Energy Voice – Out Loud

EVOL: Gryphon decom, foreign frustrations, and Centrica's Grain

Aberdeen features lead Ryan Duff is joined by renewables reporter Michael Behr and north west correspondent Floyd March as they discuss the week's headlines.
Up first, Michael has been keeping tabs on TotalEnergies and the Gryphon FPSO. Decommissioning is set to go ahead for the ageing North Sea asse,t and Nobel is not happy about it. The Energy Voice trio discuss whether this sets a dangerous precedent for smaller firms with tie backs to larger production hubs.
Next up, Floyd makes his Energy Voice Out Loud debut as he looks into solar in Humber and how one local councillor has raised concerns of farmland being bought over by foreign firms for renewable energy developments. Is this the old 'not in my back yard' argument or is there something to this argument?
Finally, Ryan talks us through Centrica's acquisition of the Isle of Grain LNG terminal and the trio examines the firm's argument that its latest UK investment will strengthen energy security. This comes hot off the heels of threats to close the Rough gas storage site and weeks after some disappointing financial results for the business.

EVOL: Gun fired on race to AR7, ship shape at North Star and capturing carbon out of thin air!

This week's episode of Energy Voice Out Loud (EVOL) takes on the breaking news that the next renewables auction round has started. Energy Voice staffers Erikka Askeland, Micheal Behr and Mathew Perry discuss runners and riders and who might be winners!
News editor Erikka speaks with Gitte Gard Talmo, the CEO of North Star. The historic Aberdeen shipping firm will be adding two brand new vessels to its fleet following its biggest ever deal with offshore wind giant RWE.
Finally, Mat explains what it means now that the UK government has shortlisted a direct air capture (DAC) project led by Swiss specialist Climeworks as part of the HyNet CCS scheme in North West England. Will it one day be possible to suck greenhouse gasses out of the air? Tune in and find out;.

EVOL: Big Roy MacGregor sells Highlands port, hydrogen hullabaloo pt. 2 and NSTA shows teeth

Tune in to this week’s episode of Energy Voice Out Loud hosted by news editor Erikka Askeland, reporter Mathew Perry and London correspondent Jessica Mills-Davies.
Mat and Erikka discuss the surprise announcement that Roy MacGregor’s Global Energy Group sold the Port of Nigg on the Cromarty Firth to long term shareholder, Japan’s Mitsui. What next for the Highland League football club-owning tycoon?
Jessica updates listeners on her investigations into the first-of-its-kind hydrogen home heating trial taking place in Fife – or is it?
Then Mat is back again to report on the North Sea Transition Authority’s (NSTA) pledge to name and shame North Sea operators. At last, the regulator is showing some tooth in dealing with delayed decommissioners and methane emitters.

EVOL: Prax Lindsey woes, Hydrogen updates, and Trump in Aberdeen

This week’s Energy Voice Out Loud is hosted by Aberdeen features lead Ryan Duff, news editor Erikka Askeland, and E-FWD editor Ed Reed.
Up first, Ed discusses the situation at the Prax-owned Lindsey oil refinery at Immingham. News broke this week that there has not been a buyer found for the facility, as unions have turned up the heat in pursuit of government interventions. Although Parx's mismanagement of funds is getting the blame for this, Erikka questions whether this is the UK's refinery industry right-sizing itself.
Next up, the hydrogen hullabaloo continues. The Government has launched a consultation on blending hydrogen with natural gas in the UK's grid, and it has dished out subsidies to the winners of the first hydrogen allocation round. Westminster claims that the latter decision will put shovels in the ground and get green hydrogen projects up and running.
Finally, Ryan discusses president Donald Trump's upcoming visit to Aberdeen. Trump has said an awful lot about oil and gas and the role of renewables in the UK, but how does his track record of opposing wind farms stack up? As it turns out, not great.
To find out what our editorial team think about these stories and more, tune into Energy Voice Out Loud on your podcast platform of choice.

EVOL: GB Energy up for anything, Reform's AR7 threats, and North Sea nuclear

This week's Energy Voice Out Loud is hosted by Aberdeen features lead Ryand Duff, renewables reporter Michael Behr, and E-FWD editor Ed Reed.
GB Energy isn't ruling out this early in its lifetime as Michael sat down with now permanent CEO Dan McGrail. Michael discusses the state-backed energy firm's technology-focused approach as we question whether it is pursuing one sector or if it is spinning too many plates.
Next up, Reform targets renewables as it threatens energy firms that if they bid in the upcoming Allocation Round 7 (AR7), they will face "significant political, financial, and regulatory risk" for their shareholders. This came days after US president Donald Trump said he would be coming to Aberdeen to discuss energy policy with first minister John Swinney and prime minister Keir Starmer. Both Reform and Trump have been anti-renewables in the past, and this week's headlines appear to be stoking the flames of a net-zero culture war.
Finally, on to nuclear as Ed talks us through floating power plants. The idea was raised at a recent conference that reactors could produce energy on barges and send it to shore in industrial areas such as Teesside and Port Talbot. Nuclear-powered shipping was also discussed, however, there are some serious regulatory hurdles the sector would have to clear before that becomes a reality. All in all, the nuclear conversation is heating up in the UK as the government appears to be backing the sector, and with that, yet more conversation about its technology offering will crop up.

EVOL: Beam bucks, NSTA decom dithering, and merger mania

This week on Energy Voice Out Loud, we discuss Beam and its administration, the NSTA's stance on delayed decommissioning, and how mergers and acquisitions are shaking up UK oil and gas production. First up, renewables reporter Michael Behr has been looking into the Aberdeen ROV company that burst onto the scene with a pocket full of cash and ended up spending more than it had. Michael has found some sizable bills that Beam has left unpaid, and its workers are also owed thousands. To get a full rundown, read Michael's article on Energy Voice.
Next up, Aberdeen features lead Ryan Duff spoke with Pauline Innes, the North Sea Transition Authority's (NSTA) director of supply chain and decommissioning. This chat came hot off the heels of the NSTA's latest decommissioning cost and performance update, which found that costs for decommissioning are spiking as plugging and abandonment is left by the wayside.
Finally, merger mania and how it's impacting hydrocarbon production in the North Sea. News editor Erikka Askeland and Ryan discuss how recent mergers and acquisitions are shaking up the league table of UK producers and what the table will look like as big players downgrade their stake in the basin.

EVOL X WOMEN IN NEW ENERGY with Dräger

Tune into hear one of the UK’s leading female energy executives Megan Hine, senior business development manager – UK & Ireland for Dräger, speak to Energy Voice news editor Erikka Askeland. 
 
This special series celebrating Energy Voice’s third annual Women in New Energy event in Aberdeen focused on how the family-owned Dräger business is targeting female representation in its leadership - but does it go far enough? 

EVOL X Expro: The potential of Geothermal

Is Geothermal the future for oil service firms? James Yard, CCUS development manager for Expro, discusses how his firm is looking into the potential of geothermal energy for heating in the UK.
 
James caught up with Energy Voice Aberdeen features lead, Ryan Duff, to discuss the chicken and egg situation the geothermal market is in within the UK right now and how others have accelerated progress.
 
Of course, the pair also discussed Expro's recent work on the Northern Endurance Partnership as it continues its working relationship with Equinor after completing work on its Northern Lights CCS project in Norway.
 
CCS also offers interesting opportunities for Expro and James shares some insight into what the firm is doing in this emerging market. 
 

EVOL: Baker Hughes pensions, heat pump wonders, and Prax in Shetland

This week, US services giant Baker Hughes was reported to be reviewing its UK pension scheme in a move that potentially puts thousands of jobs at risk. Aberdeen features lead Ryan Duff discusses what the firm is trying to do and voices the concerns of Aberdeen workers, while News Editor Erikka Askeland provides her pension board expertise.
There has been some back and forth on the matter but ultimately, the move from Baker Hughes seems to put workers between a rock and a hard place.
And Michael Behr discusses electrification with SynchroStor chief technology officer Alexis Dole. Hydrogen has long been seen as the only way to make high-temperature industrial processes green. But SynchroStor has developed technology to make heat pumps strong enough to offer an alternative.
Finally, Erikka discusses the Shetland gas terminal and the Greater Laggan Area fields as workers breathed a sigh of relief following financial uncertainty from Prax. It turns out that the deal the firm signed with TotalEnergies in 2024 hadn't gone through so workers on the Scottish islands are unaffected by Prax's financial woes.
However, news was not so good for workers at the Lindsey oil refinery on the Humber.

EVOL X Fugro: Live from W.I.N.E

How do you cut emissions within the energy sector? Fugro is trying a few different things to achieve its net-zero targets.
Aberdeen features lead Ryan Duff sat down with the firm's global director of sustainability, Hedwig Sietsma, about this and more at the recent Women in New Energy event at Aberdeen's P&J Live.
The cleanest energy is the one you don't use, explained Sietsma as she drew attention to Fugro's growing fleet of remote and autonomous solutions.
If you would like to hear more about sustainability in the North Sea, listen to Energy Voice Out Loud's conversation with Fugro.