Renewable energy providers to help bear cost of new UK nuclear reactors

The row over subsidies for the UK's new nuclear power stations has deepened after it emerged that the £160m-a-year cost of accommodating the giant reactors on the national electricity grid will be borne by all generators, including renewable energy providers.

Chevron says executive pay to reflect 2012 "incidents"

(Reuters) - Chevron Corp said on Wednesday its executive pay would reflect certain incidents in 2012 as well as a financial performance that outpaced the U.S. oil company's peer group.

Russia to Lower Crude Export Tax 4.5% in April After Urals Falls

Russia, the world’s biggest energy exporter, will reduce duties on most crude and oil product shipments overseas by 4.5 percent on April 1, down from a 10- month high, after a drop in benchmark Urals prices.

Energy policies 'reduce bill rises'

Energy policies will cushion consumers from price rises, but only after contributing to a rise in average household bills, a report has said. By 2020, bills will be 11% - or £166 - lower than they would otherwise have been, according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change's report.

Major oil companies testify on oil tax change

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- A proposed overhaul of Alaska's oil tax structure would be a vast improvement over the existing system and should lead to more investment, but it has some problem areas, industry representatives told the House Resources Committee on Tuesday.

WTI Oil Rises to One-Month High on Cyprus

West Texas Intermediate crude rose to a one-month high as Cyprus agreed with creditors on a bailout, reducing concern that Europe’s debt crisis will deepen.

Wholesale gas prices soar in Britain after pipeline is forced to close

British wholesale gas prices hit a record high on Friday after the failure of a vital import pipeline demonstrated the vulnerability of the nation's energy supply to external shocks.

UK gas wholesale price rises 50% to new high after pipeline shutdown

UK gas wholesale prices shot up by more than 50% to a record high, after the pipeline pumping gas between Britain and Belgium shut down unexpectedly due to a technical fault.

Oil Falls as German Manufacturing Output Contracts

Oil dropped as German manufacturing output unexpectedly contracted in March, signaling the euro-zone debt crisis is slowing growth in the region’s biggest economy.

Rosneft pays out in historic TNK-BP deal completion

(Reuters) - Russian state oil company Rosneft (ROSN.MM) closed its deal to buy TNK-BP (TNBP.MM) from UK-based BP (BP.L) and four tycoons on Thursday, releasing $40 billion cash to the sellers and becoming a bigger oil producer than Exxon Mobil (XOM.N).

British companies win energy contracts worth $20.2bn

Britain's success in exporting energy-related skills continues, as BG Group signs a $20bn (£13.2bn) gas deal in India and oil services company Wood Group wins eleven contracts in Africa valued at $240m.

China Seen Cutting Subsidy for Largest Solar Projects: Energy

China, forecast to become the biggest solar market this year, may restructure its subsidies to favor smaller projects over larger ones to promote new plants in in areas with power shortages, an industry official said.

Obama pushes research fund, seeks common ground on energy policy

LEMONT, Ill./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama tried to move past partisan fights over energy policy on Friday with a modest proposal to fund research into cars that run on anything but gasoline.

BP appeal over 'absurd' Gulf oil spill payouts

Oil giant BP is taking legal action in the US to limit payouts by a fund set up to compensate those affected by the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Obama seeks $2 billion in research on cleaner fuels

WASHINGTON: With few options available for financing his clean-energy ambitions, President Barack Obama on Friday will propose diverting $2 billion in revenue from federal oil and gas leases over the next decade to pay for research on advanced vehicles, White House officials said.

Japan cracks seabed 'ice gas' in dramatic leap for global energy

Japan has extracted natural "ice" gas from methane hydrates beneath the sea off its coasts in a technological coup, opening up a super-resource that could meet the country's gas needs for the next century and radically change the world's energy outlook.

Solar Trade Group Reports Surge in U.S. Installations

Partly driven by an oversupply of cheaper panels from China, the domestic solar market had its best year in 2012, with the growth in installations outpacing that of the global market, according to an annual report to be released Thursday.

Total restarts production at Elgin field

Total has restarted production at its huge Elgin gas field in the North Sea, almost a year after a major gas leak which cost the French business millions of euros.

Liberia says to ink oil deal with Exxon, COPL

DAKAR (Reuters) - Liberia will sign off on a deal giving oil major Exxon Mobil and its partner Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited rights to develop an offshore oil block, a presidential spokeswoman said on Friday.

Saudi Arabia Said to Raise February Oil Output From 20-Month Low

Saudi Arabia raised crude production in February to 9.15 million barrels a day, an increase of 100,000 barrels daily from the previous month, an official with knowledge of the country’s oil policy said.

BP Breaks Up With Solar Energy: It’s Not You, It’s Us

BP gave “Beyond Petroleum” a try, but it didn’t quite work out. The oil giant has officially ditched solar energy. BP CEO Bob Dudley made it plain and simple: “Not that solar energy isn’t a viable energy source, but we worked at it for 35 years, and we really never made money,” he said this week at an energy conference.

Scientists bid to turn power station emissions into 'solar fuels'

Scientists in Edinburgh are working to develop technology capable of converting carbon dioxide emissions from power stations into fuel.

WTI Oil Advances as Jobs Data Bolsters U.S. Economy

West Texas Intermediate oil advanced after U.S. unemployment benefit applications dropped to a six- week low, bolstering optimism about the country’s economy, and the dollar weakened against the euro.

Fracking to the rescue as US oil production hits 20-year high

Ministers have no 'plan B’ if new nuclear plants are not built and are “crossing their fingers” that private companies deliver on time and on budget, a committee of MPs warned on Monday.

Barack Obama names energy, environment and budget heads

US President Barack Obama has nominated new heads for the energy department and the Environmental Protection Agency, as he reshuffles his second term cabinet.

EU emissions data for 2012 to be released early April: Commission

LONDON: The European Commission will release preliminary emissions data for 2012 from firms operating under its emissions trading scheme (ETS) in early April and the exact date should be available in the next two weeks.

Rising costs drag oil and gas into factory age

LONDON/PERTH: Oil engineering consultant Steve earns 550,000 Australian dollars ($560,000) a year and is seeing new graduates signed up for six-figure salaries.

Workers taken off North Sea rig amid leak

More than 70 workers were taken off a North Sea oil platform on Saturday after a leak was detected.

Oil falls as spending cuts loom; pump prices dip

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil fell Friday to its lowest level of the year on worrisome economic developments in the world's two largest oil-consuming nations. The price of crude fell 1.5 percent and is down 6 percent in two weeks.

Post-Fukushima, Arguments for Nuclear Safety Bog Down

Alarms sounded and lights flashed as control panel dials at a nuclear power plant in upstate New York warned that the power for safety equipment was failing. The room went dark until the emergency lights kicked in.