Gold rallies to near-two month high as Middle East conflict intensifies June 13, 2025 Investors were flocking to gold on Friday after Israel’s attack on Iran sparked a demand for the safe haven asset. The rush sent gold prices up one per cent to their highest level in nearly two months at $3,441.90 The bullion pulled on track for a weekly gain as the Middle Eastern conflict ramped up. [...]
Profit slump revealed at Jim Ratcliffe-backed Petroineos ahead of major closure May 15, 2025 Profitp at Petroineos slumped in the months leading up the closure of its Grangemouth refinery, heavily delayed accounts have revealed, as the energy trading company wrestled with economic uncertainty, supply chain shocks and a shift away from fossil fuels. The Jersey-based business, which is backed by billionaire Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, posted a [...]
Harbour Energy forecasts higher oil and gas production May 8, 2025 Oil and gas firm Harbour Energy has edged up its full-year production guidance despite recent market volatility. Annual production is expected to come in at between 455 to 475 kboepd, up from a previously guided range of 450 to 475. The London-listed group on Thursday also reaffirmed guidance for a full-year operating costs of $14/boe, [...]
Harbour Energy to axe 250 jobs as it slams Rachel Reeves May 7, 2025 Harbour Energy has slammed the government’s “punitive fiscal position” as it announced plans to cut 250 jobs in Aberdeen. The London-listed company, which is the largest oil and gas producer in the North Sea, blamed the Energy Profits Levy and a challenging regulatory environment for the decision. It also noted delays in the ramp-up of [...]
Why the UK can’t get a grip of its energy crisis April 14, 2025 A months-long cost-of-living crisis, state bailouts of consumer energy bills, endless planning rows, judicial interventions and now the near-collapse of Britain’s only manufacturer of virgin steel all show different sides to the UK’s ongoing energy crisis. Its dependency on foreign imports, poor planning of infrastructure and lack of control over soaring bills means the extent [...]
Grangemouth: Green future for oil refinery needs £3.5bn, report finds March 19, 2025 Delivering a green future for the Grangemouth oil refinery will require around £3.5bn in private investment, a report has found. The long-awaited Project Willow study, which itself cost £1.5m, sets out nine options for the future of the industrial cluster in central Scotland. Hundreds of jobs are set to be lost this year when the [...]
Grangemouth: Green projects at oil refinery site could cost £13bn March 12, 2025 Plans for new green projects at the Grangemouth oil refinery site in Scotland could reportedly cost up to £13bn. A feasibility study of possible options for the site – dubbed Project Willow – has listed nine opportunities including recycling plastics and producing biomethane, to create a “flourishing low carbon hub” over the next two decades, [...]
BP CEO takes huge pay cut as profit slashed at FTSE 100 giant March 6, 2025 The chief executive of BP has taken a £2.3m pay cut as profit was slashed at the FTSE 100 giant. Murray Auchincloss received a pay packet of £5.4m for 2024, down from the £7.7m he received in 2023. The drop came amid a more than £1.1m cut to his bonus to £734,000, and a £1.6m [...]
BP ramps up fossil fuel spending and rows back on green targets February 26, 2025 BP will dial up its spending on oil and gas by $10bn (£7.9bn), slash its investment into renewable energy and offload $20bn of underperforming assets as part of a major strategic overhaul that aims to boost its beleaguered share price. In a much anticipated – and delayed – announcement from boss Murray Auchincloss, the British [...]
BP’s Net Zero push has crashed into reality February 12, 2025 I remember when I first encountered a hard copy FTSE 100 annual report. I was a first year undergraduate and my achingly left-wing lecturer in Business and Politics dropped copies in front of us in a seminar room, and asked us to rank the directors “on a fat cat scale.” I can still recall the [...]