A degree of certainty with regard to oil prices over the next year should help exploration and production companies in reaching decisions regarding capital investment while the service sector looks set to record further growth.
When the bells rang out a few days ago we wished one another a Guid New Year.
I do not want to start 2014 on a pessimistic note but I believe it is a good time to take a longer term view of what is happening on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).
The Coalition Government's "new approach to tax policy making" promised an era in which the tax policy process would be seen as a competitive advantage of the UK.
Much like the industry itself, the last 12 months were a time of great change and positive momentum for Opito, writes group CEO David Doig.
The energy sector has faced terrorism for years, but the threat is likely to grow over the coming 12 months.
With a new year comes new hope for a return to economic growth in Europe, which may help to provide a much needed spur to the long awaited recovery in the mergers & acquisitions (M&A) market across the continent.
It is no news that the times of “easy oil” in the North Sea are well and truly over.
Anon letters have always been given short shrift by me; however, I've just made an exception, writes energy editor Jeremy Cresswell
Like most people I try hard to be optimistic at the start of a new year, writes Dick Winchester. Invariably though, my optimism lasts about a week, sometimes two weeks but rarely survives beyond the end of January.
Over the past few months, I have been carrying out a review of Scottish exporting on behalf of the Scotland Office and I hope that its conclusions can be brought together early in this new year, writes Brian Wilson
Having lived and worked in Aberdeen and Shetland, I have been able to see the oil and gas sector develop at close hand, writes Scots Secretary Alistair Carmichael
It is an absolute scandal that people are still living in fuel poverty in a country as energy rich as Scotland.
With winter price rises, followed by the UK Government reducing some of the levies on household energy bills, many consumers will be feeling confused about what all this means, and more importantly how it will affect what they are paying.
With widely-reported rising gas and electricity prices for consumers, kicking the “Big Six” energy providers has become something of a national sport.
While the independence referendum may have created uncertainty in other sectors, it appears to have had no material impact on the UK oil and gas industry – yet, writes Rod Hutchison.
In recent years, the wholesale costs of energy have increased and this has become an even greater problem than ever.
This has been a year of extremes, writes Les Linklater
Offshore drilling firm Songa says it has secured the conditions needed to go ahead with its $400million refinancing deal.
This is the time when the big US oil corporations publish their plans for the year ahead; and of course one is looking for a mention of North Sea investment.
A draft of the proposed changes to the NI regulations show that if you are a UKCS worker, as well as a mariner then being a UKCS worker will trump the mariner rules, warns tax expert Alex Arthur
Decommissioning the North Sea will be one of the largest and most challenging infrastructure projects of the next few decades, writes shadow energy minister Tom Greatrex.
There were a couple of announcements in the chancellor’s Autumn Statement that will have an almost immediate effect on the oil industry.
As Christmas 2013 rapidly approaches we need to consider the excesses that often accompany this time of year.
With discussion and debate around Scotland's fiscal and constitutional future heating up, EY recently launched the latest report in its Grasping the Thistle series.