Diesel crisis: UK minister holds emergency talks with US energy secretary October 2, 2026 Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is holding crunch talks with her American counterpart about an escalating diesel spat that has seen Treasury secretary Scott Bessent urge Europe to release emergency reserves “immediately”. City AM understands that Fahnbulleh is in direct contact with US energy secretary Chris Wright to discuss a US move to potentially choke off [...]
Ratcliffe’s INEOS calls on Labour to reopen North Sea drilling October 1, 2026 The chemical group owned by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has urged the government to reopen the North Sea for drilling as it lashes out at its latest energy cost scheme for businesses. INEOS, which was founded by Ratcliffe in 1998, said Labour’s British Industrial Competitiveness scheme (BICS) fails to address UK industries relying “far more heavily [...]
Burnham’s North Sea ‘pragmatism’ vow leaves energy industry hopeful October 1, 2026 Andy Burnham promised to be “pragmatic” about drilling in the North Sea in his conference speech. Those in Aberdeen say there’s not a moment to lose. Bedecked in her obligatory high-vis jacket and surrounded by hardhard-wearing oil and gas workers, Miatta Fanbulleh’s first ministerial trip was a striking piece of political symbolism. Just three days [...]
Burnham grid shake-up offers data centres escape from power queue September 30, 2026 Britain’s data centre developers could be handed a new route around years-long waits for electricity under Andy Burnham’s plan to open up the power grid to competition. The prime minister unveiled Great British Grid (GB Grid) on Tuesday, a publicly owned arm of Great British Energy that will aim to challenge existing network operators and [...]
Burnham to announce new publicly-owned grid operator September 29, 2026 Andy Burnham is expected to announce a new publicly-owned body which will invest in the UK’s electricity grid in an attempt to bring down Britain’s sky-high energy costs. The Prime Minister is tipped to unveil Great British Grid, which will speed up connections to the grid by driving up competition for projects, during his Labour [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 and bonds jitter; Burnham says Britain must be ‘honest’ about public finances September 29, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Stick with us throughout the day for the latest London Stock Exchange and wider business and economic news, as soon as we get it. Here’s a look at some of our top headlines: The liveblog has ended.No liveblog updates yet. Load more
British tycoons raise the alarm over state of UK economy September 20, 2026 Two of Britain’s wealthiest business chiefs have launched fierce criticism against government policies and the health of the UK economy. Billionaire energy boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe and gambling entrepreneur Fred Done have separately warned about the state of the economy and direction of policy in the past 48 hours. In particular, the business chiefs claimed [...]
INEOS boss: North Sea decommissioning is ideological and destructive September 3, 2026 From 2029, decommissioning spending will overtake capital investment in the North Sea. This is economic self-harm, writes Brian Gilvary.
BP names new chair after boardroom bust-up September 2, 2026 Oil giant BP has named its new chair after a boardroom bust-up earlier this year sent its leadership into chaos. The FTSE 100 giant has tapped Ian Tyler, who has served as interim chair since 26 May. Tyler joined BP as a non-executive director in April 2025. He replaces Albert Manifold, who was stripped of [...]
Oil price climbs above $90 as Iran says US diplomacy ‘isn’t possible’ August 31, 2026 The price of oil is creeping higher after the US launched strikes at Iranian rocket launchers that were reportedly preparing to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – climbed towards $91 per barrel after strikes from the US marked the first exchange of fire in [...]