Category: United Kingdom

Shell’s billion-dollar ambitions in arctic waters off the coast of Alaska in stark contract to industry peers. Photo by longtaildog/Shutterstock LONDON, April 13 (UPI) — Shell’s grab of energy giant BG Group and a legal victory for frontier work offshore Alaska leaves rivals in the dust, though environmentalist are unimpressed. The board of directors at Shell and BG group issued a joint statement last week saying they’ve reached an agreement for the Dutch acquisition of its British rival . A weekend editorial from The Telegraph newspaper in London said the grab is an "audacious" move in a "new wave of oil industry consolidation" that’s greeted a slump in oil prices that’s lasted nearly a year. The deal, valued at around $70 billion, is among the largest acquisitions since the Exxon Mobil merger was completed in 1999. For Shell, the acquisition may move the Dutch supermajor into the "pole position" […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

Nutech Ltd. has upped estimates of total oil in place at the Horse Hill-1 (HH-1) well in the Weald basin of southern England to 158 million bbl/sq mile, excluding the previously reported Upper Portland Sandstone oil discovery . US analogues have estimated recovery factors of 3-15%, which may be produced using conventional technology. In a report to UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (UKOG), which holds 20.36% interest in the 55-sq-miles Horse Hill licenses near Gatwick airport, Nutech says the oil lies within a 653-ft aggregate net pay section, primarily within three argillaceous limestones and interbedded mudstones of the Kimmeridge and the mudstones of the Oxford and Lias sections. About 72% of the oil in place—114 million bbl—lies within the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge interbedded limestone and mudstone sequence. “Drilling the deepest well in the basin in 30 years, together with the ability to use concepts, techniques, and technology unavailable […]

Click here to view full article at www.ogj.com

One of the largest oil discoveries in British history stirs fears of a major hydraulic fracturing campaign. Photo by David Gaylor/Shutterstock LONDON, April 10 (UPI) — With major oil deposits uncovered in England, an advocacy group said it was concerned about the pace of the fledgling shale industry in the country. U.K. Oil & Gas Investments announced there may be as much as 100 billion barrels of oil onshore in the Horse Hill license area of the Weald basin in southern England. "Appraisal drilling and well testing will be required to prove its commerciality, but this Weald hybrid play has the potential for significant daily oil production," UKOG Chief Executive Officer Stephen Sanderson said in a statement. The discovery comes as the country contemplates the future of North Sea production, where older fields are in a steady state of decline. Operating expenses in the North Sea are up 8 […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

Pump jacks and wells in an oil field Sometimes one number is all that matters. In the case of the proposed takeover of BG Group by Royal Dutch Shell , that number is the oil price. In short, the success or failure of the blockbuster energy deal hinges on Shell’s long-term oil price assumptions for the transaction involving a range of $70 to $110 per barrel for Brent crude, according to some of Europe’s biggest investors. “The real issue is whether you believe the oil price will rise to $90 a barrel or not, which is in the middle of Shell’s range. If it rises to $90, then this deal becomes financially brilliant,” says Matthew Beesley, head of global equities at Henderson Global Investors, which holds shares in Shell and BG. “If the oil price rises to $70 dollars, then the deal is financially tolerable, but if it does […]

Click here to view full article at www.ft.com

Gatwick has promised to ‘bear all the main risks’ of an expansion programme A tiny UK oil explorer has claimed there could be up to 100bn barrels of oil beneath the home counties of southeast England, after drilling at a well near Gatwick airport. Shares in UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG), an Aim-traded oil exploration company, leapt 220 per cent on Thursday after it said that the Weald Basin held 158m barrels of oil per square mile, far outreaching previous government-funded estimates. UKOG claimed to have discovered a “world-class potential resource” in a 650ft section some 3,000 to 5,000ft below the ground after drilling into the Weald Basin at Horse Hill in Surrey. However, industry analysts were sceptical about the company’s claims and how much oil could be economically recovered from the area. David Lenigas , chairman of UKOG, extrapolated that the whole basin could contain “multiple billion […]

Click here to view full article at www.ft.com

LONDON (Reuters) – There could be up to 100 billion barrels of oil onshore beneath southern England, the chief executive of a small exploration firm told the BBC in an interview on Thursday. To which the correct response is "yes, but". Based on an analysis of samples from a single well drilled near London’s Gatwick airport, UK Oil and Gas Investments estimates there could be 158 million barrels per square mile in the local area. Horse Hill, where the well was drilled, is part of the Weald Basin, which stretches across large parts of the counties of Dorset, Hampshire, West and East Sussex, and Surrey, as well as parts of neighboring Wiltshire and Kent. Scaled up across the whole of the basin, there could be 50-100 billion barrels of oil, though only 3-15 percent might be technically recoverable, the firm admitted ("Oil discovery near Gatwick airport significant" April 9). […]

Click here to view full article at www.reuters.com

ENLARGE Shell logos are pictured on fuel pumps at a petrol station in west London on Jan. 29. Analysts said on Wednesday that the company’s $70 billion bid for Britain’s BG Group could prompt a new wave of mergers in the oil sector. Photo: Reuters LONDON— Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s nearly $70 billion offer for Britain’s BG Group PLC may be the starting gun for a wave of oil deals that analysts and bankers have been predicting since crude prices started to slump in June. “This could mark the beginning of a M&A rave, much like the one we saw in the late 1990s,” Augustin Eden, research analyst at Accendo Markets, said in a note. BG, with a market cap of about $46 billion, is likely the largest of the potential prey: small, midsize oil-and-gas companies that have been punished by oil prices that have halved over the past […]

Click here to view full article at www.wsj.com

LONDON (Reuters) – A small oil find near London’s Gatwick airport contains much more oil than first estimated, an independent report commissioned by the field’s developers said on Thursday. London-listed UK Oil & Gas Investments said the report estimated 158 million barrels per square mile could be lying below the site just north of Britain’s second-largest airport, much more than first thought. UKOG, the main investor in the project with a 30 percent interest, said the field could produce significant daily amounts of oil if retrieving it proves commercially viable. "The operator …is now focused on flow testing the Portland Sandstone and Kimmeridge Limestone sections of the well, to establish producibility and thereby seeking to quantify an overall net discovered resource," UKOG Chief Executive Stephen Sanderson said in a statement. The oil find is located in Britain’s resource-rich southern Weald Basin, adjacent to an area where one of Europe’s […]

Click here to view full article at www.reuters.com

History has not judged megamergers kindly. Of the 10 biggest, five took place shortly before the bursting of the dotcom bubble, including Vodafone ’s notorious acquisition of Mannesmann. Another three were in the late stages of the pre-Lehman boom, notably the purchase of ABN Amro by a Royal Bank of Scotland -led consortium — perhaps the dumbest deal of all time. Shell ’s £55bn deal for BG Group on Wednesday ranks as the ninth-biggest in that list, according to Dealogic. So, should shareholders be concerned that the return of the titanic takeover means equities are toppy? Start with the past. It is no coincidence that the really big deals happen when the market is frothy. The logic is the same as that behind the world’s tallest towers : investors and lenders are willing to countenance such financial nonsense as the Burj Khalifa, or London’s Shard, or AOL – Time […]

Click here to view full article at www.ft.com

(Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) agreed to buy smaller rival BG Group ( BG.L ) for $70 billion in the first oil super-merger in more than a decade to close the gap with the world’s largest oil firm U.S. ExxonMobil ( XOM.N ). In a joint statement, the two firms said Shell would pay a mix of cash and shares that would value each BG share at around 1,350 pence ($20). It said this represented a premium of around 52 percent to the 90-day trading average. Britain’s BG had a market capitalisation of $46 billion as of Tuesday close, Shell was worth $202 billion while Exxon, the world’s largest oil company by market value, was worth $360 billion. "We have two very strong portfolios combining globally in deep water and integrated gas," Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden told a news conference. The deal would give Anglo-Dutch […]

Click here to view full article at www.reuters.com

Shell said it would cut 250 jobs in the U.K. North Sea. ENLARGE Illustration: Bloomberg LONDON— Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Thursday that it would eliminate at least 250 jobs in its U.K North Sea operations this year, the latest workforce cut for big energy companies trying to reduce spending as crude trades for about half its 2014 peak. The job cuts come on top of the 250 positions Shell eliminated last summer from its U.K. operations and represent another blow to a North Sea oil industry that has seen its often high-cost projects upended by an oil-price collapse. Shell, which has about 94,000 employees world-wide, had been trying to cut costs even before the oil price began falling, after being criticized by investors for years of heavy spending on big projects. The company said the cuts “are part of a range of initiatives Shell has been pursuing to […]

Click here to view full article at www.wsj.com

British government data show oil and gas production in slow decline, though growth in renewable energy is setting records. File Photo by UPI/A.J. Sisco. Preliminary data from the British Department of Energy and Climate Change show total domestic production of oil in the three months ending in January dropped off 3.6 percent while gas production declined by 1.1 percent compared with the same period last year. Total 2014 production of petroleum was down 2.3 percent "as a result of long-term decline and maintenance activity," though natural gas production was up slightly by 0.3 percent "The overall rate of decline in 2014 was the lowest for 12 years at 1.5 percent compared with the average decline of 7.9 per cent over the previous 10 years," the department said. A February report from industry body Oil & Gas U.K. found a bright spot in an otherwise "bleak" year for North Sea […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

British shale pioneer Cuadrilla Resources denied permit for shale well operations, but says no fracking involved. Photo courtesy: Cuadrilla Resources LONDON, Feb. 26 (UPI) — British shale pioneer Cuadrilla Resources said it was "perplexed" by a regional council’s decision to deny a planning application for pioneer well developments. The company said it was denied a planning application to conduct seismic operations to get a better understanding of the resource potential at its Grange Hill site in Lancashire County, home to substantial potential reserves of shale natural gas. "We are perplexed and disappointed by the decision," the company said in a statement. There was no statement on the decision from Lancashire County itself on the permit application. Cuadrilla said the well operations did not involve any actual drilling or hydraulic fracturing operations. It received federal permits to move forward in Lancashire from the British Environment Agency earlier this month. Donna […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

Total SA’s Elgin platform is seen in the North Sea, U.K. Companies looking to cut back include Total, which said Feb. 12 it will reduce investment in mature North Sea fields. Source: Total E&P UK via Bloomberg (Bloomberg) — The world’s biggest oil and gas producers, already cutting hundreds of jobs a week from the U.K.’s North Sea, are just warming up. BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA are among those reducing staff, curbing investment or closing operations as oil prices that have fallen by half since June add to troubles from rising costs and aging resources. About 1,500 jobs have been lost in offshore oil and gas this year, according to Unite, Britain’s largest labor union. Ian Wood, author of a state-commissioned report into the needs of the offshore fossil-fuel business, warned that about 15,000 positions relying on the industry could disappear in months. “The […]

Click here to view full article at www.bloomberg.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.wsj.com

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, […]

Click here to view full article at www.ft.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at blogs.ft.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.rigzone.com

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 — […]

Click here to view full article at www.ft.com

(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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.bloomberg.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley says company looking to hit the reset button in low oil price era. File photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI LONDON, Feb. 3 (UPI) — British energy company BP is entering a reset phase focused on streamlined spending in the low oil price climate, Chief Executive Bob Dudley said Tuesday. "Our focus must now be on resetting BP: managing and rebalancing our capital program and cost base for the new reality of lower prices while always maintaining safe, reliable and efficient operations," Dudley said in a statement announcing fourth quarter results. The oil major reported a replacement cost loss during the fourth quarter of $968 million, compared with a profit of $1.5 billion during the same period last year. Replacement cost is similar to net income reported by the British company’s U.S. counterparts. BP began streamlining operations late last year. The company last year said […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

London (Platts)–3Feb2015/245 am EST/745 GMT BP is to slash its capital expenditure in 2015 by at least 17% due to the lower price of crude oil, with exploration spending to be cut, projects in the upstream postponed and certain downstream projects canceled altogether, the company said Tuesday, February 3. CEO Bob Dudley in a fourth quarter results statement said that the focus was now on "resetting" BP. "We have now entered a new and challenging phase of low oil prices through the near and medium term," Dudley said. "Our focus must now be on resetting BP: managing and rebalancing our capital program and cost base for the new reality of lower prices," he said. BP said it was now taking action to respond to the likelihood of oil prices remaining low into the medium term and rebalance its sources and use of cash accordingly. Article continues below… Oilgram News […]

Click here to view full article at www.platts.com

(Bloomberg) — Want to buy an oil well in U.K.’s North Sea? There are plenty available as some of the industry’s largest names try to sell aging, costly wells that have become even less profitable with the plunge in crude prices. BG Group Plc, Apache Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp. are among companies that have explored a sale of their North Sea assets, according to people familiar with the processes. In all, assets worth as much as 20 billion pounds ($30 billion) are currently for sale in the North Sea, said Dave Blackwood, senior adviser to investment bank Evercore Partners Inc. Drillers have struggled in recent years to extract oil from the North Sea’s depleting fields, leading to reduced output and costs that jumped 26 percent last year. Oil has slumped about 36 percent since the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ Nov. 27 accord to maintain production at 30 […]

Click here to view full article at www.bloomberg.com

(Bloomberg) — U.K. manufacturing growth accelerated in January as factories saw a pickup in domestic orders and the biggest decline in raw-material costs in almost six years. Markit Economics said its Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 53 from a revised 52.7 in December. Measures above 50 indicate expansion. A gauge of input prices plunged to the lowest since May 2009. The report suggests the stimulus from cheaper commodity costs is feeding through to businesses. The oil-price drop is also easing price pressures across the economy, and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the inflation rate could fall below zero in the coming months. “The domestic market remains the main growth driver, as the U.K. economic recovery provides a steady stream of new business,” said Rob Dobson, an economist at Markit in London. “Waning inflationary pressures will provide the Bank of England with leeway to push back the first […]

Click here to view full article at www.bloomberg.com

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron’s hopes for a British-style shale gas revolution recently took a major hit. Cameron has promised that his government will be “going all out” to develop Britain’s shale gas resources, which he argues will create new jobs and cut dependence on imported gas. But a committee made up of members of parliament (MPs) from several political parties issued a damning new report on the state of “fracking” in the United Kingdom. The Environmental Audit Committee published a report that called for a 30-month moratorium on fracking, citing “huge uncertainties” regarding the environmental fallout from widespread drilling. On top of the usual controversies over water supplies, the report says that allowing fracking will upend British climate change goals. “Ultimately fracking cannot be compatible with our long-term commitments to cut climate-changing emissions unless full-scale carbon capture and storage technology is rolled out rapidly, which currently looks unlikely,” […]

Click here to view full article at oilprice.com

Royal Dutch Shell reported a rise in fourth-quarter profit despite weaker oil prices. ENLARGE Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images LONDON—Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Thursday it would curb its planned spending over the next three years by some $15 billion, freeze dividends at current levels and scale back shale investments to cope with weaker oil prices. Shell, the first of the four giant, integrated oil companies to announce quarterly results, posted an improved profit compared with the year-earlier quarter. But earnings were below some analysts’ forecasts, driving shares down nearly 5% in London trading. “The macro environment has moved against us,” Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said during a Thursday news conference. He and Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry said Shell is cutting costs but continuing some big investments—including a potential $1 billion exploration project in Alaska’s Arctic this year. Shell forecasts rebounding oil prices in coming years, and […]

Click here to view full article at www.wsj.com

Don’t panic, Shell’s top boss says as low oil prices curb spending forecasts for Dutch supermajor. UPI/Shutterstock/tcly While spending is taking a dramatic hit, Royal Dutch Shell’s chief executive said Thursday there’s no reason to overreact to the bear market for crude oil. Shell followed precedent set by its supermajor rivals by announcing a spending cut of about $15 billion as low oil prices crimp the company’s momentum. Chief Executive Ben van Beurden, however, warned against panicking as oil prices continue trading below the $50 per barrel mark, less than half the June price. "We are taking a prudent approach here and we must be careful not to over-react to the recent fall in oil prices," he said in a statement. "Shell is taking structured decisions to balance growth and returns." The company, he said, is delivering where it counts . Upstream, or production, income fell 30 percent year-on-year […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

British advocacy group calls for refusal of a shale gas drilling permit, saying company behind the plans is manipulating local leaders. UPI/Kevin Dietsch Members of the Lancashire County Council agreed to hold off a final decision on planning applications for hydraulic fracturing submitted by shale gas pioneer Cuadrilla Resources. Cuadrilla asked for a delay after the council last week suggested it would deny the permit because of noise pollution concerns. Helen Rimmer, a campaigner with the British Friends of the Earth, said the council should listen to the chorus of voices expressing opposition to fracking. "Lancashire council must resist Cuadrilla’s ploys to push fracking through and listen to the tens of thousands of voices of opposition and reject these plans," she said in a statement. "Failure to do so will leave Lancashire as the UK’s guinea pig for this unnecessary and polluting technology." Cuadrilla, which estimates the region may […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden pledged to do all he can to maintain payments to shareholders of Europe’s largest oil company after crude prices fell by more than half in the past six months. “We have a very long-term dividend policy and I’m not minded to change that,” Van Beurden said in an interview today with Bloomberg Television. “The dividend is an iconic item at Shell and I will do everything to protect it.” Shell, which missed analysts’ expectations for fourth-quarter earnings today, plans to pay a first-quarter dividend of 47 cents a share, unchanged from the previous two quarters, the Hague-based company said in a statement. The company is cutting its capital spending by $15 billion over three years to help it weather the collapse in oil prices and keep paying shareholders. The industry is scurrying to protect returns for investors […]

Click here to view full article at www.bloomberg.com

BG Group, KBR, form alliance to streamline operations in low oil price environment. (UPI Photo/Gary C. Caskey) Both companies signed a deal to form a single-partner alliance that extends through at least 2021. KBR under the terms of the deal provides technical support and management expertise to front end engineering and design work for BG’s portfolio in the exploration and production sector. "In a lower oil price environment, this is an important aspect of the alliance which enables BG Group to help minimize its fixed costs whilst retaining access to high value technical expertise and support," the company statement read. Energy companies, and those in secondary industries like steel, are cutting back on spending as oil continues to trade in a bear market. BP, which cut staff from its North Sea division and enacted a pay freeze to cope with the low price environment, this week announced it was […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.ft.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.bloomberg.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.ft.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.ft.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.wsj.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

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 […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com