Hastily agreed Confidentiality Agreements or Non-Disclosure Agreements (“NDA’s”) are dangerous in the wrong hands. Careers are on the line. Game changing technology can become the equivalent of freeware overnight if not protected. However practice varies enormously when it comes to the terms agreed. Very small businesses might be forgiven for lack of knowledge or management time. Their quoted cousins have less excuse.
I see the challenges of our generation not as inhibitors of creating a better world, but as exciting challenge.
The renewable energy industry continues to grow in Scotland, but not all companies are fully exploiting the opportunities for protecting and commercialising their innovation.
Whether it is imposed upon a company externally or driven from within an organisation, audit - that ubiquitous marker of corporate performance - is often a troublesome process.
I'm quite sure that like me most Energy readers will have been following or are at least aware of the takeover battle between the UK/Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and its US rival Pfizer with the latter being the "aggressor".
Dundee is the latest location to notice the chasm that exists between the Scottish government's rhetoric on renewable energy and the reality of what is being delivered.
Here we go again . . . All-Energy is back in Aberdeen and, hopefully, it won't suffer the meteorological battering handed out by Mother Nature last year.
As tensions keep growing in Eastern Ukraine and along the Russian border, so do possible threats on energy supplies and a stable diplomacy between Russia and the West. The G7’s leaders have now invited Putin to stay on this club’s doorstep. It has been a while since the Kremlin had been so staunchly ostracized in diplomatic circles. Evidently, GazPutin could not care less and he has got strong reasons to think so.
Through my studies of disaster inquiries such as Piper Alpha, Texas City, and Macondo, it’s become clear that an organisation's information is equally as valuable as its tangible assets. Whereas poor IM can ripple throughout an organisation, causing it to haemorrhage intelligence through conflicting and contradictory data, effective IM can tie together an organisation’s knowledge in one authoritative set, helping to mitigate risks and enabling greater organisational safety.
It seems that the sudden departure of Geoff Holmes from the top slot at Talisman Sinopec here in Aberdeen has set tongues wagging. This is partly because of what is not said in the tersely worded statement by the company shoved out to the media yesterday
The word you are looking for is “equity”. Is it still a taboo subject in your organisation? It shouldn’t be.
In this industry there is a constant conversational flutter around the word ‘innovative’. It’s how we describe our products, our people and our places. And rightly so. It’s what the industry pioneers used to create the offshore landscape and the North Sea’s global reputation. It’s what cemented Aberdeen’s position as the oil capital of Europe. But now as we transition to a new era and begin discussing ‘extending the North Sea’s life’, I wonder if innovation alone is still enough? I don’t think it is.
I have a confession to make. I’m not a huge football fan. But my 12-year-old daughter is a natural Mia Hamm on the field. At weekends you can usually find me on the pitch side lines with the rest of the parents, so I can’t help but be drawn in to the wider football chat.
“In many ways, telling people what my job is about is straightforward”, the young safety engineer told me. “Process safety, when it comes down to it, is all about keeping the harmful stuff away from where it would do harm. However, explaining what that means I do on a day-to-day basis, that’s another matter entirely…..”
Long-standing relationships have been cemented at this year’s OTC Houston. The theme of collaboration was apparent when we met with new and existing partners from around the world.
In Houston, the Press and Journal's editor-in-chief, Damian Bates, and I chaired what we hope will be the first in a regular series of breakfast debates.
We all know that the oil and gas industry never stands still. It is always moving, always evolving, and when faced with constant change, the opportunity for uncertainty is rife. But transparent and constant communication can placate the fear and confusion that uncertainty can bring.
They’ve been drilling oil out of the ground in Texas for over 100 years – so it’s no surprise that Houston has played host to the world’s foremost oil and gas event, the Offshore Technology Conference, for the past 45 years.
OTC’s stats are impressive by any standards for a ‘trade show’. The largest annual energy industry showcase in the world pulls in audiences of more than 80,000, from more than 120 countries and representatives from more than 2700 companies.
Anybody who has been stuck on a platform at the start of their shore leave will know - only too well - that fog can disrupt their plans, and at this time of year when the fog does come it can be particularly bad.
When dramatic change occurs quietly, there is always a danger that its significance will be correspondingly under-estimated.
Nine wells are currently active on the UKCS, representing an increase of one since last month. The tally comprises three West of Shetland, five Central North Sea and one Southern North Sea probes under way.
There are signs of a sea change ahead for the deepwater rig market as rates soften and, so it appears, contract terms might be shortening.
As we get to May each year a significant number of UK-based business leaders will make the annual pilgrimage to OTC in Houston. And it's with good cause.
In 2007, the Brazilian government revealed that largely state-owned Petrobras had discovered massive quantities of pre-salt light oil and gas. We are talking about an estimated 100billion barrels.