Michael King

✅ “Foundation Apprenticeships” Creating Pathways into the Energy Sector. Aligned to the latest Offshore Energies UK “Workforce Insights Report” 👇 ✅ We have a vision of creating a “Foundation Apprenticeship, Level 5 in Energy” where pupils get an opportunity to understand more about Careers in the sector and develop their META/Employability Skills whilst still at School studying the Curriculum. For Employers its a low risk/high impact opportunity to establish future Modern/Graduate Apprentices & Trainees “Aptitude & Attitude” while Pupils are still at School (Win/Win) 👍 ✅ Foundation Apprenticeships are working well in Healthcare & Civil Engineering so why not build on this further to create even more #Homegrown_Talent (Pupils) to support Offshore Energies UK #Homegrown_Energy strategy. ✅ Andrew Ritchie, Lead Officer DYW, Education and Children’s Services, Aberdeenshire Council and I (Colin Black, FEI, SPE Aberdeen , Energy Institute (AHI Branch) , Carjon-NRG Limited ) presented our vision to Offshore Energies UK (Katy Heidenreich , Irene Bruce , Sabrina Ataalla ) and 4️⃣0️⃣ of their Skills Forum members recently with tremendous support and positive feedback from Companies interested in the Pilot project. ✅ Are you an “Energy” Sector Employer/SME with an interest in Apprenticeships and would like more information on our potential Foundation Apprenticeship, Level 5 in “Energy” pilot project in North East Scotland just message me directly Colin Black, FEI if you are an SME in the Energy Sector or Irene Bruce if you are an Offshore Energies UK member Company 👍

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Following the cancellation of HS2's northern leg last October, questions remain about the potential long-term impacts on the UK's infrastructure development, economic growth, and efforts to bridge the north-south divide. The industry's reaction was a mix of disappointment and concern, with calls for transparency, strategic alignment, and reassurance to restore confidence in the UK's commitment to national infrastructure development and economic growth. The unfolding scenario underscores the difficulties balancing policy, investment, and long-term national objectives, highlighting the need for cohesive, forward-looking strategies aligning with the nation's broader economic and environmental goals. Despite the challenging circumstances, at United Living Group, we see a multitude of opportunities on the horizon, particularly in the water and energy sectors. The scale of the pipelines that need to be constructed or upgraded is a task not seen in a generation or more, presenting a unique chance for growth and development. Construction News recently interviewed me and other industry leaders. The interview highlighted how the pipeline of work in infrastructure remains strong. As a trusted delivery partner, United Living Group stands ready to meet our customers' needs, create an energy system for the future, and support the UK’s clean growth strategy. If you want to read the piece, please click the link below. https://lnkd.in/eyRhYhHn

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As we wait with baited breath for the King Speech, where its expected that the government will launch GB Energy, it’s clear that Aberdeen should be a prime contender for its headquarters. Aberdeen boasts a wealth of knowledge and a treasure trove of engineering and technical experience that has built a world-class industry and will be necessary in moving the energy transition forward at pace. Tapping into this goldmine should be a given, not a question. This week looks set to be an interesting week for energy news. https://lnkd.in/ep-Euf7n

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We are delighted to release an updated IOGP Report, written by the Wells Expert Committee. 'IOGP Report 656-1 – Assessment of eye tracking technology in well control operations - onshore' In 2022, IOGP published 'IOGP Report 656 – Assessment of eye tracking technology in well control operations' to examine the benefits of using eye tracking technology in a controlled drilling environment, using high fidelity drilling simulators. This new Report builds on that work and examines drillers’ interactions with their control consoles in an actual drilling environment onshore. This research assesses the design of drilling consoles and instrumentation, the display of information on the screens, and the cognitive workload placed on the driller. The study investigates potential improvements to drilling interfaces and simulators, in particular the human-machine interface (HMI), in addition to identifying opportunities to minimize the impact of well control events due to operations-related human error. To download the Report, visit https://lnkd.in/eYFrfK6m #oilandgas #eyetracking #humanssafety

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Please go and see Jill about your seismic data management challenges! #Seismic #SeismicDataManagement #SeismicData #SeismicSoftware #TroikaInternational #Seismic2024 #SPE

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Among the differing regions of the North Sea the Southern North Sea region geology is both fascinating and challenging, therefore it become logical topic for the Right Scoping Guidelines TG to tackle. Offshore Energies UK Right Scoping Guidelines were produced by the OEUK Wells Forum in 2018. Since then, Well Operators, regulators and other stakeholders have collaborated in many workshops to review each other’s well design challenges and to select the optimal design for those wells. At the request of the Wells Task Force, the Right Scoping Group agreed to use the right scoping develop a summary of Good Practice Guide to Southern North Drilling Practices. A cross-industry workshop was held in November 2023 with representatives from Well Operators, Regulators, industry groups and the service sector. The workshop covered; Drill planning & contingency in the SNS, operational & logistics efficiency, SNS opportunities & SNS challenges. Thank you to our collaborators Many thanks to the NSTA Wells Task Force Co-chairs: Brenda Wyllie NSTA & Dr. Doris Reiter BP for the support plus Ian Ferguson Shell UK & Right Scoping Group Chair for workshop conception. The following organisations assisted the consolidation of the Good Practice Guide to Rig / Unit Selection for Platform Well Decommissioning. 360 Energy Group | Bridge Petroleum Limited | Elemental Energies | EXCEED Energy | Harbour Energy | Hartshead Resources NL | IOG plc | North Sea Transition Authority | Offshore Energies UK OEUK | ONE-Dyas | Petrofac | Shell | @MikeRichardson. https://lnkd.in/eDErQzzs

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We have published 12 new reports on our licence relinquishments webapp. These reports focus on remaining prospectivity in the Northern North Sea and West of Shetland. Relinquishment reports contain an overview of the work carried out on the licence, including examples of newly acquired or reprocessed seismic data, interpreted logs of drilled wells, and a summary of the remaining prospectivity of the relinquished area. The information is valuable for ongoing exploration and appraisal work in the UKCS. Go to the webapp to read the reports: https://lnkd.in/eMbvgzmh

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I recently started playing the game of Go, and it's got me thinking about strategy, foresight, and the delicate balance of power on the board. Oddly enough, I've found some striking parallels between this ancient game and the current situation with the UK's Energy Profits Levy (EPL). In Go, a move that seems strong in the short term can sometimes weaken your position in the long run. That's exactly what I fear we're seeing with these new changes to the EPL. The government's decision to hike the total tax rate to 78% might look like a powerful play right now, but I can't help but worry about the long-term consequences. Just like in Go, where you need to consider the entire board, we need to look at the bigger picture of the North Sea energy landscape. Our neighbors - Norway, the Netherlands, and Denmark - seem to be playing a more nuanced game. Norway, for instance, matches our 78% rate on paper, but they're offering substantial uplift on investments. It's like they're defending their territory while simultaneously expanding their influence. Smart move, if you ask me. The Netherlands, with their 50% tax rate on offshore activities, are playing a more moderate game. They're not aggressively pushing for territory, but they're maintaining a solid, competitive position. Denmark's strategy is fascinating. They've set an end date for new exploration, but they're not disrupting their existing structures. It's a long-term strategy that respects the current state of play while preparing for future changes. Looking at these different approaches, I can't help but feel that the UK's aggressive tax move is like placing a stone in a precarious position. It might capture some territory now, but it could leave us vulnerable to counterattacks - in this case, investment fleeing to more stable regimes. In Go, and in energy policy, the key is to think several moves ahead. And right now, I'm concerned that we're not doing that. We're making a bold play, but are we really considering how the board will look ten, twenty, thirty moves from now? The energy sector, like a Go board, needs balance. It needs stability. And most importantly, it needs players who understand that today's strong move could be tomorrow's weakness. I hope our policymakers take a step back, look at the entire board, and reconsider this strategy. Because in this game, the stakes are far higher than just black and white stones on a wooden board. #go #ukcs #UK #policy https://lnkd.in/dUMH9GBM

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For our second panel this morning at the Future Oil & Gas Conference in Aberdeen, our experts discuss “Making digital twins sustainable in driving business change and digital transformation,” moderated by Glen Milne Production Systems Manager, Spirit Energy. Kris Atkinson, Customer Success Manager, EMEA & APAC, Cintoo, said, “Having access to the digital twin, access to the information, will improve health and safety and sustainability.” John Tillema, Founder & CTO, TWTG, said “From a future perspective digitalization is now able to be built as an end to end solution.” Haavard Oestensen, EVP and CCO, Kongsberg Digital, added, “We’re working on machine vision that can detect if someone is wearing personal protective equipment. The first use cases is improving the safety. Fortunately, we see more companies taking a step back with rising labor costs, inflation costs, supply chain costs, we can’t do it the same way we always have done.” Dr. Edmary Altamiranda, Control Systems Lead R & D, Concept Development & Technology, Aker BP ASA BP, said, “We need to connect to our wireless network to get the data for the work we are doing at this industry level for these high speed network protocols.” 👉 Sign Up to Watch Live > https://lnkd.in/gaBQfJvg #FOG2024 #digitaltwin #digitaltransformation #technology #oilgas

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Pleased to be able to release the provisional pitch squad for the upcoming CO2 Geological Storage technology pitch event we will be holding in conjunction with our co-convenor EnerGeo Alliance to deliver the technologies that will aid safe, secure and cost effective storage of CO2 to help the world reach #netzero whilst maintaining energy security, reliability and lower costs in energy supply. Exceptional contributions from technology providers ranging from major industry vendors, innovative start-up companies, CSIRO and universities have allowed us to build a dynamic pitch squad that will be relevant to all those seeking to lower cost and improve project efficiency for current and planned geological CO2 storage projects around Australia and across #APAC and the world. Positioned to immediately follow the Australian Energy Producers (formally APPEA) conference and exhibition the CO2 Geological Storage Pitch continues to build on the conference themes of delivering the new energy economy by showcasing cutting edge tools and techniques to help make this ambition a reality. Check out our pitch squad and register to attend on the day to stay abreast of the many exciting new developments technology vendors are bringing to support current and future geological CO2 storage projects in #australia and across the globe. Our event will bring those actively engaged in storage, those with ambitions to develop new storage together with regulators, advisory bodies, investors and importantly companies in hard to abate industries that want to understand what role geological storage can play in providing an effective solution to reduction of their emissions intensity. Check out our dynamic Pitch Squad at www.ascendience.com/events and register to be part of this essential conversation. #nze #co2geologicalstorage #ccus #technology

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Watch our Senior Expert Dan Williams presenting our solution #VelIt and #Velpak (https://lnkd.in/ghrt75Ge) and its application for #CO2Storage. The topic of discussion is "The usage of Constrained Stochastic Depth Conversion Software to Accurately Determine & De-Risk The Subsurface" #CCUS #carboncapture #renewables #apac #oilandgas #australia #petrel #kingdom #depthconversion #emea #us

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Back up to Aberdeen next week for the Society of Petroleum Engineers International's #DEVEX conference! What will the next ten years bring in #Norway and the #UK? If you're still alert right after lunch on Wednesday, we'll make some future #drilling activity predictions based on detailed historical data. Who wants to guess what we think might happen...? #enverus #enverusglobal

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Watching Question Time yesterday a number of questions implied we should stop Oil and Gas now. Sadly, there was no mention of all the good work being done in the energy transition space. I'm sure we would all love to move to a carbon free world but no change of this scale happens immediately. Patience and hard work will make the transition happen with minimum impact to living standards, loss of jobs and to allow time to develop the infrastructure required. As an industry are we doing enough to educate the public and lead the political climate change agenda? #energytransition #assetintegrity #pipelines

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In a ‘This Is Money’ article dated 15th June, link 👇, it casts some further fallout on bp’s recent efforts to tighten its code of conduct with respect to relationships at work. Of course this all follows the abrupt departure of Bernard Looney for not declaring his relationships and thus casting doubts over whether promotions given were entirely on merit. bp pensioners have been challenging both actions and behaviours by bp leaders for over one year now, and where bp has unilaterally and retrospectively changed promises made to former employees that kept them at bp to bp’s advantage, but that today now cause real harm to the financial and mental well being of many vulnerable people. For pensioners, the code of conduct that bp expects all to follow, has been circumvented it seems and where the care requirements have been ignored. Even speaking up, which the code encourages, has been met with a wall of silence to the dismay of those who gave their working lives to bp. In the meantime bp have been trying to portray a different behaviour to the outside world, to suggest they are doing everything reasonable to engage with their pensioners. The truth though is a million miles from the bp narrative. Indeed bp’s statements on the pensions scandal have all been fact checked and found to be misleading or conservative with the truth. It is interesting to see the fallout from bp’s botched efforts on their code, with talk of lawsuits from employees. Top City lawyers have told The Mail on Sunday that retrospectively demanding information on relationships reek of the Stasi, could be illegal and open the firm up to lawsuits. Interestingly in that it echo’s what bp has done to pension promises, solicitors said applying new rules to past actions was effectively a breach of an employee contract. Hina Belitz, partner at Excello Law, said: 'I understand the forward-looking change to the policy, but to retrospectively seek information raises a lot of issues. That seems unreasonable.’ And yet this same week bp continue to plug a narrative that conflicts with the truth, with Murray Auchincloss stating that “at bp, we genuinely care about each other”. You make your mind up about the morals of bp leadership. #bp #BPpensions #codeofconduct https://lnkd.in/e3axVUSc

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Kevin Rose will be presenting at the 13th annual SPE Well Decommissioning Conference on 4-5 June at P&J Live, Aberdeen. https://lnkd.in/eftGezQS The theme is ‘Well Decommissioning & Late Well Life in the Net Zero Era’. Kevin’s presentation on day one looks at the role of our low-carbon, low-footprint, fibre optic surveillance system in assessing and restoring effective well barriers.   With single-use fibre optic surveillance, operators can quickly locate the source of pressure build-up or flow in the annulus to plan efficient remedial and P&A operations. The information can be used to minimise rig time and the risk of failure. Distributed fibre optic sensing (#DFOS) delivers acoustic and temperature data at all well depths simultaneously, enabling the velocity of flow or pressure events to be tracked over time.  The data enables the source of the pressure to be separated from flow restrictions and ingress depth, giving a clear picture of integrity challenges.    Three case studies will demonstrate how this surveillance technique provided important insights when operators were seeking to verify three different P&A isolation technologies.   For more information please get in touch on info@well-sense.co.uk #welldecommissioning #wellsurveillance #downholedata

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How many people have died from the COVID vaccine? The UK government has just published official figures on deaths following COVID vaccination, revealing out of everyone who was vaccinated, one in every 73 were dead by May 2022. This fact was widely circulated on the social media. So should we be worried about this? The average age of vaccinated people was 53 versus the average age of unvaccinated people or 34, a nearly 20-year difference in the average age. The expected number of deaths of vaccinated people was 598,000, but the actual number of deaths of vaccinated people was a little over 531,000. So despite the fact that we were in the second year of this pandemic the death rate amongst vaccinated people were 11% lower than we would have expected based on pre-pandemic death rates. On the surface that suggests COVID vaccines actually make people live longer than they would have done in the world before COVID even existed.  This may be because people who get vaccinated against COVID tend to be healthier than the minority that don't get vaccinated, perhaps because they listen to public health message and research suggests they're more educated and affluent. Also, maybe because during COVID lockdowns people were asked stay at home and were less likely to be involved in fatal accidents or catch conventional flu. The point is there's no sign of a massive increase in the death rate of people who are vaccinated as the social media posts implied. However, among the unvaccinated population, when we allow for the number of them and the age distribution, we would have expected around 57,000 deaths. There were actually 110,000 deaths. People who weren't vaccinated had nearly double the death rate you would have expected. It is true that people can sadly die because of an adverse reaction to a COVID vaccine and records show 56 there died, where the vaccine was reported as the underlying cause. When you compare this to the 230,000 excess deaths in the UK during the course of the pandemic there is absolutely no sign that people were dying in huge numbers because the vaccine rollout, but risk of death nearly doubled for the unvaccinated.

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A concise, irrefutable and excellently written breakdown of the lunacy of UK energy policy in recent years. High-time our politicians focused on the long-term emissions goals rather than short-term point scoring. If my US connections ever wonder why I rant and rave about UK Energy Policy, read the article, you'll get it!

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It’s Friday again! Enjoy our week No. 1️⃣9️⃣ in the Market Round-up presented by our Esgian Rig Analytics team! Feel free to share this with your connections and follow us at Esgian Rig Service. #Esgian #RigAnalytics #MarketUpdate

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The UK’s new Labour government is grappling with a legal dilemma over its plan to impose an immediate ban on new North Sea oil and gas exploration before the industry’s latest licensing round closes. The party swept to power last week with the pledge to end new North Sea exploration licences, but these great plans have been cast into doubt by the timing of an ongoing licensing round. The new government will need to decide whether or not to cancel the process, which could end up granting a small number of new North Sea licences in breach of its pledge to end new oil and gas exploration. But cancelling the mechanism, which is run by the industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), could leave the new government vulnerable to a volley of legal actions from the companies, which may have spent millions preparing their bids. https://lnkd.in/eYrJ4tMN #northseaoilandgas #nonewoil #leaveitintheground #decarbonisation #netzero

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