MPs voted on Thursday by 413 to 202 - a majority of 211 - for Prime Minister Theresa May to ask the EU for a delay to Brexit. This means the UK may not now leave on 29 March as previously planned. Mrs. May says Brexit could be delayed by three months, to 30 June, if MPs back her deal in a vote next week.
Oil firms BP and GDF Suez have announced the discovery of a new field in the UK Central North Sea. The find, which spans adjacent blocks operated separately by the two companies, has been flow-tested at a maximum rate of 5,350 barrels per day.
The British government plans to make more land available for licensing for oil and natural gas exploration in the first such expansion since 2008. The move, which had been anticipated by the oil and gas industry, could prove to be a milestone in efforts by the government of Prime Minister David Cameron to encourage the extraction of natural gas and oil from shale rock.