2008 began as a year of tremendous promise. Commodity prices were on a steep upward trajectory and showed no signs of slowing down, global economies were growing and there was an unbridled sense of optimism and that it really was different this time.
As the push to control carbon emissions intensifies so the number of oil&gas people engaging in the battle grows. One such person is Tom Baxter, unit director of Genesis Oil & Gas Consultants in Aberdeen.
Five students from the University of Aberdeen have been awarded the first round of engineering scholarships from Petro-Canada, which has put up a purse of £140,000 over four years to fund 20 scholars.
For the energy sector, 2009 could, for many reasons, be a watershed year. The economic downturn - the recession or depression - will be in full swing and will be accompanied by a further fall in energy demand.
Welcome to 2009 - a guaranteed roller-coaster of a year, of that one can be sure. It will be a case of fasten seatbelts and prepare for a rattling. I regularly harp on about Opec and the criticality of its decisions to the non-Opec community, of which the North Sea is clearly a member. Well, in recent weeks, Opec decided to make two major output cuts.
The hijack of the Saudi-registered supertanker, Sirius Star and the taking captive of its crew, including a Scot, brought the issue of piracy to the fore, highlighting to those for whom such an issue is not an everyday concern that the scourge of piracy is not just a historical threat, but a very real one, alive and thriving today.
TWO initiatives that could help produce maps of hydrocarbon location, and thus enable more accurate targeting of reservoirs, were launched at the end of June, having been submitted to a call for proposals issued in 2007.
The cathartic financial events of recent months have exposed a great many naked emperors - not a pleasant sight, particularly in Edinburgh, where some had been entrusted with running Scotland's major banks.
2008 was an exceptional year for the Industry Technology Facilitator in terms of the numbers of projects launched, levels of funding secured and technology implementations. This has been achieved despite a backdrop of gloomy economic forecasts, oil-price crash and banks reluctant to lend to businesses.
The Europe and Canada head of one of the world's top subsea contractors believes the offshore industry will successfully weather the credit-crunch storm as oil fundamentals are in its favour, even though global demand for this critical commodity is plummeting.
NORWEGIAN company Electromagnetic Geoservices (EMGS) reports the successful launch of the world's first purpose-built EM survey vessel in order to enhance hydrocarbon exploration across the world.
Looking around the room as I stood up to present at a recent Scottish Renewables Forum event in Aberdeen, I was disappointed but, frankly, not surprised by the lack of subsea oil&gas industry people.
Oil and gas firm Oilexco North Sea (ONS) is poised to go into administration, leaving a questionmark over 50 jobs in Aberdeen.
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said it cut all gas supplies to Ukraine yesterday after talks broke down over payments for past shipments and a price for 2009.
Hundreds of millions of pounds of oil and gas exploration and development activity in the North Sea will be shelved next year, the senior partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Aberdeen has warned.
Oil and gas operator Antrim Energy said yesterday it had submitted a field-development plan for the Causeway oil discovery in block 211/23d north-east of Shetland to the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
OPITO - the Oil and Gas Academy's director of international business development is to join GlobalScot, the select group of international business leaders committed to advancing Scotland's success around the world.
THE Aberdeen Gateway Business Park in the city's Wellington Road has gained its first major tenant.
Venture Production, the Aberdeen-based oil and gas operator, said yesterday it had successfully brought the Grouse oil field into production.
Motorists have had a rollercoaster ride at the petrol pump this year as oil prices careered to record levels before falling back.
The steep fall in the oil price could lead to a boom in the decommissioning of older North Sea platforms.
Elixir Petroleum said yesterday that the Department of Energy and Climate Change had agreed to a four-month extension of the licence term on North Sea block 211/18b.
FOR most people, Christmas Day consists of opening presents and enjoying a turkey dinner.
A fifth of the electricity used in Scotland came from renewable sources last year, it was revealed yesterday.
AN ABERDEEN-BASED supplier of work-at-height and rope-access-related services, AquaTerra, has created a training director role.