Category Archives: Energy industry

MPs open inquiry into success of UK Treasury sanctions on Russia

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Treasury committee to consider case for targeting buyers of Russian oil and gas as Moscow weathers penalties

The Treasury committee on Thursday opened an investigation looking at the effectiveness of the UK’s economic sanctions on Russia, including whether the measures need to be widened to cover the buyers of Russian oil and gas.

The MPs will take evidence on the work of the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of the Treasury, which implements and enforces the sanctions in the UK, including on implementation within the insurance and shipping sectors.

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Tata confirms Somerset will be home to £4bn battery factory

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Indian conglomerate says gigafactory in Bridgwater will bring about 4,000 jobs to region

The Indian conglomerate Tata has confirmed Bridgwater in Somerset as the site of its new £4bn battery factory, which will bring about 4,000 jobs to the region.

Tata’s battery business, Agratas, said it had bought land at the Gravity Smart campus off the M5, just outside the town.

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Shell must clean up pollution before it leaves Niger delta, report says

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Firm told it must take responsibility for toxic legacy of pollution and safe decommissioning of abandoned oil infrastructure

The oil firm Shell cannot be allowed to withdraw from the Niger delta before it takes responsibility for its toxic legacy of pollution and the safe decommissioning of abandoned oil infrastructure, a report says.

Shell plc is preparing to divest from the delta but a report warns that it must remain until it has cleaned up its legacy of pollution.

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Labour would lift block on onshore windfarms, says Ed Miliband

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Tory government has ‘ducked’ difficult decisions, leading to higher bills, says shadow energy secretary

Labour has claimed a “culture of inertia and stasis” has blocked renewable energy projects under the Conservatives and says the party will overturn a de facto onshore wind ban “at the stroke of a pen” if it wins the general election.

The shadow energy secretary, Ed Miliband, told energy industry executives at a conference in London on Tuesday that Labour would immediately rip up a decade-long effective block on large onshore wind developments in England if elected.

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British Gas launches fixed-rate energy deal offering 12% saving on price cap

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Price Promise tariff gives discount on current cap and guarantees to be at least £1 per fuel under April one

British Gas has launched a fixed-rate gas and electricity deal that offers a 12% saving over most existing price-capped tariffs, adding a new choice to the hard-to-navigate home energy market.

For the past two winters, consumers have largely been spared having to seek out the cheapest deal, because, in almost all cases, it was their supplier’s price cap-protected standard tariff.

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Bank of England governor dampens hopes of interest rate cut

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Andrew Bailey says cost of living had been higher than expected in December despite ‘encouraging’ inflation news

The Bank of England governor has doused hopes that better-than-expected inflation news last month will accelerate cuts in interest rates, stressing the need for further evidence of wage moderation before Threadneedle Street moves.

Appearing before the House of Lords economics committee on Wednesday, Andrew Bailey said it was “encouraging” that inflation had remained unchanged at 4% in January but the previous month’s figure for the cost of living had been higher than predicted.

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Make used electric cars cheaper and tackle battery fears, peers tell ministers

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Grants needed towards buying EVs as well as a battery health testing standard to reassure consumers

Ministers need to intervene to boost the secondhand electric vehicle market and allay “uncertainty and concerns” over the health of their batteries, a House of Lords committee has said.

Peers on the environment and climate change committee urged the government to step up efforts to encourage electric vehicle adoption amid consumer jitters over the cost of vehicles, the longevity of their batteries and the availability of charging points.

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Legal action launched against ‘rip-off’ secret commissions on UK firms’ energy bills

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Thousands of small businesses sue for return of brokers’ fees that often go undisclosed in billing

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Businesses across the UK have been forced to pay an extra 10% on average for their gas and electricity because suppliers routinely add third-party broker commissions to their bills, according to a leading litigation law firm.

Thousands of small businesses have joined a group legal action, led by the law firm Harcus Parker, to claw back up to £2bn in undisclosed broker fees added to their energy bills.

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Saudi Arabia surprises oil markets by ditching plan to increase production

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Blow to Joe Biden, who had hoped to benefit from lower pump prices in an election year

Saudi Arabia has cast doubt on the future of the global oil market after abandoning plans to grow its crude production capacity by 1m barrels a day.

The world’s biggest exporter signalled a big change in policy by ordering the state oil company, Saudi Aramco, to drop plans to expand its maximum production capacity to 13m barrels a day by 2027.

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Biden’s delay of ‘carbon bomb’ projects could be a big deal – but will it last?

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Climate activists cheer decision to pause all pending liquified natural gas export licenses, but is it just a delay till after November elections?

Joe Biden has, at least for a while, defused a ticking carbon bomb. Climate activists and the fossil fuel industry are now left wondering how long it will last.

The decision on Friday by the Biden administration to pause all pending export licenses for liquified national gas (LNG) to consider the climate impact of the projects has been hailed as a momentous shift in the status quo by those concerned by the unfolding climate crisis.

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Hinkley Point C could be delayed to 2031 and cost up to £35bn, says EDF

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As nuclear plant is hit by further delay, real cost will be far higher after inflation is included, as project uses 2015 prices

The owner of Hinkley Point C has blamed inflation, Covid and Brexit as it announced the nuclear power plant project could be delayed by a further four years, and cost £2.3bn more.

The plant in Somerset, which has been under construction since 2016, is now expected to be finished by 2031 and cost up to £35bn, France’s EDF said. However, the cost will be far higher once inflation is taken into account, because EDF is using 2015 prices.

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Alok Sharma condemns government’s oil and gas bill as vote passes first hurdle

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Former Cop26 president abstains from vote saying bill breaks UK’s promise to phase out fossil fuels

Alok Sharma has said the government’s oil and gas bill going through the Commons will not cut household energy costs or create jobs and instead will break the UK’s promise to phase out fossil fuels.

The government’s offshore petroleum licensing bill passed its second reading on Monday night with 293 votes to 211 against. No Conservative MPs voted against it, and Sharma – the former business secretary who served as president of the Cop26 climate talks – abstained. The legislation would place the North Sea Transition Authority under a duty to run annual applications for new offshore oil and gas licences.

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Women added to Cop29 climate summit committee after backlash

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Panel was originally composed of 28 men, a move condemned as ‘regressive’ and ‘shocking’

The president of Azerbaijan has added 12 women to the previously all-male organising committee for the Cop29 global climate summit, which the country will host in December.

The move follows a backlash after the Guardian reported the initial 28-man composition of the committee, which was called “regressive” by the She Changes Climate campaign group. “Climate change affects the whole world, not half of it,” the group said.

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UK government sets out plans for ‘biggest nuclear power expansion in 70 years’

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Ministers hope to build fleet of reactors to meet quarter of electricity demand by 2050 but critics highlight long delays and rising costs

The government has set out plans for what it claims will be Britain’s biggest nuclear power expansion in 70 years, despite concerns about faltering nuclear output and project delays.

Ministers published a roadmap on Friday that recommits the government to building a fleet of nuclear reactors capable of producing 24GW by 2050 – enough to meet a quarter of the national electricity demand.

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EDF Energy plans to extend life of four UK nuclear power plants

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French energy company to invest a further £1.3bn in its British nuclear fleet up to 2026

EDF is planning to extend the life of four nuclear power stations in the UK and increase investment in its British nuclear fleet.

The French energy company, which manages Britain’s eight nuclear power stations, said it would make a decision on whether to extend the life of the four plants with advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR) – Torness, Heysham 1 and 2, and Hartlepool – by the end of the year. This would require regulatory approval.

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Sellafield nuclear safety and security director to leave

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Multiple safety and cybersecurity failings at nuclear waste site were revealed by Guardian last month

The top director responsible for safety and security at Sellafield is to leave the vast nuclear waste dump in north-west England, it has emerged.

Mark Neate, the Sellafield environment, safety and security director, is to leave the organisation later this year.

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Labour’s energy advisers warn against watering down £28bn green investment

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Climate thinktank says Britain could be left trailing in global race to develop low-carbon energy

Labour’s independent energy advisers have warned the party against watering down its £28bn green spending plans in advance of its promise to create a zero carbon electricity system by 2030.

Experts at the climate thinktank Ember, which provided the independent analysis underpinning Labour’s green targets, said growing international competition for low-carbon investment from the US and EU could leave the UK lagging in the global race for low-carbon energy.

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Oil prices rise after Iran rejects calls to end support for Houthi Red Sea attacks

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Brent crude is up 2% to $78.77 a barrel as hopes of strong demand in China also push up prices

Oil prices have risen sharply after Iran rejected calls to end support for attacks by Houthi rebels on vessels in the Red Sea and sent a warship to the key trading route.

In the first trading session of the new year, Brent crude rose $1.73, or more than 2%, to $78.77 a barrel on Tuesday, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $73.36 a barrel, up $1.71, or 2.4%.

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Octopus Energy raises $800m and aims to create 3,000 green jobs in UK

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Extra cash values firm at nearly $8bn, as it says it has greater share of home electricity market than British Gas

Octopus Energy has raised $800m (£630m) from its shareholders in a move that values the company at nearly $8bn, weeks after it became Britain’s biggest power supplier.

Its existing investors, which include Japan’s Tokyo Gas and Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management, have ploughed in extra cash as the value of the utility company surged by 60% since its last fundraising round two years ago.

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BP halts oil and gas shipments through Red Sea after rebel attacks

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Energy company follows decisions by five big shipping firms as Houthi militants step up attacks on vessels

BP has halted all shipments of oil and gas through the Red Sea after an increase in the number of attacks on cargo ships by Houthi militants in Yemen, including a strike on a Norwegian-owned vessel.

The British oil company said on Tuesday that it had paused shipping in the region indefinitely, citing a “deteriorating security situation” amid tensions in the Middle East.

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