07 Dec 2011
Meeting the government's energy policy objectives was always going to be expensive relative to business as usual. It was only a matter of time before a combination of high commodity … » more
07 Dec 2011
An amusing irony of the emerging Coalition energy policy is that ministers and civil servants like to claim that they are not in the business of picking winners. Indeed not: … » more
11 Jul 2011
The future of the UK's oil and gas industry is hanging in the balance. It supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the UK, invests more than any other sector … » more
11 Jul 2011
Recent research commissioned by Oil & Gas UK indicates that the majority of people in the UK mistakenly believe that this country imports most of its oil and gas. It … » more
11 Jul 2011
The biggest impact of the 2011 Budget was on the upstream oil and gas industry. The twelve percentage point rise in tax rates, to 62 and 81 per cent depending … » more
11 Jul 2011
THE cost of decommissioning — and the current uncertainty around future levels of tax relief — is a hot topic for the UK oil and gas industry right now. The need for clarity has prompted a joint approach between industry and government to find a method of locking in financial stability. Aernout van der Gaag, VP for Finance and Business Services at leading independent operator Talisman Energy (UK) Limited, is spearheading the joint industry/government working group and offers an insight on the substantial prize at stake…
11 Jul 2011
This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the announcement of the successful oil well that heralded the discovery of the Forties Field. This was the first of the giant North … » more
11 Jul 2011
Drilling in the UK North Sea has plummeted to its lowest level for 45 years. Not since the first half of 1966, when nine exploration and appraisal wells were drilled … » more
11 Jul 2011
George Osborne's Budget in March 2011 significantly raised the future tax take from the offshore petroleum industry, causing concern among the companies active on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS). … » more
11 Jul 2011
The long-term prospects for oil and gas activity in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) depend on several key factors. The reserves potential is the first necessary condition. The Department of … » more
03 Apr 2011
I suspect that for many people following the unfolding Japanese tragedy, that moment when the outer building of Fukushima Daiichi exploded will be one of those flashbulb memories, maybe even … » more
03 Apr 2011
Public interest in Britain’s plans for new nuclear power plants
03 Apr 2011
The extraordinary events at Fukushima in the past few weeks have led to major activity in assessing their implications for other countries. This seems natural enough in the case of … » more
05 Mar 2011
In an age of austerity the government should be wise to the art of finding policy measures that offer big gains at low cost. Popular measures should be welcome too … » more
17 Jan 2011
It is scarcely defensible as a climate policy to spend a large amount of consumers' money for zero impact on the climate, says Michael Pollitt
17 Jan 2011
' ... the current market will not deliver on the Government's objectives for decarbonisation (including on renewable deployment), security of supply or affordability for consumers'. As the university teacher, searching … » more
17 Jan 2011
In December the coalition launched a consultation to reshape our electricity market more fundamentally than at any time since the 1980s. This takes forward our pledge in the coalition programme … » more
30 Nov 2010
This time last year political leaders from across the globe prepared to embark on an historic round of negotiations that ultimately led to the Copenhagen Accord. Whilst this non-binding agreement … » more
28 Oct 2010
Nuclear power is now at the centre of plans for a low carbon transition in the UK. Tony Blair’s speech to the CBI in 2006 famously heralded the return of … » more
28 Oct 2010
For a country that with an 80 per cent greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, a year-on-year fall in emissions of 9 per cent ought to be welcome. However, without assuming … » more
30 Sep 2010
Labour administrations from 1997 to 2010 changed the rhetoric of energy policy profoundly. In the most recent years important legislative changes were enacted in an attempt, belatedly, to put some … » more
30 Sep 2010
The use of energy is fundamental to the UK's economy and to our quality of life, way beyond the five per cent or so that energy expenditures contribute to GDP. … » more
31 Aug 2010
Since the birth of the new Conservative/Lib Dem coalition, environmentalists and nuclear advocates have weighed every word on nuclear power uttered by Chris Huhne, the Lib Dem heading the Department … » more
31 Aug 2010
It is difficult to give a clear overview of New Labour energy policies — there were many of them and they never reached a conclusion. Partly as a result, the … » more
31 Aug 2010
Energy companies expecting to be profitable in the coming decade and beyond have to live up to the fact that our market is changing, and changing dramatically. Those companies that … » more
22 Jul 2010
Take note Mr Huhne: 'if the current policy mess is not quickly addressed, the most likely outcome is that the UK will have destroyed one of its most brilliant public policy successes of the past 25 years — the creation of competitive energy markets, envied across Europe and copied the world over'
29 Mar 2010
We follow up January 2010’s special theme on energy policy with a discussion of the findings of Ofgem’s final report from ‘Project Discovery’ (03/02/10). Discovery was aimed at examining the … » more
28 Mar 2010
Last time there was a Conservative government the energy policy agenda was all about privatising and liberalising — the state was to withdraw, and private business was alone fit to … » more
17 Mar 2010
Following up January 2010's Parliamentary Brief special report into the crisis in energy policy, Michael Pollitt takes a critical look at the latest Ofgem report on energy security — a report that controversially argues for greater intervention in energy markets.
07 Jan 2010
Tony Blair began the process of expanding Britain’s nuclear energy portfolio in 2006. Going into 2010, the plans gather pace — but the figures simply do not add up, says Stephen Thomas
07 Jan 2010
The British government is now firmly committed to helping the private sector build several new nuclear power stations. It has issued a ‘Draft National Policy Statement for Nuclear Power … » more
07 Jan 2010
To thrive during the energy revolution, says Gearóid Lane, suppliers must innovate and engage their customers
07 Jan 2010
Did you know that your home could still be standing and occupied in 3010? That is not a typo, it is a statistic. In the UK we are demolishing about … » more
07 Jan 2010
The government must move from an idealogical fixation on large-scale industrial power plants towards encouraging renewables and people-power, says Simon Hughes
07 Jan 2010
The Low Carbon Transition Plan (LCTP) published in July 2009 sets out the government’s roadmap for meeting the carbon budgets contained in the Climate Change Act. But — as … » more
07 Jan 2010
The Renewables Obligation (RO) is the main mechanism in place to encourage the deployment of renewable electricity technologies in the UK. It has consistently failed to deliver on its … » more
07 Jan 2010
A competition commission inquiry into energy is called for, says George Yarrow, but not for the reason most people think
14 Jul 2008
Coming 23rd in the EU renewable energy stakes, Britain needs better policy support fast, believes Bridget Woodman
14 Jul 2008
Gordon MacKerron traces the recent history of energy policy and outlines the urgent changes that are needed
14 Jul 2008
If we don't curb energy demand then the lights could go out, warnsJonathan Stern, director of Gas Research at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
14 Jul 2008
An Energy Efficiency Regulations and Loans Bill should be in the 2008 legislative programme, insists Roderick Crawford