UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure from MPs over plans to potentially support the controversial North Sea Rosebank oil development. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is understood to be supportive of a new application for consent for development of the field, led by Norway’s Equinor (OSL: EQNR), after a judge ruled its licence was “unlawful”. Equinor and its partner Ithaca Energy (LON: ITH) were allowed by the judge to continue development of what has been described as one of the UK’s most significant oil and gas fields but they will have to resubmit an environmental assessment of the project. The assessment will be subject to new guidelines for the industry which the Labour Government has pledged to deliver in Springtime. But reports have suggested Labour is at loggerheads over sticking to its manifesto pledge not to issue new exploration licences, but not to cancel ones that have already been issued. Rosebank was awarded a licence in 2023, but MPs are mobilising against supporting the assessment. The Labour Growth Group – a large caucus of mostly new Labour MPs  – will not take a position backing Rosebank, although the group did give its backing to Heathrow expansion which was announced by Reeves last week, a report in the Guardian has suggested. Several MPs also spoke anonymously to the paper, warning  more criticism would be forthcoming if approval was being pushed by the Treasury. Meanwhile, chairs of a number all-party parliamentary groups focusing on climate change, renewable energy and net zero including Luke Murphy, Polly Billington, and Alex Sobel signed a letter published in the Times suggesting that “doubling down on fossil fuels locks the UK into a declining sector”. It added: “Take the Rosebank field, for example. Much has been made of its supposed benefits for energy security, but the reality is

TA’ZIZ, an Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) joint venture tasked with establishing a “chemicals and transition fuels ecosystem”, has awarded over $2 billion worth of engineering, procurement and construction contracts for the Al Ruwais project. In the first phase, the ecosystem project is expected to produce 4.7 million tons a year of chemicals by 2028. “TA’ZIZ will produce a range of chemicals, many of which have not previously been manufactured in the UAE, enabling the local manufacture of many new construction, agriculture and healthcare products”, ADNOC said in a statement. “In its initial phase, TA’ZIZ will produce six chemicals: caustic, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride, low-carbon ammonia and methanol”. NMDC Group won the contract for the chemicals port of the project. “When the port is complete, it will facilitate the export of chemicals and transition fuels, ensuring operational connectivity to regional and global markets and enhancing access to imported supplies”, ADNOC said. Meanwhile Rotary Engineering–Abu Dhabi will build the terminal portion, which will have storage facilities, tank-to-jetty pipelines, jetty-to-tank pipelines and inter-site pipelines. “The dedicated chemicals port and terminal will enable exports from the 1 mtpa [million tons per annum] low-carbon ammonia production facility and world-scale methanol plant TAZIZ is building in Ruwais, as well as imports of key materials”, ADNOC said. Al Geemi Contracting won two contracts, one to build utilities including for power transmission, steam and water, and another to build ancillary infrastructure such as internal roads, buildings and security fencing. “A significant portion of the value of the contracts is expected to flow back into the UAE’s economy under ADNOC’s In-Country Value program, boosting economic growth and diversification in Al Dhafra region”, ADNOC added. “The awards will also accelerate TA’ZIZ’s efforts to establish a domestic low-carbon chemicals supply chain, while supporting ADNOC’s chemicals growth

TA’ZIZ, an Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and ADQ joint venture tasked with establishing a “chemicals and transition fuels ecosystem”, has awarded a $1.7 billion engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a methanol production facility in the Al Ruwais ecosystem project. Expected to be completed 2028, the plant will be the first methanol production facility in the United Arab Emirates, according to TA’ZIZ. The plant is planned to produce up to 1.8 million metric tons a year of clean energy-powered methanol. “This landmark EPC contract award is a significant step in realizing TA’ZIZ’s vision to drive the UAE’s industrial growth by creating a world-scale integrated chemicals ecosystem in Al Dhafra region”, TA’ZIZ chief executive Mashal Saoud Al-Kindi said in a company statement. “The plant will enhance the UAE’s position as a leader in sustainable chemicals production and strengthen TA’ZIZ’s role in enabling ADNOC’s global ambition to lead the chemicals sector”. SAMSUNG E&A Co. Ltd. won the contract. “SAMSUNG E&A will bring its successful experience of a recently completed methanol plant in Malaysia and the active application of its unique execution system, characterized by modularization and automation, to the project”, the South Korean company said in a separate press release. Hong Namkoong, president and chief executive of SAMSUNG E&A, commented, “We plan to actively leverage local resources and our network of partners based on our extensive regional experience in the Ruwais Industrial Complex, UAE”. ADNOC and ADQ aim to start producing chemicals in the first phase the Al Ruwais chemicals and transition fuels ecosystem in 2028. The first phase is expected to produce 4.7 million tons a year of chemicals. Late last year TA’ZIZ awarded over $2 billion worth of EPC contracts for infrastructure components of the ecosystem project. “TA’ZIZ will produce a range of chemicals, many of which

Steel and other industrial sectors have written to industry minister Sarah Jones to express their concerns over the impact of net-zero policies on energy-intensive industries. In the letter, they highlighted the high electricity costs faced by the industrial sector and cautioned against the potential for “deindustrialisation” in the pursuit of sustainable economic growth. It said: “Many industrial decarbonisation projects rely on changes to behind-the-meter configurations or grid enhancements that under these proposals are likely be disadvantaged. “We would therefore like to see the government’s 2030 objectives for industrial decarbonisation given the same priority as electricity decarbonisation in terms of network connections.” They warned that energy costs in the UK remain among the highest for industries compared to Europe, Asia, or the US. Even with government mechanisms like the “British industry supercharger” in place, which is designed to reduce the cost of power in energy-intensive industries, a “substantial gap still remains” in electricity pricing across various sectors, according to industrial businesses. Representatives from these industries—including steel, metals, glass, ceramics, chemicals, refineries, paper, and mineral products—expressed their support for the government’s goals of enhancing economic growth while achieving net-zero targets. As employers, they said their sectors are crucial in the transition to decarbonisation technologies. However, they noted that high electricity costs, policy uncertainty, and the risk of carbon leakage hinder their ability to invest competitively in the UK. To address these challenges, the companies proposed increasing the rate of compensation for network charges from 60% to 90%, to align UK network charges more closely with those in key European countries. The letter highlighted that many European nations have implemented special network charging arrangements for electricity-intensive industries, offering almost full relief from charges. Industrial businesses raised concerns about the potential for “supply disruptions” as the transition to low-carbon energy continues. “As other European

The UK’s National Grid has reached a milestone in its programme to eliminate sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) from its network with the arrival of the first of two 178 tonne supergrid transformers and Hitachi Econiq SF6-free switchgear, at a new electricity substation being built in the UK capital. National Grid’s construction partner in the 400kV Bengeworth Road substation is Linxon. The project is a part of the £1 billion London Power Tunnels 2 project. The company regards Bengeworth Road as a “key milestone”, as it is said to be the first UK substation where SF6 has been eliminated from new. This piece of power infrastructure is located at the heart of National Grid’s 32.5 km London Power Tunnels 2 route between Wimbledon and Crayford. It will provide a 132kV connection for local grid operator UK Power Networks to distribute electricity on to homes and businesses in the area. A second transformer is planned to arrive at Bengeworth Road imminently (1 or 2 February). Two further transformers are planned for delivery to National Grid’s New Cross substation – also part of the London Power Tunnels 2 project – during the month and in the spring. SF6, the most pernicious of all greenhouse gases, is synthetic, virtually indestructible and commonly used in high-voltage electrical equipment worldwide owing to its chemical stability and superior insulating/anti-arcing properties. National Grid says the installation of SF6-free EconiQ equipment at Bengeworth Road represents a “crucial step” towards the company’s drive to eliminate the gas from its infrastructure by 2050. The interim global target is 50% by 2030 from a 2019 baseline. The company says it has slashed its SF6 emissions by more than 80% since 2000. What the company has done is declare all-out war on SF6, although the approach is best described as progressive. In its latest

It was bad luck for Ed Miliband that his appearance before the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee fell on the same day that a report by Cornwall Insight predicted the UK would fall 32GW short of his ‘clean power by 2030’ target. I don’t really know how Cornwall Insight arrive at their conclusions with such precision in a world of massive imponderables. Yet their crystal ball tells them we will be 16GW down on solar, 10GW behind schedule on onshore wind and a relatively modest 6GW short on offshore wind. Forgive my scepticism, but I would place more faith in sticking a pin in a race card. We can be confident Cornwall Insight’s analysts will have moved on by 2030 and, even if they haven’t, nobody will take the trouble to recall their soothsaying from five years previously. In the meantime, their function is to generate headlines. Actually, their research told us little that we didn’t know already. Cornwall Insight discovered that “grid connection delays, supply chain constraints and uncertainty surrounding electricity market reforms” are among the challenges holding back the 2030 ambition. Well, who would have guessed? I fear Mr Miliband is going to have a lot more such days if he stays in the job. While he insists that all is on course for “challenging but attainable” targets, a variety of soothsayers will say otherwise. Only as 2030 draws nearer will it be possible to adjudicate on who has been right. The problem is that common sense risks being subordinated to this never-ending argument about meeting targets. At this point, it is essential to make a semantic distinction. Objectives and targets are not synonymous. If Mr Miliband is, even now, capable of taking that distinction on board, he could become a lot more credible. Pretty much everyone,