The UK is on the verge of a new era of onshore drilling with the biggest expansion in oil and gas output since the 1970s heyday of the North Sea, according to a trade group. With the Government about to open a new department devoted to unconventional gas catering for the rise of shale gas […]

A fire which spread to at least five terraced houses in Cornwall is thought to have been caused by a domestic heating oil tank. At least 100 firefighters from the Cornish Fire and Rescue Service tackled the blaze which began on Sunday evening at Well Lane in Constantine, near Falmouth. All residents were accounted for. […]

The impending threat of a fuel strike was lessened yesterday when the union and the oil firms agreed to meet for ‘conciliation’ talks. The union Unite is behind strike threats from fuel tanker drivers over alleged pension and pay cuts. The news comes as strike mediator Acas was brought in by the Government to smooth […]

The Energy Secretary is meeting with haulier bosses later today to discuss possible strike action from fuel tanker drivers. The Government has come under fire this week for sending mixed messages about how the public should prepare for the fuel strike, with a Cabinet Minister apologising for initially advising the public to fill up their […]

Prime Minister David Cameron will chair a ministerial meeting this afternoon to discuss contingency plans in the event of a fuel strike. It comes as more than 1,000 tanker drivers at the union Unite voted for strike action on Monday, threatening the fuel supply to forecourts and private business depots around the country. The Government […]

A road safety group has dismissed the safety concerns of the union Unite as reason for strike action, while others in the industry claim they are “nonsense”. The union Unite today asked its members whether they want to take industrial action in protest over employers “slashing drivers’ terms and conditions and cutting corners on training […]

The Freight Transport Association is criticising plans for a tanker strike, warning of the negative effect it could have on the growth of the UK’s economy. The union Unite today asked its members to vote on whether to take industrial action over pay cuts and unfair changes to terms of employment. This afternoon workers voted […]

Tanker drivers from Britain’s largest union today voted in favour of strike action in protest over safety concerns and “growing” job insecurity in the fuel industry. Members of Unite working for five major fuel distribution firms delivering fuel for household names, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, BP, Shell and Esso backed industrial action by an average of […]

Oil industry workers aren’t convinced mature North Sea oil and gas fields are being squeezed for their full potential, according to a new report. The figures come as last week Chancellor George Osborne announced North Sea fields will get incentives to decommission mature fields. Out of more than 50 mature fields professionals surveyed by Oil […]

Oil tanker drivers are threatening strike action, according to the union Unite. Britain’s largest union is holding a ballot today to determine whether its 2,000 tanker driver members will begin industrial action over what it says are unfair employment terms. The ballot closes this afternoon. Unite claims “behind the scenes, the major employers have been […]