Kentucky: 'War on Coal' Yields to Hope for New Economy
When Dan Mosley became head of Kentucky's Harlan County government this year, he promised - like those elected before him - to defend the state's beleaguered coal industry. But Mosley also vowed to do something else for his county: help build a new economy based on something other than coal. "The best business I've seen in town lately has been the U-Haul business because people are moving out," said Mosley, a boyish-looking father of two, speaking after a community meeting in the century-old coal town of Benham.
Kemp: BP Must Remain British, says Whitehall
"Downing Street has discreetly let it be known in the City that it would oppose any takeover of BP," the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The prime minister's office has signalled it would make life difficult for any bidder, although no bid has been mooted yet, the newspaper said ("UK ministers make Gallic gesture to keep the British in BP", April 26). The company formerly known as British Petroleum was rebranded as the more neutral BP at the turn of the millennium after absorbing U.S. oil firms Amoco and Arco.
Argentina Launches Lawsuit Against Falklands Oil Drillers
Argentina announced on Friday it had started legal proceedings in one of its own courts against five British and American companies drilling for oil and gas in the Falkland Islands, a move Britain denounced as bullying. Britain defeated Argentina in a 1982 war over the South Atlantic islands and administers them as an overseas territory, whose population of around 3,000 voted overwhelmingly to remain under British rule in a referendum in 2013.
Oil Find near Gatwick Boosts UK Production Hopes
A small British oil producer said it had discovered a possible world class oil resource in the countryside to the south of London that could contain billions of barrels of oil. The London-listed oil explorer UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG) said on Thursday up to 100 billion barrels of oil could lie below the green fields around Gatwick Airport, however it cautioned that only a fraction of that could be recovered. The news sent shares in the small firm up 200 percent and prompted the national press to dub the area "Britain's Dallas".
Thatcher's Secret Weapon in Miners' Strike Shuts, Ending an Era
Littlebrook power station, which towers grimly over the lower Thames near Dartford in Kent, ceases operations today after almost 35 years, the last of Britain's big oil-fired power plants to close. Littlebrook is an unlikely symbol of modern Britain. But the power plant played a critical role helping the Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher break the miners' strike of 1984/85. Now its closure marks the impact of higher oil prices and EU-wide policies…
Kemp: Britain's North Sea O&G Firms Must Look to Future Abroad
Britain's North Sea oil and gas operators are mounting an impressive lobbying campaign to win tax concessions and other government help ahead of the final budget of this parliament on March 18. In an editorial in Thursday's Financial Times newspaper endorsed the idea of "a new deal to keep North Sea oil flowing". The newspaper wants the complex system of tax allowances to be simplified, rates cut, and more risk-sharing between exploration companies and taxpayers.
Oil Price Fall Puts Squeeze on North Sea Energy Minnows
Plunging oil prices have increased the strain on the many small energy firms operating in the North Sea who were already facing diminishing returns from an area that once helped power the British economy. With fields more mature and oil harder to find, heavyweights such as BP and Shell turned their attention elsewhere long ago, leaving smaller independent firms to explore the more remote areas. As many as 133 companies are now active in the British part of the North Sea.
UK Coal: Hope in Carbon Capture
Yorkshire CCS project could burn domestic coal; Industry wants government commitment to UK supply. Some of UK's last underground mines to shut down. A short drive across Britain's gritty former industrial heartland of south Yorkshire separates the past and the possible future of its once mighty coal industry. Kellingley colliery's winding towers loom over modest streets of row houses, lined with "For Sale" signs. The mine is likely to shut soon because it is losing money - one of the last three working underground pits in the country.
Kemp: Oil Market Mightier than OPEC
There is nothing remotely surprising about the sharp fall in oil prices over the last four months, except perhaps the timing. The fundamental forces driving prices lower (rising supply outside OPEC from shale and sluggish demand growth as result of conservation and substitution) have been clearly visible for at least two years. "If the shale revolution can be sustained in the United States, and successfully exported to other countries…
