Total’s refining margins grow July 16, 2014 FRENCH power giant Total yesterday said its refining margins in Europe rose to $10.90 (£6.40) per tonne in the second quarter, recovering from the start of the year. This was an increase from $6.60 per tonne in the first three months of 2014, but a sharp decline from $24.10 per tonne a year ago. European [...]
British Gas to shore up customer service team with 300 new staff July 16, 2014 British Gas, the energy supplier owned by FTSE 100 utility firm Centrica, today said it is hiring an extra 300 staff to bolster its customer service team, as complaints about energy companies soar to their highest level. The new recruits will help customers with “everything from bills and boiler breakdowns, to engineer visits and energy [...]
UK to talk with industry over North Sea tax July 14, 2014 The government yesterday reaffirmed its argument that only a unified UK can give the North Sea the support it needs, as it called on industry to give its views on the UK oil and gas tax regime. The North Sea’s potentially lucrative resources have been used as a political pawn in the Scottish independence debate, [...]
Drax shares climb after winning court case on biomass subsidies July 14, 2014 SHARES in Drax jumped yesterday, on news that the UK’s largest power plant operator had won a legal challenge against the government’s decision to reject one of its units for a new type of subsidy. The FTSE 250 firm, which operates a coal-fired power station in Yorkshire, expected to be eligible for a new renewable [...]
Tullow Oil to abandon another dry exploration well in Ethiopia July 14, 2014 TULLOW Oil, the fourth-largest energy company listed in London, yesterday said it will plug and abandon a well in Ethiopia after failing to strike oil. “We have now drilled two independent wildcat wells in the Chew Bahir Basin, neither of which encountered commercial oil,” said exploration director Angus McCoss. “Having gained valuable data… we look [...]
Bullabulling Gold and Talvivaara set to delist from London’s Aim July 14, 2014 TWO MINING companies confirmed their plans to delist from London’s junior stock market Aim yesterday. Australian miner Norton Gold Fields has raised its stake in Bullabulling Gold to over 50 per cent, enabling it to take its peer private, after a hostile takeover approach that Bullabulling has said was “inadequate and opportunistic”. Bullabulling’s board conceded [...]
North Sea oil forecast hits Alex Salmond’s Scottish independence plan July 10, 2014 The bid for Scottish independence took another hit yesterday, when the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) downgraded its forecast on North Sea oil and gas revenues by a quarter. The economy watchdog said in its annual fiscal sustainability report that it now expected around £40bn would be raised between 2019-20 and 2040-41, due to declining [...]
SSE exec warns energy reforms will raise bills July 10, 2014 An SSE executive yesterday warned that uncertainty over the government’s energy reforms could raise costs for customers. Under the new Contracts for Difference (CfDs) scheme, renewable energy generators will receive a guaranteed price for the electricity they sell, regardless of the market price. When the market price is lower, suppliers such as SSE will have [...]
National Grid warns UK could import 90pc of its gas by 2035 July 9, 2014 A failure to invest in UK gas production could see dependency on imports rise to 90 per cent by 2035, National Grid warned today. The forecast from the power network comes amid growing fears about the UK’s energy security, with the spare margin between demand and supply set to narrow to a mere two per [...]
Npower and Scottish Power see customer complaints double with new billing systems July 9, 2014 Customer complaints about Npower and Scottish Power doubled in the first quarter of 2014 due to their new billing systems, according to research published today. Npower fared the worst out of the big six energy suppliers, receiving 592.4 complaints per 100,000 customers. Scottish Power received 197.7 complaints per 100,000. SSE had the lowest rate complaints [...]
