FT Energy News 24 February

Centrica signs £2bn gas deal with Qatar (Page 18)

Libya’s oil output has plunged by at least a fifth as foreign companies have shut down production, running the risk of turning the political revolt in the Middle East into an oil crisis. Opec are understood to be ready to boost production of offset any loss from Libya and for now the oil market is well supplied.

Russian oligarchs head for UK court (Page 25)

A high profile legal battle pitting Roman Abramovich against fellow Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky can go ahead in October after a British court refused to strike out the lawsuit. Berezovsky is Abramovich for allegedly threatening and intimidating him into selling his stakes in Sibneft, the Russian oil group, and Rusal, the aluminium maker, for far less than they were reputedly worth.

Crude at 30-month peak on Libya turmoil (Page 36)

A rise in oil prices to fresh 30-month highs prompted a renewed sell-off in equities and further “flight-to-safety” buying of Treasury bonds, gold and Swiss franc as markets continued to fret about the possibility of Libyan turmoil spreading across the region.

FT Energy News 23 February

Libya chaos threatens oil crisis (Page 6)

Libya’s oil output has plunged by at least a fifth as foreign companies have shut down production, running the risk of turning the political revolt in the Middle East into an oil crisis. Opec are understood to be ready to boost production of offset any loss from Libya and for now the oil market is well supplied.

BP to offload British fields (Page 15)

BP plans to seel ageing British oil and gasfields valued at about $1bn as part of a strategy of focusing on higher-growth assets. The sale will be recycled into investments that BP believes have better prospects of future growth.

Drax raises biomass project hopes (Page 18)

Draz said it hoped government incentives would help it proceed with a £2bn biomass project later this year. The plan would see generation of power through co-firing – burning biomass from straw or other plant material alongside coal.

FT Energy News 22 February

Last man out will turn off the oil tap (Page 1)

Oil production in Libya is set to drop dramatically as leading international companies and subcontractors evacuate their staff. Crude oil prices shot up to a two-and-a-half-year high above $108 a barrel on Monday as traders braced themselves for the impact of political unrest in Libya, the first leading oil-exporting country to be hit by the political turmoil in the Middle East.

Oil groups draw up plans for swift exit (Page 7)

International oil companies said they were either cutting production or pulling out staff, while analysts said companies could face long-term problems whether the regime survived or fell. The petroleum sector is a crucial political and economic backdrop to the struggle against Colonel Gaddafi’s 41 year rule, as it accounts for almost all Libya’s export earnings.

Oil potential in Congo park pits companies against greens (Page 10)

A battle for the future of Africa’s oldest national park has erupted in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, pitting UK oil companies keen to explore in one of the world’s poorest countries against the green lobby. Part of a block granted to Soco International and Dominion Petroleum is in Virunga national park, a world heritage site famous for its endangered mountain gorillas. The companies, stressing the gorillas are not present in their block, are eager to start exploration in the park.

BP set for $7.2bn deal with India’s Reliance (Page 17)

BP is to make one of the biggest foreign direct investments in India, investing at least $7.2bn to take 30% stakes in 23 natural gas blocks controlled by Mukesh Ambani, the country’s richest tycoon.

India’s politics mark a risk as BP goes south (Page 19)

BP is shifting towards risky but potentially lucrative exploration in emerging economies. With disposals of mature assets in the US and the planned sale of two of its refineries there, coupled with expansion in Russia, Angola, and now India, it is clear the company’s focus is moving east and south.

Shell sells African businesses for $1bn (Page 19)

Under the terms of a $1bn deal for its downstream businesses in Africa, Shell will have a joint venture, controlling 20%, with Vitol and Helios Investment Partners, an African-focussed private equity group, owning 80%.

Exploration expertise is located after lengthy search (Page 19)

BP will take 30% stakes in 23 blocks, one of which is in production but provides 40% of Indian’s gas, giving an indication of the potential riches beneath the seabed.

Wood Group eyes benefits of industry spending (Page 19)

John Wood Group hopes an upturn in oil industry spending will boost sluggish profits.

Vitol sees 25% rise in trading volumes amid strong energy demand (Page 22)

Vitol, the largest oil trader, said trading volumes rose 25% last year compared to 2009.

FT Energy News 21 February

Centrica risks competition probe with £2bn bonanza (Page 4)

Centrica, which owns British Gas, is expected to announce pre-tax profits of £2bn for last year. Critics will point out that British Gas raised electricity and gas charges for domestic customers by 7% during the big freeze in December. Ofgem is due to conclude a “comprehensive review” of the retail energy market next month.

Oil groups rush to grab a slice of east Africa (Page 19)

East Africa used to be regarded as an oil industry backwater, a poorer relative to the continents resource-rich north and west. That’s changed over the past 12 months as majors and independents invest hundreds of millions of dollars in exploration and compete to snap up licences on the continent’s last hydrocarbon frontier.

Energees Investments takes control of regal Petroleum (Page 19)

Regal Petroleum has been taken over by one of Ukraine’s largest business conglomerates. Energees Investments, a subsidiary of one of the biggest diversified holding companies in Ukraine said it had taken control of 51.7% of Regals equity.

Boost for Brazil Inc on green efforts (Page 20)

Brazilian companies have less than half the environmental impact of emerging market peers, strengthening the case for green investment in the world’s eighth-largest economy. Brazil’s electricity mix is 10 times more efficient than the global average, opening up stocks to socially responsible investment.

FT Energy News 17 January

Backlash over BP deal with Rosneft (Page 1)

BP’s landmark deal with Rosneft, the Russian state oil company, was last night facing a backlash from AAR, the consortium through which the stakeholders hold their stake in TNK-BP, said it was examining whether the deal breaches their agreement, which stipulates that BP can only pursue new opportunities in Russia via the venture. BP’s $16bn share swap with Rosneft, which will see the Kremlin indirectly become the single largest shareholder in the UK group, already faces scrutiny in the US where the company is a major supplier of fuel to the military.

Deal creates new model for BP growth (Page 19)

Under the terms of the deal, Rosneft will take a 5% stake in BP, BP will see its holdings in Rosneft rise to 10.8% and will gain access to an area in Kara Sea off the Siberian coast, that is roughly the size of the North Sea and potentially as prospective.

Billionaire partners in TNK-BP examine deal (Page 19)

BP’s billionaire partner in TNK-BP have protested over the group’s tie-up with Rosneft, saying it potentially represents a breach of the oligarch’s shareholder agreement with BP.

Russian deputy PM delivers on connecting with the West (Page 19)

Friday’s deal not only grants Rosneft much needed access to BP’s technology and expertise in off-shore development, it also makes the Kremlin the single biggest shareholder in an international oil group for the first time.

Innovation in Energy

Global deal on climate change will be the key (Page 1)

Research found that in the first six months of 2010 new investment in clean energy totalled $65bn, some 22% up on the same period of 2009. Initial estimates for total new clean energy investment for 2010 predicted $180-$200bn.

Uneven incentives hamper growth – Renewables in the US (Page 2)

The uncertainty about long term US legislative support for renewables is undermining the growth of the industry. Programmes are only in place for the short term, generally one to three years and then Congress must vote to extend them.

Producers eye export in weak domestic market – Natural Gas in the US (Page 2)

Sale discoveries may prove important for energy security but demand is static for now. Gas producers are trying to build a market by encouraging the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel for vehicle fleets. This will involve building an infrastructure to support this. Policymakers are increasingly recognising the potential of gas supply, which can be used both as a transportation fuel and to power utilities charging electric vehicles but they are nervous about committing to gas for fear it is not as abundant as producers claim.

Very small reactors will need huge sales effort – Mini Nuclear (Page 2)

Mini nuclear reactors 10-300MW in size are only years away from operation. The cost of a conventional reactor, €6.5bn, is 130 times greater than a mini-reactor to produce 64 times more electricity.

Capture technology faces a more hostile environment (Page 3)

Carbon capture and storage will only proceed when the price of carbon is high enough to incentivise companies to capture and store.

Barrages need brave policies and investors – UK tidal power (Page 3)

Tidal power generation provides a predictable and consistent source of energy, it can be relied on to produce a given level of electricity at a specified time. The 1.2MW facility in Strangford Lough produces electricity for 1,000 homes. Tidal facilities with a lifetime of 120 years would need to operate for 30-40 years to cover the total construction costs.

Holy grail of the renewables industry – Electricity storage (Page 4)

Energy storage can play a key role in overcoming the intermittency of renewables. Some of the ideas for storing energy include pumped storage, using fuel cells and harnessing the power of fleets of electric vehicles.

FT Energy News 6 January

US pins blame for BP spill (Page 1)

Systematic failures by the management of BP and other companies led to the Macondo well blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico last year, the official US inquiry has concluded, warning that industry complacency could cause a similar accident again. The report will be published on Tuesday and delivers a scathing verdict on the procedures followed by BP and its contractors on the project, Halliburton and Transocean.

Spill fears fail to bring curb on deepwater oil drilling (Page 2)

MPs will today rule out a moratorium on deepwater drilling in the North Sea but urge oil and gas companies to address shortcomings in their response plans to spills. A report by the Commons energy and climate change committee calls on the government to ensure that standardised response plans are replaced by site-specific guidelines that take into account local conditions.

China keeps turbines turning as European cuts affect demand (Page 23)

Government budget cuts will slow growth in the European wind power industry this year, but surging demand from China is helping advance the global push behind green energy according to Vestas Wind Systems, the world’s biggest wind turbine maker. Growth in new wind energy installations in Europe is forecast to shrink from 14% in 2010 to 1% this year, according to analysts at Citigroup.

FT Energy News 5 January

Oil price ‘enters danger zone’ (Page 1)

High oil prices threaten to derail the fragile economic recovery among developed nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development according to the IEA oil import costs have soared by $200bn to $790bn to the end of 2010.

US oil groups press for easing of drilling curbs (Page 7)

The US oil industry has launched a campaign to persuade the government to open more of the country’s coastline and interior for oil and gas drilling, arguing that ending restrictions could create more than 500,000 jobs. The American Petroleum Institute believes that the November elections in which the Republicans won control of the house of representatives will lead to a better reception from Congress to its appeal for increased drilling access.

BP hits seven-month high on Gulf compensation news (Page 17)

BP shared jumped 7% after news that its compensation payouts for the Gulf of Mexico spill might be much lower than anticipated.

Cairn hires rigs for Arctic oil search (Page 20)

Cairn Energy’s highly prospective Arctic exploration programme remains on track after they said they have rented two drilling rigs and secured a $900m credit line. The operator said that it had plans to drill up to four wells this year, subject to approval from the country’s government.

Latest Falklands setback knocks Desire shares (Page 20)

Shares in Desire Petroleum, the Aim-quoted oil explorer, fell by almost a quarter after it announced that no oil had been found in a prospective well off the Falkland Islands. Desire has now drilled four wells in the North Falklands Basin without finding oil and said it had funds to drill one more.

South Atlantic yields more frustration (Page 20)

The admission that Desire Petroleum is considering to raise more cash to bolster its faltering Falklands drilling campaign raises fresh questions about the prospects of companies drilling there.

Petrobras in talks over Eni’s Galp stake (Page 22)

Petrobras, Brazil’s national oil company, is in talks with Eni, the Italian energy group, to acquire its 33% stake in Galp, the Portuguese oil company. Galp is a partner with the Brazilian group in exploration and production in off-shore fields, including the potentially enormous “pre-salt” discoveries of 2007. Petrobras is already engaged in one of the most ambitious investment programmes in the industry.

FT Energy News 15 December

BP nearer target after $77m sale of Pakistan assets (Page 18)

BP’s asset sales this year have risen to almost $22bn after the UK oil group agreed to sell most of its exploration and production assets in Pakistan to United Energy Group for $775m.

Anadarko’s Jubilee party caps tough year (Page 23)

The Jubilee field in Ghana will produce its first oil today and will represent more than a boost in production for Anadarko Petroleum, it will validate the US independent oil group’s strategy to pursue international exploration even as its peers pulled back, it is among a handful seeking organic growth abroad. Anadarko says it expects production to rise by 7-9%, over the next five years, much of it from a string of oil discoveries off the west African coast. As 25% partner in BP’s Macondo well, Anadarko face between $5-$10bn in potential liabilities.

FT Energy News 14 December

Wood Group agrees to buy PSN for $955m (Page 22)

John Wood Group, the energy services company, will become the world’s leading brownfield production services provider after agreeing to purchase smaller rival PSN for $955m. The combined brownfields services businesses – which support mature oilfields and gasfields – will bring in about $3bn in annual revenues, according to both companies.

GE’s £800m Wellstream move reflects expansion into energy services (Page 18)

GE has agreed to buy Wellstream, the UK oil and gas services group, for about £800m as part of an aggressive expansion into energy services.

FT Energy News 13 December

Cancún seen as ‘beacon of hope’ for climate deal (Page 8)

A global agreement on climate change moved a step closer over the weekend as governments ended the UN Cancún talks with a series of accords on key elements of an overarching deal. A ‘green fund’ that will distribute money to help poor countries cope with climate change, a mechanism for international co-operation on low-carbon technology, and a way to help developing nations preserve their forests all emerged from the two weeks in negotiations in Mexico.

Regal board urges £77m sale (Page 18)

The board of Regal Petroleum has recommended a 24p per share cash offer by Energees Management Limited, a subsidiary of one of the biggest holding companies in the Ukraine. The bid values the oil and gas group at £77 and represents a 62% premium on the company’s average closing share price in November.

China taps into Argentina’s oil prospects (Page 20)

Chinese oil companies have spent more than $15bn in upstream deals in Latin-America. The shift toward the region is happening partly because China’s oil groups are increasingly confident of competing against their western peers in mergers and acquisitions.