A new research and development facility has opened in Aberdeen to help breathe new life into the struggling North Sea oil industry. The Oil and Gas Technology Centre will partly fund the work while also acting as a bridge between small tech firms and the big oil producers. Oil supply company Mistras has been developing technology more commonly used to enable expectant mothers to see their babies. The ultrasound scanners, complete with cold jelly, are being used to detect corrosion in pipes. ... Read more

The Scottish government has approved plans to increase the size of a South Lanarkshire wind farm.  Hamilton-based Banks Renewables has received permission from the Scottish government’s Energy Consents & Deployment Unit (EDCU) for its Kype Muir Extension wind farm, south of Strathaven.   The 15 turbine, 51MW, expansion will increase the total capacity at Kype Muir to 139MW and turbine population to 41.   ____________________     Energy bills are set to rise for manufacturers in the face of a new government initiative, which promises reliable resources of ... Read more

Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell $3.8bn (£2.46bn) worth of North Sea assets to oil exploration Firm Chrysaor as part of continuing cost-cutting measures. Shell is aiming to sell $30bn of assets by 2018 as seeks to reduce its debts following its takeover of BG Group.   The oil giant is also to sell its stake in a Thai gas field for $900m. Shell’s interests in Buzzard, Beryl, Bressay, Elain-Franklin, J-Block, the Greater Armada cluster, Everest, Lomond and Erskine – plus a ... Read more

Norwegian oil giant Statoil has taken on a strategic partner as it prepares to build the world's first floating wind farm off the east coast of Scotland.  It has agreed to sell 25% of its assets in Hywind Scotland Pilot Park to Abu Dhabi renewable energy group Masdar. Statoil said the 30MW wind farm, which will lie about 15 miles from Peterhead, could power 20,000 households. Under the transaction, Statoil and Masdar have agreed to share the development risk, with Masdar covering ... Read more

Spending by US oil and gas companies is expected to rebound sharply this year as the industry responds quickly to the upturn in crude prices in recent months. While the overall recovery in the global oil and gas industry is still sluggish, capital spending in North America will rise 27% this year, according to Barclays, based on a survey of more than 200 companies. The projections suggest that the larger US exploration and production companies will raise spending on drilling and completing wells ... Read more

Swansea Bay tidal lagoon is set to go ahead after a government report recommended the technology plays a role in the UK’s energy mix.  The review, led by former energy minister Charles Hendry, comes over a year after plans for the Swansea demonstrator project were put on hold. It advocates the formation of a new Tidal Power Authority to oversee the tender process for large-scale tidal lagoons and maximise the benefit to the UK. Hendry also recommends that a pathfinder project ... Read more

National Grid investment means Swindon plasma recycling plant will go ahead by early 2018.  National Grid’s Gas Distribution company has signed a £6.3 million deal to help fund the “world’s first” commercially operating bio-substitute natural gas plant in Swindon, which will make gas from household waste. The deal completes financing for the project, which is being run by Go Green Gas and enables construction of the £25 million plant to start. In the plant, waste and biomass is shredded and dried and “recyclates” such ... Read more

A new wind farm that is capable of powering more than 40,000 homes has officially opened in South Ayrshire. Dersalloch wind farm, located on Dersalloch Hill, between Straiton and Dalmellington, has 23 turbines with a capacity of 69MW of electricity. It is first of eight onshore wind farm projects, worth more than £650m, being delivered by Scottish Power Renewables. They will have a combined total of 221 turbines, capable of generating almost 500MW – enough to power 130,000 homes. ____________________ Pennon Group has decided ... Read more