Statoil’s new managing director of production in the UK has taken over her new position with the Norwegian operator. Tove Stuhr Sjoblom will head up the firm’s offices in Aberdeen with responsibility for upstream development and production activities in the UK and Ireland. Sjoblom replaces Gunnar Breivik who will now head up Statoil’s corporate investigation unit.
British spies are expected to scrutinise computer systems at new nuclear plants built by Chinese firms to address national security fears. Listening post GCHQ will be responsible for ensuring the country’s energy network is not made vulnerable to cyber attacks, according to The Times. The safeguard emerged as President Xi Jinping arrives for a four-day state visit hailed by David Cameron as a symbol of a “golden era” in relations with Beijing.
Cuts in Government support for renewable energy send a “perverse signal” to other countries about the UK’s attitude on the issue, the head of the UN environment programme has said. As other countries embrace renewable energy Britain looks to be going the other way, Professor Jacqueline McGlade said. Recent moves by the Government to cut support for clean onshore wind and solar power send out the wrong message, she said, ahead of the UN climate change conference which begins in Paris at the end of next month.
Weatherford has launched a consultation with staff in its UK operations for up to 75 positions. The move comes after the company revealed earlier this year it would be making redundancies across the globe as it looks to streamline costs. The redundancies will affect staff in its North Sea operations and staff have been informed of the move.
SNP members have narrowly rejected a bid to toughen up the party’s stance on fracking amid calls for an outright ban. The strength of opposition among members to the controversial shale gas extraction technique was revealed during a debate at the party’s conference in Aberdeen. Several speakers called for a motion from the party’s Leith branch, backing the Scottish Government’s moratorium on fracking, to be reconsidered and strengthened.
Energy Secretary Amber Rudd has rejected claims the renewables sector is under attack from the UK Government. The Conservatives have been criticised by the industry for the early closure of the Renewables Obligation (RO) subsidy amid warnings it will deter investment and risk thousands of jobs. Concerns have also been raised that ending the scheme from April – a year earlier than expected – will increase carbon emissions significantly.
Experts have expressed concern about the prospect of Chinese investment in the UK nuclear power sector, with claims the move could threaten national security. A final investment decision on the new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point, Somerset, could be announced during Chinese president Xi Jinping’s state visit. Chancellor George Osborne has already announced a £2 billion Government guarantee to secure Chinese funding for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station set to be built by French firm EDF, and indicated that the next step may be a Chinese-designed, Chinese-built nuclear plant at Bradwell in Essex.
Talks are being held with Wood Group and Bilfinger Industrial Services staff working at the Sullom Voe Terminal in Shetland over the future of up to more than 200 positions. Wood Group is in discussions regarding around 90 positions at the BP-operated terminal following a review of its personnel requirements brought on by changes being made to work on the site. Meanwhile Bilfinger Industrial Services said it had also initiated consultation due to changes in seasonal workloads and winter working conditions.
Scotland is taking the lead in Britain as it forges ahead with deploying onshore wind, according to new findings by Renewable UK. The report “Wind Energy in the UK” says although England is missing out on some of the economic benefits of onshore wind it is trailblazing ahead in the offshore wind sector. More than 60% of UK onshore wind projects are now installed and operational in Scotland generating an annual turnover of £211million. The overall turnover for the UK as a whole was £402million – with Scotland bringing in more than half of that revenue.
Two north-east businessmen have launched a new engineering firm targeting the subsea, drilling and renewable-energy sectors. Stuart Mackie and Innes Smith, managing director and engineering manager respectively at Aberdeenshire manufacturing and fabrication company Fabritech UK, have invested more than £500,000 in machinery, tooling and software for their new venture. They have called it Engineering Solutions and Rental (ESR) and initially based it at Fabritech’s headquarters at Insch Business Park.
Plans for a community-owned solar park to help power a village which was at the centre of Britain’s biggest anti-fracking protests have been approved. Campaigners said the 5MW solar park would not only match the electricity demand of Balcombe in West Sussex but also the nearby village of West Hoathly. In the summer of 2013, thousands of protesters descended on Balcombe after energy firm Cuadrilla started exploratory drilling for oil, sparking fears that it would go on to frack there.
Findings from a trade body claim the UK Government plans to spend less on solar energy over the next three years than previously estimated. Fresh analysis from the Solar Trade Association said recent proposals by the government, published in response to the Fee-in Tariff review, would see a maximum of £7million of support spent on new solar deployment. Spending will fall from a current rate of less than £70million per year to £2million per year - a 98% cut in the total budget.
Dolphin Drilling is in consultation with staff over potential job reductions across its offshore fleet. The company’s offshore activities, which are controlled from offices in Scotland, Norway and Mozambique, have confirmed the move. A spokeswoman for Dolphin Drilling said talks were being carried out with those likely to be affected.
The Government should invest revenues from UK shale gas production in research and development of renewables and low carbon technology, it has been urged. Shale gas, which is extracted through controversial fracking, could play a role as a “bridge” to a low carbon future, Lord Chris Smith said as the task force on shale gas he chairs published a report on the climate impacts of the fuel. But to minimise its impact and to ensure it does not hinder the development of renewables, the Government needs to invest the revenues it received from energy taxes and royalties into research and development of low carbon technology. The money could give more of a push to areas such as battery storage, which allows power from intermittent renewables to be stored until it is needed, and to technologies including wave and tidal power which need to be developed, he said.
Inflation slipped back to zero last month as petrol price falls and muted rises for new fashion ranges kept a lid on the cost of living. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation fell from 0.1% in July. CPI has hovered around zero since February. It means the Bank of England continues to face little pressure to raise interest rates, though some officials think underlying inflationary pressure is building as the economy recovers. Inflation was pulled lower as the price of a litre of diesel fell by 6.2p and petrol by 2.4p, both more sharply than in the same period last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Hurricane Energy is cracking on with plans to extract oil from 4,000 feet beneath the seabed after its North Sea Lancaster asset was officially designated as an oilfield. The Surrey-based company was founded in 2005 by chief executive Robert Trice to discover and develop oil from naturally fractured “basement” reservoirs in rock that was formed more than 2billion years ago. It has just achieved official oilfield status for Lancaster, located west of Shetland, from the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA).
The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has granted Hurricane Energy’s request for a field determination area for Lancaster. The company has been awarded the oil field status as oil field number 572 which Hurricane says is the first step in progressing the submission of the Lancaster early production system (EPS) field development plan (FDP).
Aker Solution has strengthened its team with the appointment of a new regional president for the UK and Africa. David Clark will oversee expansion and support operations in the key markets using more than 30 years of experience in the oilfield services. Clark most recently worked as vice president of production facilities for Schlumberger as well as positions earlier in his career at Wood Group and Technip.
Europa Oil & Gas believes there may be more oil in its Lincolnshire well than it had earlier thought.
Chinese shipyard Cosco Corporation (Singapore) has successfully won an arbitration case in the UK. The case was against a compatriot rig owner in relation to an axed $500million-plus drillship newbuild deal. A spokesman for the company said the matter related to a previous announcement in October 2013.
British Gas has been criticised for not doing more to help hard-pressed households - on the day it announced a 5% reduction in gas prices.
Britain must tread carefully in its newly thawed relationship Iran, but the two countries can work together to defeat Islamic State (IS) militants, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has suggested.
IGas said it has been offered six new licences in the first group of licences awarded in the UK’s 14th onshore oil and gas licensing round. The company said the licences are located in the Gainsborough Trough in the East Midnlands and include exploration prospects for both shale gas and conventional oil and gas. IGas already operate 80 sites in the area with many having been in production for more than 20 years.
TCO said it has expanded its workforce by a third after strong sales results for the company. The well completion technologies provider has employed eight new members of staff within the past six months for its UK base, including a new managing director. Paul Betteridge was appointed in March in response to company growth and to focus on TCO’s international expansion.
Fracking applications could be pushed ahead under what the government have described as a “swift process” for developing safe and suitable new sites. Earlier this week, it was reported that the Conservative government would move to fast-track applications, through a new dedicated planning process. Energy Minister Amber Rudd and Communities Secretary Greg Clark have today confirmed the plans which they say will ensure local people in England have a “strong say” over the development of shale exploration in their area.