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UK storms: Met Office issues ‘Red Warning’ for wind

Winds of up to 100mph are expected to batter west Wales and north-west England, with the Met Office issuing its first "red warning" of the winter. The warning for 13:30 to 21:00 GMT means there is a "risk to life" and people should "avoid dangerous areas" with widespread damage expected. Sixteen severe flood warnings remain for Berkshire, Surrey and Somerset. Meanwhile, David Cameron has repeated his pledge that "money is no object in this relief effort". He also announced money would be available for businesses and homeowners repairing flood-damaged property to build in new defences and said small businesses affected by flooding would get 100% relief from business rates. Waves have battered the coastline in Chiswell in Dorset The Met Office said: "Winds of this strength can cause widespread structural damage, bringing down trees and also leading to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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UK storms: Met Office issues 'Red Warning' for wind

Winds of up to 100mph are expected to batter west Wales and north-west England, with the Met Office issuing its first "red warning" of the winter. The warning for 13:30 to 21:00 GMT means there is a "risk to life" and people should "avoid dangerous areas" with widespread damage expected. Sixteen severe flood warnings remain for Berkshire, Surrey and Somerset. Meanwhile, David Cameron has repeated his pledge that "money is no object in this relief effort". He also announced money would be available for businesses and homeowners repairing flood-damaged property to build in new defences and said small businesses affected by flooding would get 100% relief from business rates. Waves have battered the coastline in Chiswell in Dorset The Met Office said: "Winds of this strength can cause widespread structural damage, bringing down trees and also leading to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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British floods stern warning, environmental group says

Friends of Earth campaigner Guy Shrubsole said the British government needs to take climate issues more seriously given the season’s extreme weather. The Met Office, the British weather reporting agency, said wind gusts of at least 60 mph are expected in southern and southwestern counties accompanied by rain. "The public should be aware of the potential for further flooding in places," it said in its forecast for Wednesday. Shrubsole said in a statement extreme weather is becoming more common as the effects of climate change take hold. He said the government is not focusing on the issue as it should. "If we want to keep the nation’s head above water we must take global warming more seriously," he said in a statement Tuesday. Last month was the wettest January for the country since 1910. The Met Office said last week some of the climate […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.K. Towns West of London Face Severe Thames River Flood

Waterlogged towns on the River Thames west of London face severe flooding as U.K. authorities struggle to deal with the wettest weather since 1766. The Environment Agency has in place 16 severe flood warnings, including 14 along England ’s most famous waterway. Towns in London’s commuter belt including Chertsey, Egham and Datchet are affected. Two warnings remain in Somerset, southwest England, where some roads have been cut off since December. After two months of record-breaking rainfall, there’s little respite for southern England, with the Met Office predicting rain every day through Feb. 14. A succession of storms and tidal surges have buffeted Britain since early December, flooding more than 8,000 homes and damaging coastal infrastructure, including the main railway connecting Plymouth and other southwestern cities with the rest of England. “Extreme weather will continue to threaten communities this week, with further severe flooding expected Monday […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Britain wind farm proposal scaled back in face of opposition

The developer of a controversial offshore wind farm in the English Channel announced this week it has reduced its size and moved it farther from shore. Eneco Wind U.K. Ltd. and EDF Energy Renewables, developers of the Navitus Bay wind farm, are seeking planning permission to begin construction by 2017 in hopes of generating energy by 2019. Following complaints it would despoil the natural beauty of the England’s Hampshire coast, the companies said Thursday they have instituted changes that would reduce its generating capacity from 1.1 gigawatts to 970 megawatts with 23 fewer turbines, while cutting the area of the farm from 67.5 to 60 square miles. Its revised boundaries would put the farm up to 2 miles further away from Christchurch, England, and 1 mile further from Bournemouth. However, critics noted the new boundaries wouldn’t alter its proximity to Swanage, England, or […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Refining Margins Fall, Income Drops Following Asset Sales

BP PLC’s fourth-quarter profit fell 25%, hit by lower refining margins and lost income from asset sales, as the company continued to try to recover from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. BP has sold close to $40 billion in assets and taken more than $42 billion in write-downs related to legal settlements and cleanup costs since the Gulf of Mexico spill in April 2010. The company also pleaded guilty to a dozen felony counts in the U.S. related to the accident, in which 11 workers died. The result: a smaller company that is pumping less crude oil. BP reported its results after competitors including Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp. posted disappointing quarterly profits amid soaring oil-field costs and rising challenges in boosting oil output industrywide. But BP’s numbers underscore that it is still struggling with its own specific challenges—primary among them the fallout […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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BG Reports $1.08 Billion Loss

BG Group PLC reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1.08 billion as it wrote down its U.S. shale-gas business and assets in Egypt. Despite the loss, the oil-and-gas company predicted it still would meet a target to be cash-flow positive next year. Production in Brazil is ramping up, capital expenditures are expected to decline and the first exports of liquefied natural gas from the Queensland Curtis project in Australia are expected for this year’s fourth quarter, the U.K.-based company said Tuesday. "Clearly we also have to address the near-term challenges we face in Egypt and deliver our plans consistently and effectively," Chief Executive Chris Finalyson said. The U.K.’s third-largest natural-gas producer warned last week that profit would be lower in the past quarter as instability in Egypt hit production and exports. BG also cautioned that low natural-gas prices in the U.S. made production from shale assets in the country […]

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Britain announces plan to become world leader in electric cars

Britain announced a program, backed by major vehicle manufacturers, with a goal of making the country a world leader in electric cars . The government said companies including BMW, Nissan and Toyota are standing behind what’s dubbed the Go Ultra Low campaign to encourage more British consumers to switch to electric or hybrid vehicles. "Electric cars are one of the most promising of our green industries and we want to secure the U.K.’s position as a global leader in both the production and adoption of these vehicles," Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said in a statement Thursday. Clegg said $14.8 million in funding would be used to build more charging stations across the country, including 140 that can charge an electric car in less than 30 minutes. British Transport Minister Robert Goodwill said the program is about "opening people’s eyes" to low-emission vehicles. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shell Profit Drops 48% as Oil and Gas Production Declines

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) , Europe’s largest oil company, said profit plunged 48 percent on exploration expenses and lower production. Profit excluding one-time items and inventory changes was $2.9 billion in the fourth quarter, down from $5.6 billion a year earlier. That matches the drop Shell forecast on Jan. 17 because of losses in the Americas, lower refining margins and production disruptions in Nigeria and elsewhere. “Its Americas growth strategy –- the home for 50 percent of past investment –- woefully underdelivering under the weight of dead capital,” Lucas Herrmann, a London-based analyst at Deutsche Bank AG, said before the earnings report. “Corporate change could release huge value.” Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden, who took over from Peter Voser this year, has accelerated asset sales with two deals announced this month. He must cut record spending to reduce costs and win investor confidence after […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shell Pledges Spending Cuts, Asset Sales to Restore Profit

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden promised to slash capital spending and accelerate asset sales to revive earnings at Europe’s largest oil producer. Shell, which made its first profit warning in a decade this month, dropped targets for cash flow , postponed plans to drill in Alaska and pledged to restructure its shale operations in North America, it said today in a statement. The Hague-based company also raised its dividend. “We have lost some momentum in operational delivery, and we can sharpen up in a number of areas,” van Beurden said in the statement. “2014 will be a year where we are changing emphasis, to improve our returns and cash flow performance.” Van Beurden, who took over from Peter Voser at the start of the year, is trying to win investor confidence after the company’s fourth-quarter profit […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple