Some say Scotland must make a choice for our future: pursue economic growth, or protect the environment. My response is simple - there is no contradiction in pursuing both. The only credible long-term economic strategy is to exploit Scotland's unique advantages - engineering excellence, research base, energy expertise and natural resources - to grow the economy, while reducing emissions long-term.
I was once told that if Moses had been a Lib Dem he'd have come down from Mt Sinai with ten "really jolly good suggestions".
It's the time of year when finding someone else to do the hard work makes sense. So in that festive spirit, I am delighted to defer to a recent speech made by Ian Taylor, president and chief executive of Vitol, the global trading company.
After more than 20 months of engagement and collaboration between industry and the Government, December 11 saw a further milestone reached in the almost Herculean effort to enable decommissioning security arrangements to move to a post-tax basis.
I last eluded to "The Man with No Name" in my September 2011 Energy column entitled The Good, the Bad, & the Indifferent.
As I write this in the run-up to Christmas it feels as if the Government has bestowed a series of Christmas presents on the industry.
I do love the James Bond moments that happen with my job, and while they don't occur as readily as they did in my former role in our Intelligence Department, every so often I find myself in awe of my colleagues, individuals and organisations that I am lucky enough to work with.
Here we are again, a new year stretching out ahead of us, bringing with it a wealth of fresh opportunity to influence, impact and change our industry for the better.
For some time now, Step Change in Safety has been focused on two key areas in the drive to continuously improve offshore safety: fostering better safety cultures through workforce engagement and reducing the number of hydrocarbon releases (HCRs).
Pacific Drilling's new-build ultra-deepwater drillship Pacific Khamsin has been contracted by Chevron for an initial two years' operations offshore West Africa.
For many of the offshore population Christmas Day is a normal working day but those who are lucky enough to enjoy the holiday onshore will have celebrated alongside family and friends and enjoyed some well-earned festive eating, drinking and relaxation.
Recent temperature readings appear to indicate that the world stopped getting hotter some 15 years ago.
Heavens, up to 30 new gas-fired power stations, life extensions for two of the current nuclear power station fleet and the laying of early foundations for the forthcoming UK shale gas push.
In this issue we're majoring on the Atlantic Frontier, or rather just three parts of it . . . UK West of Shetland, the Irish sector and, several thousand miles to the south, the Falkland Islands.
Skills are a huge issue in Britain today, with many businesses struggling with the challenges. The UK oil and gas industry is, however, now embarking on a collaborative approach to addressing the shortage.
Under new rules to be introduced next April, Health and Safety Executive checks will no longer be routinely carried out on premises considered to be low risk.
At the recent ITF technology showcase in Aberdeen BP's North Sea regional president, Trevor Garlick was reported as saying "If new technology is not developed fast enough the life of the North Sea oil and gas industry could be shortened".
According to every test of opinion, there is general support in Scotland for the development of renewable energy. That should be a great platform for progress and relative consensus.
The world may be poised at the beginning of "the Golden Age of Gas". Indeed natural gas is the only fossil fuel whose share of the global energy mix is expected to grow.
One is tempted to have some sympathy for the Government in its current attempts to formulate an energy strategy.
Cases of Norovirus (winter vomiting bug) have started to appear earlier than usual this year, which could indicate that we can expect higher than customary levels of the virus to be circulating over the winter months ahead.
As the region has matured UK Continental Shelf production has progressively fallen - approximately 6% per annum between 2000 and 2010.
Asian national oil companies bent on taking control of Canadian oil and gas assets through acquisitions by CNOOC and Petronas are facing growing opposition to the deals.
As an investor you weigh up risks and potential returns, trying to eliminate or limit the unknowns and one of the biggest issues with investing is political risk.
I concluded some time ago that UK Business Secretary Vince Cable was all frills and no knickers but was astonished that he said of the now thankfully dead BAe merger with EADS: "I don't worry about foreign ownership."