, said “we really should be seeing bigger retail cuts” due to falling wholesale energy prices.
New figures show record levels of investment in UK and global clean-energy projects. The Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) report says global spending hit an all-time high in 2015, with nearly £230billion invested. Worldwide installed generating capacity also peaked, thanks to 64 gigawatts (GW) of wind power and 57GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy, it adds.
Interest from a metals group in Tata Steel’s two mothballed Lanarkshire plants is a “positive step” for those aiming to keep them open, the business minister has said. Fergus Ewing insisted there was a “degree of optimism” after Liberty House emerged as a potential buyer for the Dalzell and Clydebridge works.
The slump in oil prices that’s brought upheaval and cost cutting to the traditional energy industry spared renewables such as solar and wind, which raked in a record $329.3 billion of investment last year.
Prime Minister David Cameron has claimed the oil revenues of ISIS (Islamic State) have been lowered by as much as 25% since the UK became involved in strikes in Syria last month. The politician was giving evidence before the liaison committee in which he faced questions about his energy and climate change policy.
Alex Salmond has called for a Norwegian-style exploration credit scheme to help stimulate jobs in the North Sea oil industry. The former First Minister spoke in the House of Commons on the same day he took part in his first call-in show for LBC Radio.
A UK minister has insisted she would “bet good money” the SNP will fail to deliver when new powers are devolved to Holyrood. Anna Soubry told the Commons she struggles to receive economy lessons from the “ragtag and bobtail” SNP, which she dismissed as including everything from “Tartan Tories right across to Tartan Trots”. Speaking during a debate on the economy, the Business Minister also claimed an independent Scotland would have been in the “most atrocious economic place“ due to falls in oil prices.
Three in five elderly people will ration their heating this winter amid fears over high energy bills, according to a new survey.
Campaigners who had launched a protest on a test drilling site in England have been removed. Six people were arrested during an operation to remove a group of anti-fracking protesters from a test drilling site.
The chief executive of Oil & Gas UK said companies are being faced with "difficult decisions" as oil major BP announced 600 job losses from its North Sea operations. The head of the industry body said the low oil price has impacted "heavily" on activity across the UKCS. Today, BP said it had informed staff members of plans to cut its North Sea headcount by 20% amid “toughening market conditions”.
Noble Group Ltd. Chairman Richard Elman stepped up his defense of the commodity trader that he founded by boosting his stake after the stock sank to the lowest since 2008, the company’s credit rating was cut to junk and analysts scaled back price targets.
Shell boss Ben van Beurden said he was “very, very confident” oil price would more than double.
Unite workers have voted to accept improved holiday entitlement and a joint review of "three on, three off" from by more than 50% of those balloted.
Britain’s trade deficit narrowed to £3.2 billion in November, as plunging oil prices cut the cost of imports. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the total trade deficit for goods and services fell from £3.5 billion in October. It added that the deficit for goods alone also narrowed to £10.6 billion in November from £11.2 billion the month before.
Renewable energy developer React Energy has secured a €750,000 loan from Spanish firm EBIOSS Energy, as it develops its clean energy portfolio in the UK and Ireland.