Oil & gas news

Jonathan Lane, head of consulting for power and utilities at GlobalData, asks: ”could a UK coal tax raise significant revenue, lower emissions and have no impact on prices?”

BHP Billiton becomes the latest mining major to announce a change at the top, as Marius Kloppers announces he will retire in May.

BHP Billiton has announced a substantial drop in profits in the six months to December 2012 as weak commodity prices continue to plague the mining industry.

US judges have approved Transocean’s US$ 1.4 billion settlements for criminal and civil charges relating to 2010’s Macondo oil spill.

Alistair Buchanan, head of the UK’s energy regulator, Ofgem, has warned that the UK could face a “rollercoaster” energy market in the years to 2020, with reserve margins becoming increasingly tight.

Coal Marketing Co., the exclusive carrier of coal from the Cerrejon mining operation in Colombia, has declared force majeure on 900,000 t of coal shipments due to ongoing industrial action.

South African thermal coal miner, Continental Coal, has released production figures for its Penumbra, Ferreira and Vlakvarkfontein coal mines.

Xstrata Coal will take over day-to-day operation of the Collinsville coal mine from contractor Thiess, after the mine made substantial losses in 2012/13.

Vale has declared force majeure on some shipments from Mozambique, as heavy rain continues to hit the Sena railway.

Alleged dodging of royalty payments on US coal exports to Asia will be the focus of an investigation by the US Department of Interior.