OGUK’s Economic Report 2019, which launches this week at Offshore Europe, will reinforce the importance of the UK’s oil and gas industry, a sector that is critical in meeting today’s energy needs and one that will be a key contributor to tomorrow’s energy mix.
The energy transition discussion is the dominant topic for the sector. It’s a multi-layered debate that encompasses macro and micro issues and will have an increasing impact upon our lives and our businesses in the UK.
Australians love a good yarn, a chinwag, a chat. But it’s not sports or politics that’s making the ‘goss’ in the oil and gas boardrooms of Perth right now.
Pressure has fallen on the Scottish Government to back a public inquiry into the safety standards for offshore workers after claims that the “out of sight, out of mind” approach, adopted by many employers, is resulting in potentially dangerous working conditions.
By Nick Shenken, partner and clean energy lawyer at UK law firm TLT
This month saw a letter sent to Boris Johnson signed by 157 Members of Parliament (35 Conservatives among them), urging the Government change its course in relation to onshore wind.
Waste sector businesses are increasingly looking to “Brexit clauses” as a pragmatic solution to the uncertainty created by the UK's looming withdrawal from the EU.
Saudi Arabia isn’t as willing to do whatever it takes to support oil prices as it would have us believe. That’s the only conclusion one can draw from what we’ve learnt since a government official said the kingdom wouldn’t tolerate a continued price slide.
By Markus Burgstaller, partner at the law firm Hogan Lovells
There are a large number of 'ifs' that would need to be satisfied for a Labour government to take power in the UK with sufficient political support and time to allow it to pass the legislation required to deliver its desired renationalisation policy, against likely strong opposition from other political parties, MPs within the Labour party, stakeholders and the House of Lords and in the face of competing demands.
The push to find low-carbon energy solutions is gaining momentum in the academic world and eclipses the effort being directed towards oil and gas and coal-related research by universities.
When you take the long view of history, trade wars become skirmishes and even Brexit will be seen as a ship that passed in the early 21st Century night.
Thousands of young people across the UK who graduated university, finished college or left school this summer are now intensely scrutinising career opportunities, seeking out their first step on to the career ladder.
The reported upturn in oil and gas activity together with articles on the need for continued vigilance on supply chain costs, reminded me of Oscar Wilde’s quote ‘the man who knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing’.
While many countries are already taking decisive steps to try and reduce their carbon footprint, the global cost of inaction on climate change is estimated to reach US $23 trillion a year by 2020. But what more can the energy industry be doing to help bring about change?
By George Ramishvili, founder and chairman, Silk Road Group
As Georgia completes its economic turnaround and builds a closer relationship with the EU, more investment is needed in the energy sector. As an investor in renewable power generation, thorough Silk Road Group’s Bahkvi 3 hydropower project, I am supporter of Georgia’s journey towards energy independence. To achieve that, Georgia needs to prove to investors that its energy market is mature, competitive and predictable.
We live in an age of disruption. Our daily lives are being transformed through the application of robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, 3D printing and the internet of things.
By Kenny McAllister, Chairman, SPE Aberdeen Section
As the new session of SPE activities is about to start it is a time of reflection, renewal and anticipation, and I am very much looking forward to taking on the mantle as Aberdeen Section Chair for the year ahead.