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…
Britain has pledged up to 21,7 billion pounds for cleaner energy
The government announced on Friday that it will invest up to 28.46 billion pounds (21.7 billion pounds) in the development of carbon capture and storage and hydrogen technology for northern England. 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. The Chancellor of Exchequer Rachel Reeves stated that "this game-changing technology" will create 4,000 jobs in communities in Merseyside, and Teesside.
Has Green Hydrogen Sprung a Leak?
The green hydrogen express is gathering pace, but it may have a worrying problem with leaks.As governments and energy companies line up big bets on the much-touted fuel of the future, some scientists say the lack of data on leaks and the potential harm they could cause is a blind spot for the nascent industry.At least four studies published this year say hydrogen loses its environmental edge when it seeps into the atmosphere. Two scientists told Reuters that if 10% leaks during its production…
Britain's Cuadrilla Extracts First Shale Gas at English Fracking Site
Cuadrilla extracted its first shale gas from its site in northwest England, it said on Friday, after it began fracking operations there just over two weeks ago.Cuadrilla said the gas flows were small but coming at such an early stage of the project were evidence of the potential of the site."This is a good early indication of the gas potential that we have long talked about," Cuadrilla Chief Executive Francis Egan said in an emailed statement.Fracking, or hydraulically fracturing…
SSE Eyes New Large Gas Plant at its UK Ferrybridge Site
British utility SSE could build a new 2,000 megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant at its Ferrybridge site in northern England, it said on Wednesday. SSE expects to submit a planning application for the plant to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in Q1 2019 it said. A 2,000 MW plant could produce enough electricity to power around 2 million homes SSE closed its coal-fired power station in Ferrybridge in 2016. Reporting By Susanna Twidale
Total, Eni, Statoil Seek to Shed Teesside Terminal Stakes
Total, Eni and Statoil are seeking buyers for their stake in the Teesside oil terminal in northern England, which receives crude from the Norwegian Ekofisk fields, part of the global Brent benchmark, banking sources said. The sale is run jointly by investment bank Rothschild and may fetch as much as $400 million, according to the sources. Total holds a 32.9 percent stake in the terminal, Statoil a 27.3 percent stake and Eni a 10.3 percent stake. Paris Orleans holds the remaining 0.2 percent stake but it was unclear if they are taking part in the sale process.
France's Total Extends British Shale Gas Involvement
French oil major Total has extended an option with British shale gas developer Egdon Resources to buy a stake in one of Egdon's shale gas licences, the companies said on Tuesday. Egdon said in a statement Total had agreed on an option to farm in to its PEDL209 exploration licence in Lincolnshire by Dec. 31, 2018, which would earn it a 36 percent interest. Total's previous option on the licence had lapsed. In exchange, Total has agreed to then pay Egdon's expenses of an exploration programme worth up to 13.47 million pounds ($17 million), including the drilling of a well.
Report: Slack Management Exposed BP to Risk
BP's refining operations are exposed to high safety risks that can lead to deadly accidents and pollution as a result of slack management and a lack of investment, according to a leaked internal report from 2015. The report, co-authored by BP, IBM and industry consultancy WorleyParsons, states that the British company's refining and petrochemical business, known as downstream, is trailing rivals such as Royal Dutch Shell by up to seven years in managing information to reduce safety risks and financial losses.
Europe's Offshore Wind Industry Prepares for Atlantic Crossing
Leases up for grabs off U.S. Atlantic coast; Europe leads industry but state support cooling. Yield-hungry investors in the offshore wind market are switching their sights to the United States as future support for the industry in Europe remains uncertain, leaving billions of euros looking for a new home. The shift in focus comes as three states on the U.S. east coast -- Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York -- are auctioning leases on hundreds of thousands of acres for offshore wind farms, drawing interest from leading European companies.
Brexit Could Provide Boost for Britain's Shale Gas
Britain's shale gas industry could get a helping hand from a falling pound and a supportive new prime minister just as it is gearing up for its first production this year, after facing economic and political challenges that slowed its start. The British pound's weakness since the Brexit vote has made it more expensive to import gas, helping the case for shale gas which had been hurt in the past by weak oil prices and by opposition to planning approval from local campaigners.
Kemp: Oil Wells in England's Green and Pleasant Land
There could be up to 100 billion barrels of oil onshore beneath southern England, the chief executive of a small exploration firm told the BBC in an interview on Thursday. To which the correct response is "yes, but". Based on an analysis of samples from a single well drilled near London's Gatwick airport, UK Oil and Gas Investments estimates there could be 158 million barrels per square mile in the local area. Horse Hill, where the well was drilled, is part of the Weald Basin…
Scottish Power, Egdon Give Go-Ahead to UK Shale Gas Project
Scottish Power, owned by Spain's Iberdrola, and Egdon Resources have decided to move ahead with a joint project to explore and develop shale gas in Britain, after seismic data showed the potential for reserves. Britain is counting on the development of shale gas to help lessen its increasing dependence on imports as North Sea output declines. Under a farm-in agreement between the two companies, Scottish Power, which holds the mineral licenses for two sites in northeast England…
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…
Ineos to Invest Big in UK Shale Gas
Swiss chemicals group Ineos announced on Thursday plans to invest $1 billion in shale gas exploration in Britain as efforts to emulate the U.S. shale boom ramp up. The potential investment, which is subject to the company winning all the government exploration and development licences it has bid for, could make Ineos one of Britain's biggest player in a burgeoning industry that faces fierce opposition from environmental activists. "I want Ineos to be the biggest player in the UK shale gas industry.
Carlton Power to Develop UK Power Plant
British power station developer Carlton Power said on Thursday it had signed agreements to build a 1.8 gigawatt (GW) gas-fire power station and take over GE's stake in a planned 1.5 GW plant. It aims to build the 1.8 GW power station at Trafford near Manchester in northern England and take a stake in a planned 1.5 GW project near Doncaster, also in the north. "Carlton Power has appointed a consortium of (U.S. company)GE and two Spanish partners, Tecnicas Reunidas and Ferrovial Agroman, as its main engineering contractor," it said regarding the Trafford site.
Drax Wins Biomass Subsidy Case
British power producer Drax has won a legal case against the government as the High Court has quashed the government's decision not to include one of the company's coal conversion projects in a new subsidy scheme, Drax said on Monday. "The court has made a declaration that the second unit conversion was indeed eligible for an Investment Contract," Drax said in a statement. The government in April dropped the project from its funding list in a blow to Drax's plans to modernise the polluting coal plant in Yorkshire, northern England. Reporting by Karolin Schaps
Britain Agrees to Take Control of German, Swedish Plutonium
Britain on Thursday said it had reached a deal to take ownership of almost a tonne of foreign-owned plutonium now stored on British soil, as the government eyes turning spent nuclear waste into fuel for its next generation of nuclear plants. The government is seeking control of foreign-owned plutonium amongst a 123-tonne stockpile kept in northern England - the largest such civilian stockpile in the world - as it looks at ways to recycle the nuclear byproduct into fuel that could power reactors over the coming decades.
Scotland May Have Shale for 30 Years' Worth of UK Gas Needs
Scotland, heading for a September independence referendum, could hold enough shale gas resources to cover UK gas needs for more than 30 years, a geological report published by the British government showed on Monday. But Scotland's roughly 80 trillion cubic metres of gas is only around 6 percent of Britain's potential, with the rest mainly in the Bowland Shale region across northern England. The British Geological Survey report, the third focusing on high potential areas which have covered northern and southern England…
UK to Ease Fracking Rules as Huge Reserves Emerge
Proposal allows drilling without landowners' permission; billions of barrels of oil under rock formations in south. Huge shale gas finds in north have fuelled fracking boom. Britain plans to ease rules on accessing shale oil and gas, including drilling without landowners' permission, a move that coincides with a government report suggesting billions of barrels of shale oil may lie underneath southern England. As the country's North Sea reserves dwindle, hopes are that shale oil and gas will take its place and reduce dependence on imported fuel.
E.ON UK Biomass Plant Starts Electricity Production
E.ON UK's Blackburn Meadows biomass facility in Sheffield, northern England, has connected to the grid and started generating electricity for the first time, the company said on Wednesday. The 120 million pound ($203 million) facility is E.ON's third biomass plant in Britain. With a capacity of 30 megawatts, it will provide enough energy to power 40,000 homes. The facility will convert locally sourced recycled waste wood into electricity, saving around 80,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year, E.ON said.
