Chief Scientist & Professor of Exploration Geoscience, Heriot-Watt University
Assistant Professor, Durham University
Chair of Urban & Regional Planning and Director of Canberra Urban & Regional Futures, University of Canberra, Visiting Professor, University of Warwick
Associate Professor in Biophysics, University of Pretoria
Production
Equinor signs Korean and US offshore wind deals
Norwegian energy giant Equinor and South Korea’s state-owned National Oil Corporation (KNOC) say they are exploring opportunities to develop commercial floating offshore wind farms off the militarised peninsula’s coast. South Korea is looking to reduce its dependence on nuclear and coal power, targeting an increase in the share of renewable energy to 20 per cent […]
Transmission
Equinor commissions offshore wind platforms
Norwegian oil and gas giant Equinor is working with Oslo-based Kvaerner to study ways to design and build a floating concrete substructure for wind turbines at the 88-megawatt Hywind Tampen project in the North Sea off Norway’s coast. The floating farm, which is due to use photovoltaic panels, wind turbines and large batteries, is being […]
Storage
EU targets derail VW plans
Volkswagen says it must sell 600,000 more electric vehicles per annum to comply with carbon dioxide emissions goals released by the European Union this week. Under the goals, car manufacturers must reduce their carbon dioxide emissions in new fleets by 15 per cent by 2025 and 37.5 per cent by 2030. Light commercial vehicle emissions […]
Consumption
Merkel ignores Pence on Nord Stream
US Vice President Mike Pence says he told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Europe and Washington needed to stand together against Iran and he reiterated his opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Pence told the media he “talked about all of the issues”, including the pipeline under construction between Russia and Germany under the […]
Policy
Venezuela, Oil and the Monroe Doctrine
In early 1959, oil prices were low and falling. British Petroleum had cut prices. The United States had instituted import quotas, limiting the amount of foreign oil that could enter the world’s largest market. Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo, Venezuela’s Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, resolved to do something. At the Arab Oil Congress and alongside […]
Environment
Scotland re-launches tidal energy prize
A European hotbed of renewable innovation, Scotland, has re-launched a £10-million prize fund to boost tidal energy, as recent technological advances have sparked renewed interest in the sector. The north of Scotland has some of the world’s leading tidal firms, such as Orkney-based Orbital Marine Power and Nova Innovation and Simec Atlantis Energy’s Meygen project […]
Industry
Single-use plastic bans could damage environment: BP
The 2019 BP Energy Outlook argues that a global ban on single-use plastics, including packaging, by 2040 could have the unintended consequence of increasing the carbon emissions that cause climate change. The report said alternatives to plastic packaging, like glass, could require more energy to produce and transport and would, therefore, prove more environmentally damaging. […]
Opinion
Venezuela, Oil and the Monroe Doctrine
In early 1959, oil prices were low and falling. British Petroleum had cut prices. The United States had instituted import quotas, limiting the amount of foreign oil that could enter the world’s largest market. Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo, Venezuela’s Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, resolved to do something. At the Arab Oil Congress and alongside […]
Qatar targets global energy deals to build international support
News that the Qatari sovereign wealth fund has acquired a stake in Russian oil company Rosneft is the latest development in state-owned Qatar Petroleum’s (QP’s) drive for greater global expansion. The move comes as the emirate is on a mission to initiate new international partnerships away from simmering tensions in the Gulf, and follows its […]