Amnesty International hits out at ‘shocking’ annual figure reaped through sale of fossil fuel
Saudi Aramco has reported a record $161bn (£134bn) profit for 2022, the largest annual profit ever recorded by an oil and gas company, fuelled by soaring energy prices and rising global demand.
The largely state-owned company’s profits rose by 46% year on year and it made more than the recent bumper results reported by Shell, BP, Exxon and Chevron combined.
Continue reading...Harbour Energy says it had to cut jobs and investment at same time as announcing new shareholder payouts taking total to $1bn
The North Sea’s biggest producer has complained that the windfall tax on oil and gas companies “all but wiped out” its profits last year, at the same time announcing new shareholder payouts which take the total to $1bn since the end of 2021.
Harbour Energy said on Thursday its pre-tax profits rose by nearly 700% in 2022 to $2.5bn (£2.1bn) on higher production and bigger margins making it the latest oil and gas company to report a huge increase in underlying profits, after the war in Ukraine pushed up wholesale gas prices and sent household bills soaring.
Continue reading...Firm set for clash with investors over possible payout to Bernard Looney from three-year share award plan
BP is set for a clash with investors after it emerged that its chief executive could be in line for a special bonus of up to £11.4m. The payment, in shares, would be on top of his £1.38m salary and annual bonus for 2022.
Strong growth in BP’s share price means Bernard Looney is set for a multimillion-pound payout from a three-year share award plan set up in 2020, when countries around the world were in lockdown and the company was cutting jobs amid a global collapse in demand for oil.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Ukrainian economic adviser urges energy firms to heed deadline to halt trade of ‘Russian-origin oil products’
The oil company Shell and energy trader Vitol have been accused of prolonging the war in Ukraine by exploiting a “loophole” in the EU sanctions regime to bring products derived from Russian oil into Europe through Turkey.
Oleg Ustenko, the economic adviser to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has urged the energy companies to commit to a deadline to halt the trade of a “Russian-origin oil products” to reduce Vladimir Putin’s war coffers, the Guardian can reveal.
Continue reading...David Pocock tables anonymous statement in parliament describing 25,000L spill of condensate off northern WA in 2022
A Santos employee has sought protection from federal parliament to accuse the Australian oil and gas company of covering up the severity of an oil spill that killed dolphins off the northern Western Australian coast.
A statement by an anonymous whistleblower, tabled in federal parliament by the independent senator David Pocock, described witnessing a 25,000L spill of condensate – a light form of oil – near the Lowendal Islands in March last year.
Continue reading...Figure angers campaigners calling for tougher windfall taxes and follows prepayment meter scandal
The profits of the scandal-hit owner of British Gas have more than tripled to a record £3.3bn, boosted by soaring wholesale gas prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and as many households in Britain struggle with the cost of living.
Centrica’s “monster” profits immediately angered campaigners who are calling for tougher windfall taxes, lower bills and better treatment of vulnerable customers against the backdrop of the prepayment meter scandal.
Continue reading...Britain’s largest energy supplier only recently ended its much-criticised forced installation of prepayment meters
The owner of British Gas is poised to reveal record annual profits of more than £3bn just weeks after suspending the forced installation of prepayment meters due to concerns over its treatment of vulnerable customers.
Analysts expect Centrica, which owns Britain’s largest energy supplier, to post underlying profits of £3.3bn in 2022 on Thursday, up from £948m in 2021.
Continue reading...Climate groups have accused head of national oil company, Sultan Al Jaber, of conflict of interest
The United Arab Emirates, the oil-rich Gulf nation that is hosting the next UN climate summit, is “running towards” a renewable energy future, the president of the summit has said.
“The UAE has always made progress by getting ahead of the future,” said Sultan Al Jaber, who will oversee the Cop28 conference beginning this November, at an international meeting in Dubai on Tuesday. “We believe that gamechanging solutions can be achieved if the collective political will is there. It certainly is from the UAE. We in the UAE are not shying away from the energy transition. We are running towards it.”
Continue reading...Secret international court system enables fossil fuel firms to sue governments for lost future profits
Experts have urged the UK to leave the controversial energy charter treaty (ECT), a secret court system that enables fossil fuel companies to sue governments for huge sums over policies that could affect future profits.
The European Commission said this week that remaining part of the treaty would “clearly undermine” climate targets and that an exit by EU countries appeared “inevitable”. Seven EU countries, including France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, have already said they will quit the ECT.
Continue reading...As it happened: Prime minister speaks in interview on TalkTV to mark his 100th day in office
On the subject of Rishi Sunak reaching his 100th day in office, my colleague Jessica Elgot has a great assessment of how it’s going. Here is an extract.
After Liz Truss left office, polls suggested that voters wanted to keep an open mind about Sunak and rated him significantly higher than his party.
That is now beginning to turn. According to senior Labour figures, their most recent focus groups, with swing voters in Southampton, Dewsbury and Bury last week, were described as being “utterly brutal for Sunak”, with participants engaging in “open mockery” of the prime minister. Even the most pessimistic members of Keir Starmer’s team say they have seen a decisive shift.
In the coming weeks, our new stop the boats bill will change the law to send a message loud and clear.
If you come here illegally, you will be detained and removed.
Continue reading...Sunak government under pressure after gas prices fuel ‘outrageous’ doubling of profits at Anglo-Dutch group
The government is under pressure to rethink its windfall tax on energy companies after Shell reported one of the largest profits in UK corporate history, with the surge in energy prices sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushing the oil company’s annual takings to $40bn (£32bn).
Opposition parties and trade unions described Shell’s bonanza, the biggest in its 115 year history, as “outrageous” and accused Rishi Sunak of letting fossil fuel companies “off the hook”.
Continue reading...People from Niger delta areas of Ogale and Bille seeking justice in London’s high court
Nearly 14,000 people from two Nigerian communities are seeking justice in the high court in London against the fossil fuel giant Shell, claiming it is responsible for devastating pollution of their water sources and destruction of their way of life.
The individuals from the Niger delta area of Ogale, a farming community, lodged their claims last week, joining more than 2,000 people from the Bille area, a largely fishing community. In total 13,652 claims from individuals, and from churches and schools, are asking the oil giant to clean up the pollution which they say has devastated their communities. They are also asking for compensation for the resulting loss of their livelihoods. Their ability to farm and fish has been destroyed by the continuing oil spills from Shell operations, they claim.
Continue reading...Leaked tax records suggest subsidiaries of international gas field contractors continued to make millions after the coup
In the two years since a murderous junta launched a coup in Myanmar, some of the world’s biggest oil and gas service companies continued to make millions of dollars from operations that have helped prop up the military regime, tax documents seen by the Guardian suggest.
The Myanmar military seized power in February 2021 and according to the United Nations special rapporteur on Myanmar, it is “committing war crimes and crimes against humanity daily”. More than 2,940 people, including children, pro-democracy activists and other civilians have been killed, according to Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
US oil services giant Halliburton’s Singapore-based subsidiary Myanmar Energy Services reported pre-tax profits of $6.3m in Myanmar in the year to September 2021, which includes eight months while the junta was in power.
Houston-headquartered oil services company Baker Hughes branch in Yangon reported pre-tax profits of $2.64m in the country in the six months to March 2022.
US firm Diamond Offshore Drilling reported $37m in fees to the Myanmar tax authority during the year to September 2021 and another $24.2m from then until March 2022.
Schlumberger Logelco (Yangon Branch), the Panama-based subsidiary of the US-listed world’s largest offshore drilling company, earned revenues of $51.7m in the year to September 2021 in Myanmar and as late as September 2022 was owed $200,000 in service fees from the junta’s energy ministry.
Continue reading...Bank slashes predicted 2023 European wholesale price by 30% as mild weather reduces demand
HSBC has slashed its forecasts for future wholesale gas prices in response to mild weather in Europe – raising hopes of a sharp decline in household energy bills.
The bank cut its 2023 forecasts for the price of gas traded in Europe by about 30% and its forecast for 2024 by 20%.
Continue reading...Oil company drove some of the leading science of the era only to publicly dismiss global heating
The oil giant Exxon privately “predicted global warming correctly and skilfully” only to then spend decades publicly rubbishing such science in order to protect its core business, new research has found.
A trove of internal documents and research papers has previously established that Exxon knew of the dangers of global heating from at least the 1970s, with other oil industry bodies knowing of the risk even earlier, from around the 1950s. They forcefully and successfully mobilized against the science to stymie any action to reduce fossil fuel use.
Continue reading...Firm said in October it had not paid any UK windfall taxes because of heavy investment in North Sea
Shell has revealed it expects to pay about $2bn (£1.7bn) in UK and EU windfall taxes for the final quarter of 2022 – the first time it has paid UK tax for five years.
The oil company had previously sparked anger in October when it said it had not paid any UK windfall taxes because of heavy investment in the North Sea.
Continue reading...US oil firm contests legal authority for ‘solidarity contribution’ to raise funds to offset soaring energy prices
ExxonMobil has launched a legal challenge against the EU in an attempt to derail the bloc’s windfall tax on the profits of energy producers.
In a high-stakes political battle as countries across Europe and the wider western world struggle with soaring energy costs and sky-high inflation, the US oil firm said it believed the EU had overreached its powers with the windfall tax.
Continue reading...Months of talks end with ‘dynamic cap’ deal after Germany persuaded by global reference-price condition
EU ministers have agreed a plan to cap the price of gas, ending months of argument over how to handle the cost of soaring energy prices after Russia cut gas supplies to Europe.
“Mission accomplished,” said the Czech minister for trade and industry, Jozef Síkela, who chaired talks between energy ministers, adding that negotiations had not been easy.
Continue reading...British oil giant had said it would ‘exit Russia’ but still owns nearly 20% of state-controlled fossil fuel firm Rosneft
The chief economic adviser to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has called on BP to exit Russia entirely after the fossil fuel firm was offered a £580m dividend by the oil giant Rosneft.
Oleg Ustenko has written to BP’s chief executive, Bernard Looney, to demand the British company cuts ties with the state-controlled Russian firm nine months after announcing its intention to leave the country.
Continue reading...Jeremy Hunt expected to use autumn statement to announce rise in household energy price cap to as much as £3,100
Millions of UK households will pay more for their energy from next April under plans to cut the generosity of the government’s gas and electricity support scheme expected to be announced by Jeremy Hunt on Thursday.
The chancellor is likely to use his autumn statement to say the need to save money and reduce state borrowing will require the household energy price cap to rise from £2,500 to an expected £3,000 to £3,100.
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