Here are the top business stories making the headlines in the morning newspapers.
Boris Johnson backs oil and gas industry
The prime minister has delivered a huge vote of confidence in North Sea oil and gas by saying it has a long-term future.
During a visit to Scotland yesterday, Boris Johnson claimed “everyone credible” understands the sector cannot simply be abandoned.
The Press and Journal reports that offshore firms have been under fire in recent months amid calls from environmental campaigners and the Scottish Greens to rein in exploration and extraction.
And there have also been demands for a windfall tax on the industry to bankroll measures such as help with rising home energy costs.
But there have been fears that attempting to swiftly move on from oil and gas would put thousands of Scottish jobs at risk and be to the detriment of the UK’s energy needs, in the short and longer term.
Mr Johnson said: “It is worth stressing at this juncture that, although we are moving beyond coal very fast and we’re moving to net-zero, a proper transition must involve hydrocarbons for an appreciable length of time.”
Jobs boost at factory supporting offshore wind
A factory to make the foundations for offshore wind turbines will be built on Teesside, creating 750 jobs.
SeAH Wind will produce 150 steel monopiles a year when it fully opens in 2026, the South Korean company said.
It had announced it would open on the banks of the Humber but instead will work from the former steelworks site at South Bank near Middlesbrough.
They will be used to build the world's largest offshore wind farm at Dogger Bank.
The BBC says work on the site could start in July.
Home working can be more expensive than going to the office
Working from home was more expensive than going to the office for one in five employees last month, as rising household bills undermined the financial benefits of avoiding the commute.
The Telegraph says the largest proportion of respondents to an Office for National Statistics survey - almost half - said working from home still offered savings on their pre-pandemic lifestyle.
However, the share of respondents who said they were not saving money by working from home has risen from 14% in November to 18% in January. Of those, nine out of 10 said they were spending more on utilities such as heating.
This followed October’s 12% rise in the energy price cap. That pressure will increase in April with a record 54% increase in the limit on bills.
Higher air fares are ‘unavoidable’
The cost of air travel is set to rise this year as airlines face soaring overheads, the UK boss of Air France-KLM has told the BBC.
Fahmi Mahjoub said his airline faced significantly higher fuel and airport costs, and as a result higher air fares were "quite unavoidable".
The airline advised people in the UK to book early as travel rules ease and demand picks up.
It said it was already seeing strong demand for Easter and summer.
North Sea contract will lead to 300 new jobs
Energy services firm Bilfinger UK, which has its offshore oil and gas base in Aberdeen, has said a new contract in the North Sea will create 300 new jobs.
The company is to carry out fabric maintenance work on the Elgin and Franklin platforms, in the Central Graben Area, about 150 miles east of the Granite City, for French operator TotalEnergies.
Bilfinger’s new work, which also covers scaffolding and rope access manpower, starts next month and will support a 270-day maintenance campaign on the two installations.
The value of the deal was undisclosed, according to Energy Voice.