As one of Europe’s biggest consumers of gas the UK may be particularly exposed to heightened price volatility
Europe is on course to enter the cooler months with gas stores at their lowest level in 13 years, which has triggered “winter panic” among energy traders, experts have warned.
The EU’s gas stocks were 63% full in the last week of August, well below the 80% average for late August over recent years and among the lowest levels ever recorded for this time of year.
Continue reading...After higher prices for winter kick in, energy debt unpaid for more than 30 days likely to rise, says Energy UK
Households in Great Britain could owe their energy suppliers as much as £7bn by the end of the year after higher gas and electricity prices forecast for the winter kick in, an industry group is warning.
Domestic energy debt and arrears climbed by about £500m over the past year to a record £6bn at the end of June as the Middle East conflict continued to stoke rising gas market prices.
Continue reading...Incident marks apparent escalation by Tehran in its in retaliation against UK over allowing US to use British bases
Hackers linked to Iran have been blamed for a cyber-attack that caused a British power plant to be temporarily shut down.
The incident involved a small-scale energy generator, according to the UK government, which said that at no point was there a risk to the wider energy system.
Continue reading...Government assessment warns of supply shock that could leave homes and businesses without gas within a decade
Great Britain risks running out of gas in the 2030s despite its growing clean energy sources, unless ministers take “unprecedented” action to guard against a future supply shock, according to an official assessment.
The government is considering plans to provide direct financial support to safeguard the country’s ageing gas infrastructure after a consultation found that a “high stress scenario” could mean homes and businesses run out within the next decade.
Continue reading...Move will be one of first large-scale foreign investments in country since US ousted leader Nicolás Maduro in January
BP has answered Donald Trump’s call for oil companies to help rebuild Venezuela’s fossil fuel industry with new plans to develop a large offshore gasfield.
BP will partner with two oil firms with close links to the Trump administration to develop the second phase of the Loran gasfield, in one of the first large-scale foreign investments in Venezuela since the US ousted its leader Nicolás Maduro in January.
Continue reading...Meg O’Neill says ‘where we generate jobs, we generate tax revenue’, as company’s profits more than double
Revealed: major oil firms make $93bn profits amid war and climate crisis
Nils Pratley: BP boss is unsentimental in pruning portfolio and clear on North Sea advice to Burnham
BP’s chief executive has urged Andy Burnham to make use of the UK’s oil and gas resources even as the oil company prepares to sell its North Sea business after 60 years in the ageing basin.
In a conversation with the new prime minister, Meg O’Neill said the country should prioritise using energy produced in the UK, “where we generate jobs, we generate tax revenue, we generate all those additional positive impacts”.
Continue reading...Move will end six decades of production in area, as new CEO tries to simplify company and cut debt
BP has put its North Sea oil and gas business up for sale as it looks to end six decades of production from the basin.
The firm announced on Friday morning it had launched a formal process to market its North Sea business for a potential sale. The move comes as BP’s new chief executive, Meg O’Neill, tries to simplify the company and cut its debt levels.
Continue reading...Live, rolling coverage as London’s biggest companies defy Middle East disruption and UK petrol prices rise to around £1.60 per litre, the highest since Donald Trump ordered renewed strikes
The story piquing the interest of the financial press this morning is that of Leopold Aschenbrenner, the AI Wunderkind (he’s German-born) who has been forced to sell off his fund in a fire sale after the AI boom ran out of steam.
The 24-year-old had persuaded a lot of people to give him a lot of money for a hedge fund, after previously working for OpenAI and the FTX Future Fund, a charitable arm of the fraudulent crypto empire of Sam Bankman-Fried, who is now in prison. Aschenbrenner ploughed that money into debt-fuelled bets on artificial intelligence companies, earning huge returns until he found out that stocks can also fall.
The trader dubbed the “Nostradamus of AI” would have been hard-pressed to foresee how quickly his high-flying hedge fund would run into trouble.
The firm’s rapid downward spiral is a familiar tale, as Silicon Valley and Wall Street once again threw their weight behind a bright-eyed but untested investor who promised this time would be different. “Everybody always wants to find the next golden child,” said one longtime hedge fund executive. “It just keeps happening.”
In less than 24 hours — which included a conversation between Griffin and Aschenbrenner — Griffin’s Citadel hedge fund reached out to Situational Awareness and snapped up the investments at a discount, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified citing private information.
It was a startling reversal for Aschenbrenner, a former researcher at OpenAI who – before starting his hedge fund roughly two years ago — had no previous investment experience. His fledging firm has watched its assets plunge from $45bn at the start of July to about $10bn.
Continue reading...The Houthi threat to Saudi oil exports comes as Japan, South Korea and the Philippines are still reeling from the closure of the strait of Hormuz
Governments in Asia are scrambling to avoid their second major energy crisis in six months, as another maritime chokepoint in the Middle East faces a violent blockade, leaving only the Suez canal completely open for the free movement of gulf oil.
Countries like Japan, the Philippines, Thailand and South Korea – which rely on Middle East oil for up to 90% of their imports – are working to secure supplies after Yemen’s Houthis launched a blockade of Saudi Arabian shipping passing through the Bab al-Mandab strait, which forms the southern entrance to the Red Sea.
Continue reading...KKR and Energy Capital Partners poised to buy firm despite misgivings from founder and biggest shareholders
One of the biggest energy businesses listed on the London Stock Exchange has agreed a controversial £5.7bn takeover by private equity, adding to the growing exodus of companies from the UK market.
The US private equity groups KKR and Energy Capital Partners are poised to buy DCC Energy after the company’s board recommended the offer despite misgivings from its founder and biggest shareholders.
Continue reading...Greenland Energy says billions of barrels of crude could lie beneath territory and claims it has permission to bring drilling kit ashore – a claim denied by Nuuk
On 10 June, a snowy-haired American in his 60s addressed the residents of a remote Greenland hamlet. He was there to tell them about a business venture supported by figures linked to Donald Trump. “So,” Robert Price said via an interpreter, “we have a project to drill for oil here.”
The Texas oil company that Price represents, Greenland Energy, hopes to prove that billions of barrels of crude lie underground by bringing in 300 shipping containers of drilling kit.
Continue reading...Brent crude benchmark rose to more than $80 a barrel, its steepest increase since ceasefire began
Oil markets have recorded their sharpest price rise in nearly two months after a series of attacks on fossil fuel tankers near the strait of Hormuz led Donald Trump to declare that the ceasefire deal with Iran was over.
At the same time, UK short-dated bonds suffered their worst day since the end of March as the prospect grew of a Bank of England rate rise to cope with the renewed inflationary pressures.
Continue reading...Quarterly Ofgem price cap rises to equivalent of £1,862 a year from 1 July amid growing consumer energy debt
Ministers are facing growing pressure to lower energy costs as households in Great Britain face the steepest rise in summer bills in four years this week.
The quarterly cap on gas and electricity charges will rise by 13% from Wednesday to the equivalent of £1,862 a year for an average household, just days after figures revealed that consumer energy debt had reached record highs.
Continue reading...French capital hails ‘landmark decision’ against oil firm relating to disclosure of emissions from oil and gas products
A Paris court has ruled that the French oil company TotalEnergies must disclose the climate risks linked to emissions from its oil and gas products and set out plans to address them in a high-stakes case brought by NGOs and the city of Paris.
The ruling on Thursday is a partial victory for climate change NGOs seeking to apply France’s 2017 corporate duty of vigilance law to the climate crisis. However, the court stopped short of ordering specific measures such as limiting overseas exploration and production or setting binding emissions reduction targets.
Continue reading...Stock markets on both sides of Atlantic up as concerns ease over prospect of another inflationary shock
Oil prices have fallen to pre-Iran war levels as more oil tankers exited the strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell to a low of $72.24 a barrel on Thursday, slightly lower than the day before the US and Israel launched missile attacks on Tehran on 28 February. Prices have fallen more than 20% this month.
Continue reading...Neso issues rare summer warning for Wednesday evening, as households turn on fans and air conditioning
Great Britain’s grid operator has released a rare summer power supply warning for Wednesday evening as the heatwave is expected to get more intense, putting pressure on the energy system.
The National Energy System Operator (Neso) issued an electricity margin notice late on Tuesday, asking power plant owners to provide any extra electricity, as the buffer between supply and expected demand comes under pressure.
Continue reading...Great Britain has paid at least six times the normal price for imported power as millions turn on air conditioning and windfarm output sags
The heatwave has prompted a sharp rise in electricity prices across European markets as millions turn to air conditioners and electric fans to battle record high temperatures, which have also caused a string of power plant outages across the continent.
Great Britain imported electricity from Europe at more than six times the normal price on Tuesday as the high-pressure heat dome has slowed wind speeds, hitting renewable energy generation, and led to outages at multiple gas plants across the country.
Continue reading...Make UK says manufacturers’ feedback shows sector at risk of collapse as it calls on Treasury to take action
Britain’s industrial sector is at risk of collapse as thousands of companies warn that they could face bankruptcy within the next year because of high energy prices, according to an industry survey.
The manufacturers’ body Make UK said the latest feedback from its members found that many would not be able to cope for much longer with energy costs that were twice the average in continental Europe and four times higher than in the US.
Continue reading...Change in viewing habits offered by match times at 2026 tournament could mean using cheaper off-peak power
Watching late-night or early hours football could provide UK households with a practical opportunity to cut their energy bills, as even just doing the washing when cheaper electricity rates apply can net a decent saving.
At a time when energy costs are back at worrying highs, research by E.ON Next shows the potential to save money on a time-of-use tariff – in this case, its Next Smart Saver deal, which has three rates: peak, off-peak and super off-peak.
Continue reading...Government urged to help speed up vital industrial project amid growing alarm over National Grid delays
Trade unions have called for the government to intervene to speed up Tata Steel’s connection to the electricity grid in south Wales, after the company said its new furnace would be delayed by up to a year.
Tata Steel last month told investors that National Grid had said it would face a six- to eight-month delay. That could stretch to 12 months amid unexpected engineering difficulties.
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