Cameron Taps Rudd as UK Energy Secretary
British Prime Minister David Cameron has named Amber Rudd, one of the lesser known names from his party, as energy minister to tackle such controversial issues as government support for onshore wind farms and shale gas. Rudd, a former investment banker who previously served as parliamentary under-secretary in the Department of Energy and Climate Change for less than one year, replaces Ed Davey, a member of the Liberal Democrat Party who lost his parliamentary seat last week. The energy industry had been keenly awaiting the outcome of last week's election as all parties had proposed to enact changes around the way the big utility companies are run.
UK Pressure Forces Russian's North Sea Asset Sale
Mikhail Fridman's LetterOne fund offers 11 gas fields. Mikhail Fridman's LetterOne fund is set to formally launch the sale of North Sea gas fields it had acquired from RWE, bowing to British threats to revoke the assets' licences unless the Russian tycoon relinquishes ownership. The move signals that the Russian billionaire has decided against challenging the British government's rare intervention that comes amid a standoff between the West and Moscow over Russia's actions in Ukraine. Morgan Stanley is advising the sale which is expected to fetch a total of up to $1 billion, according to several banking and industry sources.
UK Decides to Revoke DEA Oil Licences Unless Ownership Changes
The British government has decided to revoke North Sea oil field licences owned by DEA, RWE's oil and gas unit bought last month by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's LetterOne, unless the licences change ownership, the energy ministry said. "The Secretary of State Ed Davey ... proposes to revoke DEA UK's North Sea petroleum licences unless LetterOne arranges for a further change of control of the DEA UK gas fields in the North Sea," the ministry said in a statement. LetterOne has up to six months to make a change in ownership, the ministry added. Reporting by Karolin Schaps
Norway, Britain to Build World's Longest Subsea Power Cable
The world's longest subsea electricity transmission cable is to be laid between Norway and Britain by 2021, Norway's Statnett said on Thursday. The 730km 1.4 gigawatt (GW) power cable will connect the two electricity markets directly for the first time and will be able to power nearly three quarters of a million British homes. The estimated cost of the project is between 1.5 billion euros and 2 billion euros ($1.65 billion-$2.2 billion), shared jointly by Statnett and Britain's National Grid. "Britain will benefit from Norwegian green hydropower…
UK Mulls Russian N. Sea deal, Could force Sale
The British government is still considering Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's acquisition of North Sea gas fields, but has made clear it has the power to require him to sell the assets, Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said on Wednesday. Fridman, whose fund LetterOne bought 11 UK gas fields as part of a 5 billion euro ($5.29 billion) takeover of energy firm DEA from Germany's RWE, has threatened to sue the government after it said it could force him to sell UK assets.
World Carbon Emissions Stall After 40 yrs Gains -IEA
Global emissions of carbon dioxide in the energy sector stalled in 2014, breaking steady rises over the past four decades except in years with an economic downturn, the International Energy Agency said on Friday. Emissions of carbon dioxide were flat at 32.3 billion tonnes in 2014 from 2013, according to the IEA. "This is both a welcome surprise and a significant one," IEA chief economist Fatih Birol said in a statement. The Paris-based IEA, which advises governments of developed nations, said the halt in emissions growth was linked to greener patterns of energy consumption in China…
UK Firm on RWE North Sea Deal
Britain will not back down over its opposition to Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman's purchase of North Sea gas licences having cemented its objections at a meeting attended by Prime Minister David Cameron, a government source told Reuters. The British government discussed the sale of German utility RWE's oil and gas production unit to Fridman at its National Security Council in recent weeks, the source said on Wednesday. "It was discussed at the highest level, a sign of how seriously we take the matter," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "The government is not going to change its position on the matter," the source said.
UK blocks Russian Oligarchs' Deal to buy North Sea fields
The British government blocked on Saturday a deal by Russian billionaires, Mikhail Fridman and German Khan, to buy 12 oil and gas fields in the North Sea as part of their acquisition of Germany's oil firm DEA from RWE , citing possible sanctions against Russia. "If the proposed acquisition were to proceed in its current form, he (Energy Secretary Ed Davey) would be minded to require the companies to arrange for a further sale to a suitable third party," the Department of Energy said in a statement. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov, editing by Louise Heavnes)
Britain Rejects Bid to Force Energy Companies to Pass on Oil Price Drop
British lawmakers on Wednesday voted against giving energy regulators the power to force utility firms to lower prices when wholesale costs fall, rejecting a bid by the opposition Labour Party designed to win over voters before an election in May. Labour called the vote to try and shift the political debate onto energy prices, an issue they have used successfully in the past to show that voters' living standards have fallen since Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron won power in 2010. Seeking to gain fresh momentum in an election race which is predicted to be the closest in a generation…
E.ON Cuts UK Household Gas Prices
E.ON has cut household gas prices on the back of a drop in wholesale energy prices, becoming the first energy supplier in Britain to pass on savings to consumers and putting pressure on other providers to do the same. The company said it would reduce British household gas prices by 3.5 percent, a cut that it expects will lower customers' gas bills by about 24 pounds ($36) a year. Wholesale gas prices have fallen on the back of a steep drop in oil prices and British politicians, gearing up for a May national election, have urged energy companies to pass on those savings.
Countries May Ditch Pledges Under New Climate Agreement
Countries may ditch a detailed checklist for what their pledges under a new climate agreements should contain, given deep splits over their breadth and scope, and whether they should draw a clear line between rich and poor nations. A two-week Lima conference entered its critical phase on Tuesday, as ministers from dozens of countries joined their national negotiators. All countries have committed to sign a new climate agreement in Paris at the end of 2015, pledging climate action beyond 2020. They have also agreed to publish pledges under the agreement by June next year at the latest.
UK Energy Minister Sees Rapid Reform of EU Carbon Market
Plans to accelerate reform of Europe's carbon market could be finalised as soon as April, building on the momentum from last week's EU deal on green energy policy, Britain's energy and climate minister said on Tuesday. The EU has been debating proposals to strengthen its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), meant to be the bloc's sharpest tool in shifting to a low carbon economy but blunted by a surplus of spare pollution permits. The plan is to set up a mechanism known as the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) to absorb some of the excess and drive up the price of allowances to increase the cost of burning higher carbon fuels relative to cleaner energy.
MOL Still Keen on RWE's O&G Unit if Rival Deal Fails
Hungary's MOL Group said it would be interested in re-entering talks to buy RWE's oil and gas unit DEA if a 5.1 billion euro ($6.5 billion) sale to Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman falls through. Investors and analysts have expressed concern about the deal since it was first announced in March, pointing to growing tensions between Europe and Russia over the Ukraine crisis. DEA, which operates in 14 countries, owns stakes in about 190 oil and gas licences or concessions in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. RWE requires approval from local governments to complete the transaction.
UK Energy Market Abuse to Include Jail Terms
Energy market riggers could face up to 2 years in prison. New criminal sanctions should come into force next spring. Utilities under pressure to improve transparency. The British government has proposed penalties including potential prison terms for people who manipulate the gas and electricity markets. Energy regulators can currently investigate and fine people found breaching rules on energy market abuse but cannot send them to prison or impose a criminal record. The government wants to widen those powers to safeguard consumers from unfair practices, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said on Wednesday.
Britain Firm on Carbon Target Despite Opposition
Britain's government said it would stick with a goal to curb emissions by 2027 to 50 percent of the 1990 levels, a target that has led to political opposition and that its own advisers have said will be hard to meet. The country has set binding targets for greenhouse gases over four five-year periods to 2027, known as carbon budgets, which aim to put it on track towards cutting emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by the middle of the century. "Retaining the budget at its existing level provides certainty for businesses and investors by demonstrating government's commitment to our long-term decarbonisation goals…
Britain Urges Deeper EU Carbon Market Reforms
Britain said it wants deeper reforms to the EU Emissions Trading System than those proposed by the European Commission and Germany, favouring cancelling hundreds of millions of carbon permits over launching a tool to regulate market supply. In a report detailing its vision for the fourth phase of the EU ETS, which will run from 2021 to 2030, Britain said major changes to the system are needed to help businesses cut their greenhouse gas emissions, to protect them from foreign competitors, and to foster investment in low-carbon technology.
UK Approves Offshore Wind Farm
The British government on Wednesday approved the construction of utility E.ON's 700 megawatt Rampion offshore wind farm off the coast of Sussex in the southern England. The 2 billion pound ($3.4 billion) project is expected to start producing electricity in 2018/19 and generate enough power for 450,000 households. Construction will start next year on the onshore part that services the wind farm, with more than 750 jobs supporting the project's development, the government said. "This project is great news for Sussex, providing green jobs as well as driving business opportunities…
Britain to Fund Oil Regulator Until 2022
The British government announced on Wednesday another 3 million pounds ($5.14 million) a year in funding for the country's new oil regulator until 2022, after which it will be fully financed by the industry. The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), which will be based in Aberdeen, Scotland, will be responsible for ensuring that oil explorers squeeze as much oil and gas out of Britain's North Sea as possible. It is expected to start operating later this year. A government-commissioned report published in February estimated an additional 200 billion pounds worth of fossil fuel can be recovered from the North Sea if companies retrieve the maximum potential.
UK Approves East Anglia One Offshore Wind Farm Project
The British government has approved the construction of the 1,200 megawatt (MW) East Anglia One offshore wind farm project which is expected to begin generating electricity from 2019, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said on Tuesday. Based off the coast of Suffolk, the project is a 50:50 joint venture between Sweden's state-owned utility Vattenfall and Scottish Power Renewables, a subsidiary of Spanish energy firm Iberdrola. "The East Anglia One offshore wind farm that is expected to support almost 2,900…
G7 to Begin Reducing Russian Energy Dependency
A process to reduce the biggest industrialised countries' dependence on Russian gas has begun to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin using it as a weapon, the UK energy secretary said on Tuesday at a G7 meeting to discuss energy security. "We have taken a strategic decision and will face up to the use by Russia of energy as a weapon. Putin has crossed a line," British Energy Secretary Ed Davey said on the margins of the meeting in Rome. "It will take some time to reduce our energy dependency on Russia but a significant process has been started...
