Oil firms face more red tape before drilling in UK

The Environment Agency (EA) is preparing to announce that conventional exploratory wells, which have been drilled onshore for years without the regulator’s oversight, will now require permits for "mining waste" and flaring.

The move is described by industry sources as an irritation that could delay drilling as it will require companies to conduct extra public consultation.

However, in a boon for the shale gas industry, which has the potential to dwarf the existing UK onshore industry, the EA will also announce plans to significantly streamline and speed up the permitting process.

The rule change for conventional drillers is likely to raise questions about the regulator, given it apparently only realised the need for the permits after a challenge by Friends of the Earth.

The campaign group argued a proposed Cuadrilla well at Balcombe in West Sussex required permits under the European regulations introduced two years ago.

Although Cuadrilla is best known for fracking for shale gas in Lancashire, the Balcombe well is targeting oil and the company has no plans at this stage to frack it.

However, the EA concluded the campaigners were right, leading Cuadrilla to abruptly announce it was applying for permits, delaying its work in Balcombe by several months, and one campaigner to claim the regulator had been “caught asleep on the job”.

The decision creates a precedent that will now be applied to all onshore exploratory drilling, in the latest sign of how the controversy around fracking increasing the regulatory burden for others.

David Forster, strategy manager at the EA, told a shale gas conference in Manchester on Tuesday it was “currently reviewing our regulatory position” in light of Balcombe and intended to publish a statement on Thursday.

He said the permits were designed for mining and quarrying but were “being applied by the European Commission to oil and gas exploration, particularly shale gas”.

Operators will have to provide plans for how they deal with waste created during drilling, and may have to gain further permits to "flare" - burn off - waste gas.

However, in a boon for shale gas operators, Mr Forster said the EA was also “looking at ways of streamlining” the permitting process for all involved and was working on new rules that would cut the time taken for approvals from 13 weeks to “significantly less than that”.

Operators have already complained that gaining planning permission - a separate process approved by councils - is becoming more difficult for conventional oil and gas wells.

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BP defends action against 'fictitious' claims

BP, whose ballooning compensation bill has surpassed $11bn, argues the ruling will force it to compensate businesses that suffered no losses.

On Tuesday, BP sternly warned lawyers of successful claimants it could demand the return of payments if it wins the appeal.

It said a reversal of the ruling “could reduce the number and amount of awards” that BP is required to pay to claimants, and told lawyers it would resolutely seek to recover any bogus claims from the past.

However, in an effort to quell concerns that BP will attempt to renege on legitimate claims, it took out full-page advertisements in three major US newspapers on Wednesday.

“[The advertisement] is intended to make clear that BP remains as committed today as it was three years ago to doing the right thing,” said a spokesman.

“While we are actively [challenging] the payments by the claims program for inflated and even fictitious losses, we remain fully committed to paying legitimate claims due to the accident.”

The advertisements also served to underline BP's determination to identify bogus claims.

“Whatever you think about BP, we can all agree that it’s wrong for anyone to take money they don’t deserve,” says the advertisement.

“And it’s unfair to everyone in the Gulf — commercial fishermen, restaurant and hotel owners, and all the other hard-working people who’ve filed legitimate claims for real losses.”

Wednesday’s advertisements, which appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, are just the latest instalment in BP’s beefed-up efforts to challenge the litigation it faces on the Gulf Coast.

In a separate action, BP last week called for a “comprehensive and independent” investigation into allegations that a lawyer reviewing compensation claims for the disaster was receiving payments from a law firm representing a claimant.

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BP defends action against 'fictitious' Gulf of Mexico claims

BP, whose ballooning compensation bill has surpassed $11bn, argues the ruling will force it to compensate businesses that suffered no losses.

On Tuesday, BP sternly warned lawyers of successful claimants it could demand the return of payments if it wins the appeal.

It said a reversal of the ruling “could reduce the number and amount of awards” that BP is required to pay to claimants, and told lawyers it would resolutely seek to recover any bogus claims from the past.

However, in an effort to quell concerns that BP will attempt to renege on legitimate claims, it took out full-page advertisements in three major US newspapers on Wednesday.

“[The advertisement] is intended to make clear that BP remains as committed today as it was three years ago to doing the right thing,” said a spokesman.

“While we are actively [challenging] the payments by the claims program for inflated and even fictitious losses, we remain fully committed to paying legitimate claims due to the accident.”

The advertisements also served to underline BP's determination to identify bogus claims.

“Whatever you think about BP, we can all agree that it’s wrong for anyone to take money they don’t deserve,” says the advertisement.

“And it’s unfair to everyone in the Gulf — commercial fishermen, restaurant and hotel owners, and all the other hard-working people who’ve filed legitimate claims for real losses.”

Wednesday’s advertisements, which appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, are just the latest instalment in BP’s beefed-up efforts to challenge the litigation it faces on the Gulf Coast.

In a separate action, BP last week called for a “comprehensive and independent” investigation into allegations that a lawyer reviewing compensation claims for the disaster was receiving payments from a law firm representing a claimant.

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Forget a quick shale gas revolution here- we don't have the technology

Mr Maugeri argued that the central role of "drilling intensity" in the early stage of shale oil and gas development was what made America unique.

"The United States concentrates in its territory 60pc of the global availability of drilling rigs; moreover, 95pc of United States drilling rigs can perform horizontal drilling that together with hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking' is required to liberate shale resources," Mr Maugeri noted.

When this was combined with a relatively low population density in several shale areas, this vast rig supply is a key factor that allows the US to achieve a drilling intensity level that is impossible for other countries to achieve, it was argued.

"No other country in the world has ever experienced even a fraction of the overall United States' drilling intensity, a common feature of the US oil and gas industry since its inception," Mr Maugeri continued. "In 2012, for example, the United States completed 45,468 oil and gas wells – and brought online 28,354 of them – as against 3,921 wells completed in the rest of the world, except Canada."

Of course, warnings about the reality of the UK's unconventional potential are not new. Last year, Prof Mike Bradshaw from the University of Leicester cautioned the optimists at a Royal Geographical Society conference that significant levels of exploitation were unlikely for many years, because of substantial logistical and environmental challenges.

"Shale gas is unlikely to be a game-changer in the UK," Prof Bradshaw said.

However, following Ofgem's stark warning last week that the risk of future blackouts has trebled over the past year, the issues that are holding shale exploitation back need to be eased.

In the north of England, the issue of population density is significant, with the Bowland shale being found under some of the most heavily populated areas of the UK, as well as environmentally sensitive areas such as the Pennines.

Proposals will allow communities near each fracking site to be offered £100,000 in funding and 1pc of revenues from every production site as a sweetener. This looks like a wise move.

However, the UK's geology is complex, and the potential for successful fracking needs to be demonstrated.

The availability of enough drilling rigs is also a major limiting factor.

So forget the cries of environmental damage from pressure groups – it is the technological issues that are likely to put the biggest brake on shale development in Britain.

Coal price put under pressure from green measures

Barack Obama confirmed the downward pressure on coal prices, as he reiterated in a speech on climate change policy that he will impose new limits on carbon emissions from American power plants.

Analysts at Capital Economics note that America's Environmental Protection Agency has already been working on regulations in this area that have effectively prevented any new coal-fired plants being built, as the industry waited to see what form the rules would take.

Meanwhile, China, the biggest consumer of coal, is trying to curb increases in demand. It has publicly set a limit on the amount of coal it will use, among other measures.

As well as the environmentally motivated policy moves, coal prices have also come under pressure from the glut of cheap gas unleashed by the fracking revolution in the US.

As these factors come against the backdrop of a sluggish global economy, it adds up to fairly bleak picture.

"We had already expected the price of European coal to fall from around $75 per tonne to $70 by the end of this year, and are sticking with that forecast," says Thomas Pugh, an analyst at Capital. "However, in the light of the increased headwinds, we are now revising our forecast for the end of 2014 down from $70 to $60 per tonne."

Gold slide continues

Gold continued its slide, tumbling to its lowest level in three years last week, after the Federal Reserve set out how it would unwind its inflationary stimulus programme. The precious metal, often held as a hedge against inflation, fell below $1,200 an ounce, down from $1,790 in October last year.

Analysts believe it could drop further still.

Ole Hansen, head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, says: "We see gold still dropping like a stone en route to the next major technical target of [$]1,150 … whether we will see a meaningful bounce from here will require a long period of confidence- building from central banks, as many investors have been badly hurt."

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The lights will stay on, insists energy minister

The Conservative minister admitted there was a risk of power shortages in the UK within three years, but insisted the Government would not let that happen.

Mr Fallon told BBC1's Sunday Politics: "I don't agree there is a real risk. There is a risk, of course. There is going to be less reserve capacity in three years' time but we have got time to deal with that, and we have got plans to deal with that."

Asked what chance there was of Britain being hit by blackouts, he replied: "Oh, low. We are going to make sure they don't happen, I can absolutely tell you.

"We are not going to have industrial blackouts, factories shut at lunchtime and people sent home or anything like that."

Mr Fallon’s comments were echoed by Energy Secretary Ed Davey, who moved to allay fears of big price hikes. “Prices aren’t going to spike. The lights are going to stay on because we’ve got a very well thought-through plan,” he said.

Mr Davey told the Financial Times that power suppliers would be paid to bring mothballed power stations back into commission under government plans to bridge any gaps. He said this was the “cheapest and most effective way” of ensuring adequate capacity.

Mr Fallon insisted that the Government had inherited a legacy of underinvestment, claiming that "nothing was done under Labour".

He said that six new gas plants, two on-shore and two off-shore windfarms and biomass fuel plants had opened since the Coalition took power, and more were in the pipeline.

The Government also unveiled a plan last week to give a financial guarantee for the building of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

Mr Fallon insisted that a plan for industrial users to switch off at times of high demand was a contingency measure that had been in place for 20 years, though he conceded it had never been necessary.

Ofgem said: "The report shows that electricity supplies are set to tighten faster than previously expected in the middle of this decade.

"The risk to electricity supplies is projected to increase from the current near- zero levels, although Ofgem does not consider disruption to supplies is imminent or likely, providing the industry manages the problem effectively."

Ofgem also highlighted uncertainty around supply and demand for electricity.

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North Sea safety inspectors win 20pc pay rise

The increase breaks the three-year freeze on public- sector pay – but the rise will have no impact on the department's budget or the taxpayer because North Sea operators will pick up the bill.

Salaries of some inspectors are around £90,000 a year.

The Health and Safety Executive pressed Mr Duncan Smith to treat inspectors as a special case to stem the loss of experienced staff into better- paid private-sector jobs.

Stephen Walker, a former head of the offshore inspectorate, said the increase was helping the Health and Safety Executive in a recruitment drive.

The number of staff dropped to 95 three years ago and efforts are being made to raise the total to 126.

The executive has been responsible for offshore installations since 167 men died
in the Piper Alpha disaster, 120 miles north-east of Aberdeen, 25 years ago this week.

North Sea operators have been paying for the executive's offshore division since 1999, including salaries, support staff, computers, safety equipment, research and guidance material.

The bill is currently £16.6m a year. Staff shortages meant it had to hire outside contractors to investigate a gas leak in the Elgin Franklin field.

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Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista battles to secure his empire as commodity tide turns

But just as his country is feeling the impact of a dwindling commodities boom, Mr Batista is fighting to save a business empire which he once boasted would make him the richest man in the world.

After borrowing billions in the good times to fund the expansion of his businesses, which range from mining to the redevelopment of Rio’s Maracana football stadium, there are doubts that he can repay his creditors.

The scale of the decline reached a new low on Tuesday after his oil company OGX revised expectations on oil production, slashed spending and suspended drilling at three offshore projects, raising the likelihood of restructuring.

Shares in the oil and gas arm of Mr Batista’s EBX Group dropped by a record 30pc, wiping almost £200m ($300m) off its market value.

“OGX is on the ropes and could face imminent financial restructuring,” Michael Wang, an analyst at IHS Herold, told Bloomberg. “The company may go bankrupt and not be able to pay its debt.” The company denied speculation it was considering filing for bankruptcy protection.

Last month, Fitch downgraded OGX to a lowly CCC rating, citing “increased uncertainty about the willingness and ability of Eike Batista to honour the company’s $1bn put option”.

This fuelled speculation about his finances, especially after he also sold off 70.5m shares in OGX, reducing his stake in the company from 61pc to 57pc.

The slide in the market value of companies owned by EBX has seen his own fortune slashed by £13bn. From seventh place on the 2012 Forbes list of billionaires, Mr Batista, who was once married to a Rio carnival queen, was most recently estimated to have a net worth of £7bn, placing him at 100th on the list in March. His rapid fall from grace mirrors the economic fortunes of Brazil, which was growing at 7.5pc in the boom. Growth was just 0.9pc last year and, with inflation rising towards 6.5pc, the country is now being described as under “speculative attack”.

Mr Batista is among the victims and has seen his publicly traded companies wither. But the colourful businessman is also involved in the controversial “white elephant” projects linked to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

Heavy investment in stadiums and infrastructure for the two sporting events was among the grievances of the widespread protests that have swept Brazil in the past fortnight. Mr Batista was part of a consortium that will manage the £286m Maracana stadium, which will host the World Cup final, for 35 years.

Meanwhile, the future of Rio’s famous Gloria hotel is hanging in the balance after it was bought for £26m by REX, the real estate division of EBX Group, in 2008. Renovations to the hotel began in 2010 to reopen as the Gloria Palace Hotel, but it will not be ready for fans travelling to the World Cup.

After failing to attract a partner, EBX has reportedly put the hotel up for sale, according to the Brazilian press.

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