10 Dec 2024

Shell and Equinor are combining their UK oil and gas assets in a joint venture that will become the country’s largest independent producer. Last month, the UK government increased a “windfall” tax – initially introduced in 2022 following an energy price spike after the Ukraine war. The hike brings the headline tax on the sector to 78%, […]

07 Dec 2021

Bob Earll  The Cambo oil field decision was one of those issues that dogged UK Government throughout the COP26 process. How could they on the one hand encourage others to stop extracting fossil fuels and on the other be supporting Cambo. This decision by Shell, coming as it does after COP26, is seen in very […]

08 Jun 2021

Pressure is mounting on the UK government to end all new oil and gas exploration and extraction licenses in the North Sea, following the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) landmark warning last month that further investments in new fossil fuel supplies must end this year if the chances of limiting global warming to 1.5°C are to be kept alive.  A […]

10 Sep 2019

Guardian: ‘The British government is facing growing outrage from the European commission and five EU member states over its plans to leave some decommissioned oil rigs in the North Sea, with one senior German official describing the UK’s proposal as a “grotesque idea” that amounts to a “ticking timebomb”. Several hundred oil drilling platforms in […]

24 Feb 2019

Greenpeace ‘The British government has endorsed plans by oil giant Shell to leave some decommissioned North Sea oil infrastructure in place, despite the German government expressing serious concerns about shortcomings in the oil giant’s proposals, according to leaked documents seen by Unearthed. Hundreds of ageing North Sea oil and gas rigs will be decommissioned in the […]

06 Feb 2017

The process of decommissioning the Brent North Sea oil field is well underway – The Shell site has lots of information on this. A recent Guardian view on this. ABPmer Blog – Steve Hull 25/01/2017  Decommissioning of oil and gas structures: call for review? OSPAR 98/3 established stringent requirements for the decommissioning of oil and […]