Communities secretary labels proposals for tax on expensive property – championed by Lib Dems – a ‘very big mistake’ Eric Pickles, the communities secretary, has highlighted a rift in the government’s Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition by describing proposals for a so-called “mansion tax” on expensive property as “a very big mistake”. He said that the idea, which is being actively championed by Liberal Democrats, would hit “many ordinary middle-class families” because of the high property prices in some areas of the country. “We as a government have got to understand middle-class families put a lot into this country and don’t take a lot out. It would be a very big mistake to start imposing taxation on the back of changes in property values, particularly with big regional variations,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “People will suddenly find themselves in a mansion and they hadn’t realised it was a mansion. If it is only going to be mansions, the kind of thing you and I would regard as a mansion, it ain’t going to raise very much.” Before the election the Lib Dems proposed a so-called “mansion tax” worth 1% on homes worth more than £2m. The proposal did not make it into the coalition agreement. But it has not been forgotten and in his speech to the Lib Dem conference last year, Vince Cable, the business secretary, said that, given the difficulty of raising taxes on income in a world of mobile labour, “a progressive alternative is to shift the tax base to property and land”. In his budget in March George Osborne, the chancellor, said the government would be be “redoubling our efforts to find ways of ensuring that owners of high-value property cannot avoid paying their fair share”. Conservative ministers played down the significance of this announcement, but Lib Dems have presented this as evidence that a “mansion tax” of some kind is still on the agenda. Some Tories are in favour too. In an article in the Guardian this week, Tim Montgomerie, editor of the ConservativeHome website, backed the proposal. Liberal-Conservative coalition Tax and spending Eric Pickles Liberal Democrats Tax Andrew Sparrow guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Jittery traders focus on ‘safe haven’ investments as collapsing shares fuel panic at the exchanges Fresh turmoil on the world’s financial markets on Friday saw gold rise to record levels, the dollar sink to its lowest-ever level against the Japanese yen, and share prices gyrate wildly in Europe and North America. A day of rumours and extreme nervousness saw shares in Britain’s biggest companies lose all the gains in the market seen since the FTSE 100 index bottomed out on 11 August. Despite an afternoon rally, prompted by speculation that the US Federal Reserve was about to hold an emergency meeting to tackle the growing sense of market panic, the FTSE closed 51.47 points down at 5040.76, a decline of 1%. The Dow Jones industrial average also lost confidence later in the day as no announcement from the Fed was forthcoming and closed down 172.93 at 10,817.65, a fall of 1.6%. Earlier, London shares had collapsed after Thursday’s heavy selling on Wall Street prompted steep falls on Asian bourses. Fears that the global economy was heading for a double-dip recession, and signs that Europe’s bailout of Greece could collapse, saw the FTSE lose more than 3% of its value at one stage, sending it well below the 5000 mark. The steadier start to trading on Wall Street helped calm nerves in the City at the end of another frenetic week that saw markets once again focus on their two major concerns: growth and the fragility of Europe’s single currency. “This week has seen a continuation of the trend of weaker than expected data and political reaction to the European problems which pretty much amounts to ‘let’s have a get-together a couple of times a year’,” said Gary Jenkins, an analyst at Evolution Securities. The jittery atmosphere sent investors heading once again to the safe havens of the Swiss franc, the Japanese yen and gold. Bullion rose as high as $1,881 an ounce, with some dealers expecting it to test the $2,000 an ounce level over the coming weeks. On the foreign exchanges, the dollar dropped to just under ¥76 against the Japanese currency and was also down against the Swiss franc and the pound. The dollar’s fall helped underpin oil prices, with a barrel of Brent crude trading almost $2 higher at just under $109 a barrel. Switzerland’s two biggest banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, have denied that they made use of the Federal Reserve’s swap facility via the Swiss National Bank, insisting they have no liquidity problems. There had been speculation that a Swiss bank had accessed the US liquidity facility via a $200m repurchase transaction with the SNB last week. Evangelos Venizelos, Greece’s finance minister, said his country’s €109bn bail-out was not in doubt, despite the fissures within Europe being laid bare by the demands of five countries for collateral in exchange for paying into a rescue fund for the weaker countries in the monetary union. Venizelos also said the recession in his financially troubled country could be deeper than originally predicted for this year, with output potentially shrinking by more than 4.5%. His comments came a day after the Netherlands, Slovenia, Austria and Slovakia said on Thursday they wanted hundreds of millions of euros in collateral, in the same vein as Finland, which struck a deal with the Greek government earlier in the week to receive cash as security for its part of the bailout. Brussels sought to ease fears by stressing that Olli Rehn, Europe’s economic and monetary affairs commissioner, was looking at a plan for common European bonds, seen as a step towards closer financial integration among the 17 single-currency nations. European banking shares fell to near two-and-a-half-year lows, dragged down by rumours about banks’ potential losses on bonds issued by heavily indebted governments. Earlier, Asian shares took a beating, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropping 2.5% to 8719.24 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 3.1% to 19,399.92. Concerns that weak growth in Europe and the US would hit China’s exports affected sentiment in Shanghai, where the stock market’s composite index ended 1% lower at 2534.6 after dipping almost 2% earlier in the day. Some strategists said it was a good time to pick up stocks cheaply. Nick Bubb, retail analyst at Arden Partners, said: “If you want to buy when there’s blood on the streets, and on the screens, then today is a good day to pick up good quality, high-yielding general retail defensives like Marks & Spencer and WH Smith, as well as undervalued global retailers like Inchcape and Kingfisher. And in the food retailers, we wouldn’t want to be short of Wm Morrison, ahead of its interims on 8 September.” Investors continued to swap risky investments for those viewed as safe. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bill rose, but only slightly, to 2.10%, after hitting a record low of just below 2% on Thursday. Bond yields fall as their prices rise in line with demand. Stock markets European debt crisis European banks Economic growth (GDP) Economics US economic growth and recession Global recession Global economy Commodities Bonds Currencies Financial crisis Banking Larry Elliott Julia Kollewe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Jittery traders focus on ‘safe haven’ investments as collapsing shares fuel panic at the exchanges Fresh turmoil on the world’s financial markets on Friday saw gold rise to record levels, the dollar sink to its lowest-ever level against the Japanese yen, and share prices gyrate wildly in Europe and North America. A day of rumours and extreme nervousness saw shares in Britain’s biggest companies lose all the gains in the market seen since the FTSE 100 index bottomed out on 11 August. Despite an afternoon rally, prompted by speculation that the US Federal Reserve was about to hold an emergency meeting to tackle the growing sense of market panic, the FTSE closed 51.47 points down at 5040.76, a decline of 1%. The Dow Jones industrial average also lost confidence later in the day as no announcement from the Fed was forthcoming and closed down 172.93 at 10,817.65, a fall of 1.6%. Earlier, London shares had collapsed after Thursday’s heavy selling on Wall Street prompted steep falls on Asian bourses. Fears that the global economy was heading for a double-dip recession, and signs that Europe’s bailout of Greece could collapse, saw the FTSE lose more than 3% of its value at one stage, sending it well below the 5000 mark. The steadier start to trading on Wall Street helped calm nerves in the City at the end of another frenetic week that saw markets once again focus on their two major concerns: growth and the fragility of Europe’s single currency. “This week has seen a continuation of the trend of weaker than expected data and political reaction to the European problems which pretty much amounts to ‘let’s have a get-together a couple of times a year’,” said Gary Jenkins, an analyst at Evolution Securities. The jittery atmosphere sent investors heading once again to the safe havens of the Swiss franc, the Japanese yen and gold. Bullion rose as high as $1,881 an ounce, with some dealers expecting it to test the $2,000 an ounce level over the coming weeks. On the foreign exchanges, the dollar dropped to just under ¥76 against the Japanese currency and was also down against the Swiss franc and the pound. The dollar’s fall helped underpin oil prices, with a barrel of Brent crude trading almost $2 higher at just under $109 a barrel. Switzerland’s two biggest banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, have denied that they made use of the Federal Reserve’s swap facility via the Swiss National Bank, insisting they have no liquidity problems. There had been speculation that a Swiss bank had accessed the US liquidity facility via a $200m repurchase transaction with the SNB last week. Evangelos Venizelos, Greece’s finance minister, said his country’s €109bn bail-out was not in doubt, despite the fissures within Europe being laid bare by the demands of five countries for collateral in exchange for paying into a rescue fund for the weaker countries in the monetary union. Venizelos also said the recession in his financially troubled country could be deeper than originally predicted for this year, with output potentially shrinking by more than 4.5%. His comments came a day after the Netherlands, Slovenia, Austria and Slovakia said on Thursday they wanted hundreds of millions of euros in collateral, in the same vein as Finland, which struck a deal with the Greek government earlier in the week to receive cash as security for its part of the bailout. Brussels sought to ease fears by stressing that Olli Rehn, Europe’s economic and monetary affairs commissioner, was looking at a plan for common European bonds, seen as a step towards closer financial integration among the 17 single-currency nations. European banking shares fell to near two-and-a-half-year lows, dragged down by rumours about banks’ potential losses on bonds issued by heavily indebted governments. Earlier, Asian shares took a beating, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropping 2.5% to 8719.24 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 3.1% to 19,399.92. Concerns that weak growth in Europe and the US would hit China’s exports affected sentiment in Shanghai, where the stock market’s composite index ended 1% lower at 2534.6 after dipping almost 2% earlier in the day. Some strategists said it was a good time to pick up stocks cheaply. Nick Bubb, retail analyst at Arden Partners, said: “If you want to buy when there’s blood on the streets, and on the screens, then today is a good day to pick up good quality, high-yielding general retail defensives like Marks & Spencer and WH Smith, as well as undervalued global retailers like Inchcape and Kingfisher. And in the food retailers, we wouldn’t want to be short of Wm Morrison, ahead of its interims on 8 September.” Investors continued to swap risky investments for those viewed as safe. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bill rose, but only slightly, to 2.10%, after hitting a record low of just below 2% on Thursday. Bond yields fall as their prices rise in line with demand. Stock markets European debt crisis European banks Economic growth (GDP) Economics US economic growth and recession Global recession Global economy Commodities Bonds Currencies Financial crisis Banking Larry Elliott Julia Kollewe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Jittery traders focus on ‘safe haven’ investments as collapsing shares fuel panic at the exchanges Fresh turmoil on the world’s financial markets on Friday saw gold rise to record levels, the dollar sink to its lowest-ever level against the Japanese yen, and share prices gyrate wildly in Europe and North America. A day of rumours and extreme nervousness saw shares in Britain’s biggest companies lose all the gains in the market seen since the FTSE 100 index bottomed out on 11 August. Despite an afternoon rally, prompted by speculation that the US Federal Reserve was about to hold an emergency meeting to tackle the growing sense of market panic, the FTSE closed 51.47 points down at 5040.76, a decline of 1%. The Dow Jones industrial average also lost confidence later in the day as no announcement from the Fed was forthcoming and closed down 172.93 at 10,817.65, a fall of 1.6%. Earlier, London shares had collapsed after Thursday’s heavy selling on Wall Street prompted steep falls on Asian bourses. Fears that the global economy was heading for a double-dip recession, and signs that Europe’s bailout of Greece could collapse, saw the FTSE lose more than 3% of its value at one stage, sending it well below the 5000 mark. The steadier start to trading on Wall Street helped calm nerves in the City at the end of another frenetic week that saw markets once again focus on their two major concerns: growth and the fragility of Europe’s single currency. “This week has seen a continuation of the trend of weaker than expected data and political reaction to the European problems which pretty much amounts to ‘let’s have a get-together a couple of times a year’,” said Gary Jenkins, an analyst at Evolution Securities. The jittery atmosphere sent investors heading once again to the safe havens of the Swiss franc, the Japanese yen and gold. Bullion rose as high as $1,881 an ounce, with some dealers expecting it to test the $2,000 an ounce level over the coming weeks. On the foreign exchanges, the dollar dropped to just under ¥76 against the Japanese currency and was also down against the Swiss franc and the pound. The dollar’s fall helped underpin oil prices, with a barrel of Brent crude trading almost $2 higher at just under $109 a barrel. Switzerland’s two biggest banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, have denied that they made use of the Federal Reserve’s swap facility via the Swiss National Bank, insisting they have no liquidity problems. There had been speculation that a Swiss bank had accessed the US liquidity facility via a $200m repurchase transaction with the SNB last week. Evangelos Venizelos, Greece’s finance minister, said his country’s €109bn bail-out was not in doubt, despite the fissures within Europe being laid bare by the demands of five countries for collateral in exchange for paying into a rescue fund for the weaker countries in the monetary union. Venizelos also said the recession in his financially troubled country could be deeper than originally predicted for this year, with output potentially shrinking by more than 4.5%. His comments came a day after the Netherlands, Slovenia, Austria and Slovakia said on Thursday they wanted hundreds of millions of euros in collateral, in the same vein as Finland, which struck a deal with the Greek government earlier in the week to receive cash as security for its part of the bailout. Brussels sought to ease fears by stressing that Olli Rehn, Europe’s economic and monetary affairs commissioner, was looking at a plan for common European bonds, seen as a step towards closer financial integration among the 17 single-currency nations. European banking shares fell to near two-and-a-half-year lows, dragged down by rumours about banks’ potential losses on bonds issued by heavily indebted governments. Earlier, Asian shares took a beating, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropping 2.5% to 8719.24 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 3.1% to 19,399.92. Concerns that weak growth in Europe and the US would hit China’s exports affected sentiment in Shanghai, where the stock market’s composite index ended 1% lower at 2534.6 after dipping almost 2% earlier in the day. Some strategists said it was a good time to pick up stocks cheaply. Nick Bubb, retail analyst at Arden Partners, said: “If you want to buy when there’s blood on the streets, and on the screens, then today is a good day to pick up good quality, high-yielding general retail defensives like Marks & Spencer and WH Smith, as well as undervalued global retailers like Inchcape and Kingfisher. And in the food retailers, we wouldn’t want to be short of Wm Morrison, ahead of its interims on 8 September.” Investors continued to swap risky investments for those viewed as safe. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bill rose, but only slightly, to 2.10%, after hitting a record low of just below 2% on Thursday. Bond yields fall as their prices rise in line with demand. Stock markets European debt crisis European banks Economic growth (GDP) Economics US economic growth and recession Global recession Global economy Commodities Bonds Currencies Financial crisis Banking Larry Elliott Julia Kollewe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Jittery traders focus on ‘safe haven’ investments as collapsing shares fuel panic at the exchanges Fresh turmoil on the world’s financial markets on Friday saw gold rise to record levels, the dollar sink to its lowest-ever level against the Japanese yen, and share prices gyrate wildly in Europe and North America. A day of rumours and extreme nervousness saw shares in Britain’s biggest companies lose all the gains in the market seen since the FTSE 100 index bottomed out on 11 August. Despite an afternoon rally, prompted by speculation that the US Federal Reserve was about to hold an emergency meeting to tackle the growing sense of market panic, the FTSE closed 51.47 points down at 5040.76, a decline of 1%. The Dow Jones industrial average also lost confidence later in the day as no announcement from the Fed was forthcoming and closed down 172.93 at 10,817.65, a fall of 1.6%. Earlier, London shares had collapsed after Thursday’s heavy selling on Wall Street prompted steep falls on Asian bourses. Fears that the global economy was heading for a double-dip recession, and signs that Europe’s bailout of Greece could collapse, saw the FTSE lose more than 3% of its value at one stage, sending it well below the 5000 mark. The steadier start to trading on Wall Street helped calm nerves in the City at the end of another frenetic week that saw markets once again focus on their two major concerns: growth and the fragility of Europe’s single currency. “This week has seen a continuation of the trend of weaker than expected data and political reaction to the European problems which pretty much amounts to ‘let’s have a get-together a couple of times a year’,” said Gary Jenkins, an analyst at Evolution Securities. The jittery atmosphere sent investors heading once again to the safe havens of the Swiss franc, the Japanese yen and gold. Bullion rose as high as $1,881 an ounce, with some dealers expecting it to test the $2,000 an ounce level over the coming weeks. On the foreign exchanges, the dollar dropped to just under ¥76 against the Japanese currency and was also down against the Swiss franc and the pound. The dollar’s fall helped underpin oil prices, with a barrel of Brent crude trading almost $2 higher at just under $109 a barrel. Switzerland’s two biggest banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, have denied that they made use of the Federal Reserve’s swap facility via the Swiss National Bank, insisting they have no liquidity problems. There had been speculation that a Swiss bank had accessed the US liquidity facility via a $200m repurchase transaction with the SNB last week. Evangelos Venizelos, Greece’s finance minister, said his country’s €109bn bail-out was not in doubt, despite the fissures within Europe being laid bare by the demands of five countries for collateral in exchange for paying into a rescue fund for the weaker countries in the monetary union. Venizelos also said the recession in his financially troubled country could be deeper than originally predicted for this year, with output potentially shrinking by more than 4.5%. His comments came a day after the Netherlands, Slovenia, Austria and Slovakia said on Thursday they wanted hundreds of millions of euros in collateral, in the same vein as Finland, which struck a deal with the Greek government earlier in the week to receive cash as security for its part of the bailout. Brussels sought to ease fears by stressing that Olli Rehn, Europe’s economic and monetary affairs commissioner, was looking at a plan for common European bonds, seen as a step towards closer financial integration among the 17 single-currency nations. European banking shares fell to near two-and-a-half-year lows, dragged down by rumours about banks’ potential losses on bonds issued by heavily indebted governments. Earlier, Asian shares took a beating, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropping 2.5% to 8719.24 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 3.1% to 19,399.92. Concerns that weak growth in Europe and the US would hit China’s exports affected sentiment in Shanghai, where the stock market’s composite index ended 1% lower at 2534.6 after dipping almost 2% earlier in the day. Some strategists said it was a good time to pick up stocks cheaply. Nick Bubb, retail analyst at Arden Partners, said: “If you want to buy when there’s blood on the streets, and on the screens, then today is a good day to pick up good quality, high-yielding general retail defensives like Marks & Spencer and WH Smith, as well as undervalued global retailers like Inchcape and Kingfisher. And in the food retailers, we wouldn’t want to be short of Wm Morrison, ahead of its interims on 8 September.” Investors continued to swap risky investments for those viewed as safe. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bill rose, but only slightly, to 2.10%, after hitting a record low of just below 2% on Thursday. Bond yields fall as their prices rise in line with demand. Stock markets European debt crisis European banks Economic growth (GDP) Economics US economic growth and recession Global recession Global economy Commodities Bonds Currencies Financial crisis Banking Larry Elliott Julia Kollewe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Attack in south Wales that injured three believed to be domestic incident involving one of the victims, who worked in salon A man wanted in connection with a shooting at a hairdressers in Newport, south Wales, has been found dead in woods. A woman was shot in the knee and two others were injured after a gunman walked into the salon, named locally as Carol Ann’s Hairstylists, and opened fire. None of the injuries from the shooting, which took place just after 2pm, were said to be life threatening and the police refused to say whether two of the women – who suffered injuries to the neck and arm – had also been shot. “A male had entered the premises with a firearm,” said a spokesman for Gwent police. “Officers have recovered a firearm from the premises. A female received a gunshot wound to the knee. Another female has an injury to the neck and another female an injury to the arm. At this time the nature of these injuries has not been confirmed. “All three adult females are receiving medical treatment and are currently with police officers,” the spokesman added. The police helicopter was scrambled as officers searched the area. Police said they were called to the hairdressers just after 2.20pm following reports that several people had been injured. A councillor, Paul Cockeram, who represents the ward, said it was believed to be a domestic incident involving one of the women who worked in the salon. “I heard it was a domestic – whether it’s a husband or partner, I don’t know,” he said. “He came in and apparently fired indiscriminately, hitting several people.” Cockeram said the shop had been badly damaged by the gunfire and said it was lucky people had not been more seriously injured. “From what I have heard, the person he was after worked in the shop. And obviously he hit other people in there as well. “The shop is obliterated apparently. It’s amazing nobody died. I’ve heard some of them are in surgery at the moment. “The salon is predominantly a more senior sort of hairdresser’s salon … They would have been extremely frightened.” Cockeram added that the area was usually quiet. “It’s quite sad something like that has happened because it’s in an area that we have no problems at all, but obviously these domestic incidents can happen anywhere.” The injured women were taken to Royal Gwent hospital. A spokesman said: “We are working closely with Gwent police on the incident and we will give an update later.” Crime Wales Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Scottish government launches investigation into safety procedures after worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade Shell has finally stopped the leak from its faulty oil pipeline in the North Sea, ending the flow of oil undersea after 10 days of the worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade. Divers closed a relief valve which was the source of a small secondary leak , discovered after the first major leak in the pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform had been plugged last week . Government officials are now opening an investigation into how the leak occurred and whether the correct procedures were followed. They will also have to decide whether Shell should pay for government expenses incurred in the clean-up operation . Shell now has to decide how to deal with the pipeline, which could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil with the potential for much more damage than the 218 tonnes of oil thought to have spilled into the sea already. “Closing the valve is a key step,” said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, based in Aberdeen. “It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond.” The UK government has said a containment structure should be built over the affected part of the pipeline, to ensure that no more oil emerges as the pipeline is dealt with. Cayley said removing the residual oil from the pipeline, which has been depressurised and is now held to the seafloor by “rock mattresses”, would “take time”. The company could not say how long, nor does it yet know the cause of the leak. News of the leak’s shutoff came late on Friday afternoon, as the Scottish government prepared to launch an investigation into how the spill occurred. The procurator fiscal will begin formal interviews next week with Shell staff, including divers, and others involved in the attempts to minimise the damage. Conservation groups have warned that marine life in the area could be harmed, and fishermen have been told to stay clear of the Gannet Alpha platform– 112 miles east of Aberdeen– and the surrounding area. Shell has also been criticised for a lack of transparency, as the leak was first detected last Wednesday but not made public until last Friday night. The marine coastguard has estimated that the oil on the sea surface covers about 6.7 sq km. Shell is maintaining three vessels on site as it repairs the damage, with dispersants and specialised oil spill response equipment if needed. Vicky Wyatt, senior oil campaigner for Greenpeace , said: “While we’ll be keeping a careful eye on whether the leak really is plugged as Shell claims, it’s obvious that the more we learn about what is supposed to be a gold standard operation, the more you worry whether Shell can be trusted to drill in the remote and fragile Arctic. Here in the UK, the government must now take the lead and immediately call a halt to all future applications for deep sea oil exploration, and in particular the wave of new licenses for the environmentally fragile region off the cost of the Shetlands.” Marine Scotland is continuing to send planes and vessels to survey the area around the leak, though government advisers take the view that the risk of serious damage to the environment and marine life is small. Last year’s BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico was estimated to be spilling up to 70,000 barrels a day, compared with the 1,300 barrels thought to have been released in the Shell spill. The Guardian has discovered that oil spills happen in the North Sea at the rate of about one a week, but most are minor. Oil spills Royal Dutch Shell Scotland Greenpeace Oil Oil and gas companies Wildlife Activism Oceans Fossil fuels Energy Climate change Energy industry Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Scottish government launches investigation into safety procedures after worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade Shell has finally stopped the leak from its faulty oil pipeline in the North Sea, ending the flow of oil undersea after 10 days of the worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade. Divers closed a relief valve which was the source of a small secondary leak , discovered after the first major leak in the pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform had been plugged last week . Government officials are now opening an investigation into how the leak occurred and whether the correct procedures were followed. They will also have to decide whether Shell should pay for government expenses incurred in the clean-up operation . Shell now has to decide how to deal with the pipeline, which could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil with the potential for much more damage than the 218 tonnes of oil thought to have spilled into the sea already. “Closing the valve is a key step,” said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, based in Aberdeen. “It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond.” The UK government has said a containment structure should be built over the affected part of the pipeline, to ensure that no more oil emerges as the pipeline is dealt with. Cayley said removing the residual oil from the pipeline, which has been depressurised and is now held to the seafloor by “rock mattresses”, would “take time”. The company could not say how long, nor does it yet know the cause of the leak. News of the leak’s shutoff came late on Friday afternoon, as the Scottish government prepared to launch an investigation into how the spill occurred. The procurator fiscal will begin formal interviews next week with Shell staff, including divers, and others involved in the attempts to minimise the damage. Conservation groups have warned that marine life in the area could be harmed, and fishermen have been told to stay clear of the Gannet Alpha platform– 112 miles east of Aberdeen– and the surrounding area. Shell has also been criticised for a lack of transparency, as the leak was first detected last Wednesday but not made public until last Friday night. The marine coastguard has estimated that the oil on the sea surface covers about 6.7 sq km. Shell is maintaining three vessels on site as it repairs the damage, with dispersants and specialised oil spill response equipment if needed. Vicky Wyatt, senior oil campaigner for Greenpeace , said: “While we’ll be keeping a careful eye on whether the leak really is plugged as Shell claims, it’s obvious that the more we learn about what is supposed to be a gold standard operation, the more you worry whether Shell can be trusted to drill in the remote and fragile Arctic. Here in the UK, the government must now take the lead and immediately call a halt to all future applications for deep sea oil exploration, and in particular the wave of new licenses for the environmentally fragile region off the cost of the Shetlands.” Marine Scotland is continuing to send planes and vessels to survey the area around the leak, though government advisers take the view that the risk of serious damage to the environment and marine life is small. Last year’s BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico was estimated to be spilling up to 70,000 barrels a day, compared with the 1,300 barrels thought to have been released in the Shell spill. The Guardian has discovered that oil spills happen in the North Sea at the rate of about one a week, but most are minor. Oil spills Royal Dutch Shell Scotland Greenpeace Oil Oil and gas companies Wildlife Activism Oceans Fossil fuels Energy Climate change Energy industry Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Scottish government launches investigation into safety procedures after worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade Shell has finally stopped the leak from its faulty oil pipeline in the North Sea, ending the flow of oil undersea after 10 days of the worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade. Divers closed a relief valve which was the source of a small secondary leak , discovered after the first major leak in the pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform had been plugged last week . Government officials are now opening an investigation into how the leak occurred and whether the correct procedures were followed. They will also have to decide whether Shell should pay for government expenses incurred in the clean-up operation . Shell now has to decide how to deal with the pipeline, which could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil with the potential for much more damage than the 218 tonnes of oil thought to have spilled into the sea already. “Closing the valve is a key step,” said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, based in Aberdeen. “It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond.” The UK government has said a containment structure should be built over the affected part of the pipeline, to ensure that no more oil emerges as the pipeline is dealt with. Cayley said removing the residual oil from the pipeline, which has been depressurised and is now held to the seafloor by “rock mattresses”, would “take time”. The company could not say how long, nor does it yet know the cause of the leak. News of the leak’s shutoff came late on Friday afternoon, as the Scottish government prepared to launch an investigation into how the spill occurred. The procurator fiscal will begin formal interviews next week with Shell staff, including divers, and others involved in the attempts to minimise the damage. Conservation groups have warned that marine life in the area could be harmed, and fishermen have been told to stay clear of the Gannet Alpha platform– 112 miles east of Aberdeen– and the surrounding area. Shell has also been criticised for a lack of transparency, as the leak was first detected last Wednesday but not made public until last Friday night. The marine coastguard has estimated that the oil on the sea surface covers about 6.7 sq km. Shell is maintaining three vessels on site as it repairs the damage, with dispersants and specialised oil spill response equipment if needed. Vicky Wyatt, senior oil campaigner for Greenpeace , said: “While we’ll be keeping a careful eye on whether the leak really is plugged as Shell claims, it’s obvious that the more we learn about what is supposed to be a gold standard operation, the more you worry whether Shell can be trusted to drill in the remote and fragile Arctic. Here in the UK, the government must now take the lead and immediately call a halt to all future applications for deep sea oil exploration, and in particular the wave of new licenses for the environmentally fragile region off the cost of the Shetlands.” Marine Scotland is continuing to send planes and vessels to survey the area around the leak, though government advisers take the view that the risk of serious damage to the environment and marine life is small. Last year’s BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico was estimated to be spilling up to 70,000 barrels a day, compared with the 1,300 barrels thought to have been released in the Shell spill. The Guardian has discovered that oil spills happen in the North Sea at the rate of about one a week, but most are minor. Oil spills Royal Dutch Shell Scotland Greenpeace Oil Oil and gas companies Wildlife Activism Oceans Fossil fuels Energy Climate change Energy industry Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Scottish government launches investigation into safety procedures after worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade Shell has finally stopped the leak from its faulty oil pipeline in the North Sea, ending the flow of oil undersea after 10 days of the worst oil spill in UK waters for a decade. Divers closed a relief valve which was the source of a small secondary leak , discovered after the first major leak in the pipeline at the Gannet Alpha platform had been plugged last week . Government officials are now opening an investigation into how the leak occurred and whether the correct procedures were followed. They will also have to decide whether Shell should pay for government expenses incurred in the clean-up operation . Shell now has to decide how to deal with the pipeline, which could still contain as much as 660 tonnes of oil with the potential for much more damage than the 218 tonnes of oil thought to have spilled into the sea already. “Closing the valve is a key step,” said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, based in Aberdeen. “It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond.” The UK government has said a containment structure should be built over the affected part of the pipeline, to ensure that no more oil emerges as the pipeline is dealt with. Cayley said removing the residual oil from the pipeline, which has been depressurised and is now held to the seafloor by “rock mattresses”, would “take time”. The company could not say how long, nor does it yet know the cause of the leak. News of the leak’s shutoff came late on Friday afternoon, as the Scottish government prepared to launch an investigation into how the spill occurred. The procurator fiscal will begin formal interviews next week with Shell staff, including divers, and others involved in the attempts to minimise the damage. Conservation groups have warned that marine life in the area could be harmed, and fishermen have been told to stay clear of the Gannet Alpha platform– 112 miles east of Aberdeen– and the surrounding area. Shell has also been criticised for a lack of transparency, as the leak was first detected last Wednesday but not made public until last Friday night. The marine coastguard has estimated that the oil on the sea surface covers about 6.7 sq km. Shell is maintaining three vessels on site as it repairs the damage, with dispersants and specialised oil spill response equipment if needed. Vicky Wyatt, senior oil campaigner for Greenpeace , said: “While we’ll be keeping a careful eye on whether the leak really is plugged as Shell claims, it’s obvious that the more we learn about what is supposed to be a gold standard operation, the more you worry whether Shell can be trusted to drill in the remote and fragile Arctic. Here in the UK, the government must now take the lead and immediately call a halt to all future applications for deep sea oil exploration, and in particular the wave of new licenses for the environmentally fragile region off the cost of the Shetlands.” Marine Scotland is continuing to send planes and vessels to survey the area around the leak, though government advisers take the view that the risk of serious damage to the environment and marine life is small. Last year’s BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico was estimated to be spilling up to 70,000 barrels a day, compared with the 1,300 barrels thought to have been released in the Shell spill. The Guardian has discovered that oil spills happen in the North Sea at the rate of about one a week, but most are minor. Oil spills Royal Dutch Shell Scotland Greenpeace Oil Oil and gas companies Wildlife Activism Oceans Fossil fuels Energy Climate change Energy industry Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …