Chinatown, Singapore

Chinese in pincer movement

Late May’s news that the Chinese are snapping up nearly half of a strategically important refinery in Singapore, plus pouring a staggering $442billion into expanding renewables capacity, should send shivers through corridors of power here in the West.

Published: 01/06/2009

The now disgraced Lord Truscott, right, at the DES Operations stand at a past OTC with DES sales engineer Scott Lourie

Want to influence energy policy?

The utterly immoral behaviour of an apparently significant number of MPs is something that I find truly abhorrent. Without a shadow of a doubt, the authority of the UK parliament as an institution and the politicians that occupy it have both been severely damaged.

Published: 01/06/2009

Project director Judith Patten at May’s All-Energy show

All-Energy – the ‘Offshore Europe’ of renewables

It was great to see All-Energy at Aberdeen’s exhibition centre absolutely booming. As a veteran of these events, from the kick-off in 2001, I had the real sense of an industry which is on the verge of something big.

Published: 01/06/2009

Minister bullish on outlook for renewable energy in Scotland

Scotland’s Minster for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism, Jim Mather, insists that real momentum is gathering within the renewables/sustainable energy sector north of the border.
Published: 18/05/2009

Indigenous content? Nah, too tough

I was disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that, once again, this country had let a potentially large commercial opportunity in the renewables sector slip away.
Published: 18/05/2009

So what happened, Alistair Darling

Perhaps I was hoping for too much. Leaving aside the poorly researched piece that was prattled in a Sunday newspaper just days before the UK’s 2009 Budget and unjustifiably raised hopes, I had higher expectations of Chancellor Alistair Darling than the measures announced and largely trailed beforehand.
Published: 04/05/2009

Beware of Beijing – you can’t say you haven’t been warned

The global economic crisis has developed with such rapidity and intensity that some of its likely consequences have virtually escaped comment.
Published: 04/05/2009

Come back Britoil – all is forgiven

We are told by Deloitte that the number of exploration wells being drilled in the UK North Sea collapsed 78% in Q1 this year compared with the same period in 2008. On top of this, Oil & Gas UK thinks that the total amount of UK North Sea drilling could fall by nearly 70% this year.
Published: 04/05/2009

Banks wrecking projects not on

There is now clear evidence that banks are destroying opportunities – both oil-related and offshore wind – so undermining jobs and the ability of companies to survive the downturn. Given the IHS/CERA report of just a few days ago that warned of serious consequences if there is not a rapid recovery of investment in boosting oil&gas output, short-sighted decision-making by the banking fraternity is plain stupid.
Published: 06/04/2009

UK drags feet yet dares to lecture

More than 40% of electricity generated in the world comes from coal-fired power stations. That is doubtless a matter for regret, but it is a statistic that is not going to change greatly for decades to come.
Published: 06/04/2009

Do what I say, not what I do

Read this: “And it is only by investing in environmental technology that we can end the dictatorship of oil, and it is only by tackling climate change that we create the millions of new green jobs we need”.
Published: 06/04/2009
Energy Ball
Oil Price