North Sea & Western Europe

BP halts output at North Sea ETAP platform after power failure

February 19, 2020 | Company Operations, North Sea & Western Europe, Upstream

London, UK – British multinational oil and gas company, BP halted production at its ETAP platform, which connects seven oil and gas fields in the British North Sea with the Forties Pipeline System and the CATS gas terminal, after a problem with its power generation system, the company said on Wednesday. It also evacuated 66 of the 134 people working on the platform “We are working to resolve the power generation issue,” BP said in a statement. ETAP’s production is between 30,000 and 35,000 barrels …

Shell plans to enter UK offshore wind sector

February 22, 2019 | North Sea & Western Europe, Offshore, Wind

Shell New Energies VP says oil major may bid for leases or buy into projects London, UK | – Oil multinational giant Shell confirmed it plans to enter the UK offshore wind sector. Royal-Dutch Shell’s New Energies executive vice president Mark Gainsborough told Reuters the group “absolutely would like to get a position” in the UK market, either by bidding for a lease or buying a stake in an existing project. He told the financial news agency Shell would take an “active role” in a new …

UK’s Cuadrilla to begin shale gas fracking in NW England next week

October 05, 2018 | Company Operations, Fracking, North Sea & Western Europe, Shale oil & gas

London, UK | — UK shale gas pioneer Cuadrilla Resources is to begin hydraulic fracturing at the first of its two horizontal shale gas wells at its Preston New Road site in Northwest England “in the next week,” the company said Friday. Once the fracking starts, it will represent the first such activity in the UK since 2011. The UK is increasingly dependent on gas imports, with Cuadrilla and its peers saying shale gas can go some way to reducing that dependence. “The start of hydraulic …

Marathon Oil begins divestment of UK North Sea oil and gas fields

October 05, 2018 | Asset Acquisitions & Divestitures, Company Operations, North Sea & Western Europe

London, UK | – American independent petroleum and natural gas exploration and production company Marathon Oil has started the sale process of its UK North Sea oil and gas fields. By offloading these North Sea oil and gas fields, Marathon Oil aims to focus on onshore shale production in the US, reported Reuters, which had seen the sale document. With the latest move, Marathon Oil would join a number of other firms such as Chevron, ConocoPhillips and EOG Resources that have decided to exit the …

BP to roll-out electric chargers widely over next 12 months in UK

October 05, 2018 | Company Operations, North Sea & Western Europe, Renewable Energy

London, UK | – Multinational energy giant BP Plc has said its customers in the UK can expect to access BP Chargemaster chargers rolling out at scale on forecourts over the next 12 months, on both company owned and dealer channels. David Newton, chief operating officer at BP Chargemaster, told delegates at this week’s Forecourt Trader Electric Track Day that the company’s aim was to manage the energy transition and changing customer demand by supporting opportunities for customers to reduce their emissions. “BP Chargemaster and …

British Gas raises its dual fuel standard tariffs twice in 6 months

August 08, 2018 | Energy Trading & Markets, North Sea & Western Europe

London, UK | — UK utility Centrica, owner of British Gas, will increase its dual fuel Standard Variable Tariff by 3.8% from October for residential customers due to an increase in wholesale NBP contracts, the company said Wednesday morning. “We are increasing our prices because of an approximately 20% rise in the costs of buying wholesale energy since April,” the company said in a statement. Centrica announced in early April a 5.5% rise in the SVT from May 29, citing rising wholesale contracts as a …

Statoil to change name to Equinor in green energy push

March 15, 2018 | Company Operations, North Sea & Western Europe

Oslo, Norway | – Norwegian multinational oil and gas company, Statoil plans to change its name to Equinor, reflecting its commitment to become a broad energy company rather than one focused only on oil, it said on Thursday. In a video posted on social media, Statoil presented the switch as a way to show its determination to develop investments in renewable energy. Reactions by various social media users were mixed. “Equinor sounds like a princess on a horse in Game of Thrones,” one Twitter user …

Total completes takeover of Maersk Oil

March 12, 2018 | Mergers, Acquisitions & JVs, North Sea & Western Europe

French energy giant Total today confirmed the takeover of Danish conglomerate Moller-Maersk’s oil and gas business. London, UK | – French multinational energy giant, Total said the £5.8billion takeover, made it the second largest operator in the North Sea with an output of 500,000 barrels per day by 2020. The purchase of Maersk Oil hands Total a 49.99% operated stake in one of the UK’s biggest offshore gas developments, the Culzean field, which is expected to come online in 2019. Both businesses employed about 700 people …