I really wanted to write about shale gas economics and practicalities this month because there's a lot that needs saying. However, I'm really going to have to sort this bloke Donald Trump out because he seems to be under the strange delusion that a golf course is more important than Scotland's industrial future.
The Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee of the Scottish Parliament have asked me to submit evidence to their current inquiry into the Scottish Government's renewable energy targets.
A decade or so ago, liquefied natural gas was fast becoming the big strategic play in the natural gas industry. It had the potential to make big money in a world of shrinking energy resources and mounting environmental pressure to cut dependency on coal for firing power stations, especially among OECD nations.
When we trust someone to perform a task on our behalf it is natural to expect them to deliver. When we trust scores of suppliers to deliver hundreds of services, often across the globe, it gets a bit more complicated.
One of the fascinating aspects of working in the oil and gas industry is its political context. Take Iraq, a country in which we are doing an increasing amount of work. Iraq could fairly be described as one of the most vibrant and, at the same time, the most legally unstable, hydrocarbon jurisdictions in the world today. Just consider that:
Our demand for energy is immense and growing. World energy consumption continues to grow and with China and India representing over a third of the world's population, their rapid development is set to increase energy consumption significantly in the coming years.
Protein shakes are a part of a daily workout regime for some of those who are trying to get fit or bulk up quickly.
The UK portion of the North West Europe Continental Shelf is a harsh and unforgiving environment in which to explore for and produce oil and gas. In that environment we learn to expect the unexpected and to respond effectively to "abnormal" situations.
The publication of a report by Argentina's Energy Institute (IAE) this month on the state of the country's energy sector has confirmed to many observers the decline of the past decade.
The oil capital of the world, Houston is a key destination for a huge number of organisations within our industry.
The key driver of merger and acquisition activity in the oil and gas sector is the relative strength or weakness of commodity prices.
I have been working in Syria on a gas project but had to leave because of the political situation there, plus the imposition of sanctions by the European Union (EU) on that country's oil and gas industry.
The biggest question at the heart of Scotland's future power supply is not about renewables, though that is where the main focus tends. Rather it is Longannet.
You'll remember that around the New Year when the 30-year-old UK Cabinet papers were released it was revealed why the then Prime Minister, one M Thatcher, opposed the idea of government investment to help build a gas gathering pipeline network which would have created thousands of new jobs in various plastics and chemical industries.
So the Treasury has screwed up big-time over its North Sea tax grab; or at least that's how it seems.
The past year has been a rollercoaster ride for oil and gas investors to say the least, with volatility being the theme which dominated the headlines. That said, we look forward with cautious optimism towards what 2012 may bring.
No doubt about it: investment in developing UK oil and gas reserves last year was strong, rising by at least a quarter compared to 2010.
What benefits would make you interested in vitamin D? Many of our male readers work offshore and may not be particularly interested in vitamins anyway and the idea of reading an article entirely about vitamin D doesn't appeal.
The last few years have undoubtedly been some of the most turbulent in economic history. The tightening of credit conditions has had a major impact on governments' finances with many countries taking radical steps to balance the books and finding their ability to repay debt being closely scrutinised.
The shale gas industry is described as offering the potential for a revolution in the world energy market, which could transform world energy trade, geopolitics and climate policy.
MANY of you may be aware that when the European Commission announced its proposal to bring the whole of Europe's offshore oil and gas regimes up to a standard similar to that of the UK Continental Shelf, it acknowledged that Britain's safety regime is already a global exemplar.
ROCKHOPPER Exploration updated the market last month with interim results, and with them, a revision to its development plan for the Sea Lion field.
DESPITE the difficult security situation, some optimism surrounds the longer-term prospects of Afghanistan as an energy provider.
HOW many of us decided in advance of Christmas and Hogmanay not to over-indulge, but when it came to it, we just couldn't resist?
AS WE LOOK back over 2011 one of the areas of significant interest that has emerged in the oil and gas sector is unconventional gas.