Shell and Equinor face off against UK North Sea oil, gas projects
Shell and Equinor urged on Tuesday an Scottish court to support Britain's approval of the development two vast North Sea gas and oil fields as environmental activists attempted to block these projects. Shell is fighting Greenpeace's legal challenge at the Court of Session of Edinburgh regarding Britain's approval of the Jackdaw Gas Field in 2022. Equinor, a Norwegian oil company, and Ithaca Energy, its partner in the case are opposing the decision of 2023 to approve the planned Rosebank Oilfield. The first day began with Shell winning an appeal against a landmark Dutch ruling which required it to speed up its carbon reduction efforts.
Norway court rejects environmental order against oil and gas field
The Norwegian Court of Appeal ruled on Monday in favor of the Government in an appeal brought by environmentalists who wanted to stop the development of three gas and oil fields. Greenpeace, among others, sued the Norwegian Government to stop the development of new oil and natural gas resources. This is the latest dispute related to climate change. In January, a lower court found that Norway's Energy Ministry failed to assess fully the climate impact of future oil and gas use in the fields, also known as scope three emissions. This ruling was made in response to a lawsuit filed by Greenpeace and Nature and Youth.
The UK has committed up to $28.5 billion for carbon capture projects
The government announced on Friday that it will invest up to 21.7 billion pounds (up to $28.5 billion) in 25 years for the development of carbon capture and storage technology to reduce emissions from energy, industry, and hydrogen production. Britain has set a target of achieving net zero emissions in 2050. CCS is needed to reduce emissions from industries that are energy-intensive and to create jobs. In a press release, Chancellor of Exchequer Rachel Reeves stated that "this game-changing technology" will bring 4,000 jobs to communities in Merseyside & Teesside as well as billions of dollars of private investment.
Spain, a leading olive oil producer, uses olive stones as fuel
David Jimenez Zamora, a farmer in Spain, barely batted an eyelid when the price of gas and electricity soared due to the energy crisis. The Spanish man kept the heated pool and hot water flowing for up to 26 guests in his 18th century farmhouse. What is his secret? Olive stones. The 48-year old said, "We use the olive pits that we have on our trees to heat up the pool and the underfloor heating systems. He said that the store, which held 5,000 kilos, was located in Granada in southern Andalusia. Two agricultural cooperatives that he is a member of also use olive stones to power machines that produce Spain's famed liquid gold olive oil.
Aker BP begins production at Tyrving Oilfield amid legal battle between the government and Aker BP over approval
Aker BP, a Norwegian oil company, has begun production at its Tyrving off-shore oilfield. The Norwegian government is trying to overturn the court's ruling that the project approval was invalid due to the failure to evaluate the climate impact. The Oslo District Court in January ruled that the Norwegian energy ministry failed to assess fully the climate impact of the production and use of oil and natural gas when it approved three offshore projects including Tyrving and that the permits were invalid. The government has appealed that ruling, and an hearing for a portion of the case will begin on Wednesday.
Best estimate of the new Swiss nuclear dawn is decades away
Energy experts and politicians warned that bringing new nuclear power plants online in Switzerland would take decades because of the many political and financial obstacles. This comes after the Swiss government announced its plans to lift an existing ban on new nuclear plants. The Federal Council reversed its decision from 2017 to abandon nuclear power in order to achieve climate goals, and to respond to geopolitical uncertainty, such as the Ukraine War, which has fueled fears of outages. Le Temps, a Swiss newspaper…
Report: China's declining coal plant approvals indicate a shift in energy policy
The sharp decline in the number of new coal plants in China indicates that the world's biggest builder polluting power stations is shifting its energy policy to more renewable development. However, coal will continue to play a major part, according a report on Thursday. China approved only 10 new coal-fired plants with a combined capacity of 9 gigawatts in the first six months of 2024, a drop of 83% from the previous year. This is according to the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and the U.S. Global Energy Monitor. The report showed that China added more than 400 GW in wind and solar power since 2023.
Greenpeace reports that China has reduced new coal power plant approvals by almost 80%.
A report by an environmental group shows that China, the largest coal-fired power station builder in the world, has cut the number permits for new plants almost 80% during the first half 2024. The report says time will tell if this is a turning point. Based on data from new project approvals, the Greenpeace East Asia Report also found that China's combined solar and wind capacity of 11.8 Terawatts (TW), exceeded coal capacity (11.7TW), for the first in the first half. This capacity accounted for 84.2% all new grid-connected power.
Activists Blockade Shell Refinery in Port of Rotterdam
Dozens of Greenpeace activists in Rotterdam port used a ship, buoys and a small flotilla of kayaks on Monday to block traffic around Shell’s Pernis refinery, Europe’s largest, as part of a campaign seeking a ban on fossil fuel advertising.Police ended the blockade after several hours and the port’s authority said economic disruption to the wider harbor was minimal.The action comes as Greenpeace and more than 20 other environmental groups began seeking a million signatures for a European Union-wide ban on adverts and sponsorships by oil and gas companies…
"Coal has to go," CEO of Poland's PGE Says
Coal has obviously to be scrapped as a power source, the CEO of the Polish group which owns the EU’s biggest carbon-emitting power plant said on Thursday, underscoring a policy shift in a country until recently wedded to coal to generate electricity.Poland produces most of its electricity from coal but has made a series of policy shifts in recent months and now plans investment in offshore wind, nuclear power and solar energy to help decarbonize its economy.“Today it is obvious that we need to move away from coal,” Wojciech Dabrowski, chief executive of PGE, told an offshore industry conference.
Activists Climb Shell North Sea Platform
Greenpeace activists boarded two Royal Dutch Shell oil platforms in the British North Sea on Monday in protest against plans to leave parts of the giant structures in place after production shuts down.Pictures provided by Greenpeace show two people in yellow hats scaling one of giant two large, rusty structures and unfurling a banner reading "Clean up your mess, Shell!"Shell confirmed that protesters boarded the Brent Alpha platform and the Brent Bravo concrete legs.Shell is in the process of dismantling the 40-year-old Brent field east of the Shetland islands, in what is known as decommissioning, as its oil and gas reserves dwindle afte
Seaborne Nuclear Power Plant Docks in Russia
Russia's first-floating nuclear power plant has arrived to its permanent base near an isolated Russian town across the Bering Strait from Alaska, Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom said on Saturday.Developed by Rosatom, the plant, known as "Akademik Lomonosov", set off on a 5,000 km (3,100 mile) journey on Aug. 23 through Arctic waters to reach the Chukotka region. Rosatom said it aims to make the floating station operational by the year-end. It would become the world's northernmost nuclear power station.The plant will replace a coal-fired power plant and an aging nuclear power plant supplying more than 50…
BP Rig Arrives On Site Despite Protests
A BP drilling rig reached its destination in the North Sea on Wednesday after 11 days of delays due to Greenpeace protests over climate change, the activist group said.The 40,000-metric-ton Paul Loyd JNR left Cromarty Firth, north of Inverness, Scotland last Friday, after being held for six days by activists who had climbed and camped out on one of its legs.Once at sea, the rig and its support vessels were forced to turn away three times after Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise ship prevented it from reaching the Vorlich oilfield to start its drilling campaign.The rig finally reached its destination on Wednesday afternoon, Greenpeace said.
Norway Wealth Fund to Drop ConocoPhillips, Hess
Norway's wealth fund will have to divest its holdings in ConocoPhillips and Hess after both U.S. oil companies were added to a list which effectively excludes them from the Nordic country's portfolio.As part of Norway's efforts to shift its $1 trillion "rainy day" fund away from oil, the country's parliament on Wednesday adopted a plan to drop all dedicated oil and gas explorers and producers, as defined by stock market indices provider FTSE Russell, from the fund's benchmark index.ConocoPhillips and Hess were both added to the list of those classified as "exploration and production" this month…
Environmental Activists Block BP London HQ
Greenpeace activists blocked the entrance to BP's London headquarters on Monday, demanding one of the world's biggest energy companies ends all new oil and gas exploration or goes out of business.Greenpeace activists arrived at the building in St James' Square in central London at 0200 GMT and encased themselves in specially designed containers to block all of the main entrances.A team of activists abseiled from the top of the building and placed huge letters over the windows reading 'CLIMATE EMERGENCY'."BP is fuelling a climate emergency that threatens millions of lives and the future of the living world…
Activists End Occupation of Arctic Drill Rig
Greenpeace activists climbed down from a Seadrill drilling rig in Norway on Tuesday and are no longer occupying it, the environmental group told Reuters.The rig, which was boarded by four activists on Monday, will be used next month by Equinor to explore for oil and gas in the Arctic.(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche, Writing by Terje Solsvik, Editing by Paul Tait)
Shell Faces Lawsuit From Environmentalists
Environmentalist and human rights groups said on Friday they had started a lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands to force the energy firm to cut its reliance on fossil fuels.The groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Netherlands, handed over a court summons to Shell at its headquarters in The Hague, demanding it stop extracting oil and gas and cut its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050."Shell spends billions on oil and gas exploration each year, with current plans to invest just 5 percent of its budget in sustainable energy and 95 percent in exploiting fossil fuels," the groups said.They said Shell's p
Norway Fund to Sell E&P Firms
Norway's trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund, the world's biggest, will sell its stakes in oil and gas explorers and producers but still invest in energy firms that have refineries and other downstream activities, according to a government plan.The proposal announced on Friday said the fund's stakes in integrated companies, such as Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil and other majors involved in everything from exploration to selling fuel at the roadside, would not be sold.The state, which has built up its wealth on the back of North Sea oil and gas reserves…
Bid to Suspend Total's Guyana Drilling Rejected
A French court has rejected an urgent request by environmental groups including Greenpeace and Surfrider Foundation Europe to deny oil and gas major Total permission to proceed with plans to drill off the coast of French Guyana.The environmental groups asked the court in December to suspend Total's permit to drill five wells in the block over environmental concerns.The court said there was no need for an urgent ruling, which would have come in time to halt the drilling operations.Total said in December that a drilling vessel was on the site to start drilling, and it invited activists to visit the site saying it was taking measures to pro
Norway Awards Oil Permits to 11 Firms in Arctic Licensing Round
Norway has awarded 12 oil and gas exploration licences to Equinor and 10 other companies focused mostly on the Arctic, where Oslo believes it has the greatest potential for significant new discoveries.Nine of the licences are located in the Barents Sea and three in the Norwegian Sea off central Norway, the Ministry of Oil and Energy said on Monday."This licensing round confirms that the oil companies see opportunities for further profitable petroleum activity in the north," Oil and Energy Minister Terje Soeviknes said in a statement.Equinor…
