Business advisory firm Deloitte said the amount of drilling, as well as the number of oil andgasfield deals on the UK Continental Shelf, levelled out in the first quarter of this year.
The company is one of five worldwide in a joint-venture to develop the South Pars offshore gasfield (the others include companies from close U.S. allies France and Canada as well as Indonesia and Russia).
Gasification of coal offers the potential to turn dirty burning hydrocarbons into cleaner burning liquid fuels, such as synthetic natural gas, jet fuel and gasoline, as well as hydrogen for fuel cell use, a developing field.