David Blair's Blog, page 128

BP redevelops two N Sea oilfields

Decision comes only four months after UK Treasury raised the supplementary tax on oil and gas from 20 to 32 per cent

Saudi oil output hits 9.7m barrels a day

The IEA's monthly oil market report provides the first hard evidence of Riyadh's response to Opec's failure to agree output quota rises

UK prepares landmark energy reforms

Energy secretary to announce a shake-up of the UK's electricity market aimed at securing £110bn of investment in new generating capacity

Huhne plays down power price rise fears

Biggest reform of UK's electricity market in two decades will not cause household bills to climb even higher, minister claims

Energy minnows hope to break stranglehold

Balance sheet of 'big six' utilities is not strong enough to fund the required £200bn in investment, smaller power groups argue

SSE abandons door-to-door selling

The UK utility, whose 900 sales agents will either be made redundant or retrained for other roles, says the practice is no longer acceptable

British Gas blames markets for price rise

The new tariffs, to take effect on August 18, will make the company the second most expensive option among the UK's 'Big Six' utilities

Statoil to resume North Sea development

Move on Mariner oilfield follows a Treasury announcement that it will offer extra protection to oil companies subject to a recent tax increase

RWE considers pulling plug on Npower

The German utilities group is reviewing its strategic options, advised by Goldman Sachs, as it grapples with net debt of €27.5bn

Utilities await reform white paper

UK government is due to announce the most radical shake-up of Britain's electricity market for two decades