Content about Edinburgh

March 21, 2012

Plans have been announced for the development of a new low-carbon power plant west of Edinburgh.

Summit Power Group, a Seattle-based developer of low-carbon electric power projects, has entered into an agreement with National Grid and Petrofac to seek funding for the development—which would include full-chain, commercial-scale carbon capture and storage—at the Port of Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth.

August 19, 2011

Nunaoil

Until very recently, Greenland has been a sleeping giant with regard to oil and gas exploration. Hans Kristian Olsen and Stig-Morten Knutsen of Nunaoil talk to Gay Sutton about the prospects for a significant discovery.

Until very recently, Greenland has been a sleeping giant with regard to oil and gas exploration. Hans Kristian Olsen and Stig-Morten Knutsen of the national oil company Nunaoil talk to Gay Sutton about the prospects for a significant discovery and how they will ensure the Greenlandic people will benefit.

July 19, 2011

BAA forced to sell Stansted Airport

UK airport operator BAA will be required to sell Stansted Airport, followed by Edinburgh or Glasgow Airport, the Competition Commission (CC) confirmed today.

The decision upholds the CC’s earlier provisional view, which was published in March.

The CC had been considering whether there were any material changes in circumstances since it published its final report on BAA in March 2009 that should give it cause to reconsider the implementation of the airport sales.

June 3, 2011

Cairn commences drilling in Greenland

UK-based Cairn Energy has commenced drilling operations on two wells offshore West Greenland, it was announced today.

Operations will commence on the AT-7 well in the Atammik Block and the LF-7 well in the Lady Franklin Block, approximately 160 and 300 kilometres offshore Nuuk respectively.

The AT-7 prospect lies at a depth of 905 metres and the LF-7 prospect at 989 metres.

Drilling will be carried out by a fifth generation semi-submersible, the Leiv Eiriksson, and the Ocean Rig Corcovado, a sixth generation drillship.

May 26, 2011

Amazon to create 900 UK jobs

Online retailing giant Amazon has announced that more than 900 new permanent and temporary jobs will be created over the next five years with the opening of its new customer service centre at Waverley Gate in Edinburgh.

The new centre, due to open this August, will handle customer enquiries regarding Amazon.co.uk, including technical support for the Amazon Kindle and MP3.

March 30, 2011

BAA airport ruling confirmed by Competition Commission

The Competition Commission today confirmed its ruling that BAA should sell Stansted Airport and one of either Edinburgh or Glasgow Airports.

The Competition Commission today confirmed its ruling that BAA should sell Stansted Airport and either one of Edinburgh or Glasgow Airports.

The Commission made its initial ruling two years ago in March 2009, but BAA has been fighting through the courts to retain its portfolio of airports.

After the sale of Gatwick in December 2009 to a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners, BAA currently operates six airports: Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

January 31, 2011

Final bids submitted for Firth of Forth bridge

Final bids have been submitted for the £1 billion contract to build a new crossing over the Firth of Forth in Scotland.

Forthspan and Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC), together representing eight bridge building and civil engineering firms,are competing for the principal contract to build the new bridge and connecting roads on the Forth Replacement Crossing (FRC) project.

The submission of the bids marks the last major step in the process before the contract is awarded in April, with work expected to start soon after the deal is signed.

October 14, 2010

BAA forced to sell airports

UK airport operator BAA will have to sell two of its airports after the Court of Appeal rejected its claim of regulatory bias during an investigation by the Competition Commission.

The company will now be forced to sell off Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airports, the High Court has ruled. It is thought this will allow for greater competition, better service and a greater choice of flight destinations.

September 9, 2010

Virgin Money brings new jobs to Scotland

Virgin Money has created 200 jobs in Edinburgh as part of its strategy to firm up its foothold in the UK banking sector.

The financial arm of Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is giving a much-needed boost to the Scottish capital, which has suffered from large-scale job cuts.

Virgin Money said the new jobs would bring its total workforce to 500.

The group is now looking for city-centre premises for a new operations office, with staff recruitment expected to begin early next year, ahead of the spring launch date set for Virgin Bank.

August 25, 2010

Oil hopes for Cairn in Greenland

Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy has said it may have found oil in the untapped waters of western Greenland.

Cairn, which is the only firm so far to have been allowed to drill for oil off Greenland, said that it has found gas in thin sands in the Baffin Bay basin, which could be a sign of oil. The area lies around 400 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle.

The company said it is still too early to gauge the significance of the find, as the well has not yet been drilled to its total depth.

August 18, 2010

Melrose bets on Bulgaria

Edinburgh-based Melrose Resources has said that the opening of new fields in Bulgaria will boost the company’s production by 7,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The first of two Bulgarian fields—Kavarna—is expected to begin production in September. Kavarna and Kaliakra are both being developed as single well subsea tiebacks to the Melrose-operated Galata field platform. Kaliakra will follow, beginning production in October.

August 16, 2010

Vedanta agrees Cairn stake

India’s Vedanta Resources has said it will acquire a 51 to 60 per cent stake in Cairn Energy’s Indian unit for between £5.4 billion to £6.1 billion.

The move represents Vedanta's first foray into oil and gas, and will help Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy fund a drilling programme in Greenland.

Cairn India operates the country’s largest onshore oil field, and has a market value of approximately £8.6 billion.

August 12, 2010

Vedanta and Cairn in talks on deal

Vedanta Resources is in talks to purchase assets or take a substantial stake in the UK oil and gas exploration company Cairn Energy.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the talks are at an advanced stage, with an announcement possible later this month. The companies are said to be discussing a range of options, including an equity stake, asset purchases or a complete takeover of Cairn.

November 1, 2009

Edinburgh Airport

Plan, develop, deliver
Passenger numbers at Edinburgh Airport continue to grow, despite the recession. Development director Kevan Jamieson tells Jane Bordenave about the airport’s plans to keep pace with that growth.
On 26 June this year, Edinburgh Airport saw the highest number of travellers passing through its doors in its 32-year history. “The recession hasn’t manifested itself as much at Edinburgh Airport as elsewhere, which can be attributed to the fact that we get quite a mix of domestic and international passengers,” explains the airport’s development director, Kevan Jamieson.