There are times when I seriously wonder whether the zoo that calls itself the UK Government has a clue about anything. As the carousel of time spins ever faster . . . or it seems that way . . . I become increasingly disillusioned about the manner in which we are governed.
If there is one thing that particularly annoys me it's journalists and economists who have little real knowledge of the energy sector, not just passing themselves off as oil industry experts, but being accepted as such by some politicians because the story they're being told by them just happens to fit their particular political aims.
There has been a lot of good news from the North Sea oil and gas industry over the last few weeks, notably the announcement of over £5billion investments in the Mariner and Western Isles oilfields.
Just about everyone, with the not-very-notable exception of Donald Trump, favours offshore wind farms - at least in principle.
The UK Government's long-awaited Energy Bill and concerns over its commitment to setting clear and challenging decarbonisation targets, has put energy policy firmly back on the agenda.
New requirements to ensure operators have resources to pay for well control incidents are now in force.
Ernst & Young's recent Global Mobility Effectiveness Survey found that 67% of oil and gas companies present in emerging markets expect to increase their presence by 2014.
Expectations within the offshore oil and gas sector have changed over the years such that exposure of staff to risk has become increasingly unacceptable.
As operators face the dual challenge of sustaining their production levels in mature regions while effectively exploiting the uncapped reserves in growth areas, the potential for subsea capital expenditure for the remainder of the decade has increased dramatically.
It wasn't that long ago that there was debated uncertainty surrounding the future of the North Sea and all the industries linked to its operation paid close attention.
On the macro front, crude prices were resilient in 2012 despite the extensive volatility that marked the broader markets as a variety of European and US debt crises played out and economists fretted over the sustainability of growth in China.
A scan of news from a variety of media sources over recent days provides interesting food for thought.
Energy readers are able to spot a mile off attempts to tell them black is really white.
Some say Scotland must make a choice for our future: pursue economic growth, or protect the environment. My response is simple - there is no contradiction in pursuing both. The only credible long-term economic strategy is to exploit Scotland's unique advantages - engineering excellence, research base, energy expertise and natural resources - to grow the economy, while reducing emissions long-term.
I was once told that if Moses had been a Lib Dem he'd have come down from Mt Sinai with ten "really jolly good suggestions".
It's the time of year when finding someone else to do the hard work makes sense. So in that festive spirit, I am delighted to defer to a recent speech made by Ian Taylor, president and chief executive of Vitol, the global trading company.
After more than 20 months of engagement and collaboration between industry and the Government, December 11 saw a further milestone reached in the almost Herculean effort to enable decommissioning security arrangements to move to a post-tax basis.
I last eluded to "The Man with No Name" in my September 2011 Energy column entitled The Good, the Bad, & the Indifferent.
As I write this in the run-up to Christmas it feels as if the Government has bestowed a series of Christmas presents on the industry.
I do love the James Bond moments that happen with my job, and while they don't occur as readily as they did in my former role in our Intelligence Department, every so often I find myself in awe of my colleagues, individuals and organisations that I am lucky enough to work with.
Here we are again, a new year stretching out ahead of us, bringing with it a wealth of fresh opportunity to influence, impact and change our industry for the better.
For some time now, Step Change in Safety has been focused on two key areas in the drive to continuously improve offshore safety: fostering better safety cultures through workforce engagement and reducing the number of hydrocarbon releases (HCRs).
Pacific Drilling's new-build ultra-deepwater drillship Pacific Khamsin has been contracted by Chevron for an initial two years' operations offshore West Africa.
For many of the offshore population Christmas Day is a normal working day but those who are lucky enough to enjoy the holiday onshore will have celebrated alongside family and friends and enjoyed some well-earned festive eating, drinking and relaxation.
Recent temperature readings appear to indicate that the world stopped getting hotter some 15 years ago.