City corruption: Company of Tory donor Ayman Asfari paid tens of millions in bribes across Middle East October 3, 2021 A company whose biggest shareholder is a major Tory donor did not stop its employees from paying out more than £32m in bribes in order to secure a range of contracts across the Middle East. Petrofac, one of the world’s largest service providers to oil and gas producers, won business worth £2.7bn in Iraq, Saudi [...]
Petrol bosses warn fuel shortage is ‘getting worse’ in London and south-east October 2, 2021 Fuel shortages are getting worse rather than improving, especially in London and the south-east of England, the chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) has warned. Brian Madderson said it remains a “really big problem” in this part of the UK, and told the BBC’s Today programme: “In London and the South East and possibly [...]
Oil price surges above $80 a barrel for first time since 2018 September 28, 2021 Oil prices have surged above $80 a barrel for the first time in three years, as markets braced for even tighter supplies due to resurgent demand that showed no signs of stopping in some locations. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose as much as 0.8 per cent to touch $80.19 a barrel during Asia trading [...]
Government denies there is shortage of fuel amid BP and Esso closing gas stations September 24, 2021 The government is urging Brits “buy fuel as normal”, after the ongoing lorry driver shortage issue reached gas stations yesterday. BP said a number of its filling stations are closed due to a lack of fuel available, while Esso owner ExxonMobil also said a “small number” of its Tesco Alliance petrol forecourts have been impacted. [...]
Drill, baby, drill: Arctic set for £230bn oil and gas bonanza with JPMorgan, Barclays and Citi piling in September 23, 2021 Oil and gas companies are set to ramp up production in the Arctic by 20 per cent in the next five years, according to a new report shared with City A.M. this morning. The main Arctic expansionists – Gazprom, Total and ConocoPhillips – are backed by hundreds of billions of pounds from dozens of City [...]
Brits face choice between heating and eating, warns personal finance guru Martin Lewis September 20, 2021 Thousands of Brits will be forced to make the devastating choice between heating and eating as energy bills rise, Martin Lewis has warned. The consumer and personal finance champion called the ongoing energy crisis “catastrophic” and said intervention is needed to help consumers. Soaring wholesale gas prices are putting an upward pressure on energy bills. [...]
UK energy provider Bulb seeks emergency fund injection September 19, 2021 The UK’s sixth largest energy company, Bulb, is racing to secure an emergency cash injection to avoid collapse as a record spike in energy prices uproots the sector. The energy startup, which supplies electricity and gas to 1.7m customers in the UK, is seeking advice from investment bank Lazard in an attempt to shore up [...]
North Sea oil investment drops to lowest level in 50 years September 1, 2021 Investment into the North Sea oil industry fell to its lowest level in almost 50 years as the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent collapse in oil prices spooked the sector. Oil and Gas UK’s (OGUK) annual economic report found that just £3.7bn was invested into the continental shelf in 2020, the lowest in real terms since [...]
BP’s dividend edges up as profit beats estimates on climbing oil prices August 3, 2021 BP this morning said it will increase its dividend by 4 per cent and will kick off $1.4bn worth of share buybacks after its profit sprinted past estimates and rose to $28bn in the second quarter, buoyed by higher oil and gas prices. The oil giant raised its dividend to 5.46 cents, beating analysts’ expectations [...]
Gas firms pushed UK minister to burn more gas in transition to clean energy July 7, 2021 Fossil fuel giants lobbied a UK government minister to use more natural gas in the transition to lower carbon energy production. As reported by Channel 4, a memo released under the Freedom of Information Act details how firms pushed the then-trade minister Connor Burns to accept a “greater recognition” of gas. The document, obtained by [...]