Tom Woolley reflects on the latest proposals to streamline the energy efficiency scheme for business and considers whether CRC will be scrapped altogether.     One last-ditch attempt to salvage CRC   Having been inundated with negative feedback from businesses and industry groups, the Government has at last softened its stance and indicated that it may finally be time to do away with the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC).  Amid all the commotion surrounding the Budget, George Osborne said in no uncertain terms that unless major improvements to the scheme are made, CRC ... [More]

Hounded in the press over its so-called ‘granny tax’ and its war on pasties, the Conservative/LibDem coalition government has had a torrid time of it over the past few weeks, seemingly coming under fire from all angles.  For balance, it can be claimed the opposition Labour Party has hardly draped itself in glory, losing its previously safe seat in the Bradford West by-election to George Galloway recently.  Behind the headlines and all the furore over the Chancellor’s plans to reduce the 50p top rate of tax, however, George Osborne’s latest Budget Report was pe... [More]

The escalating standoff between Iran and the West endangers not only crude oil supplies, but natural gas as well, reports Tom Woolley.   Sanctions against the Iranian regime and the repercussions for the oil industry have been well documented in the mainstream media, with Tehran warning that it is prepared to throttle supplies through a key shipping artery, although the conflict also poses a sizeable risk to the natural gas sector that has attracted nowhere near the same level of coverage.  Shutting off the Strait of Hormuz, as the Islamic State has threatened, would deprive the UK... [More]

Taking their cue from comfortable near-term fundamentals and economic stagnation, UK energy futures fell away markedly in the second half of 2011, with the sell-off continuing over the festive period and into the New Year.  Talk had begun to turn to when the market would eventually bottom out, but with demand tracking routinely below seasonal norms and gas storage levels still looking extremely healthy, counterparties were convinced until recently that the outlook going forward would remain bearish.  Prices have however soared during the past week or so, calling this assumption into ... [More]

Alex Salmond, the ebullient leader of the Scottish National Party, was in his element this week, draping himself in history and arguing the case for independence that would sever further ties with Westminster.  On the day Scots commemorated the birth of Robert Burns, their most famous poet, the First Minister put forward his case for a contentious referendum in the autumn of 2014, the year that just so happens to mark the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, the greatest defeat of the old English enemy.   Doing what even his opponents concede he does best, Salmond took t... [More]