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Shell earnings slide on plunging crude price

Royal Dutch Shell is to cut more than $15bn in spending in an effort to plug dwindling revenues from oil sales, as it reported a sharp slide in quarterly earnings due to the plunge in crude prices . The Anglo-Dutch energy group, the first of the world’s big oil companies to report full-year results for 2014, on Thursday signalled that a period of adjustment lay ahead for much of the industry following a near 60 per cent slide in crude prices since last summer to less than $50 a barrel. More On this topic IN Oil & Gas Excluding exceptionals such as tax adjustments from the sale of certain assets, profits for the fourth quarter of last year were $3.26bn, lower than analysts’ estimates of about $4.1bn and down from $5.85bn in the third quarter. But earnings were up 12 per cent from a year ago. Shares in the […]

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Britain’s Guardian: Shale gas ‘questionable’

British newspaper The Guardian questions government’s pursuit of shale natural gas. UPI/Kevin Dietsch LONDON, Jan. 27 (UPI) — An editorial published Tuesday by The Guardian newspaper questioned the British government’s pursuit of shale natural gas, saying leave it alone. "It is, to say the least, questionable for the U.K. to claim the need to bring on stream a new fossil fuel at a time when it is also notionally committed to greening its economy," the newspaper opined . "Fracking will never produce American amounts of shale gas, and certainly won’t even be viable for at least a decade." The British Geological Survey estimates the Bowland shale formation in the north of the country contains 1.3 quadrillion cubic feet of natural gas. The government said it must act carefully in unlocking those reserves, but expressed support for a fledgling sector it says will provide jobs, economic growth and a source […]

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Ministers impose curbs on fracking

Ministers have imposed a series of Labour demands on the UK’s fracking industry, in a last-minute move to avert a House of Commons defeat and pave the way for the development of shale oil and gas across Britain. A group of MPs failed on Monday to derail legislation to help fracking companies extract what experts believe are trillions of cubic feet of gas and billions of barrels of oil trapped beneath the UK. But, in a heated Commons debate, the government accepted an opposition amendment that will strengthen controls on the industry. More On this topic IN UK Politics & Policy Amber Rudd, energy minister, said it would take on board Labour’s proposals, which included tougher environmental monitoring, wider consultation, and a legal compulsion on companies to provide community benefit schemes. Activity in national parks would also be prohibited. Caroline Flint, Labour’s shadow energy and climate change secretary, commenting […]

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London in bed with shale, advocate says

British advocacy group publishes letter it says shows the government is working in favor of natural gas companies reviewing shale’s potential in the country. UPI/Gary C. Caskey LONDON, Jan. 26 (UPI) — The British Friends of the Earth said Monday it was worried by signs suggesting the government was working "hand-in-glove" with the shale gas industry. The group, a vocal opponent to the fledgling shale gas sector in the country, published a letter sent in September by the government to the "highly secret and top-level Economic Affairs Committee" on shale developments in Lancashire. Cuadrilla Resources estimates there may be as much as 200 trillion cubic feet of shale natural gas in the Bowland basin in Lancashire. Last year, the company deposited what it said was "most comprehensive" environment study of its kind to local leaders assessing its drilling ambitions. For Friends of the Earth, the letter shows the government […]

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BP Freezes Employee Pay in Response to Oil Price Slump

BP Plc (BP/) , Europe’s third-largest oil company by market value, will freeze employee pay in the latest example of cost cuts as the world’s top oil companies respond to plunging crude. The company “needs to take a number of measures in response to the harsh trading environment,” Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said in a memo to staff Monday. “One of the measures we are taking is a general freeze to base pay for 2015, with only a few exceptions.” BP, which employs more than 80,000 people around the world, is the first global oil company to announce a pay freeze for staff. Oil has slumped to under $50 a barrel, less than half the price six months ago, forcing producers to review spending on new projects, reduce staff and cut costs. More than 30,000 dismissals have been announced across the industry as companies slash budgets, according to […]

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Whiff of panic over Britain’s fracking policy

PRESTON, LANCASHIRE – OCTOBER 07: Engineers at work on the drilling platform of the Cuadrilla shale fracking facility on October 7, 2012 in Preston, Lancashire. The controversial method of extracting gas by pumping high pressure water and chemicals into shale formations deep underground has been blamed for two minor earthquakes in the surrounding region. Environmental campaigners are calling for a halt to the drilling of what Cuadrilla believe could be significant reserves of natural gas. (Photo by Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images) D avid Cameron’s energy policy has hardly been a model of strategic clarity. But his government has at least been consistent in its enthusiasm for shale gas. Britain’s prime minister promised several years ago to “go all out” to extract the country’s trapped resources of shale. Even the Liberal Democrats, normally cautious about any initiative that might upset environmentalists, have supported the push for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Not […]

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Fresh blow to UK fracking as MPs call for moratorium

An anti-fracking protester at a drilling test site near Salford in Lancashire last year Britain’s nascent shale gas industry has been dealt a fresh blow by a committee of MPs that has called for a moratorium on fracking and warned that the government was rushing through “undemocratic” laws to help the industry. David Cameron, prime minister, has strongly backed the development of shale gas, insisting that exploitation of Britain’s reserves could drive down the price of domestic energy and lessen the need for imports at a time when North Sea oil production was falling. More On this topic IN UK Politics & Policy But the environmental audit committee says fracking is not compatible with the government’s commitment to cutting climate change emissions. The new technology could also cause significant localised environmental damage and risks to public health, the committee will say — a claim disputed by the industry. Industry […]

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U.K. Lawmakers Panel Calls For Moratorium on Shale Gas Fracking

ENLARGE FILE – A worker oils a pump during a hydraulic fracturing operation at an Encana Corp. well pad. Photo: Associated Press LONDON—A panel of U.K. lawmakers is calling for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for shale gas even as companies are applying for permits to start exploration work in the fledgling sector. The recommendation from the U.K. parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee in a report published Monday comes as parliament prepares to vote on the Infrastructure Bill , which contains a measure that would allow companies to drill and frack at depth without the landowners’ permission. Committee member Caroline Spelman, a Conservative and former Environment Secretary in the coalition government until 2012, last week also proposed an amendment to the bill imposing a moratorium on fracking, in which water, sand and chemicals are used to free oil and natural gas from shale formations, because it could risk the U.K.’s […]

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British fracking takes early steps

British shale pioneer Cuadrilla Resources gets environmental permits needed for early gas work. Photo by Steve Oehlenschlager/Shutterstock PRESTON, England, Jan. 16 (UPI) — British shale pioneer Cuadrilla Resources was granted the environmental permits necessary to carry out at shale work in Lancashire, the government said Friday. "After completing a rigorous assessment of Cuadrilla’s application and the public consultation responses, we are confident the permits issued will ensure people and the environment are protected," Steve Molyneux, environment manager for Lancashire, said in a statement. "The right controls are in place to manage waste and the flaring of gas safely, and protect local water resources." Cuadrilla in June deposited 21 chapters of environmental studies with the Lancashire County Council associated with plans for up to four shale gas exploration wells. The council said initially it would make a determination by early November, but said more time was needed to study the […]

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British shale set for real-time monitoring

British Geological Survey said it plans to study two proposed hydraulic fracturing sites in real time.. Photo by Christopher Halloran/Shutterstock LONDON, Jan. 15 (UPI) — In a regional first, the British Geological Survey said Thursday independent monitors would study two hydraulic fracturing sites in Lancashire in real time. "This ground breaking research will provide new scientific insight and innovative ways of monitoring the environment impact of shale gas development," John Ludden, BGS executive director, said in a statement. The British government in 2012 enacted new restrictions on hydraulic fracturing, ending a moratorium enforced after minor tremors were reported near Lancashire drilling sites. Shale pioneer Cuadrilla Resources has two applications before a county council with the aim of exploring for shale natural gas. A consortium led by BGS and university partners will carry out groundwater, regional air quality and seismic activity research at two proposed fracking sites in Lancashire. "It […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple