Energy Voice – Out Loud

Building a baseline for diversity and inclusion – EVOL ✕ OGUK

This latest episode of EVOL X is dedicated to “Building a Baseline”, the very first report into the state of diversity and inclusion in the UK oil and gas sector. 
Craig Shanaghey, chair of Oil and Gas UK’s D&I task group, and Erin Ingram, commercial advisor at Taqa, join digital journalist Allister Thomas to dig into the findings. 
In this deep dive, the trio discuss the business benefits for the sector in having a strong D&I culture, and key asks of industry to progress the agenda. 
The team also speak candidly about some of the uncomfortable issues raised by this inaugural report; unconscious bias, catcalling offshore, and a lack of representation for key demographics in what remains a white, male-dominated industry. 
More broadly, Energy Voice, in association with Deloitte, Fasken and Costain, are delighted to present a virtual event series that digs deeper into the prospects for hydrogen in order to separate the hard facts from the hype. Register today to hear from the experts and join the conversation about hydrogen’s future role in the global energy system at trackinghydrogen.com
Energy Voice helps organisations understand the geopolitical, economic and financial factors that underpin market events, and give you a view on what’s coming over the horizon. As a listener to this podcast, you can get a free trial of energyvoice.com, giving you two weeks of unrestricted access to the latest crucial news and insight. The trial is entirely without obligation – we don’t want your credit card, and there’s no auto-enrolment at the end. 📧 Email trials@energyvoice.com to get the best market analysis in the world, free. 
🗣 To find out how to speak to over one million qualified users in global energy, through our peerless digital news and insight platform, visit https://www.energyvoice.com/content-services 
Bookmark and subscribe to energyvoice.com, sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 
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One of our sales team will set up as a user of the Energy Voice website, apply your trial allowance and email you to provide access instructions. 
You will have two weeks of unlimited access from the point at which the trial allowance is instigated. At the end of the trial period you will retain your user account but will only be able to view a restricted number of articles as a free registered user (currently four per month). 
You will not be automatically enrolled on a paid subscription at the end of the trial period. A member of the sales team will contact you to find out if you are interested in subscribing, provide options for subscription and payment if so, and process the transaction with your authorisation. Alternatively you can purchase a subscription directly from the website. 
We retain the right to terminate trials and free registered user accounts without notice or explanation. 

First oil for Uganda looms, all hail the Play Dough Decom King, and blowing off steam

First oil for Uganda could be just four years away thanks to Total-led, multi-billion project that has been 15 years in the making. It’s all perfectly exemplary and transparent. Or maybe it’s “greenwashy” and obfuscating. Could it be both? 
Decom North Sea has a new boss, one with bags of experience of large-scale platform decommissioning jobs in the, yes, North Sea. It’s a match made in heaven surely. But where does play dough fit into the picture? A new approach to project modelling? Surely not.
And a company led by a Northern Irishman has removed the nails pinning its feet to the floor and let off steam by swapping a pioneering idea for maximising oil recovery with a far more sensible option. If only he had $1bn.
Energy Voice, in association with Deloitte, Fasken and Costain, are delighted to present a virtual event series that digs deeper into the prospects for hydrogen in order to separate the hard facts from the hype. Register today to hear from the experts and join the conversation about hydrogen’s future role in the global energy system at trackinghydrogen.com
Energy Voice helps organisations understand the geopolitical, economic and financial factors that underpin market events, and give you a view on what’s coming over the horizon. As a listener to this podcast, you can get a free trial of energyvoice.com, giving you two weeks of unrestricted access to the latest crucial news and insight. The trial is entirely without obligation – we don’t want your credit card, and there’s no auto-enrolment at the end. 📧 Email trials@energyvoice.com to get the best market analysis in the world, free. 
🗣 To find out how to speak to over one million qualified users in global energy, through our peerless digital news and insight platform, visit https://www.energyvoice.com/content-services 
Bookmark and subscribe to energyvoice.com, sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 
Ⓛ https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/energy-voice 
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To accept the trial offer, email trials@energyvoice.com providing your name. 
One of our sales team will set up as a user of the Energy Voice website, apply your trial allowance and email you to provide access instructions. 
You will have two weeks of unlimited access from the point at which the trial allowance is instigated. At the end of the trial period you will retain your user account but will only be able to view a restricted number of articles as a free registered user (currently four per month). 
You will not be automatically enrolled on a paid subscription at the end of the trial period. A member of the sales team will contact you to find out if you are interested in subscribing, provide options for subscription and payment if so, and process the transaction with your authorisation. Alternatively you can purchase a subscription directly from the website. 
We retain the right to terminate trials and free registered user accounts without notice or explanation. 

Twitches, itchy feet and wheel woes

Hurricane Energy is no longer jumpin’ jack flash, with recent news from the company being described by one analyst as “another twitch” in its death throes. Once, shareholders had piled in to the company’s fractured basement story but now it seems there is less and less that can be done by the management team. 
Having a better time of things was Cairn Energy, which has sold down some of its stormy North Sea assets in order to shift into Egypt, Mauritania – and maybe Israel. The company is still hoping to cash in on its long-winded legal wranglings, but India has not offered much satisfaction so far. 
A helicopter came astray last week, with its wheel getting stuck in the helideck of Equinor’s Mariner A platform. Mark felt positive about the installation’s strategic chocolate egg supplies, but the accident compounded a wet and windy week for the North Sea. 
Energy Voice, in association with Deloitte, Fasken and Costain, are delighted to present a virtual event series that digs deeper into the prospects for hydrogen in order to separate the hard facts from the hype. Register today to hear from the experts and join the conversation about hydrogen’s future role in the global energy system at trackinghydrogen.com
Energy Voice helps organisations understand the geopolitical, economic and financial factors that underpin market events, and give you a view on what’s coming over the horizon. As a listener to this podcast, you can get a free trial of energyvoice.com, giving you two weeks of unrestricted access to the latest crucial news and insight. The trial is entirely without obligation – we don’t want your credit card, and there’s no auto-enrolment at the end. 📧 Email trials@energyvoice.com to get the best market analysis in the world, free. 
🗣 To find out how to speak to over one million qualified users in global energy, through our peerless digital news and insight platform, visit https://www.energyvoice.com/content-services 
Bookmark and subscribe to energyvoice.com, sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 
Ⓛ https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/energy-voice 
ⓣ https://twitter.com/EnergyVoiceNews 
To accept the trial offer, email trials@energyvoice.com providing your name. 
One of our sales team will set up as a user of the Energy Voice website, apply your trial allowance and email you to provide access instructions. 
You will have two weeks of unlimited access from the point at which the trial allowance is instigated. At the end of the trial period you will retain your user account but will only be able to view a restricted number of articles as a free registered user (currently four per month). 
You will not be automatically enrolled on a paid subscription at the end of the trial period. A member of the sales team will contact you to find out if you are interested in subscribing, provide options for subscription and payment if so, and process the transaction with your authorisation. Alternatively you can purchase a subscription directly from the website. 
We retain the right to terminate trials and free registered user accounts without notice or explanation. 

Terrorists in Mozambique, grid charging gripes, and Shell’s giant see-through knob

In this week’s episode, in collaboration with OGUK, Energy Voice’s three April fools, Ed, Hamish and Mark, put the jokes to one side for half an hour and take a stroll through the last week’s top tales. 
Ed tells us about a turbulent few days in Mozambique, where terrorists attacked the town of Palma, near to Total’s LNG plant, and the impact that could have on future operations in the region. 
There is something for the adrenaline junkies as the issue of grid charging hit the news again following complaints about the impact it could have on the hopes and dreams of Scotland’s renewables contenders. 
Finally, Mark takes the team home with the news that Shell is on the lookout for a new Aberdeen headquarters after deciding its base in Tullos is so 1970s. But, whatever happened to its plans for a gateau inspired transparent building? And does this mean employees should prepare to get flexible? Listen in to find out.
Energy Voice, in association with Deloitte, Fasken and Costain, are delighted to present a virtual event series that digs deeper into the prospects for hydrogen in order to separate the hard facts from the hype. Register today to hear from the experts and join the conversation about hydrogen’s future role in the global energy system at trackinghydrogen.com
Energy Voice helps organisations understand the geopolitical, economic and financial factors that underpin market events, and give you a view on what’s coming over the horizon. As a listener to this podcast, you can get a free trial of energyvoice.com, giving you two weeks of unrestricted access to the latest crucial news and insight. The trial is entirely without obligation – we don’t want your credit card, and there’s no auto-enrolment at the end. 📧 Email trials@energyvoice.com to get the best market analysis in the world, free. 
🗣 To find out how to speak to over one million qualified users in global energy, through our peerless digital news and insight platform, visit https://www.energyvoice.com/content-services 
Bookmark and subscribe to energyvoice.com, sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 
Ⓛ https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/energy-voice 
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To accept the trial offer, email trials@energyvoice.com providing your name. 
One of our sales team will set up as a user of the Energy Voice website, apply your trial allowance and email you to provide access instructions. 
You will have two weeks of unlimited access from the point at which the trial allowance is instigated. At the end of the trial period you will retain your user account but will only be able to view a restricted number of articles as a free registered user (currently four per month). 
You will not be automatically enrolled on a paid subscription at the end of the trial period. A member of the sales team will contact you to find out if you are interested in subscribing, provide options for subscription and payment if so, and process the transaction with your authorisation. Alternatively you can purchase a subscription directly from the website. 
We retain the right to terminate trials and free registered user accounts without notice or explanation. 

The deal, the nightmare and The Rig

The government has set out its plans, in the nick of time, for the oil and gas sector to cut carbon emissions and evolve to 2030. There are plenty of hopes and big numbers, but it’s clear the industry is expected to stump up a fair amount of cash to make the dreams come true. 
The energy transition is going to be more like a nightmare for some oil exporters. West African producers in particular face instability and disruptive change as prices fluctuate and the world shifts to new resources. 
Adding a touch of showbiz glamour to proceedings, Amazon has begun shooting a new supernatural series, The Rig. But what eldritch horror can compete with price crashes and political wranglings? Our money is on mutant seagulls. 
Energy Voice helps organisations understand the geopolitical, economic and financial factors that underpin market events, and give you a view on what’s coming over the horizon. As a listener to this podcast, you can get a free trial of energyvoice.com, giving you two weeks of unrestricted access to the latest crucial news and insight. The trial is entirely without obligation – we don’t want your credit card, and there’s no auto-enrolment at the end. 📧 Email trials@energyvoice.com to get the best market analysis in the world, free. 
🗣 To find out how to speak to over one million qualified users in global energy, through our peerless digital news and insight platform, visit https://www.energyvoice.com/content-services 
Bookmark and subscribe to energyvoice.com, sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 
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One of our sales team will set up as a user of the Energy Voice website, apply your trial allowance and email you to provide access instructions. 
You will have two weeks of unlimited access from the point at which the trial allowance is instigated. At the end of the trial period you will retain your user account but will only be able to view a restricted number of articles as a free registered user (currently four per month). 
You will not be automatically enrolled on a paid subscription at the end of the trial period. A member of the sales team will contact you to find out if you are interested in subscribing, provide options for subscription and payment if so, and process the transaction with your authorisation. Alternatively you can purchase a subscription directly from the website. 
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10 Point Pod 03 – Nuclear

Nuclear power tends to be overlooked among the zero carbon generation options but it offers an attractive baseload alternative. 
The UK was the first to begin generating power from a commercial-scale plant, in the 1950s, and the government hopes to make similar innovative progress with small reactors. 
How do these small and modular reactors stack up, though? And even more importantly, how can builders control costs, which have come under fire at a time when prices continue to fall for renewables. 
Chris Lewis, UK Infrastructure Leader at EY, sits down with Energy Voice’s Ed Reed to talk through the challenges and opportunities of nuclear, with Anne Falchi, ‎Programme Manager in Sizewell C Financing EDF Energy, providing the operator’s perspective. 
Nuclear is the third point of the UK’s 10 point plan. Up next, electric vehicles.
Energy Voice helps organisations understand the geopolitical, economic and financial factors that underpin market events, and give you a view on what’s coming over the horizon. As a listener to this podcast, you can get a free trial of energyvoice.com, giving you two weeks of unrestricted access to the latest crucial news and insight. The trial is entirely without obligation – we don’t want your credit card, and there’s no auto-enrolment at the end. 📧 Email trials@energyvoice.com to get the best market analysis in the world, free. 
🗣 To find out how to speak to over one million qualified users in global energy, through our peerless digital news and insight platform, visit https://www.energyvoice.com/content-services 
Bookmark and subscribe to energyvoice.com, sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 
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To accept the trial offer, email trials@energyvoice.com providing your name. 
One of our sales team will set up as a user of the Energy Voice website, apply your trial allowance and email you to provide access instructions. 
You will have two weeks of unlimited access from the point at which the trial allowance is instigated. At the end of the trial period you will retain your user account but will only be able to view a restricted number of articles as a free registered user (currently four per month). 
You will not be automatically enrolled on a paid subscription at the end of the trial period. A member of the sales team will contact you to find out if you are interested in subscribing, provide options for subscription and payment if so, and process the transaction with your authorisation. Alternatively you can purchase a subscription directly from the website. 
We retain the right to terminate trials and free registered user accounts without notice or explanation. 

Exploration ‘nuclear option’, windy business, and decom down under

Mark and Ed are away, so the digital journalists will… play…? Yes, it’s a new line-up on this episode of Energy Voice Out Loud, on which Allister takes the hotseat, Hamish takes the windy seat, and Damon takes the Southeast Asia seat and makes the team jealous about the weather.
The trio dive in to speculation this week that the government could take the ‘nuclear option’ of ending new North Sea exploration – talking the likelihood of it happening and the potential fallout if it did. 
Then it’s some altogether more positive chat, with some big contract wins for offshore wind in the UK; North Star has bagged a big deal, so what about lucrative manufacturing work in Scotland? 
And making his triumphant return to the pod, Damon Evans takes us to Australia, where a sizeable decommissioning prize awaits…
Energy Voice helps organisations understand the geopolitical, economic and financial factors that underpin market events, and give you a view on what’s coming over the horizon. As a listener to this podcast, you can get a free trial of energyvoice.com, giving you two weeks of unrestricted access to the latest crucial news and insight. The trial is entirely without obligation – we don’t want your credit card, and there’s no auto-enrolment at the end. 📧 Email trials@energyvoice.com to get the best market analysis in the world, free. 
🗣 To find out how to speak to over one million qualified users in global energy, through our peerless digital news and insight platform, visit https://www.energyvoice.com/content-services 
Bookmark and subscribe to energyvoice.com, sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 
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To accept the trial offer, email trials@energyvoice.com providing your name. 
One of our sales team will set up as a user of the Energy Voice website, apply your trial allowance and email you to provide access instructions. 
You will have two weeks of unlimited access from the point at which the trial allowance is instigated. At the end of the trial period you will retain your user account but will only be able to view a restricted number of articles as a free registered user (currently four per month). 
You will not be automatically enrolled on a paid subscription at the end of the trial period. A member of the sales team will contact you to find out if you are interested in subscribing, provide options for subscription and payment if so, and process the transaction with your authorisation. Alternatively you can purchase a subscription directly from the website. 
We retain the right to terminate trials and free registered user accounts without notice or explanation. 

Wheeling and dealing… and protesting

After a run of days of oil industry wheeling and dealing which have left the EV team breathless, Allister battled through the breaking news that CHC is swooping in to buy the oil and gas helicopter business of rival operator Babcock. 
The team then tried to make sense of further lashings of M&A activity, some in the increasingly hot North Sea, and some in North Africa. 
And Ed went in to bat on news of protests which erupted in Senegal as a leading opposition politician faces charges of sexual assault. Ed considers what this means for Australian firm FAR and its effort to sell its stakes in a key project.
Energy Voice helps organisations understand the geopolitical, economic and financial factors that underpin market events, and give you a view on what’s coming over the horizon. As a listener to this podcast, you can get a free trial of energyvoice.com, giving you two weeks of unrestricted access to the latest crucial news and insight. The trial is entirely without obligation – we don’t want your credit card, and there’s no auto-enrolment at the end. 📧 Email trials@energyvoice.com to get the best market analysis in the world, free. 
🗣 To find out how to speak to over one million qualified users in global energy, through our peerless digital news and insight platform, visit https://www.energyvoice.com/content-services 
Bookmark and subscribe to energyvoice.com, sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 
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To accept the trial offer, email trials@energyvoice.com providing your name. 
One of our sales team will set up as a user of the Energy Voice website, apply your trial allowance and email you to provide access instructions. 
You will have two weeks of unlimited access from the point at which the trial allowance is instigated. At the end of the trial period you will retain your user account but will only be able to view a restricted number of articles as a free registered user (currently four per month). 
You will not be automatically enrolled on a paid subscription at the end of the trial period. A member of the sales team will contact you to find out if you are interested in subscribing, provide options for subscription and payment if so, and process the transaction with your authorisation. Alternatively you can purchase a subscription directly from the website. 
We retain the right to terminate trials and free registered user accounts without notice or explanation. 

Hurricane warning, Total’s energies and Doonies Farm

There’s a storm brewing over at Hurricane Energy with one of its major shareholders suggesting the board doesn’t have “skin in the game”. Crystal Amber says the relationship has “deteriorated dramatically,” so the EVOL team take this opportunity to dive into the potted history of the west of Shetland operator. 
Next up, just as Total unveils its brand new clean, green “TotalEnergies” rebrand, the firm is being targeted by NGOs for trying to build a massive heated oil pipeline in Uganda. Will it get built or will banks buckle under the pressure? 
And of course we can’t miss the Chancellor’s Budget this week. A £30million-plus package for Aberdeen’s oil-energy sector transformation. Not everyone is baaa-hind the plans though…
Energy Voice helps organisations understand the geopolitical, economic and financial factors that underpin market events, and give you a view on what’s coming over the horizon. As a listener to this podcast, you can get a free trial of energyvoice.com, giving you two weeks of unrestricted access to the latest crucial news and insight. The trial is entirely without obligation – we don’t want your credit card, and there’s no auto-enrolment at the end. 📧 Email trials@energyvoice.com to get the best market analysis in the world, free. 
🗣 To find out how to speak to over one million qualified users in global energy, through our peerless digital news and insight platform, visit https://www.energyvoice.com/content-services 
Bookmark and subscribe to energyvoice.com, sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 
Ⓛ https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/energy-voice 
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To accept the trial offer, email trials@energyvoice.com providing your name. 
One of our sales team will set up as a user of the Energy Voice website, apply your trial allowance and email you to provide access instructions. 
You will have two weeks of unlimited access from the point at which the trial allowance is instigated. At the end of the trial period you will retain your user account but will only be able to view a restricted number of articles as a free registered user (currently four per month). 
You will not be automatically enrolled on a paid subscription at the end of the trial period. A member of the sales team will contact you to find out if you are interested in subscribing, provide options for subscription and payment if so, and process the transaction with your authorisation. Alternatively you can purchase a subscription directly from the website. 
We retain the right to terminate trials and free registered user accounts without notice or explanation. 

Sales, sales and South African sales

Super-majors continue to drift away from the North Sea, with HitecVision-backed NEO striking a deal to acquire ExxonMobil’s assets. The buyer was staying mum about decommissioning liabilities, as yet impervious to Allister’s probing questions. 
Malaysian companies have also been moving into the North Sea but have also been reluctant to shed much light on plans, driving Mark to doorstep one company. It’s a long way from home but there’s still room to run. 
Sasol had something to celebrate this week after bouncing back from a terrible 2020. The South Africans still have an emissions problem but, in step with the rest of the industry, they are starting to talk the energy transition talk. 
Energy Voice helps organisations understand the geopolitical, economic and financial factors that underpin market events, and give you a view on what’s coming over the horizon. As a listener to this podcast, you can get a free trial of energyvoice.com, giving you two weeks of unrestricted access to the latest crucial news and insight. The trial is entirely without obligation – we don’t want your credit card, and there’s no auto-enrolment at the end. 📧 Email trials@energyvoice.com to get the best market analysis in the world, free. 
🗣 To find out how to speak to over one million qualified users in global energy, through our peerless digital news and insight platform, visit https://www.energyvoice.com/content-services 
Bookmark and subscribe to energyvoice.com, sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 
Ⓛ https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/energy-voice 
ⓣ https://twitter.com/EnergyVoiceNews 
To accept the trial offer, email trials@energyvoice.com providing your name. 
One of our sales team will set up as a user of the Energy Voice website, apply your trial allowance and email you to provide access instructions. 
You will have two weeks of unlimited access from the point at which the trial allowance is instigated. At the end of the trial period you will retain your user account but will only be able to view a restricted number of articles as a free registered user (currently four per month). 
You will not be automatically enrolled on a paid subscription at the end of the trial period. A member of the sales team will contact you to find out if you are interested in subscribing, provide options for subscription and payment if so, and process the transaction with your authorisation. Alternatively you can purchase a subscription directly from the website. 
We retain the right to terminate trials and free registered user accounts without notice or explanation.