Energy Voice – Out Loud

EVOL: The Musk, the Rough and the Dangote

Elon Musk and Allister both visited Stavanger this week, leaving the Norwegians scrambling for an iron and a practical route to the energy transition. While Mr Musk was keen to fly the flag for hydrocarbons in the immediate term, the protesters had much less time for such talk.  
The UK has taken steps to secure its gas storage in the immediate term, approving Centrica’s plans to bring back the Rough storage facility. Given some of the panicky talk about blackouts, such a move has been well received.  
And finally Nigeria may be on the brink of halting its reliance on fuel imports, if they can finally figure out the riddle of refinery maintenance and new production at the Dangote Refinery. While Ed casts a cynical tone over proceedings, the government has signalled a determination to confront its problems.  
 
About Energy Voice
Energy Voice investigates and reports on what matters in global energy, helping sector leaders understand the geopolitical and economic factors underpinning current events, and giving them a view on what’s coming over the horizon. Each year, 3.4m professionals use Energy Voice as a trusted source of breaking news and insight.
For more information on how you can speak to those professionals across multiple platforms to build your brand and generate actionable business leads, visit energyvoice.com/content-services.
For a 30 day free trial subscription to the Energy Voice website and app, visit energyvoice.com/subscriptions.

The Megawatt Hour 03: Storing energy for longer, from hydro to hydrogen

In the third episode of our energy storage boxset series, content editor Andrew Dykes is joined by co-host and BDO associate director Viran de Silva, as well as Rhe Energise CEO Stephen Crosher and DNV VP for energy transition and innovation development, Sarah Kimpton.  
Having taken a deep dive into the world of batteries, we now look at the other vectors available for storing energy from compressed air to heat – with a particular focus on the longer-term flexibility of hydrogen and pumped hydro.  
The Megawatt Hour is a special podcast series brought to you by Energy Voice Out Loud in paid partnership with BDO. 
 
About Energy Voice
Energy Voice investigates and reports on what matters in global energy, helping sector leaders understand the geopolitical and economic factors underpinning current events, and giving them a view on what’s coming over the horizon. Each year, 3.4m professionals use Energy Voice as a trusted source of breaking news and insight.
For more information on how you can speak to those professionals across multiple platforms to build your brand and generate actionable business leads, visit energyvoice.com/content-services.
For a 30 day free trial subscription to the Energy Voice website and app, visit energyvoice.com/subscriptions.

EVOL: Fatal accidents at Keppel, discoveries in the Med, and Ed’s gas bill

Tragedy strikes again at Keppel’s yard with the third fatal accident so far this year and the team discuss the outlook for the Singapore offshore and marine player.  
 
In other news, Ed tells us about emerging gas discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean that could eventually help relieve the EU’s gas crunch.  
 
Moreover, there is optimism in the UK as Ed frets about his ever-rising gas bill. For once Hamish delivers some positive news, as UK gas producers step-up in the country’s hour of need. Gas output is rising, but whether the producers’ motives to pump up the volume are altruistic is another matter.    
 
About Energy Voice
Energy Voice investigates and reports on what matters in global energy, helping sector leaders understand the geopolitical and economic factors underpinning current events, and giving them a view on what’s coming over the horizon. Each year, 3.4m professionals use Energy Voice as a trusted source of breaking news and insight.
For more information on how you can speak to those professionals across multiple platforms to build your brand and generate actionable business leads, visit energyvoice.com/content-services.
For a 30 day free trial subscription to the Energy Voice website and app, visit energyvoice.com/subscriptions.

EVOL:Pirates, price cap and Abadi

Another week of diverse topics for the EVOL crew… everything from Sir Keir Starmer to Scooby Doo.  
It’s been a busy political period with Labour calling for a revised / extended windfall tax to pay for an energy price cap freeze, causing angst for the North Sea industry. But how do industry arguments stack up against crippling costs for homes and businesses?  
A global gas shortage hasn’t been enough, it seems, to get the Abadi LNG project off Indonesia up and running, despite being one of the world’s largest untapped gas resources. But there’s hope that Japan might just help Pertamina buy out Shell’s stake.  
On the other side of the world, an entirely different crisis is playing out for the crew of a tanker which has been arrested off Equatorial Guinea. They thought they were fleeing pirates but it was, in fact, the Nigerian navy..  
 
About Energy Voice
Energy Voice investigates and reports on what matters in global energy, helping sector leaders understand the geopolitical and economic factors underpinning current events, and giving them a view on what’s coming over the horizon. Each year, 3.4m professionals use Energy Voice as a trusted source of breaking news and insight.
For more information on how you can speak to those professionals across multiple platforms to build your brand and generate actionable business leads, visit energyvoice.com/content-services.
For a 30 day free trial subscription to the Energy Voice website and app, visit energyvoice.com/subscriptions.

EVOL: Investors, protesters and lessons

Tullow Oil’s plans to merge with Capricorn Energy came under more fire this week, with concerns that the Scottish company was not getting enough buck for its bang. While the move looks promising for Tullow, the appeal for Capricorn is much less clear – potentially throwing the deal into doubt.  
Allister, fresh back from the big city lights of New York, talks us through the storm gathering ahead of Shell’s plans to develop the Jackdaw field. With the price cap set to rise, people still don’t seem to see the appeal of developing domestic energy supplies.  
Hamish reflects on a storm from last year that broke a Valaris drillship free from its moorings in Hunterston. As usual there are plenty of lessons available from such a near tragedy, but are companies paying enough attention?  
 
About Energy Voice
Energy Voice investigates and reports on what matters in global energy, helping sector leaders understand the geopolitical and economic factors underpinning current events, and giving them a view on what’s coming over the horizon. Each year, 3.4m professionals use Energy Voice as a trusted source of breaking news and insight.
For more information on how you can speak to those professionals across multiple platforms to build your brand and generate actionable business leads, visit energyvoice.com/content-services.
For a 30 day free trial subscription to the Energy Voice website and app, visit energyvoice.com/subscriptions.

EVOL: Rosebank, the Philippines and wads of cash

Summer holidays have thinned Energy Voice’s ranks during a busy week for oil, gas, LNG, and everything in between. After much speculation, it seems Rosebank is a goer, and Equinor has the documents to prove it. A major report laden with economic and employment treats arising from the North Sea field has also been released.  
There’s a thrilla in Manilla as the Philippines new president sets about meeting rising demand for electricity.  AG&P’s new LNG terminal, due online this December, could go some way to helping that.  
And BP has become the latest oil giant to post and eye-watering set of financials, sparking anger as households struggle to cope with rising energy bills. But is it right that energy companies are receiving the lion’s share of the backlash? And what would Groucho Marx think about it?  
 
About Energy Voice
Energy Voice investigates and reports on what matters in global energy, helping sector leaders understand the geopolitical and economic factors underpinning current events, and giving them a view on what’s coming over the horizon. Each year, 3.4m professionals use Energy Voice as a trusted source of breaking news and insight.
For more information on how you can speak to those professionals across multiple platforms to build your brand and generate actionable business leads, visit energyvoice.com/content-services.
For a 30 day free trial subscription to the Energy Voice website and app, visit energyvoice.com/subscriptions.

The Megawatt Hour 02: Unlocking the battery storage business model

In this the second episode of our special energy storage boxset series, content editor Andrew Dykes is joined by co-host David Bevan, corporate finance partner at BDO, and by Ben Guest, managing director and head of the New Energy division at alternative asset management group Gresham House.
This episode we’ll be taking a deep dive into possibly the largest and liveliest area of the sector today: battery storage. In less than a decade the UK has moved from having no large-scale battery capacity to more than 1.6GW in operation. 
We look at what’s driving that growth, the hurdles faced by the sector, and importantly what opportunities may lie ahead.
The Megawatt Hour is the a special podcast series brought to you by Energy Voice Out Loud in paid partnership with BDO.
 
About Energy Voice
Energy Voice investigates and reports on what matters in global energy, helping sector leaders understand the geopolitical and economic factors underpinning current events, and giving them a view on what’s coming over the horizon. Each year, 3.4m professionals use Energy Voice as a trusted source of breaking news and insight.
For more information on how you can speak to those professionals across multiple platforms to build your brand and generate actionable business leads, visit energyvoice.com/content-services.
For a 30 day free trial subscription to the Energy Voice website and app, visit energyvoice.com/subscriptions.

EVOL: A bird, a wing and a prayer

As concerns mount over the winter’s energy crisis, Shell has opted to move forwards with its Jackdaw project in the North Sea – even while Greenpeace files a case against the plan. Who knows who will prevail, but the mood music around domestic hydrocarbon production is much more positive now than it was.  
Damon drills into the changing energy mix in Asia, which is shifting towards a mix of coal and renewables, while largely avoiding high-priced gas. CCS is going to play a role in capturing some emissions, but it may prove a tricky road to achieve a Paris-compliant 2050 target.  
Finally, South Africa’s government has flagged proposed changes to its power sector and, finally, making all the right noises. Liberalisation seems to be the name of the game but there are sceptics around, not least expressing concerns about the same old ANC hands continuing to oversee this new programme.  
 
About Energy Voice
Energy Voice investigates and reports on what matters in global energy, helping sector leaders understand the geopolitical and economic factors underpinning current events, and giving them a view on what’s coming over the horizon. Each year, 3.4m professionals use Energy Voice as a trusted source of breaking news and insight.
For more information on how you can speak to those professionals across multiple platforms to build your brand and generate actionable business leads, visit energyvoice.com/content-services.
For a 30 day free trial subscription to the Energy Voice website and app, visit energyvoice.com/subscriptions.

EVOL Paddleboarding, Harry Styles, and electricity market reform

It’s TikTok and Harry Styles at EVOL Towers this week. But fear not, it’s not all Gen Z, there’s also water sports and Nigerian musical excellence to enjoy.  
Would you take a paddleboard 10 miles out to sea without a lifejacket? Neither would we! The team chats about the latest viral video racking up 20 million views of someone doing just that at the Rampion project.  
Ed’s been partying at the glitzy relaunch of Nigeria’s NNPC as a private company. An IPO is on the cards next year, but can the political support be mustered to make it happen?  
And Andrew has read through a 130-page document so you don’t have to! We talk the far-reaching implications of the UK Government’s (much needed) reforms on the UK electricity market.  
 
About Energy Voice
Energy Voice investigates and reports on what matters in global energy, helping sector leaders understand the geopolitical and economic factors underpinning current events, and giving them a view on what’s coming over the horizon. Each year, 3.4m professionals use Energy Voice as a trusted source of breaking news and insight.
For more information on how you can speak to those professionals across multiple platforms to build your brand and generate actionable business leads, visit energyvoice.com/content-services.
For a 30 day free trial subscription to the Energy Voice website and app, visit energyvoice.com/subscriptions.

EVOL: Big gas discoveries, takeover talk, and Nigeria deals

There is positive news from Indonesia this week after Harbour Energy announced initial success at a potential play-opening deepwater exploration well offshore Sumatra. The initial result bodes well for the frontier area and could open more petroleum plays, which are thought to be gas prone.  
 
Meanwhile, Ed walks us through the latest from San Leon Energy as it closes in on the completion of its Nigeria deal and manages to avoid the termination of its listing on London’s AIM. The team discuss the pitfalls facing developments in the African country, such as theft and sabotage, as well a potential shift in financing from London to the Middle East.  
 
Last, but not least, Allister covers the takeover talk going on between Serica Energy and smaller rival Kistos. Andrew Austin of Kistos, renowned for being a prolific dealmaker appears to be at it again. It remains to be seen who will win the takeover tussle.  
 
About Energy Voice
Energy Voice investigates and reports on what matters in global energy, helping sector leaders understand the geopolitical and economic factors underpinning current events, and giving them a view on what’s coming over the horizon. Each year, 3.4m professionals use Energy Voice as a trusted source of breaking news and insight.
For more information on how you can speak to those professionals across multiple platforms to build your brand and generate actionable business leads, visit energyvoice.com/content-services.
For a 30 day free trial subscription to the Energy Voice website and app, visit energyvoice.com/subscriptions.