The price of oil has jumped up to over $118 per barrel as OPEC is so far failing to agree on an increase in production Most of the members of the oil cartel voted against upping production levels, in an unusual show of disagreement between the nations. There are tensions within the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), with two … Read More
Chris Huhne defends North Sea tax
Energy secretary Chris Huhne has spoken against concerns that North Sea taxes will jeopardise the UK’s energy security and cost jobs Chris Huhne faced fellow MPs yesterday regarding the taxes on North Sea oil and gas companies, put into place by George Osborne’s recent budget . Huhne argued that the impact on jobs and and investment would only be “marginal”. … Read More
Centrica threaten North Sea gas field closure
Centrica has threatened to close one of the UK’s major gas fields over a tax dispute Centrica has closed three gas fields in Morecambe Bay for one month of maintenance, but has claimed it may not re-open one of them due to increased taxes. George Osborne increased the tax on supplementary gas production from 20% to 32% in this year’s … Read More
BP plans return to Gulf as profits drop
BP first quarter profits are lower than last year, after selling off production to help pay for the damages of the Gulf oil spill. BP announced yesterday that its “replacement cost” profit had fallen from $5.6bn in the first quarter of 2010 to $5.4bn (£3.3bn) in 2011. This is despite oil price being 31pc higher in 2011 than in 2010.
BP sues Transocean over oil spill
A year on from the deepwater horizon oil rig explosion, BP is suing Transocean for at least £24m BP has launched a $40 billion USD (£24bn) lawsuit against Transocean, the owners of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded last year in the Gulf of Mexico. The tragic explosion one year ago that killed 11 people, lead to the worst … Read More
High oil price affecting demand – IEA
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said the current high price of oil is beginning to affect demand. The IEA has said the global demand for oil has been slowing over the last few months, due to very high prices. Despite their concerns, the IEA did not change it’s global oil demand growth forecast, which is at 1.4 million barrels … Read More
Oil prices at two and a half year highs
Oil prices have risen to a two and a half year high due to supply concerns and the strength of the dollar The drop in the strength of the dollar means that other commodities such as gold and silver have also risen in price. Other commodity prices are also on the increase, such as food, metal and cotton.
Chris Huhne has talks with oil companies
The Energy Secretary yesterday met with the major oil companies to discuss the new taxes on oil and gas extraction in the North Sea Executives from the big oil companies are said to have had “Full and Frank discussions” with Chris Huhne, in a bid to get their concerns over last week’s budget recognised. They have warned that tens of … Read More
Budget 2011 introduces new carbon tax
The Chancellor, George Osborne announced yet another ‘carbon tax’ in yesterday’s budget, dubbed the ‘2011 budget for growth’. This means businesses and consumers can expect higher electricity bills, as carbon-emitting coal and gas-fired plants are taxed £3.2 billion over the next 5 years. Nuclear and renewable companies should see increased profits, as the tax is applied to the oil and … Read More
Japan quake increases energy price worries
What does the catastrophic record-magnitude earthquake in Japan mean to the worldwide energy industry? With the disastrous events in Japan following the record magnitude earthquake, the country has experienced some problems with one of its nuclear power stations in Fukushima. Nuclear reactors are meant to be built to withstand seismic activity, but the plant is still experiencing some significant difficulties, … Read More