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Cameron thanked for sacking environment secretary

British Prime Minister was right to bring a new face to the government’s environmental body, British Friends of the Earth said Tuesday. Cameron’s administration reshuffled several key ministerial positions Tuesday. The prime minister sacked Owen Paterson as secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs. Paterson was criticized for his controversial stance on climate issues. "David Cameron is right to give Owen Paterson the boot — he’s the worst Environment Secretary the U.K. has had for decades," Friends of the Earth Executive Director Andy Atkins said in a statement . Friends of the Earth said Paterson had "willfully ignored" evidence of climate change. Paterson was replaced by Liz Truss. "We hope she will mark a clean break with Owen Paterson by listening to science and striving for evidence-based decision making," Atkins said. William Hague ‘s decision to stand down as foreign minister was among […]

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North Sea Maintenance Means August Crude-Oil Loadings to Fall 24%

The amount of crude oil due to be pumped from the North Sea fields will by 24% in August, field maintenance takes out swathes of production. The big change comes in the amount of Forties crude to be loaded, according to provisional loading programs seen by The Wall Street Journal. The Buzzard oil field, where Forties is produced and which is the U.K.’s biggest contributor to oil production, will be out of action for two weeks for scheduled maintenance work. Only four cargoes of Forties will be loaded in August, compared with 19 in July. Other grades will increase loadings to compensate. There will be seven Brent cargoes in August, up from six in July, and seven of Oseberg, also up from six. Ekofisk will load 17 cargoes in August compared with 15 in July. Loading programs are released and circulated among oil traders […]

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British carbon capture project gets EU funding

The British government said Tuesday it received more than $400 million in funding from the European Commission to help build a carbon capture facility. The British government said it received financial support from the European Commission for its White Rose project, a so-called clean coal power plant that would capture as much as 90 percent of its emissions and store them underneath the North Sea. British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said White Rose will help with the development of a low-carbon economy in the country. "The U.K. is at the forefront of developing carbon capture and storage, with excellent potential for storage in the North and Irish Seas, and the expertise in operating offshore to make it a reality," he said in a statement . The British government said power plants equipped with carbon capture and storage technology could provide more than 20 percent of the […]

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UK became a net importer of petroleum products in 2013

U.S. Energy Information Administration, from UK Department of Energy and Climate Change Fossil fuels (petroleum and other liquids, natural gas, and coal) account for most of the United Kingdom’s (UK) energy consumption. Although renewable energy use is growing, particularly in the electric power sector, fossil fuels accounted for 86% of total primary energy consumption in 2012. Like the United States, the UK has experienced significant changes in its net reliance on imported fossil energy sources since 1970. Beginning in the 1980s, the UK first became a significant net coal importer following the removal of domestic production subsidies and trade barriers. With the opening of North Sea production, the UK became a significant net exporter of crude oil beginning in the early 1980s, but has been a net importer since […]

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More tidal energy set for Scottish coast

| License Photo A decision to invest more than $3 million on a tidal array planned for Scottish waters is a testament to its green energy strength, the energy minister said. Tidal technology company Nova Innovation and Belgian renewable energy company ELSA secured $3.1 million from European investors to build tidal arrays off the Scottish coast. "ELSA’s decision to invest in Scotland is a testament to the confidence felt by international investors to help develop the huge wave and tidal energy resources from the waters around the Scottish coast," Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said in a statement Sunday. The tidal array, which will consist of five 100-kilowatt turbines, will be installed in three stages. Three of the turbines should be commissioned by the end of 2015. Scotland says it lays claim to about 25 percent of the wind and tidal energy potential and 10 percent of wave energy […]

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Cuadrilla Drilling Application Accepted by Lancashire Council

UK-focused shale gas firm Cuadrilla Resources is a step closer to beginning fracking operations in the northwest of England after Lancashire County Council formerly validated and accepted an application to drill in the county, the firm announced Wednesday. The planning application, to drill up to four shale gas exploration wells at Preston New Road, and its accompanying environmental statement is now accessible to the public. Cuadrilla said the environmental statement details the findings of an "extensive" environmental impact assessment of the sites, which was carried out by experts at independent consultant Arup. Arup Project Director Des Correia commented in a statement: "The work we’ve undertaken for both the environmental impact and environmental risk assessments has been tremendously comprehensive. We’ve been using best practice standards throughout our work and we’ve covered a full exploration life-cycle as well as considering cumulative impacts in both our scope and analysis work. “Our approach […]

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Scotland emissions down 26.4 percent from 1990

The Scottish government said Tuesday it’s reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 25 percent since 1990 and is on pace to hit 42 percent by 2020. "Scotland has the world’s leading climate change targets," Scottish Minister for Environment and Climate Change Paul Wheelhouse said in a statement . "With a target of 42 percent by 2020 we are ahead of the United Kingdom at 34 percent and well ahead of the EU at 20 percent." The Scottish government aims to generate the equivalent of 100 percent of its annual electricity consumption through community- and locally-owned renewable energy resources by 2020. As of 2012, the last full year for which data are available, emissions are down 26.4 percent from 1990 levels. Scotland holds a one-question referendum on independence from the United Kingdom later this year. Its government said it could support itself in part on oil and gas […]

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Huge potential seen in British shale

A small energy company, Union Jack Oil, said there may be as much as 5.4 billion barrels of oil and 2.7 trillion cubic feet of gas in British shale deposits. Union Jack holds a 10 percent stake in a license area in the central United Kingdom dubbed PEDL201. The company said in a statement Monday an independent site assessment indicates the potential in shale oil and gas in the area is enormous. The company said that, even if recovery rates are on the low end of what’s possible, the volume of oil and gas taken from the region could have a "significant commercial value." Union Jack cautioned there’s no certainly that any portion of the oil and gas thought to exist in the license area will be cost-effective to produce. The company says it plans to drill two conventional exploration wells into the reserve area by […]

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Fracking plans submitted for British shale

British shale explorer Cuadrilla Resources, the target of heated protests, said it submitted plans for new fracking operations to Lancashire County officials. "The proposal covers the works required to drill, hydraulically fracture and test the flow of gas from up to four exploration wells on the site," the company said in a statement Thursday. When the company announced its intent to submit plans to Lancashire officials in early May, Caudrilla CEO Francis Egan said the application would be an "important milestone" for British shale. In March, the company said it believes there are 200 trillion cubic feet of shale natural gas in the Bowland basin in Lancashire. The company was the target of major demonstrations last summer when exploratory operations in the southern village of Balcombe were viewed as a prelude to fracking, though the process wasn’t carried out at the site. Caudrilla said Thursday there […]

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Scotland sees North Sea reserves as major asset

Oil and natural gas wealth in the North Sea is expected to become major financial asset for Scotland on independence, the finance secretary said Wednesday. "North Sea oil and gas is a fantastic natural asset which has a great future for many decades to come," Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney said in a statement . Scotland holds a referendum for independence from the United Kingdom in September. The Scottish government said it could finance itself in part through oil and gas revenues while powering its economy with renewable resources. Swinney said there may be as much as 24 billion barrels of oil and natural gas reserves left in the North Sea and production is on pace to increase by 14 percent between 2013 and 2018. The finance minister said Scotland may be the largest oil producer and the second largest gas producer in the European Union. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple