A Rhum deal: US sanctions threaten North Sea project
Uncertainty over US sanctions is causing jitters among oil and gas project developers
Just the threat of US sanctions against Iran and Russia is throwing oil and gas projects into doubt. The 22 May announcement that planned work would be postponed on the BP-operated Rhum field in the North Sea, in which the Iran's state-owned oil company has a 50% stake, comes hot on the heels of increased US pressure to halt the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Europe. The North Sea situation is a complex one, given BP is in the process of selling its operator's stake in the Rhum field to rising London-based minnow Serica Energy, which is acquiring it as part of the so-called BKR package of assets along with BP's adjacent Bruce and Keith fields. Between them, the fields account for
Also in this section
24 March 2026
It is an unusual story of out with the new and in with the old, as America First Refining shows the US going back to trusted energy security developments
23 March 2026
A complex and sometimes contradictory web of factors that include unpredictable oil prices, the globalisation of LNG markets, the expansion of Middle Eastern sovereign capital and the growth of datacentre demand will shape the energy landscape beyond 2026
23 March 2026
The Strait of Hormuz crisis highlights how key waterways can become global chokepoints
20 March 2026
Attacks on key oil and LNG assets across the Gulf mean a prolonged supply disruption, with damage to Qatar’s export capacity undermining confidence in the global gas system
