UK Mulls plan to pay Households affected by Fracking
Some tax proceeds from shale gas developments in Britain could be given directly to residents, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday, in a bid to help clear the path for an industry hampered for years by local opposition to fracking. Britain is estimated to have substantial amounts of shale gas trapped in underground rocks yet fracking applications have struggled to find approval from local communities, concerned about noise and environmental impacts. Last year, then finance minister George Osborne said the government would create…
Shares in UK Oil Firms Turn Higher After Osborne's Tax Changes
Shares in British oil firms extended gains on Wednesday after the government announced changes to the tax system in the sector to provide relief for the industry in the face of a slump in crude oil prices. UK finance minister George Osborne said he would effectively abolish the petroleum revenue tax, while reducing the rate of a "supplementary charge" on oil and gas producers. Shares in Cairn Energy, John Wood Group and Tullow Oil extended gains after the measures were announced, and were up 2.7-3.6 percent. (Reporting by Alistair Smout)
Britain Cuts Taxes for North Sea Oil Producers
Britain's finance minister George Osborne said he would cut taxes for energy companies pumping oil from the country's North Sea fields, in a boost for the indstry which is suffering from the impact of low crude prices. "I am today cutting in half the Supplementary Charge on oil and gas from 20 percent to 10 percent. And I'm effectively abolishing Petroleum Revenue Tax too," Osborne said in his annual budget statement on Wednesday. Shares in oil companies with fields in the North Sea including BP, Shell and Cairn Energy traded up on the news. (Reporting by Sarah Young)
Scotland Worries Remaining North Sea Oil Won't be Extracted
Scotland's finance minister has told the British government he is concerned that some of Britain's remaining North Sea oil will never be recovered as companies active in the area have scaled down investments due to the weak oil price. John Swinney, who is also Scotland's deputy first minister, urged British finance minister George Osborne in a letter to cut taxes on oil and gas companies and to consider giving loan guarantees to the sector to avoid early field shutdowns and more job losses. Scotland is home to most of Britain's oil and gas production and the oil market downturn has already led to around 10,000 job losses and salary cuts.
Britain Scraps 'Green' Costs for Energy-intensive Industry
Britain will permanently exclude energy-intensive industries such as steel and chemicals from extra costs to support green energy projects, finance minister George Osborne said on Wednesday. Steelmakers in particular have been hit by heavy energy costs that make it harder for them to compete internationally, contributing to thousands of job cuts in the sector in recent weeks. Tata Steel, the biggest steelmaker in Britain, for instance said last month it may cut about 1,200 jobs as part of plans to restructure its struggling operations. "We're going to permanently exempt our energy intensive industries ...
Progress Made in Chinese-British Nuclear Deal
Substantial progress has been made over a deal for two Chinese companies to help finance a British nuclear plant, one of a number of agreements on the table during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Britain next week, his ambassador said. Several pacts would be announced during the Oct. 19-23 trip, though it was still unclear whether the long-mooted deal for the Hinkley Point nuclear plant would actually be signed then, China's ambassador, Liu Xiaoming, told reporters. The Hinkley Point project is owned by the British subsidiary of the French energy company EDF.
Drax, Infinis Take UK Government to Court
Power producers Drax and Infinis Energy have started legal proceedings against the British government for not providing enough notice when it announced the removal of a climate change tax exemption in July. Drax, whose originally coal-fired power station in North Yorkshire is generating a growing amount of energy from burning "biomass" pellets made of wood, estimates the removal would reduce its core earnings by 30 million pounds ($46 million) this year and 60 million next. Drax and Infinis, which generates power from wind farms and landfill gas…
UK Chancellor Visits NorSea Group HQ
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne toured NorSea Group’s U.K. headquarters during a visit to Aberdeen this week. During the tour, Walter Robertson, MD of NorSea Group, gave the Minister an update on the work the company is carrying out in support of the subsea, construction and decommissioning sectors. NorSea Group provides a vendor consolidation service at its Altens HQ prior to transporting equipment to the company’s deepwater quayside facilities at Peterhead and Montrose. The primary role is to ensure the safe and efficient transfer of goods and equipment to and from vessels.
UK to Privatize Green Investment Bank
Bank will have greater freedom to borrow. Britain is to begin selling stakes in ts Green Investment Bank (GIB) to bring it into private ownership and to help it to grow, the government said on Thursday. Since the bank was created as a commercial venture at the end of 2012 to back green energy projects and to spur private sector investment it says it has invested 2 billion pounds ($3 billion) in 50 projects worth over 8 billion pounds including waste management plants and offshore wind farms. The move to privatise the bank also comes a week after the government said it would scrap all new subsidies for onshore wind farms a year earlier than previously planned.
Britain Cuts Oil Taxes, Hands Lifeline to Battered North Sea
British finance minister George Osborne on Wednesday cut oil taxes and announced the creation of an investment allowance, an attempt to breathe new life into the battered North Sea oil and gas industry. "It's clear to me that the fall in the oil price poses a pressing danger to the future of our North Sea industry - unless we take bold and immediate action," Osborne told parliament in his annual budget speech. Investments in Britain's North Sea oil and gas sector, worth around 5 billion pounds ($7.33 billion) a year to the government…
UK North Sea Investments to Halve
Investment in British North Sea projects is expected to fall below 8 billion pounds ($12.35 billion) in 2016 from 14.8 billion last year, and could shrink further due to a rise in costs and fall in prices, industry lobby group Oil & Gas UK said in an annual survey on Tuesday. Falling investment means much of Britain's remaining oil reserves will not be extracted, said Malcolm Webb, chief executive of Oil & Gas UK, casting doubt on a North Sea revival which the government hopes will help fill its coffers. "Without sustained investment in new and existing fields…
UK: Energy Firms Should Pass Price Drop to Consumers
The British government on Wednesday told energy companies and airlines to pass on a steep fall in oil prices to consumers, saying it was considering whether action was needed to force firms to do so. Four months before a May 7 national election energy prices are a politically sensitive topic, with consumers' living standards only just starting to recover from a prolonged period of economic stagnation. A glut in global oil supplies has caused Brent crude prices to more than halve in a little more than six months, prompting the government to examine whether firms who are benefiting from the fall are lowering their prices.
Blame Game in Europe as Pump Prices Lag the Drop in Crude
A slide in the price of crude oil is not being matched in Europe by a fall at the pump, and as political pressure for cheaper petrol mounts, retailers and consumer groups differ over what causes the lag. Retail petrol taxes and the strength of the dollar mean that drivers in Europe can not expect to see the full benefit of the more than 40 percent drop in crude prices since June. Even accounting for these factors, however, the gap is still wide. European Commission figures show that price reductions for consumers in many of the largest economies amount to less than half the fall in wholesale refined fuel prices…
Britain Promises Oil Industry Tax Cuts
The British government promised its oil and gas industry on Thursday that it would cut tax rates in the sector to help dampen spiralling costs. UK North Sea oil and gas output, worth around 5 billion pounds a year to government coffers, has declined rapidly as resources run low and costs to develop and operate fields surge. The government concluded in a review published on Thursday that it would have to reduce taxes imposed on the industry to help it cope with huge costs to encourage oil firms to continue extracting oil and gas from the North Sea. The first announcements will be made in the 2015 budget, which is scheduled for March.
Britain Trims Oil Tax to Help Firms Cope With Low Prices
Britain will trim a supplementary tax on oil companies by 2 percentage points next year, the finance minister announced, less than the cut sought by the industry as it grapples with high costs and a steep decline in oil prices. The government will reduce the supplementary charge, an added tax on oil producers' profits, to 30 percent from 32 percent from Jan. 1, George Osborne announced on Wednesday, while the oil and gas industry had hoped for more. "There is record investment this year in the North Sea, but the lower oil price clearly presents a challenge to this vital industry," Osborne said as he announced a half-yearly budget update.
North Sea firms “Biding Time”
Oil and gas operators may be sitting on new investment decisions until the future of the North Sea becomes clearer, according to the latest report from business advisory firm Deloitte. The report, which details drilling, licensing and deal activity across North West Europe over the third quarter of 2014 and was ompiled by Deloitte’s Petroleum Services Group (PSG), found that four deals were announced offshore UK. This is slightly down in the five transactions reported in Q2 2014 and substantially lower than the 14 registered during Q3 2013.
UK Clamp Down on North Sea Drilling Tax Holiday
A planned change in the way Britain taxes North Sea drillers exposes the loophole in a system that allowed an industry with annual revenues of 2 billion pounds to pay almost no corporation tax for two decades, prompting accusations that the UK tax authority is falling down on the job. The change, announced by Finance Minister George Osborne in March, caps the amount a UK company can deduct from profit for leasing drilling rigs from an overseas unit in the same group. The rig-leasing units are typically based in countries where their income is taxed lightly or not at all.
North Sea Drilling & Deals to Remain Lower: New Report
Drilling and deal activity on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) will remain at a steady low for at least the next year, suggests a new report from business advisory firm Deloitte. Poor weather and high costs have already had an impact on the amount of exploration and appraisal (E&A) work conducted by operators in the region during the first quarter. The report, which details activity across North West Europe over the first three months of 2014 and was compiled by Deloittes Petroleum Services Group (PSG), found a total of 12 E&A wells were drilled on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).
Shift in Wind Favourable to UK Offshore Wind Industry
The government is to make big changes to the way it subsidises renewable energy, with subsidies for windfarms set to rise at the expense of onshore options, reports BBC News. The BBC reports Government ministers as stating that they will cut support for onshore wind and solar energy, but give more backing to offshore wind power. The price producers are promised for onshore wind power and solar energy will be cut from 2015, while the amount paid for offshore wind power will be increased. The shift on wind energy comes ahead of Chancellor George Osborne's Autumn Statement, which he will deliver to MPs shortly. Source: BBC News
Rolls-Royce to Open Brazilian Offshore Facility
Rolls-Royce and U.K. Chancellor George Osborne announced today that the Group will further invest in Rio de Janeiro State to better support customers in the rapidly expanding offshore oil and gas industry. A new £22 million marine facility in Duque de Caxias will be used to assemble and test large thrusters and other propulsion equipment for use on semisubmersible rigs, drill ships, FPSOs and other highly complex offshore vessels. Construction at the 27,000 sqm site will begin next month. Delivery of the first set of UUC 405 thrusters, for seven drill ships being built by Brazilian shipyard Estaleiro Atlântico Sul for Sete Brasil, will commence in June of 2015.
