Category: United Kingdom

ENLARGE British North Sea oil production fell 1.1% in 2014 compared with the previous year, an industry report said Tuesday. That is down around 70% since the North Sea’s peak in 1999. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images LONDON—Oil production in the British section of the North Sea declined in 2014 amid rising costs, high taxes and low oil prices , underscoring the need for more investment and exploration there, an industry association said Tuesday. The report by Oil & Gas U.K., a lobbying group, comes as the oil industry has stepped up pressure on the U.K. government to cut taxes and streamline the complex regime for the oil and gas sector in its March budget amid the North Sea’s decline. British North Sea production fell by 1.1% in 2014 compared with the previous year to 1.42 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, the report said. That is down around […]

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Oil rig Spending on new North Sea oil and gas projects is to plunge by a third this year, industry operators warned on Tuesday, with the basin draining cash at its fastest rate since the 1970s. In a bleak assessment of Britain’s future as an energy producer, Oil & Gas UK, which represents the offshore industry, says that rising costs, heavy taxes and a near-50 per cent slide in crude prices could lead to accelerated decommissioning of older fields. More On this topic IN Oil & Gas “Without sustained investment in new and existing fields, critical infrastructure will disappear, taking with it important North Sea hubs, effectively sterilising areas of the basin and leaving oil and gas in the ground,” said Malcolm Webb, chief executive of the group. Another couple of years of low prices “could take a terrible toll on the North Sea”. Its annual survey of operators, […]

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The next few months will be a critical period in the history of the North Sea. After 50 years which have seen 42 billion barrels of oil and gas produced, the province could now see a significant proportion of activity brought to a premature end. Fields which are uneconomic at current prices could be closed down and then decommissioned. Much of of the oil and gas which remains ( between 12 and 24 bn barrels ) could be left behind, undeveloped and valueless. For some fields, such as Brent, the exhaustion of reserves makes decommissioning inevitable. For others, however, we should be finding a way to maintain operations and to ensure that the resources in place can be developed when prices rise again. A 50 per cent fall in prices would be a nasty shock for any business anywhere in the world but the fall in oil prices is […]

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Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Feb 19 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Thursday rejected BP Plc’s attempt to reduce the maximum civil fine it could face for its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, leaving it potentially liable to pay $13.7 billion under the federal Clean Water Act. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans agreed with the federal government that the maximum civil penalty that BP could face is $4,300 per barrel spilled. BP had sought a $3,000 per barrel maximum, equal to a maximum $9.57 billion civil fine. Barbier has not decided how much BP should pay, and it is unclear when he will. Setting a fine is the last step in a civil trial overseen by Barbier to determine responsibility and penalties for the April 20, 2010 blowout of the Macondo oil well, which killed 11 workers and caused […]

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BP is a shadow of its pre-Gulf of Mexico spill self, having sold more than half its pipelines, 35% of wells and 12% of reserves As head of the world’s biggest energy company, ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson has the clout to snap up BP in a single bite If ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson really wanted to, he could snap up BP in a single bite. Of all the UK major’s rivals, Exxon, the world’s biggest energy company, has the firepower to swallow BP whole. Could it happen? Some industry insiders think yes. Almost five years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, BP’s share price is languishing 30 per cent below where it was before the oil spill. BP’s total shareholder return has sharply underperformed those of its peers over the past decade. The near-50 per cent tumble in oil prices since the summer — […]

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(Bloomberg) — BP Plc isn’t covered under Transocean Ltd.’s insurance policies for the doomed Macondo well project, the Texas Supreme Court said, blocking the oil company’s access to $750 million to pay costs from the 2010 spill. The decision conflicts with an earlier ruling by a U.S. appeals court that Transocean’s carriers couldn’t deny coverage for pollution-related liabilities for a disaster that has already cost BP more than $28 billion. The appeals court later withdrew the opinion and asked the Texas justices to rule on contract interpretation. The Texas Supreme Court said Transocean’s insurance policy had to be read in context with the company’s drilling contract with BP, as the two documents “are inextricably intertwined.” BP can’t claim status as “an additional insured” because of limits in the drilling contract, the Texas court said. “BP is not entitled to coverage under the Transocean insurance policies for damages arising from […]

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British government extends exploration permits for shale gas to Cuadrilla Resources. Photo by photostock77/Shutterstock LONDON, Feb. 6 (UPI) — With federal permits in hand, British shale gas pioneer Cuadrilla Resources said Friday it was committed to a light environmental permit despite public uproar. The British Environment Agency gave the company permits to carry out shale gas exploration at its Roseacre Wood site in Lanchashire. "Following such a rigorous review and public consultation of all of our permit applications by the regulator, this unequivocally demonstrates that, as we have committed, our proposed exploratory operations will be carried out responsibly ensuring the local environment is protected," Cuadrilla Chief Executive Officer Francis Egan said in a statement. The British government said the permits granted to the company spell out ways in which it needs to protect regional groundwater and surface water supplies, ensure air quality is within safe limits and dispose, store […]

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Shell recommends decommissioning of oil rig, not pictured, in the North Sea. Photo by James Jones Jr./Shutterstock THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Feb. 3 (UPI) — Taking down a legacy platform in the North Sea is part of the natural stage of maturation in the Brent oil and gas field, Royal Dutch Shell said Tuesday. Shell said the process for decommissioning the Delta platform — one of four installations at the field — begins with a 30-day public consultation period beginning Feb. 16. The Brent basin in the North Sea is one of the most mature in the world and its crude oil blends make up the global benchmark price for oil. The Dutch oil major said the Brent field accounted for about 10 percent of the oil and gas produced in the British waters of the North Sea since operations began in 1976. Alistair Hope, decommissioning director for Shell, said […]

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