Fit for the future? It’s time the oil and gas industry had a tax health check
To say that the oil and gas industry has had a lot to contend with over the past year would be putting it lightly.
Insights
Ambitious? We prefer achievable
There’s much talk about the ambitious targets that have been put in place to reduce the level of production emissions in the North Sea so that it becomes a net zero basin by 2050.
Bruce Dingwall: A strong leader who came to the fore during restless period for North Sea
The 1990s were a brutal time in the North Sea, with the oil & gas industry largely pre-occupied with trying to recover from the 1986 global price crash and culminating with the second crash, the slide for which began in 1997 and bottomed out late 1998/early 1999.
The Energy Transition is coming – And Africa is losing out (again)
Only two years ago, Africa seemed set to become the world's next major producer of oil and gas. International companies were scrambling to win exploration rights in frontier markets in West Africa; countries in North Africa were excited about new discoveries in the Mediterranean Sea; and natural gas was identified as a long-term transitional energy source, creating new opportunities for low-income nations such as Tanzania and Mozambique.
Sea battles
We think of the sea as being a large empty space but the energy transition is changing the UK’s seascape radically.
It’s August – Conspiracy theory time
Usually at this time of year with Parliaments in recess the news is a little thin on the ground so journalists, broadcasters and columnists like me are required to exercise our imagination a little more. Some turn to creating conspiracy theories. I am going to provide you with some ammunition so you can create your own.
Without further delay, we need storage capacity to back up renewables growth
Twenty years ago, I pointed out that we were heading towards 80% of our electricity being generated from gas within two decades and 80% of that gas coming from Russia. It was true at the time.
Rigs to reefs could be win-win, but government silence is frustrating
As a consequence of low oil prices together with decommissioning rebate payments and foregone taxes, Energy Voice recently reported on falling UK Oil and Gas Government revenues.
Oil and gas supply chain must not be sacrificed on COP26 altar
As Big Oil becomes increasingly regarded as a pariah, so attitudes are changing in a number of Western governments towards support for smaller nations looking to develop their fossil fuel resources.
ScotWind will prove beauty is more than skin deep
Following the ScotWind leasing round closing on Friday 16 July, there is now great anticipation to see which applications to build Scotland’s next generation of offshore wind farms are successful.
Carbon capture keypart of our integrated energy
If you take all the different energy industries, solutions and technologies laid out like a jigsaw it would create a colourful picture of where Scotland is today, with each key element playing an important part in our net-zero future.
Talks to let double-jabbed oil workers bypass Covid isolation
Discussions are ongoing that could avoid swathes of North Sea oil workers having to return home in the event of a Covid-19 breakout.
What next for sustainability in the energy sector?
The past 15 months or so have been difficult for many industry sectors – and energy has been no exception.
Coming out of lockdown is a bit like coming out of hibernation
When the pandemic hit, we had no idea of what lay ahead. No one would have imagined that it would be 15 months or more before we emerged.
EU CBAM will create complexities for supply chains
The EU Commission has announced a package of measures to enable the trading bloc to meet its 55% greenhouse gas emission reduction target that it has set itself for 2030.
Targets won’t make net zero happen, skilled people will: Energy Institute
With Energy Institute members having their say this week in the annual Energy Barometer, and the Government’s Green Jobs Task Force publishing its recommendations, EI President Steve Holliday FREng FEI welcomes fresh focus on the net zero skills issue…
Tories seek solution for oil and gas workers ‘trapped’ in hotel quarantine
The Scottish Conservatives have called for a solution to help oil and gas workers returning from ‘red list’ countries and forced to quarantine.
Global offshore wind supply chains and local content
It was recently reported that countries are lining up for wind turbine manufacturing plants to increase local content in their domestic markets. Siemens Energy AG expressed fear about global supply chains being balanced with bringing local content. Does this precede possible bottlenecks in supply and so act as a drag on offshore wind deployment targets?
Fresh perspectives and diverse skillsets will power the energy transition
At bp, we are all guided by our ambition to become a net zero company by 2050 or sooner, and there is a real buzz around the role that our hydrogen and CCUS business - which I began leading last year - can play. Whilst relatively nascent in their development, both technologies offer real promise for delivering clean energy provision and decarbonising heavy industry and mobility, among other sectors.
‘There is a discernible gap between the rhetoric and the reality’: Fairfield Decom MD on decision to cease trading
Following the news that Fairfield Decom will cease trading, Graeme Fergusson, managing director, shares his thoughts on the sector and the immediate risks that it faces.
Are business leaders immune to mental health challenges?
Like our physical health, we all have mental health, and occasionally, one or both may suffer. One in four people in Scotland are estimated to be affected by mental health problems. With the challenges faced over the past year, that figure is likely to be significantly higher, thus presenting an opportunity for business leaders to demonstrate authentic leadership as we prepare to go back to the workplace.
The future of health and safety in the energy transition
There is no doubt that the UK’s energy market is changing rapidly. In 2020, renewable energy accounted for 43% of the UK’s electricity generation. For the first time, clean power generated more electricity than fossil fuels.
Guyana can come to terms with its extraordinary new oil wealth
I took part recently in the fourth annual Aberdeen Guyana Gateway event hosted by Granite PR, Brett Jackson’s public relations firm, which brought together some of the key players in that country and its developing oil industry.
DAC – HG Wells and Wall-E rolled into one
I watched the BBC documentary about Greta Thunberg travelling the world with her father Svante in a quest to better understand climate change and how to combat what has undeniably become a crisis triggered by the human species.
Can’t-do attitude to manufacturing no longer acceptable
One of things that has always interested me about people is their diversity. I’m talking about their skills, interests and aspirations, because it’s that diversity and those features that to a large extent drive the shape and potential of a country’s economy.