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.
The British supermajor signalled its commitment to the North Sea this year when it announced its $1billion ETAP investment.
Energy Voice launched Energy 2050 – Securing our Future - at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston in May.
Calendar year end is traditionally a time to pause and reflect on events, while casting an eye forward to what the year ahead may bring.
Take a look back at some of Energy Voice’s most watched videos from the past year.
This year marked some significant milestones for oil giant Shell.
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.
Who would be an economist?
Take a look back at some of Energy Voice’s most watched videos from the past year.
Five years on from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the fallout from the world’s worst oil spill continued in 2015. Energy Voice looks back at some of the key developments that occurred this year.
Take a look back at some of the biggest stories affecting the renewables industry across the globe.
Throughout the holiday season Energy Voice will be taking a look back at some of our most read columns from 2015.
The year 2015 has been an annus horribilis for all stakeholders in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).
There were some significant appointments made in 2015 as well-established figures vacated key roles and a new cohort of talented individuals were appointed to top jobs.
Throughout the holiday season Energy Voice will be taking a look back at some of our most read columns from 2015. From oil and gas leaders, politicians and leading think-tanks here’s what the industry was talking about this year.
Take a look back at some of Energy Voice’s most watched videos from the past year.
Maersk Oil confirmed in August that it would invest $4.5billion in its high pressure, high temperature Culzean field in the UK Central North Sea. Technically challenging, Culzean will be a flagship development for the North Sea in years to come.
We talk about “managing the survivors” when we talk about those left behind post redundancies.
The threat of industrial action was an ongoing story through 2015 as employers sought to reduce costs and unions sought to secure terms and conditions for members. Strike action was averted, but as 2016 raises the prospect of even tougher times ahead further industrial relations struggles are not out of the question.
Our occasional series of archive galleries provided fascinating snapshots from the past 50 years of oil and gas activity in the North Sea. Check out our most read features below.
Take a look back at some of Energy Voice’s most watched videos from the past year.
Throughout the holiday season Energy Voice will be taking a look back at some of our most read columns from 2015. From oil and gas leaders, politicians and leading think-tanks here’s what the industry was talking about in 2015.
Who would have thought in the summer of 2014 that the industry would long for the oil price to recover to $61 per barrel?
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.