There are currently more than 2.5million people with diabetes in the UK, and more than half-a-million additional sufferers who are unaware they have the condition.

SO WHAT has FPAL achieved after 13 years? At a recent industry forum held in Aberdeen, senior management presented the familiar “is the glass half full or half empty?” routine as a way of reviewing the impact that the supply-chain gateway organisation has had since it developed out of the CRINE initiative in 1996.

The Senior Accounting Officer certification process announced in the Chancellor’s Budget marked a significant step in the Government’s attempts to increase personal and corporate accountability for tax matters.

The legal challenges facing the development of offshore windfarms largely fall into two categories, the first concerning whether the planning and connection regimes are adequate to deliver offshore wind capacity on the scale envisaged by the Scottish and UK governments.

The time has never been better for Aberdeen to engage with the renewables industry, and it is critical that it does so: both for the local economy and the effective deployment of renewable, especially in the maritime environment.

As the memory of the Mumbai attacks fades – it was almost six months ago, after all – have security concerns lessened? Has there been a longer-reaching impact on business travel, and should there have been?

The Iraqi ministry of oil has recently completed the pre-qualification stage of the second bidding round. This process is relevant to the reserves in the southern part of the country.

On April 22, it was reported in Calgary that executives at Suncor Energy are to assume the top roles in the company after it wraps up its $15billion (£11million) takeover of Petro-Canada.

During the Offshore Supplies Office’s early years, one of the few causes for optimism about the UK economy was the prospect of substantial North Sea oil production.

As a proven technology with high availability and the promise of additional Government support, biomass energy is attracting the attention of a growing number of power utility companies and is set to play an increasingly significant role in Europe’s energy generation mix.

THIS is a difficult time for the oil&gas industry. Demand is falling because of the recessions in many countries, oil prices are currently about one-third of last year’s near $150 per barrel peak and capital investment has fallen dramatically.

The global recession and oil-industry slowdown are biting deeper into the North Sea as the number of rigs drilling exploration and appraisal wells has dropped by three since the April WellSlot.

Safety has always been, and will always remain, paramount to the global oil&gas industry.

It goes without saying that health and safety is of paramount importance in any industry, not least the oil&gas industry.

WITH stormy waters ahead for our supply chain, the effects can be quickly felt by SMEs, and a natural reaction is to batten down the hatches.

Crude oil is actually a variable commodity. Most of us working in the industry never see it, simply pumping different types of petrol or gasoline into our cars.

Graham Meil occupies a corner office at Acergy’s splendid new campus at Aberdeen’s Surf City. For anyone not familiar with Europe’s Energy Capital, this does not mean a view of the North Sea; rather the vista is rural as this complex is located several miles inland at Westhill, a dormitory community.

In the current business climate, it is more important than ever to maximise shareholder value, and with many businesses looking to cut costs and save money, reviewing tax policies and making sure the business is structured to ensure that all available tax reliefs are maximised for the shareholders is vital.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has reversed the Aberdeen employment tribunal’s decision relating to the holiday entitlement of offshore workers.

ACCORDING to some, a cowboy is a noble creature: “a hired man, especially in the western United States, who tends cattle and performs many of his duties on horseback”.

A year ago, UK North Sea drilling was going great guns with exploration and appraisal drilling, and it pretty much stayed that way for 2008, which turned out to be the busiest since 1997. During the first quarter, 20 wells and eight sidetracks were started.