Supporting the north-east’s ambitions for net zero
Opinion
Revolution of data infrastructure
While working for a technology services organisation Schlumberger, I have seen first-hand the way technology has transformed the oil and gas industry from every angle throughout my working life.
We must lead. We must act.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a vast impact on people’s lives, as well as on companies around the world.
Embracing disruption to accelerate the energy transition
The Covid-19 pandemic has not only had a dramatic impact on our day-to-day lives, it has also acted as a catapult for energy transition action.
Mummy, Daddy: What can I be when I grow up?
As opposition politicians were lambasting government ministers over this year’s school results the economy was noisily crashing round our heads. GDP fell by over 20%, UK debt rose to £2 trillion and unemployment is back on the rise again.
Innovation and technology can safeguard the UK energy M&A environment
To describe the last few months as a challenging period for the energy sector would be an understatement.
Energy transition and Scottish green economy plans mapped out
On Tuesday 1st September, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon unveiled her plan for government, Protecting Scotland, Renewing Scotland, for the year ahead.
Leading through complex times in the energy sector
This year will be remembered for many complex challenges and changes. It may also be the year that many business leaders truly discovered what leadership is all about.
About those decommissioning yard injuries
That fatalities and serious accidents are occurring in UK and Norwegian offshore installation decommissioning facilities comes as no surprise.
CMS: Leading in a crisis
There are as many opinions of good leadership as there are management books and business schools. For me, the important priorities are being honest, transparent and authentic, having a clear vision of your goal, a clear strategy to reach that goal, and the empathy, energy, commitment and confidence to inspire your team to work collaboratively towards it. It is also important to innovate, to do things differently, to find new ways, to be agile and to be supportive. Communication of all of this is key.
Mozambique’s LNG moves and shakes
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered one of the most volatile periods on record for energy markets, not least within the LNG industry.
Saudi Arabia’s deep recession and collapsing oil prices: Can it recover?
The Gulf is slated to earn $270 billion less in oil revenue compared to last year. This is to a large extent because the region's economic heavyweight, Saudi Arabia, has been sinking deeper into recession amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Time for energy investors to count carbon better
All companies are exposed to climate risks, which broadly fall into the two categories of physical and energy transition risks. Both of these include elements of regulatory risks.
Geothermal is heating up for net zero energy solutions
Small-scale geothermal energy projects have operated in the UK for decades, but wider adoption has lagged due to a combination of factors including cost, subsurface risk and the technologies required.
Risk-averse approach to tax reforms could impede oil and gas industry’s recovery
With the UK oil and gas market reeling from COVID-19, it’s clear that the decisions made by businesses in this industry as they focus on a recovery in the coming months need to be strategic, measured and informed.
Why Mauritius oil spill is big problem for oil industry
Don’t dismiss the leak of oil from the MV Wakashio that ran aground last month on a reef off the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius so quickly. The volume lost may seem tiny, but its location, mixed with other pressures already faced by the oil industry, means that it will have an impact far beyond its size.
Solar, wind and batteries are all grown up
While driving in Maryland last week, I passed a 13.6 megawatt solar project completed four years ago. At the time it was built it was on the larger side for the Mid-Atlantic region; a decade earlier, it would have been one of the very largest projects under construction in the entire country.
Where is the bio-fuels lobby?
Last week Philip Dunne MP, Chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), wrote to BEIS Secretary Alok Sharma requesting support for developing a Hydrogen Strategy.
No port in a storm: Hell or High Water clauses during Covid-19
With COVID-19 continuing to bring business disruption even as global lockdowns ease, the impact on the energy sector has prompted a review of existing contracts and serious repercussions for any negotiations returning to the table.
Embrace hydrogen to achieve net zero
Large-scale hydrogen storage can enable the rise of renewables while bringing benefits to local authorities, transport companies and electricity suppliers.
Curlew – a decom object lesson
I’m baffled by the Curlew decommissioning saga that will now see the life-expired FPSO be dismantled in Norway rather than via the original arrangement whereby it was to be prepped in Dundee prior to being towed to Turkey for chopping up.
Successful innovation requires good corporate governance
The energy industry is in the midst of a deep and wide-ranging digital transformation. While Covid-19 and lower oil and gas prices have disrupted many investment programmes, the direction of travel is clear – the industry needs to continue to invest in innovation and the development and deployment of new processes and technologies. Not to do so risks being left behind.
Scotland has a problem when it comes to manufacturing net-zero technology
I could feel the long, lockdown-length hairs on the back of my neck beginning to rise and my blood pressure soar as I read the response of Steve Dunlop, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, to the report by the Scottish Government’s Advisory Group on Economic Recovery (AGER).
The human cost of Covid and commodity price crash
Energy Voice article – The Human Cost of Covid and Commodity Price Crash
A simplified planning regime for large scale energy storage developments in England and Wales
The draft Infrastructure Planning (Electricity Storage Facilities) Order 2020 was presented to Parliament on 14 July 2020. The Order follows an extensive government consultation process, looking at legislative changes that could catalyse further development of UK battery storage capacity.