The oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, consists of about 7,000 companies who pull in a combined, estimated revenue of around £450 billon However, the production and associated revenue are fragmented; around 10% of companies generate approximately 60% of this figure

During the early 1820’s, as Britain experienced a massive trade-boom, it became apparent that the emerging technologies of mobile steam engines and iron rail construction could contribute enormously to the existing road, canal and coastal shipping networks None of these methods of transport had required government-funding, so a group of private investors petitioned Parliament for the right to construct the lines they thought were commercially beneficial

Government ministers have given the go-ahead to a series of new nuclear power plants that are designed to replace those that currently provide 20% of the nation’s electricity Westinghouse, one of the three vendors involved in setting up the new power-plants, has estimated that the UK’s economy could receive a boost worth around £30 million

The construction industry is very important to the UK’s – and indeed to the world’s – economy In the UK, it accounts for more than 10% of the country’s gross domestic product and employs an estimated 2