AMERICAN researchers have created a new material that overcomes two of the major obstacles to solar power: it absorbs all the energy contained in sunlight and generates electrons in a way that makes them easier to capture.
The land yacht based on a simple frame with wheels and a small sail has been around for a long time and it was only a matter of time before something revolutionary happened to bring the concept into the 21st century.
NO FEWER than 126 pupils from 24 schools and accompanied by 13 teachers have just competed in the 2008 Maths in the Pipeline contest.
Aberdeen-owned MCS has just completed trials that could lead to BP adopting apparently more cost-effective inspection methods to establish the integrity of rigid subsea pipeline infrastructure associated with its deepwater assets.
As the largest provider of offshore medicals for Oil & Gas UK, one of the most common reasons we at Abermed give for failing the examination is being overweight or obese.
OFFSHORE Brazil may be the current star, but large new hydrocarbon finds have lately been reported on both sides of the Atlantic, in particular offshore Angola and, stretching the definition of Atlantic a bit, the US Gulf of Mexico.
OMV is seeking to reduce its exposure to risk at the Tornado prospect west of Shetland by farming out a large chunk of the licences which it straddles prior to drilling early next year.
LONG talked about, the three biggest players in the global gas game are joining forces to create an Opec-style cartel. This, in turn, will drive up gas prices, especially in Europe.
AMEC'S Australian-based joint venture, Clough AMEC, has been awarded a contract by Chevron to provide engineering services for its oil production facilities at Barrow Island and Thevenard Island offshore Western Australia.
IRANIAN president Mahmud Ahmadinejad has inaugurated the South Pars phases 6, 7 and 8, and phases 9 and 10 are expected onstream within a few months, according to the Iranian News Agency.
THE UK's Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) hosted a pioneering global technology summit in Aberdeen that has set the wheels in motion for greater collaboration between the world's leading technology organisations.
Oil & Gas UK recently announced its intention to publish new guidelines with respect to the somewhat contentious practice offshore colloquially known as "NRB", or "not required back".
I don't know where world oil prices will be when you read this, but as I write they have collapsed from a peak of $147 per barrel to $65.
Last month's Government reshuffle included two significant changes that I have been advocating for a long time. Indeed, coming on top of the Damascene conversion to nuclear power, I am feeling a little bit like the prophet whose hour has come.
China's oil majors are counting a bundle of mixed blessings this year as they seek to recover their confidence abroad after striking out on the acquisition trail in 2007.
Three or four years ago, and prompted by some comments from a friend at one of the universities who had some very ungenerous things to say about the man, I sent an e-mail to Fred Goodwin.
Last week, as oil prices threatened to slide below $60, the Press and Journal understandably reported on the potential for damage to the UK's offshore industry - and rightly so. But it was presented in a balanced, responsible manner, without sensationalising the issue and avoiding words such as panic.
Yantai Raffles has successfully loaded out the first of three semi-submersible drilling rigs under construction for Awilco Offshore.
The Carbon Trust has signed a groundbreaking agreement in offshore wind with five international energy companies: DONG Energy (Denmark), Airtricity Developments (UK), RWE Innogy (Germany), ScottishPower Renewables (UK) and StatoilHydro (Norway).
The cost of curbing even just carbon dioxide (CO) emissions will inflate by billions of dollars if 10,000 carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects are not in place worldwide by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) claims.
StatoilHydro's latest appraisal of its North Sea Dagny discovery on block 15/5 indicates that the field holds reserves in the range 130-170million barrels oil equivalent.
Aberdeen company Nautronix is shipping £4million ($7million) worth of its equipment to the US Gulf of Mexico to provide subsea acoustic positioning services to Brazilian company Petrobras, which is opening up the Cascade and Chinook fields as a co-ordinated development.
A group of US east coast fishermen have decided to carve out a stake in the offshore renewables race by building windfarms instead of opposing development proposals, as tends to be the wont of their UK counterparts.
AS I have said time and again, the impact of retirement is not limited to one or two isolated areas. It is an issue of demographics. Fair enough, there will be some more affected than others, but the spread is pretty broad.
AT A UKOOA (now Oil & Gas UK) business breakfast a couple of years ago, a speaker was heard describing this industry as being initiative rich but action poor. He was right, of course, and the chronologically gifted among Energy's readership will remember a number of bright ideas that have not been carried through to fruition.
