MP committee looks at North sea oil exploration
In light of the Gulf of Mexico disaster a committee of MPs will review the UK government's decision to ignore calls for a moratorium on new drilling exploration in the North sea. While there is no doubt that lessons need to be learned from the Gulf of Mexico problem, which has seen the BP share price collapse, many believe that safety measures in place in the North sea are more than adequate for this type of deep sea drilling.
Over the last few weeks it has become more and more apparent that the UK economy, and indeed the worldwide economy, depends very heavily upon the supply of oil. While a moratorium on deep sea drilling in the short term would have little impact upon oil supplies at the moment it may have an impact upon sentiment and indeed could affect the oil price. It seems, whether right or wrong, that there will be major changes in the oil industry in the short to medium term although whether these will "stick" remains to be seen because the oil companies have massive influence in the political and economic arena.
Recent criticism, which is similar to that received by the banking industry at the height of the worldwide recession, has seen the oil industry demonised by many governments around the world.
Share this..
Related stories
Is the UK becoming a divided society?
A recent TUC report has suggested that the UK society has become one of the most unequal and diverse in Europe over the last 30 years. In a move which is probably designed to highlight the fact that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, the study appears to show those in the "middle earners" bracket have seen their incomes fail to keep pace with middle-class workers and those in higher paid...
Read MoreOne in five shops empty in north of England
04/02/2015 More than one in five shops in northern towns in the UK are empty, according to research from the Local Data Company. This compares to one in ten shops in the south of the UK, highlighting the growing north/south divide. Despite the regional divide widening, overall there has been a “market improvement” in the number of empty shops. The average vacancy rate was 13.3% in the l...
Read MoreUpdate on UK economic growth figures brings little change
While the delay in publishing economic growth figures for the first quarter of 2010 began to set alarm bells ringing, in the end the figure remains unchanged at 0.3%. However, if you dig deep into today's press release from the Office for National Statistics you'll find that from the peak to the trough of the UK downturn the UK economy fell by 6.4% as opposed to an initial forecast of 6.2%. While...
Read MoreCBI predicts slowing of economic growth
The CBI has today issued a rather downbeat statement on the UK economy with a forecast that growth will slow down in the second half of 2010 although at the same time the CBI has increased its forecast for economic growth during 2010 from 1% to 1.3%. The figure for 2011 remains unchanged at 2.5% which is broadly in line with the UK government's understanding of the situation. The CBI expects UK...
Read MoreStandard and Poors downgrade UK outlook to negative
Renowned credit rating agency Standard and Poors has today downgraded its rating on the UK to negative. This means that the credit ratings agency believes that the UK economy is in danger of weakening in the short to medium term which could lead to UK debt ratings being downgraded. This is a significant blow for the UK government as the authorities will require further funding which will increase...
Read More