Looking back at 2015, it was not a good year for the oil and gas industry. The political uncertainty surrounding the price of oil and how long it will be depressed has contributed to a lack of activity and has been the major preoccupation for most companies. In particular many businesses agonised over how far to re-align their cost base or reduce their capital spend. If they go too far, in terms of staff reductions, then when the industry recovers some are concerned as to whether or not the skills base will return.
In years to come thousands of former oil and gas workers will look back to 2015 and say; that was the year...... and most likely finish the line with; I left the industry!
There will be variations on the theme; I was made redundant; or I started a new career; I got sacked or hounded out, or perhaps, I retired from the industry.
There is a temptation as I write this to suggest some ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ for the UK Government and their approach to the energy industry next year, but I wouldn’t want to add to their list of promises they don’t intend on keeping.
The last couple of years have been challenging for the oil and gas industry, and whilst we all hope the oil price situation will improve, it is clear that times are changing in the North Sea.
2015 has been a difficult year for the UK oil and gas industry. After 50 years of exploration and production, the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) is at a crossroads. While recent record investment and efficiency improvements are yielding the first rise in oil and gas production for over 15 years, our future is less certain.
I have worked in the oil and gas industry for the majority of the 40 years it has been in Aberdeen, and experience tells me that it is not the absolute price that causes stress to the sector, but sudden changes in it.
As an industry we are realising that the oil price may continue to drop to a level previously thought unthinkable, $20 to $40 per barrel. Regardless of whether or not these prices are seen in 2016, we do have to accept that a sustained low price is here to stay for a lot longer than we thought last summer. This is our ‘new normal’, where oil price determines the cash flow of the industry. Low oil price plus high cost equals a lot less cash, and a lot more pressure from the shareholders.
As someone who was intimately involved with the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) project via Aberdeen Offshore Windfarm Ltd from its inception pre-Trump to achieving final consents last year, I of course applaud the Supreme Court's decision.
The world met in Paris and it brokered a deal that will change our lives. Over the years to come, it will change how we heat our homes, cook our tea, fuel our cars, power our industries, transport our goods, rear our livestock, fell our forests, even light our Christmas trees.
The recent agreement at the Paris conference on climate change, COP21, is according to Barack Obama “the best chance we have to save the one planet we have”.
Oil fell below $35 a barrel in New York for the first time since 2009 as Iran reiterated its pledge to boost crude exports, bolstering speculation OPEC members will exacerbate the global oversupply.
Following the recent attacks in Paris and heightened security concern, the French people have come together to condemn terrorism and mourn their fallen victims to ISIS. As attention shifts back to Iraq and Syria, people are asking me whether events in Paris have changed things in Iraq.
Perhaps the only thing more egregious than the prosecution of former BP engineer Kurt Mix was the way that prosecution ended: with a whimper so barely audible you may have missed it.
Friday’s OPEC meeting in Vienna confirmed what the global oil and gas industry was already resigned to – no curb to production, the supply overhang extending and more pain for the upstream industry as a whole.
On Friday, OPEC concluded its 168th Meeting of the Oil Production and Exporting Countries Conference, with members agreeing to effectively abandon the 30 million barrel per day (mmbbl/d) production limit which has been in place since 2011.
Brent crude, the international standard benchmark, fell some 3.23% on Monday to the lowest front month futures price since late 2008.
Air travellers are used to captain’s warnings of the potential for turbulence – most are accustomed to considerable ups and downs, with crew and passengers remaining calm and arriving at their destination without the onset of panic.
There are however times when one or two can’t take the rocky ride in their stride and scream, unsettling everyone.
COP21, the Paris Climate Conference, is the result of considerable scientific research and debate, and a great deal of political posturing - some people are taking absolute positions, some people inducing panic and others even declaring the end is nigh.
We are all well aware of the difficulties that the oil and gas sector is currently facing and the impact that has had on confidence, investment and jobs. Although we live in a price volatile market and the sector has experienced a number of slowdowns over the years, it doesn’t make the decisions that some companies have had to make any easier or indeed the impact for the individuals concerned.
Ahead of the Scottish Parliament's Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee evidence session on the future oil and gas prospects for Scotland, Oil and & Gas chief executive, Deirdre Michie, says the future will be decided now.
Decommissioning and security related issues have been one of the principal barriers to upstream oil and gas mergers and acquisitions activity in recent years.
