BP saves £2.6m after it turns out Gulf of Mexico spill was smaller than thought January 16, 2015 It's not often the UK's oil producers get good news these days, so BP must be doubly pleased with the reprieve it's been issued by a US court, which ruled yesterday that the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill was quite a lot smaller than originally thought. A judge ruled that 3.2 million barrels of [...]
Sir Ian Wood calls for oil tax cuts and warns 40,000 jobs are at risk January 16, 2015 Former chief executive of Wood Group Sir Ian Wood has warned that if the government doesn't cut taxes on the oil industry, the sector could suffer heavy job losses. A leading authority on the oil industry, Wood said the government should cut taxes on the sector by ten per cent to mitigate the threat to [...]
Don’t count on cheap oil and money to stave off a new Eurozone crisis forever January 15, 2015 The Eurozone is in a vulnerable state once again. Five years ago, the euro crisis – that bête noire of the region’s economy – unfolded. Since then, much has been done to repair and strengthen the Eurozone’s architecture, ranging from the establishment of a bailout fund and the creation of a banking union, to European [...]
Government commissions “urgent review” into North Sea oil after BP job cuts January 15, 2015 The fall in oil prices may be good for consumers at the pumps, but the oil industry is suffering. Malcolm Webb, the head of lobby group oil and Gas UK, called for a 50 per cent cut in North Sea taxes after BP announced it would be cutting 300 jobs in Aberdeen, and the energy [...]
Tullow Oil writes off $2.3bn as falling oil price takes its toll January 15, 2015 The figures Africa-focused Tullow Oil has had announced it has written off billions of dollars of exploration work and assets. Tullow has written off $2.3bn and expects to cut its capital expenditure to $1.9bn. This means a downsizing of the exploration budget by $200m. Why it's interesting Oil companies are having a rough time at [...]
BP axes 300 North Sea oil jobs January 15, 2015 Oil giant BP has told staff today that it is shedding 300 positions at its North Sea operation. BP will cut 200 jobs and 100 contractor roles. The briefing, which was be held in Aberdeen, comes after the FTSE 100 company announced in December that it would look to restructure in the wake of the [...]
Mark Carney: Scotland can ride oil price drop thanks to Union January 14, 2015 Bankof England (BoE) governor Mark Carney yesterday said that falling oil prices were a negative shock to the Scottish economy. “While it is a net positive to the UK economy – the change in the oil price – it is a negative shock to the Scottish economy,” Carney said. However, Scotland’s economic fortunes are reassured [...]
Shell share price dips as weak oil price forces firm to quit Qatar plant plan January 14, 2015 Shares in oil firm Shell fell by 3.32 per cent yesterday after the company announced it had abandoned plans for a petrochemicals plant it was building in partnership with Qatar Petroleum (QP). The company cited “high capital costs rendering it commercially unfeasible, particularly in the current economic climate prevailing in the energy industry”. The global [...]
Top economists cheer falling price of oil and say higher US growth is on the way January 14, 2015 The sharp drop in the price of oil is good news for the US economy and will result in higher growth over the next few years, according to a panel of top economists. The IGM Panel of 41 distinguished economists was polled on this statement: The recent decline in oil prices will promote higher real [...]
Premier Oil share price plummets after taking $300m hit as oil price slides January 14, 2015 Premier Oil enjoyed record production last year with 63.6 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboepd), an increase of 9.3 per cent on the previous year. The company's share price though has dropped six per cent UK production soared 30.2 per cent to 19.4 kboepd. The company expects production in 2015 from its existing assets, excluding [...]