Offshore rigs hit by ‘biggest strike for a generation’, says Unite

Oil and gas extractors in the North Sea were today hit by a 48-hour strike by a claimed 1,300 offshore workers, in what its...

BP leapfrogs Shell’s profits, spurs renewed calls for heavier windfall tax

BP today outdid Shell by declaring a sanctions-boosted doubling of profits for 2022, up to £23 billion. The figure is a new record for the...

Regulator & watchdog react to British Gas’ suspension of prepaid meter contractor

Energy industry leaders and watchdogs reacted with repulsion today at a report that bailiffs hired by British Gas had rejoiced in breaking into at...

Shell’s record £32 billion earnings spark fury

Fossil fuel supermajor Shell posted record profits today of £32.2 billion, provoking fierce criticism from politicians and green campaigners, and renewing calls for the...

“Drill, baby, drill !”: North Sea applications rise on 2019’s bidding round

Licence applications to extract offshore oil and gas rose last year on 2019 totals, the government’s North Sea Transition Authority announced today. Over a three-month...

Whitehall advisor Peter Mather “quits BP”, after ‘conflict of interest’ fears

A senior advisor on government energy policy has reportedly stepped down from the BP payroll, as an investigative news source voiced concerns over a...

Another oil extractor plans North Sea rigs run on electricity spun from wind

Hydrocarbon extractor Neptune Energy has become the latest oil company to consider switching to clean electricity to run its offshore rigs and pumps. Storage of...

Big gas users greet ESO’s extension to 23 December for DSR bids

Representatives of Britain’s heavy gas users in industries such as cement and glass have welcomed the gas grid operator’s decision to extend its deadline...

Electricity to power rigs in 3 N Sea oilfields? Fossil giants ponder how

Another citadel in hydrocarbons’ hegemony over the energy industry appeared to totter this morning, after oil and gas majors BP, Equinor and Ithaca unveiled...

BP’s profits soar to $ 8.2bn in third quarter

Oil and gas supermajor BP beat analysts’ predictions for the year’s third quarter, this morning announcing profits of £ 7.1 billion/ $ 8.2 billion,...

Chaos follows MPs’ fracking debate: Tory whips “resign” then “un-resign”, after Rees-Mogg seeks clearer...

A Parliamentary vote on a Labour ban on fracking ended in chaos last night, amid allegations of ministers physically pushing their own MPs into...

HOP2 it: Oil industry pockets Holyrood’s £2m towards commercialising blue hydrogen

The British oil industry’s Net Zero Technology Centre has been awarded £2.12M from the Scottish government, in quest of a means to deliver commercially...

North Sea: Government’s 100 new licences to ‘drill, baby, drill’

Britain's oil and gas regulator this morning began delivering on the Truss administration’s enthusiasm for hydrocarbons, inviting interest towards its likely authorising of 100...

Green hydrogen to help spin 2.2GW turbines? RWE ponders CCUS for Pembroke

Generation leviathan RWE has asked specialists engineers Fluor to size up the opportunity of retrofitting carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) equipment onto its...

Shell’s van Beurden sees “inevitable” heavier oilco taxes to protect poor

In an allusion to the windfall tax opposed almost uniquely among western Europe’s government leaders by former oil accountant Liz Truss, departing Shell chief...

Ofgem: Britain faces possible “gas supply emergency” over winter

Gas supplies to keep the UK’s lights on and homes heated face a ‘significant risk’ of running short this winter, the nation’s energy regulator...

Lancashire geology limits England’s fracking feasibility, say academics

Seismic experts at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University confirmed today that rock configurations beneath Britain’s most advanced fracking project raise further questions over commercial feasibility of...

Fracking ban lifted, as D-BEIS confirms 100 new North Sea licences

The government this morning tore up a manifesto commitment, rescinding Britain’s 2019 moratorium on onshore fracking for gas, citing the need to increase national...

Van Beurden to step down as Shell boss, Sawan steps up

Ben van Beurden is to quit in December after nine years as CEO of Shell, the company told shareholders this morning. After 39 years with...

Blue H2’s pipeline puffs to 16GW across UK and Norway, analysts find

Hydrogen’s "blue" variety scrubbed from oil and gas commands a 90:10 capacity lead over its electrolysed, cleaner “green” variant, in the UK and Norway,...