OGV Energy - Issue 36 - September 2020 - International Growth and Diversification by OGV Energy

SEPTEMBER AUGUST 2020 2020

UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s No.

ENERGY SECTOR

PUBLICATION

THE INTERNATIONAL GROWTH ISSUE Colour code #222a68

FOSSIL FUELS North Sea Oil & Gas Review Contracts and Analytics

REGIONAL REVIEWS Middle East, Europe, US, Australia

INTERNATIONAL GROWTH FOCUS INNOVATION & TECH GREEN ENERGY PROJECTS MAP ON THE MOVE

INTERNATIONALISATION

Featuring Arnlea - Bureau Veritas - ICR - Namaka EIC: Export opportunities in the new COVID world

INNOVATION

Wave energy innovation being applied across the Energy Sector

OPINION EVENTS LEGAL

OIL-PRICE

OPEC+ oil revenues further sliding and deficits widening in the second quarter

RENEWABLES

Wind owners seeking up to 30% reduction in maintenance costs

www.brimmond-group.com

Read on page 4

OILFIELD INSTRUMENTATION & CONTROL SYSTEMS RI G M O N I T O R I NG S Y S T E M

W I TS D ATA TRANSM I SSI O N

T R AV E L L I N G B L OCK M ON I T OR

REM O TE VI EW ERS

P I T VO L U M E T OTA L I Z E R

REM O TE D I AG NO STI CS

C O NT R O L S Y S T E M U P GR A DE S

PLC CO D I NG

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CONTENTS

FOSSIL FUELS

7 UK North Sea Oil & Gas Review 10 Rystad Analytics 13 UKCS Status Report

REGIONAL REVIEWS

20 Middle East 22 Europe 24 US 25 Australia

INTERNATIONAL GROWTH FOCUS

26 EIC: Export opportunities in the new COVID world 28 Opportunities for Arnlea’s inspection and asset management software have continued outside the North Sea

29 Namaka Compliance assists with local content in Trinidad and Tobago as part of a diversification strategy 30 Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore mark the second anniversary of the successful launch 31 ICR continues its ambitious international growth strategy

INNOVATION ZONE

34 Marketec: Share your Innovation Present your Plan - Brief your Team 35 TAAP: Check-in and out safely with Taap's App 35 Spectis Robotics: The Deep Trekker REVOLUTION is a completely re-imagined ROV 36 Wave Energy Scotland: Wave energy innovation being applied across the Energy Sector

GREEN ENERGY

38 Vestas reinstates 2020 revenue outlook in Q2 results 39 Intelstor: Wind owners seeking up to 30% reduction in maintenance costs 39 ENGIE to develop £3.1m solar farm in Flintshire

EVERY MONTH

4 Cover Partner: Brimmond Group

14 World Project Maps 16 Contact Awards 40 On the Move 42 Opinion 43 Events 44 Legal and Finance

KENNY DOOLEY MAIN EDITOR It’s a very strange time at the moment, with the roads getting busier in the mornings, fans coming back to football and rugby stadiums for the first time in months and furlough coming to an end. We are seeing more and more people available for work and the redundancy process is still ongoing, however we have had several positive meetings over the past month with a number of clients winning work locally and abroad, with companies hiring again and looking at the development of new products and technology, which is very encouraging! As with every edition, we hope that all our readers are safe and well and if myself or the OGV Energy team can help in any way, be that to have a chat, offer any advice or an introduction then please get in touch.

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Our cover partner this month is Brimmond Group; who share the history of their business since its launch in 1996 as a small hydraulic hose company to where they are now.

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Our theme this month is on International growth and diversification and we hear from the EIC as they prepare for the Energy Export Conference in September, bringing over $500 Billion live international opportunities. We also hear from ICR, Arnlea Systems and Bureau Veritas on their successes further afield.

OGVENERGY

@OGVENERGY

The rest of this month’s magazine features our regular reviews of the Energy sector in the North Sea, Europe, the Middle East, the US and Australasia along with industry analysis and project updates from Rystad Energy and the EIC as well as our third monthly column from Hamish the experienced oilfield professional.

Thanks again to our readers for all their support during these challenging times and hopefully by the time of the next issue, we will begin to see more positive steps towards recovery and a return to normal life for us all. @OGVENERGY

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COVER PARTNER

THE FUTURE

LOOKS BRIGHT FOR

Sustainable cost reductions and cyclical initiatives only go so far in helping oil and gas companies navigate what has become an increasingly challenging operating environment; one further exacerbated by the recent impact of an ongoing global pandemic.

Those able to succeed are the organisations that have been able to adjust to this everchanging environment; either by diversifying their portfolios, introducing new services and commercial models, or through adapting their business models. Brimmond Group, which has its headquarters in the Aberdeenshire town of Kintore, is among those that have demonstrated their resilience during times of increased volatility. After starting life in 1996 as a small, hydraulic hose manufacturing franchise, primarily supporting clients in the North Sea, the company now supplies new-build and rental equipment worldwide – from diesel and electric hydraulic power units (HPUs), marine cranes, control systems and pump packages, to ROV and umbilical services, reelers and spooling winches, and flushing and filtration equipment. In true textbook style, over the past two decades the company has enjoyed steady and deliberate growth by creating real customer value. How? Through spending the time getting to know its clients and understanding what they need, evolving and refining its portfolio, investing in the right people and planning for the future. As Brimmond Group’s portfolio has expanded, so too has its footprint. Starting life almost 25 years ago in a 2000 square foot lock-up, today the company operates from a 21,000 square foot facility, including office space and a modern workshop with two 20-tonne overhead cranes. A massive yard with a dedicated test bed also sits within the 2.5-acre site, which is ideally suited to future expansion.

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

The team has paid particular attention to ensuring that their offering aligns with clients’ evolving buying behaviours. One such example is in the continued growth of its rental fleet which, earlier this year, was bolstered by an investment of over £900,000 following a series of contract wins. Developing its rental capabilities has not only helped Brimmond Group go after opportunities in different markets and sub-markets; it also provides a backbone to the business during tougher economic climates.

Designed with flexibility in mind, the company’s equipment can be used across a wide variety of projects and clients – including pipeline and process projects, the subsea sector, drilling, and within the naval and maritime industries. The fast-growing decommissioning market in particular has become of increasing importance, and is the source of much demand for Brimmond Group’s rental fleet. The team is well-versed in helping clients to navigate the various challenges in this arena – from footprint confines and lift capacities, to persons on board (POB) limitations.

One such project involved the provision of a Steve Simpson, Business Development pneumatically powered, ATEX zone 1, filtration, Manager, said: “Pre-2014, our projects consisted pumping and metering skid, used to recover almost entirely of refurbs and new build attic oil from a gravity-based production equipment. That completely changed in the first year of the downturn, when we platform offshore. In another instance, the team was called on to supply saw a shift to around 90% rental. electric hydraulic power and It’s only been in the last financial “Most of our fleet is control units for operating year, really, that things have developed in-house. tooling, including a diamond balanced out at 50:50.” wire cutting machine. That means we know our One of the company’s equipment, quite literally, strengths lies in its Meanwhile, one of the inside out, and ensures experienced, in-house organisation’s portable, we achieve the high modular marine cranes engineering team. As well standard expected from the recently completed an as being responsible for Brimmond name.” designing and developing 18-month stint on a platform new-build equipment, the team in the North Sea, with zero also originates the majority of reported downtime for the entire Brimmond Group’s rental fleet too, duration. It was used to bolster which comes with a number of benefits. the provision of craneage, enabling the plug and abandonment (P&A) team to reduce Engineering Director, Tom Murdoch, said: “Most downtime caused by reliability issues or as a of our fleet is developed in-house. That means result of existing equipment being needed for we know our equipment, quite literally, inside other scopes of work. out, and ensures we achieve the high standard expected from the Brimmond name.” So, what about the team’s thoughts for the future? With so much potential, they are certainly upbeat. Steve added: “We put a lot of thought into the build make-up of our equipment, across all aspects. Not only does this ensure quality, it also Tom said: makes it easier for our clients when it comes to servicing; an area where we have really “Given the uncertainty in the industry, we concentrated on the importance of ensuring a remain positive. As a business, we are very globally available, reliable spares ecosystem. well-positioned to take on the fallout from That aids our ability to help them reduce the COVID pandemic, and are ready for the downtime and improves our obsolescence challenge ahead.” management capability.”

For more information visit www.brimmond-group.com

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Journalists

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Fuel economy and CO2 results for the BMW 320i M Sport Saloon: Mpg (l/100km): Combined 39.2 (7.2) – 40.4 (7.0). CO2 emissions: 132g/km. Figures are for comparison purposes and may not reflect real-life driving results, which depend on a number of factors including the accessories fitted (post-registration), variations in weather, driving styles and vehicle load. All figures were determined according to a new test (WLTP). Only compare fuel consumption and CO2 figures with other cars tested to the same technical procedure. John Clark BMW Aberdeen is a credit broker. *Business users only, prices exclude VAT at 20%. Initial rental £1,407. Prices shown are for a 36-month Contract Hire agreement for a BMW 320i M Sport Saloon with a contract mileage of 8,000 miles annually and an excess mileage charge of 8.13 pence per mile. Applies to new vehicles ordered between 01 January 2020 and 31 March 2020 and registered by 30 June 2020 (subject to availability). At the end of your agreement you must return the vehicle and vehicle condition, excess mileage and other charges may be payable. Available subject to status to UK residents aged 18 or over. Guarantees and indemnities may be required. The amount of VAT you can reclaim depends on your business VAT status. Terms and conditions apply. Offer may be varied, withdrawn or extended at any time. Hire provided by BMW Group Corporate Finance. BMW Group Corporate Finance is a trading style of Alphabet (GB) Limited, Alphabet House, Summit Avenue, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 0FB. We commonly introduce customers to BMW Group Corporate Finance. This introduction does not amount to independent financial advice. BMW (UK) Ltd, Summit ONE, Summit Avenue, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 0FB. Registered in England and Wales 1378137. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for credit broking activities.

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FOSSIL FUELS

SEPTEMBER

UK North Sea Oil & Gas Review By Tsvetana Paraskova

Opportunities for a green recovery, the prospects of the UK oil and gas industry in the energy transition, new strategies from the biggest UKbased oil firm, and a number of deals in the North Sea were the highlights in the energy sector this past month.

According to the Just Transition Commission Advice for a Green Recovery in Scotland, a large-scale decommissioning programme could drive critical activity in the North Sea, maintain essential skills, and position the North Sea infrastructure for a new integrated future. “There is a need to create jobs in the short-term that will allow us to retain this workforce and the associated supply chains, so that they can be redirected towards our net-zero transition,” the commission said in its report. “Focusing in particular on plugging and abandonment activity (where much of the value in decommissioning lies) would result in the creation of immediate jobs throughout the whole supply chain,” according to the advice. Commenting on the report, OGUK Chief Executive Deirdre Michie said: “We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to show how we as an oil and gas producing country can successfully build a more diverse and lower carbon energy mix in a way that embraces the skills and talents of our people and our indigenous industries.”

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FOSSIL FUELS “All of this means we aim to be a very different company by 2030. And that’s what the world needs. The next decade is critical in the fight against climate change,” bp’s chief executive officer Bernard Looney said.

The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has published several reports about the UK offshore industry over the past weeks. The 2019 Production Efficiency report showed production efficiency on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) had improved for the seventh consecutive year to reach 80% for 2019, three years ahead of the 2022 target. Production efficiency showed an impressive five percentage point increase over 2018 and reveals that every region of the UKCS reported a rise, except West of Shetland which saw no change.

Commenting on bp’s new strategy, Luke Parker, Wood Mackenzie Vice President - Corporate Analysis, said: “Today’s strategy update marked a big step forward, filling in many of the blanks, including detailed guidance to 2030. It leaves stakeholders with a much clearer idea of where BP is headed over the next decade, how it will get there and what that means for the value proposition.”

The increase was driven by a 25% reduction in production losses, following concerted effort by the industry, the OGA said. “The twin challenges of Covid-19 and the fall in commodity price have placed the industry under pressure, but operators’ long-term improvement in production efficiency leaves them in a better position,” Hedvig Ljungerud, OGA Director of Strategy, said. The integration of offshore energy systems, including oil and gas, renewables, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage (CCS), could contribute to deliver around 30% of the UK’s total carbon reduction requirements needed to meet the 2050 net zero target, the OGA said in the Energy Integration Project report in early August. The OGA’s latest annual UKCS Decommissioning Cost Estimate 2020 found that estimated decommissioning costs have, to date, reduced by 19% since the OGA began benchmarking in 2017. The estimate also found that that there remain considerable opportunities for future cost reductions which are necessary to meet the UKCS cost reduction target of greater than 35%, to levels below £39 billion. OGUK has launched a new SME forum to support smaller businesses under pressure and provide an opportunity to identify and address issues. “The new forum will deliver a platform to share and engage, as well as showcase the work OGUK is doing to support smaller businesses and stimulate a recovery. This will give our members the chance to keep their finger on the pulse and offer solutions to challenges industry is facing,” said Emily Taylor, OGUK’s continuous improvement manager. In company news, bp halved its dividend as it reported a loss of the second quarter, a move that was expected by energy analysts. Along with the Q2 results, bp unveiled its new strategy as it aims to reinvent itself from an International Oil Company (IOC) to an Integrated Energy Company (IEC). Within a decade, bp plans to boost its low-carbon investment tenfold to around US$5 billion a year and reduce oil and gas production by 40% with no exploration in new countries. The company also plans to cut emissions from operations by 30-35% by 2030, and reduce the carbon intensity of the products it sells by more than 15%.

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

"The twin challenges of Covid-19 and the fall in commodity price have placed the industry under pressure, but operators’ long-term improvement in production efficiency leaves them in a better position" Hedvig Ljungerud, OGA Director of Strategy, said.

Shell posted adjusted earnings for the second quarter, thanks to very strong crude and oil products trading. The group, however, incurred an impairment charge of US$16.8 billion post-tax, after it revised down its medium- and long-term price and refining margin outlook assumptions in response to the pandemic and macroeconomic conditions, as well as energy market demand and supply fundamentals. France’s Total announced two deals in the UK. At the end of July, Total signed an agreement to sell the Lindsey refinery in Lincolnshire in England, and its associated logistic assets, as well as all of the related rights and obligations, to the Prax Group. In early August, Total closed the sale of non-core UK North Sea assets to NEO Energy, after the regulatory approvals and the agreement of partners were obtained. Hurricane Energy warned in early August that an ongoing technical review of the Lancaster field could lead to a material downgrade to estimated reserves attributable to the Lancaster Early Production System, and that there could also be a material downgrade to estimated contingent resources across the West of Shetland portfolio. The technical review is expected to be completed by 11 September 2020. Spirit Energy said that its gas field York, off the North East Yorkshire coastline in the Southern North Sea, has been given another three years of life with an additional £13 million investment. The York field, which achieved first gas in 2013, was first expected to cease production this year. Thanks to the York Life Extension Project, aimed at maximising economic recovery of the field, the production life will extend until 2023/24 and tap into an additional 18 billion cubic feet of gas. Petrofac was awarded at the end of July a twoyear contract with NEO Energy to provide Well Management and Well Operator support for 25 production wells across the Affleck, Balloch, Dumbarton, Flyndre, and Lochranza fields. The contract also positions Petrofac to support future well construction and intervention campaigns. “This award builds on our existing track record for delivering Well Operator services for clients in the UKCS, bringing the size of our well portfolio in the basin to 50,” said Nick Shorten, Managing Director for Petrofac Engineering and Production Services in the Western Hemisphere. Norway’s Equinor has agreed to sell a 40.8% interest in and transfer operatorship of the Bressay oil field development on the UKCS to EnQuest.

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UK North Sea Oil & Gas Review

BRENT OIL PRICES OVER THE YEARS September review

YEAR AGO

- BRENT OIL PRICE 2019 - $62.83 September 2019, a similar discovery to the Yakaar-1 well, was made just 9km south in the Yakaar-2 appraisal well. BP and partners Kosmos and Petrosen announced that they had encountered 30 metres of net gas pay in a very similar Cenomanian reservoir to that of Yakaar-1. The well was drilled in a water depth of around 2,500 metres, reaching a total depth of around 4,800 metres. Following completion of the transaction, EnQuest will have a 40.8125% interest and operatorship, Equinor will have another 40.8125%, and Chrysaor will retain an 18.375% interest. Independent Oil and Gas plc awarded in early August the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) contract for its Core Project Phase 1 platforms to Dutch contractor HSM Offshore BV. The contract comprises the design, engineering, fabrication, and installation (including assistance to hook-up and commission) of both normally unmanned installation (NUI) production platforms for the IOG-operated Southwark and Blythe gas fields in the UK Southern North Sea.

“The significantly increased gas volumes and decreased risk profile further cements the importance of Selene as one of the largest undrilled Leman Sandstone structures in this mature play,” said Deltic CEO Graham Swindells. Neptune Energy announced a partnership with 3D technology specialist Eserv as part of the ongoing digitalisation of Neptune’s assets, including its operated Cygnus gas platform in the UK Southern North Sea. Using 3D and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, a digital map of all three bridge-linked jackets was captured, enabling Neptune Energy to detect asset integrity issues early and plan fabric maintenance work on Cygnus.

Deltic Energy Plc announced a material increase in the estimated volume of gas compared to previous estimates as well as a significant increase in the chance of success in relation to the Selene prospect.

YEARS AGO

- BRENT OIL PRICE 2015 - $47.62 The UK offshore oil and gas industry had reported its worst annual performance for four decades. Falling oil prices and rising costs meant the sector spent and invested £5.3bn more than it earned from sales during 2014. That outflow of cash was the biggest since massive investment in platforms in the 1970s preceded the flow of oil.

YEARS AGO

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- BRENT OIL PRICE 2010 - $77.84 A new source of energy, shale gas promised to add significantly to the world's energy reserves but there were concerns about the environmental impact of extraction. BP's chief executive had described it as a "game changer" in energy supply, the major oil companies were betting millions on its success.

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FOSSIL FUELS

Conducted by Craig Jamieson and Oddmund FĂ¸re @ Rystad Energy

Service Market Drivers Greenfield project sanctioning

Database version: Rystad Energy Databases August 2020 Review

Sanctioning year (2016 - 2022)

Year (2016 - 2022)

RYSTAD ANALYTICS

SPONSORED BY

Rystad offer global and regional tools tailored specifically for in-depth analysis of the upstream, oilfield service, energy markets and renewable energy industry. The consistency of data is a result of our systematic research by combining publicly available information and Rystad Energyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s estimates and models. Our analysts gather data from company reports, investor presentations and press releases, governmental sources, as well as public institutions such as IEA, OPEC, USGS, and NPD.

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Database version: Rystad Energy Databases August 2020 Review

Rystad Analytics

Offshore Rig Market Analysis Global overview of current status

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PROUD TO BE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

OGV Energy is delighted to be working in partnership with global energy knowledge house, Rystad Energy, to bring industry insights and analytic detail to our readers in Oil & Gas. As the sector continues to digitise operations on a project and company basis, this high-level monthly data aims to provide key information in context from an industrywide perspective and demonstrate the technology available for those seeking deeper insights to enhance strategic planning and development.

Offshore Rig Market Analysis Fleet current stats

FOSSIL FUELS sponsored by

FOSSIL FUELS

Conducted by Craig Jamieson and Oddmund FĂ¸re @ Rystad Energy

Database version: Rystad Energy Databases August 2020 Review

Offshore Rig Market Analysis Utilisation

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PROUD TO BE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Offshore Rig Market Analysis Contract backlog

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view rystad analytics on our APP

Date generated 21 August 2020

UKCS Status Report

WORLD PROJECTS

WORLD PROJECTS MAP SEPTEMBER 2020

NORWAY Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy US$3bn

Aker Offshore Wind, the Aker Solution offshore wind spin-off, will propose a 1.2GW Sønnavindar offshore wind project for the development zone. As local water depths range from 50 to 70 metres, the project could see both bottom-fixed and floating foundations installed. It is understood that a cooperation will be sought with Aker BP to support the electrification of oil and gas fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

The EIC delivers high-value market intelligence through its online energy project database, and via a global network of staff to provide qualified regional insight. Along with practical assistance and facilitation services, the EIC’s access to information keeps members one step ahead of the competition in a demanding global marketplace. The EIC is the leading Trade Association providing dedicated services to help members understand, identify and pursue business opportunities globally. The EIC is renowned for excellence in the provision of services that unlock opportunities for its members, helping the supply chain to win business across the globe.

WORLD PROJECTS SPONSORED BY

MOROCCO Euro Maroc Phosphore (EMAPHOS) US$500mn

USA California Resources Corporation US$1bn

UGANDA - Total US$2bn

QATAR Qatargas US$18bn

OCP Group, alongside its German and Belgian partners, Budenheim and Prayon, are building a new plant for the production of purified phosphoric acid, through their subsidiary Euro Maroc Phosphore (EMAPHOS). This new plant will double EMAPHOS ‘annual production capacity, going from 140,000 mtpa to 280,000 mtpa, beginning in the 4th quarter of 2022.

Fluor Corporation has been awarded a FEED contract for the carbon capture and sequestration project, Cal Capture at Elk Hills Power Plant in Tupman, California. Fluor’s scope of work is as the licensor providing engineering services for the plant’s licensed process unit and required utility systems using its proprietary Econamine FG PlusSM carbon capture technology.

Total is still aiming to sanction the Tilenga project within the next six to 12 months, however it wants lower costs from the supply chain for the work, and has consequently opened up bidding for the development.

Qatargas has awarded Air Products a contract for the provision of the AP-X Natural Gas Liquefaction Process technology and equipment for the NFE phase 1 project which is scheduled to come online in 2025. Air Products will build the AP-X LNG heat exchangers in Port Manatee, Florida.

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

WORLD PROJECTS

03 15

1 8 3

5 7

4 9

INDIA ONGC US$1bn

The tender process for the first package of Daman project, that will involve a large offshore processing platform, is expected to be launched in Q4 2020. The project is likely to be split into at least three EPC packages.

UAE ADNOC US$2bn

KAZAKHSTAN Equinor US$10bn

BRAZIL Petrobras US$2bn

Technical bids for the first phase of the Umm Shaif LTDP-1 project were expected to be submitted on 20 August. Those expected to submit bids include NPCC, Petrofac, Sapura Energy, Saipem and Larsen & Toubro. ADNOC has stated that it expects to start the $3 billion second phase of the Umm Shaif LTDP in one- or twoyearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; time.

Wood is currently involved in the design for the platform topsides for the Karabagh field platform. After the completion of the engineering stage, the construction of the topside will begin. Oil production is expected to begin at the field by the end of 2022.

The National Petroleum Agency (ANP) has approved revised evaluation plans for the Barra and Farfan discoveries. Petrobras has until 1 June 2021 to decide on the drilling of additional wells and until 1 September 2021 to declare the discoveries commercial.

WORLD PROJECTS SPONSORED BY

www.the-eic.com

CONTRACT AWARDS

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

CONTRACT AWARDS

Maersk Drilling awarded one-well contract with Aker BP Maersk Drilling has been awarded an additional one-well contract from Aker BP for 2015-built jackup rig Maersk Integrator. The contract is for the Ula field offshore Norway to drill the Ula F – Producer 1 well and is valued at around $21.6m. The work is scheduled to commence in April 2021, and has an estimated duration of 85 days. The contract is under the terms of a frame agreement that Maersk Drilling and Aker BP entered into in 2017 as part of the Aker BP jackup alliance which includes Halliburton. Morten Kelstrup, COO of Maersk Drilling, commented: “We are pleased to add one more well to Maersk Integrator’s work scope for Aker BP in 2021. Our alliance with Aker BP and Halliburton is enabling new ways of working as one team across the value chain, and our close collaboration also allows greater flexibility in future well planning, so additional wells can be committed to as plans mature.” Maersk Integrator is undergoing a series of upgrades to turn it into a hybrid, low-emission rig before moving to the Ivar Aasen field for Aker BP later this month.

CONTRACT AWARDS STATS Group land Santos Australian pipeline isolation contract

STATS Group has been awarded a significant pipeline isolation services contract by leading independent Asia-Pacific oil and gas producer Santos. The long-term call-off contract covers all Santos assets in Queensland and South Australia, including pipelines and facilities in the Cooper Basin, Port Bonython, and the GLNG upstream and downstream operations at Gladstone. Santos has one of the largest exploration and production acreages in Australia and extensive infrastructure and is committed to supplying homes, businesses and major industries across Australia and Asia. STATS Group are market leaders in the supply of pressurised pipeline isolation, hot tapping and plugging services to the global oil, gas and petrochemical industries. The company’s patented isolation tools provide leak-tight double block and bleed isolation that enables safe and efficient maintenance and repair of pipeline infrastructure, with a focus on reducing system downtime, minimising environmental impact and increasing worksite safety. Gareth Campbell, STATS Group’s Asia Pacific Regional Manager, said: “This is a landmark contract award for our growing Australian business and we are delighted to have been given the opportunity by Santos to showcase our technologies.

“This lays the foundation for further expansion of STATS Group to serve the Australian energy industry and we have attracted a good deal of interest in our advanced technologies from potential clients across the extensive gas transmission sector. With revenues in Australia growing by up to 30% year on year, we are in a strong position to build on our reputation of on time delivery and client responsiveness.”

Petrofac wins 2-year contract with UK’s NEO Energy As Well Operator, Petrofac will be responsible for direct procurement and management of all sub-contracted services. Petrofac will also deploy its industry-leading project management software, Turus, to ensure efficient and assured project delivery. Nick Shorten, Managing Director for Petrofac Engineering and Production Services in the Western Hemisphere, said: “Through the deployment of our extensive asset and well management expertise, we will work closely with NEO Energy to assure the integrity of its wells and deliver safe and cost efficient construction in support of any future field development.

Petrofac’s Engineering and Production Services (EPS) business has announced the award of a two-year contract with UK’s NEO Energy. Under the terms of the agreement, Petrofac will provide Well Management and Well Operator support for 25 production wells across the Affleck, Balloch, Dumbarton, Flyndre and Lochranza fields. The contract also positions

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

Petrofac to support future well construction and intervention campaigns. Today’s announcement builds on Petrofac’s previously awarded Integrated Services Contract for NEO Energy, through which it provides ongoing operational, maintenance, engineering and construction support in support of the Operator’s UK activities.

“This award builds on our existing track record for delivering Well Operator services for clients in the UKCS, bringing the size of our well portfolio in the basin to 50.” Petrofac pioneered the outsourced Well Operator model in 2015. Under regulations set by the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator, it takes responsibility for the monitoring and management of wells on behalf of its clients. Petrofac is currently Well Operator for seven North Sea clients.

CONTRACT AWARDS

Halliburton awarded digital transformation project from Thailand’s PTTEP Halliburton has been awarded a contract to design and implement a series of digital transformation projects as part of PTTEP’s Advanced Production Excellence (APEX) Initiative.

integrate with Honeywell Forge, a powerful analytics software solution providing real-time data and visual intelligence, whereby PTTEP can implement more productive and efficient work processes.

PTTEP is a national petroleum exploration and production company in Thailand.

Using advanced physics-based and data science models, the solution includes modeling of surface and subsurface components to manage and optimise operations from the wells to the point of delivery.

According to a statement, APEX will improve operational efficiency and production in four offshore fields: Arthit, Greater Bongkot South, Greater Bongkot North and the Myanmar Zawtika Field. Landmark, a Halliburton business line, will deploy its DecisionSpace® Production Suite in the cloud to improve production operations from the subsurface to processing facilities. The DecisionSpace® Enterprise Platform will

This includes short-term production planning and optimisation; flow assurance monitoring and control; sand production monitoring and control; condensate stabilisation optimisation; and, CO₂ membrane optimisation. Halliburton is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry.

Orca Oceanic Systems Ltd (OOS) is delighted to announce award of an MSA for the provision of dive system support and engineering services for Well-safe Solutions Orca Oceanic Systems Ltd (OOS) is delighted to announce securing a significant contract with Well-Safe Solutions Limited for the provision of Dive System Support and Engineering Services onboard the Well-Safe Guardian semisubmersible decommissioning rig. Mike Masson, OOS’s Managing Director: “We’re delighted to finally secure the Master Service Agreement (MSA) with Well-Safe Solutions. We have been working with Well-Safe extensively over the past 8 months assisting in securing a saturation system and associated equipment and now to continue to get the opportunity to install and commission the system is a further endorsement of the professionalism and capabilities of the Orca Oceanic Systems team.” Our dedicated project team is already deployed, and the preparation phase has begun with

arrangements being made to complete the shipping of the system from Singapore as soon as the COVID-19 Situation allows.” Phil Milton, CEO, Well-Safe Solutions: “Executing this MSA with Orca Oceanic Systems will ensure the continued delivery of our bespoke plug and abandonment asset, the Well-Safe Guardian, giving our customers the best-in-class service from a single unit.”. Orca Oceanic Systems Ltd (OOS) are an equipment and dive system services company with headquarters in Portlethen, Aberdeen with regional offices in London and Singapore. OOS are on track to treble its workforce with a mixture of full-time staff and contractors in the coming months to support their tier one clients, in both the commercial diving and asset management/equipment servicing sector.

TechnipFMC wins Subsea EPCI for the Libra Consortium’s Mero 2 Project, operated by Petrobras in Brazil TechnipFMC has been awarded a large(1) contract for Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) through a competitive contracting process, by Petrobras, the leader and operator of the Libra Consortium, which was formed by Petrobras, Shell Brasil, Total, CNPC, CNOOC Limited and Pré-sal Petróleo SA (PPSA), for the pre-salt Mero field, located in the Santos Basin (Brazil) at 2,100 meters deep. The contract covers engineering, procurement, construction, installation and precommissioning of the infield rigid riser and flowlines for production, including the water alternate gas wells. It also comprises the installation and pre-commissioning of service flexible lines and steel tube umbilicals, as well as

towing and hook up of the FPSO(2). The Company will leverage synergies with the Mero 1 project Subsea EPCI, utilising in-house rigid and flexible lay vessels and its significant local footprint in Brazil, including a spoolbase, logistics base and engineering capabilities. The offshore campaign is scheduled to start in 2022. Arnaud Pieton, President Subsea at TechnipFMC, commented: “We are delighted to have been awarded another EPCI contract by the Libra Consortium, which reinforces the long-standing relationship between Petrobras and TechnipFMC. By executing and delivering this new flagship project, we are looking forward to supporting Petrobras’s ambition in the pre-salt region and contributing to the development of Brazil.”

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By Tsvetana Paraskova

Middle East Energy Review Just as OPEC and its Russia-led partners in the OPEC+ group began to ease the record crude oil production cuts in August, the cartel downgraded its global oil demand outlook for 2020, citing longer-lasting impact from the coronavirus on economies and oil consumption.

At Craig International, procurement isn’t just about processes, products and numbers. We promote a culture of ownership among our people, who are trusted to get on with the job on your behalf. We’re proud of how we serve clients. We’re always looking for new ways to add value and routinely introduce new technological solutions to make service delivery even simpler, smoother, faster. When it comes to procurement, we get it. Adding value, innovation and efficiency at every turn in your supply chain.

Major oil exporters from the Middle East saw their oil revenues further sliding and deficits widening in the second quarter, while the single biggest oil-exporting company in the world, Saudi Aramco, reported significantly lower profits for April-June, highlighting the fact that the oil price collapse hit national oil companies as it did international oil majors. “Strong headwinds from reduced demand and lower oil prices are reflected in our second quarter results,” Saudi Aramco’s president and chief executive Amin Nasser said, commenting on the results.

OPEC sees weaker oil demand than previously thought Global oil demand is expected to drop by 9.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2020, OPEC said in its closelywatched Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) for August. This is a larger demand loss than the cartel had estimated just a month ago. The expected decline in demand is around 100,000 bpd larger than OPEC had forecast in July. OPEC now expects the global economy to shrink by 4.0% in 2020, a larger contraction compared to the 3.7% drop expected in the July forecast. The deterioration in the economic outlook is a result of the high uncertainty surrounding the recovery in the economic activity and the possibility that a second wave of COVID-19 could bring localised lockdowns in many parts of the world. The outlook for 2021 is equally unclear. OPEC sees global oil demand growing by 7.0 million bpd next year, unchanged from the forecast in July. “The forecast assumes that COVID-19 will largely be contained globally, with no further major disruptions to the global economy,” OPEC noted in its report. “Large uncertainties prevail, possibly resulting in a negative impact on petroleum consumption going forward. During exceptional times the normal relationship between disposable income and oil demand does not hold up,” OPEC said about the prospects for 2021.

Saudi Aramco profits plunge, but dividend stays Saudi Aramco reported in early August its financial results for the second quarter, not surprising anyone with the 73% plunge in profits as oil prices and oil demand crashed.

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

Despite the profit plunge, Aramco maintained its second quarter dividend of US$18.75 billion as planned. Another bright spot in the earnings report was that Nasser said markets had started to recover.

'OPEC now expects the global economy to shrink by 4.0% in 2020, a larger contraction compared to the 3.7% drop expected in the July forecast'

“We are seeing a partial recovery in the energy market as countries around the world take steps to ease restrictions and reboot their economies,” he noted.

Middle Eastern oil exporters see oil revenues slide While Aramco reported significantly lower profits for the second quarter, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia saw its oil revenues further slide in May, after they had declined in April, too. Saudi Arabia’s income from oil exports plunged by 65% year over year, data from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics showed at the end of July. The share of oil exports in total exports decreased from 78.6% in May 2019 to 65.4% in May 2020, the data showed. Saudi Arabia posted a deficit of 109 billion Saudi riyals (US$29 billion /£22 billion) for the second quarter, data from the Kingdom’s finance ministry showed. Revenues from oil, which account for most of total Saudi revenues, plunged by 45% year over year in the second quarter. Another major oil producer and exporter in the Middle East, Kuwait, also saw widened deficit due to the low oil prices at the end of the 2019/2020 fiscal year ended on 31 March. According to Kuwait’s Finance Ministry, the actual deficit jumped by 68.6% on the year to the equivalent of US$18.4 billion. Kuwait’s government revenues dropped by 16.2% in the 2019/2020 fiscal year compared to the previous fiscal year. Of the revenues in 2019/2020, as much as 89% came from oil, Kuwait’s finance ministry data showed.

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ADIPEC goes virtual The pandemic has upended not only the finances of the oil exporting countries, especially those in the Middle East. COVID-19 has changed the international conference and exhibition calendar and many events are now being held online or postponed. One of the world’s biggest energy networking events, Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), will be held virtually this year, the strategic partner and host of the event, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), said. “The decision to hold an online event ensures the ADIPEC Strategic and Technical Conferences will continue to provide the thought leadership that will frame the future oil and gas landscape and connect global organisations to shape the industry’s future,” ADNOC said in a statement at the end of July.

UAE’s ADNOC upgrades refining capabilities

'The Crude Flexibility Project (CFP) at Ruwais will allow ADNOC to process the Upper Zakum crude grade, extracted from Abu Dhabi’s offshore oil fields, along with over 50 other types of different crudes'

downstream activity, further strengthening ADNOC's role as a key driver of the UAE's long-term industrial growth and economic diversification,” said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, ADNOC Group CEO and UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology. Dr. Al Jaber commented on oil market dynamics and ADNOC’s plans in an interview with IHS Markit Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin for the latest CERAWeek Conversations in August. According to ADNOC’s top executive, there is a robust return of oil demand, especially in China. The companies in the oil and gas industry, however, need to stay nimble and cautious going forward, focusing on costs. “They will need to continue their focus on cost and being cautiously optimistic as we adjust to the multiple structural macroeconomic changes taking place around us today in the world,” Dr. Al Jaber told IHS Markit.

ADNOC said in the middle of August that it is investing US$3.5 billion in the ongoing upgrade of refining capabilities in Ruwais and strengthening the role of Ruwais as a critical driver for industrial growth for Abu Dhabi and the UAE. The Crude Flexibility Project (CFP) at Ruwais will allow ADNOC to process the Upper Zakum crude grade, extracted from Abu Dhabi’s offshore oil fields, along with over 50 other types of different crudes. When completed in the middle of 2022, the project will allow ADNOC to process up to 420,000 bpsd (Barrels per Stream Day) of heavier and sourer grades of crude oil, as part of the 840,000 bpsd refinery in Ruwais. “This investment is another step in our progress to develop Ruwais into a dynamic, global hub for

www.spectisrobotics.com

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By Tsvetana Paraskova

Europe

Energy Review

In recent weeks, the biggest European oil and gas companies have reported their second-quarter results, while governments, associations, and analysts have published reports on how clean energy solutions could accelerate the economic recovery in the UK and Europe after the coronavirus crisis.

Oil & Gas Norway’s Equinor reported significantly lower adjusted earnings for the second quarter, compared to the same period of 2019, due to very low realised oil and gas prices due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The company, however, noted that its trading business performed very well in the volatile markets. “We expect market volatility to continue going forward. The long-term market implications from Covid-19, with possible lower demand and reduced investments in the industry, remain uncertain,” Eldar Sætre, President and CEO of Equinor, said in a statement. In early August, Equinor said that Sætre would be retiring at the end of this year and Anders Opedal would take over as president and CEO from 2 November 2020. “The board’s mandate is for Anders to accelerate our development as a broad energy company and to increase value creation for our shareholders through the energy transition," Jon Erik Reinhardsen, Chair of Equinor’s Board of Directors, said.

“After several tough years, theDrilling sun may said Maersk finally be ready to it would invest in shine again on the UK new technology offshore market,” Audunto facilitatehead carbonMartinsen, of oilfieldneutral services drilling research at Rystad Energy

Equinor Norway

Like Equinor, France’s Total also reported strong trading performance for the second quarter, which helped it book an adjusted net income, although it slumped by 96% year on year. The group, however, booked impairment charges of US$8.1 billion, including US$7 billion impairments in Canada’s oil sands, as it readjusted the value of its oil and gas reserves. Total qualified the Canadian oil sands projects Fort Hills and Surmont as “stranded” oil assets. Still, Total kept its interim dividend intact, becoming the only European oil and gas major that has not resorted to cutting dividends so far this year.

Italy’s Eni tied its dividend to the Brent oil price going forward, as it reported a net loss for the second quarter and the first half of the year. The company cut its capital expenditure (capex) plans, mostly in its upstream business which was affected the worst by the crisis. Following the revisions of its capex for the medium term, Eni’s “green” investments will be 17% of the overall four-year period to 2023, reaching 26% of all investments in 2023. Norwegian oil and gas operator DNO said it was working with partners to accelerate infill drilling at the Ula, Tambar, and Brage producing fields, revisit development options for the Brasse field, and actively evaluate the Iris/Hades, Fogelberg, and Trym South discoveries, thanks to the tax changes in Norway. “In the North Sea segment, DNO projects receipt of USD 215 million in tax refunds in the second half of the year, including USD 70 million from the recently announced temporary changes to petroleum taxation in Norway,” the company said. Austria-based OMV announced new and more ambitious climate targets, aiming to reach net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of its operations (scope 1 and 2) by 2050 or sooner. The net-zero operations will be achieved through energy efficiency measures, new technologies such as carbon capture, carbon storage/utilisation and hydrogen, as well as renewable electricity (like the photovoltaic plant in Austria), and portfolio optimisation measures. “In our sustainability strategy, we are now stating a long-term ambition of net-zero emissions for the first time,” OMV’s chief executive Rainer Seele said.

Maersk Drilling

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

Maersk Drilling said it would invest in new technology to facilitate carbon-neutral drilling. The company has entered an agreement to invest US$1 million in California-based company Clean Energy Systems to help develop a new technology called Carbon-Negative Energy. This would be one of several opportunities Maersk Drilling is pursuing to help its customers move towards carbon-neutral drilling.

Europe

Renewables “Offshore wind power will soon be so cheap to produce that it will undercut fossil-fuelled power stations and may be the cheapest form of energy for the UK. Energy subsidies used to push up energy bills, but within a few years cheap renewable energy will see them brought down for the first time. This is an astonishing development,” said lead researcher Dr Malte Jansen from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial.

In renewable energy, governments and analysts issued additional analyses about the role of clean energy in the economies, while major companies boosted their clean energy portfolios.

In the UK, the Hydrogen Taskforce said in a report in August that investment in hydrogen offers a sustainable economic growth opportunity that would kick-start the green recovery. Investing in hydrogen could unlock as much as £18 billion in gross value added (GVA) by 2035 and support 75,000 additional jobs in the UK, with many of these jobs expected to be concentrated in the north-west and north-east, according to the report. “Scaling up hydrogen solutions will allow the UK to build on existing areas of expertise and global leadership. With a value chain that spans production, storage, transmission and distribution, and downstream appliances, this growing global market could support thousands of jobs in the UK for decades to come,” the Hydrogen Taskforce said. At the end of June, the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced £350 million funding which would be made available to UK industry to cut emissions in heavy industry and drive economic recovery from the coronavirus. Of the committed funding, £139 million is going to cut emissions in heavy industry by supporting the transition from natural gas to clean hydrogen power, and scaling up carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, the UK government said.

Investing in hydrogen could unlock as much as £18 billion in gross value added (GVA) by 2035 and support 75,000 additional jobs in the UK.

Eight onshore wind farms in south west Scotland will provide over their 25-year lifetimes a total of £1.6 billion in investment, 51% Scottish content, and £297 million local value-added.

A new report for ScottishPower Renewables by BVG Associates, published at the end of July, assessed the economic benefits created by eight onshore wind farms in south west Scotland commissioned between 2016 and 2017. The report found that the projects will provide over their 25-year lifetimes a total of £1.6 billion in investment, 51% Scottish content, and £297 million local value-added. “Approval ratings for renewable energy deployment continue to rise, and there is a pressing need to build more generation capacity both to tackle the climate emergency and secure a green economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic,” said Nick Sharpe, Director of Communications and Strategy at Scottish Renewables. In offshore wind, the most recently approved offshore wind projects in the UK will most likely operate with ‘negative subsidies’ – paying money back to the government, according to a new analysis by an international team led by Imperial College London researchers.

Iberdrola and Fertiberia launched at the end of July the construction of the largest plant producing green hydrogen for industrial use in Europe.

In the European Union, the new EU Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy must include a target of 100 MW of ocean energy installed in Europe by 2025, Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) said in early August. “There is a strong pipeline of projects lined up along Europe’s coasts – all that’s needed now is the right policy and market environment to deliver them. The new EU Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy is a huge opportunity for Europe to achieve a recovery that is both green and just,” Remi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe, said. In company news, France-based power utility ENGIE is accelerating growth in renewables and infrastructure assets by increasing the target for renewables capacity commissioned 3 GW per year currently to 4 GW per year on average over the medium-term, while increasing the number of renewables projects retained on its balance sheet. “The Board intends to strengthen ENGIE’s capacity to play a key role in the energy transition,” said ENGIE Chairman Jean-Pierre Clamadieu. Germany’s RWE successfully concluded in August a share capital increase of around €2 billion to accelerate and expand growth in renewables. Iberdrola and Fertiberia launched at the end of July the construction of the largest plant producing green hydrogen for industrial use in Europe, in Puertollano, Spain. Iberdrola will construct a 100 MW photovoltaic plant, a battery installation, and a system for producing green hydrogen by electrolysis from 100% renewable sources, the company said, noting that the plant would be operational next year. The CrossWind consortium, a joint venture between Shell and Eneco, said it was awarded the tender for the subsidy-free offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust (noord). The wind farm will help to meet the objectives of the Dutch Climate Accord and the EU’s Green Deal. Both companies have already taken their final investment decisions on the project, which is expected to become operational in 2023 with an installed capacity of 759 MW, generating enough renewable power to supply more than 1 million Dutch households with green electricity.

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By Loren Steffy

U.S. oil companies gird

for major policy shift

as presidential elections loom Biden, who is leading Trump in the polls, has vowed to cease all new drilling on federal lands and in federal waters as part of a plan to address climate change. A drilling ban would come at a time when the U.S. upstream industry is already reeling from increased OPEC production and the weak demand as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Biden’s plan doesn’t preclude hydraulic fracturing and wouldn’t apply to leases on private or stateowned lands, but it still could have a significant impact on an industry that has lost tens of thousands of jobs this year. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group, has estimated a federal ban would cost the industry 1 million jobs by 2022.

U.S. oil producers are bracing for a Democratic victory in the November presidential elections, which many fear will mean significant restrictions on new drilling. Former Vice President Joe Biden won the Democratic nomination in mid-August, setting up a showdown with President Donald Trump in November. in the region in the second half of this year. Oxy bought Anadarko Petroleum last year, and at the time, the two companies had a combined 22 rigs running in the Permian. The energy industry has been the worstperforming sector of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, falling more than 35% in the first seven months of this year. While the pandemic and the collapse of energy demand that came with it has hit independent producers hard, the majors are suffering as well, with many struggling to generate enough cash flow from operations to cover shareholder distributions.

Exxon Mobil, the biggest U.S. major posted back-to-back quarterly losses for the first time in its history—which dates to 1870, when John D. Some U.S. producers have stepped up leasing Rockefeller founded the company as Standard activity in preparation for a Biden victory. Devon Oil. Exxon’s upstream business lost $1.65 billion Energy said it is “building a deep inventory” of in the second quarter and its production fell by permits on federal lands ahead of the election. 7%. The company has slashed spending for big It plans to have more than 550 in hand before projects by 30% and cut operating expenses by November. A fifth of Devon’s drilling $1 billion. In early August, it announced it portfolio is currently on federal lands. would cut company contributions to the retirement plans of its 75,000 EOG Resources, another major employees. Exxon is struggling Biden, who is leading shale driller, has about 2,500 to maintain its shareholder Trump in the polls, federal permits approved or dividend, which it has raised in progress, which is said for the past 37 years and has vowed to cease all should allow for more than which costs it about $15 new drilling on federal four years of drilling activity billion a year. lands and in federal on federal lands. waters as part of a At Chevron, the results were Three of the country’s biggest even worse. The company’s plan to address climate oil producing states—New upstream business lost more change. Mexico, North Dakota and than $6 billion in the quarter, Wyoming—could be particularly compared with income of $3.48 hard hit by a ban on federal leases. billion a year earlier. The company A ban also could affect new drilling in the in July said it would buy Houston-based Gulf of Mexico, which produces about 2.3 million Noble Energy in a stock deal valued at $5 billion. barrels a day. The pandemic has also shattered the idea that Trump has stepped up leasing activity in recent the majors could shift more of their focus to months, offering drilling permits on millions of petrochemicals and natural gas exports. The acres of public lands nationwide, including the petrochemical business suffers from oversupply Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, which in many of its key markets, the result of global environmental groups have fought to preserve for overbuilding during the past decade. Many U.S. three decades. petrochemical plants have expanded operations in the U.S. in response to cheap natural gas Royalties for drilling on federal lands totaled $9.3 unleashed by the shale boom. billion last year. bp recently announced it was selling its global The battle over federal leasing comes as petrochemicals business to Ineos for $5 billion. producers are still struggling with weak demand that has caused many to shut in production in Meanwhile, hopes that Asian countries would recent months. Occidental Petroleum, once one step up demand for natural gas imports also of the largest drillers in the prolific Permian Basin of West Texas and eastern New Mexico, has said seems to be crumbling. The rush to build liquified it will have just a single rig operating natural gas export terminals in the U.S. has led to

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

Joe Biden

a glut, which has driven down prices to the point that many U.S. exporters can no longer make money. Analysts say this situation could persist long after the pandemic subsides. “The U.S. LNG export dream seems out of reach,” Clark Derry-Williams, an energy finance analyst at IEEFA recently told cable-news network CNBC. “LNG prices are now far too low for U.S. exporters to many any profit.” With few growth prospects and weak demand in their core business, many majors are looking for acquisitions—as Chevron did with Noble, and Oxy did last year with Anadarko—taking on more debt and selling assets. Those measures, analysts say, are stopgap moves at best, but they don’t represent a long-term, sustainable strategy for the industry. The possibility that the Democrats will retake the White House in November raises the prospect of a more difficult—if not outright hostile—regulatory regime for at least the next four years. While Biden has not called for an outright ban on fracking, as some other Democratic presidential candidates did earlier, he favors policy to combat climate change that could put more restrictions on the industry while promoting renewable energy. Such a policy would represent a sharp about-face from a Trump administration that has generally favored oil and gas production, and even coal, over renewables. With 23 U.S. oil and gas producers already filing for bankruptcy this year—the most since the second quarter of 2016—the elections looms as yet another blow to an industry that’s already been battered this year.

Australia

MEMBERS FEED

Whittaker Group Ltd have been in Ciudad Del Carmen, Mexico for 11yrs. We were requested by our friends at IMAGEN CORPORATIVA AIS ALL IN SERVICES to help support the local community by donating a fire truck to the town. AIS donated one of their Ford F-350 pick-up trucks & Whittaker Group Ltd converted it into a fire truck by removing the back and fabricating new tanks.

GA R&D Ltd have recently secured several international agents, including West Africa, South East Asia and Middle East and are currently working on 2 additional locations at the moment with one being including India. The pandemic has had some negative effect in progressing all these activities, but they have managed to develop a new strategy, to allow them to carry on with existing operations and further expansion.

“The View from Down Under” By Andy Hogan

Greetings from Perth in the depths of what passes for Winter in these parts. Those of us who are fortunate to live in Western Australia are anxiously watching our compatriots in Melbourne as they endure another lockdown. Thankfully at the time of writing the spike of the 2nd wave appears to be on a downward trend. Enquiries are taking place at the moment as to how this outbreak got so out of control, from the information in the public domain, it appears to have been preventable: lack of due process, lack of training, lack of accountability – does that sound familiar? No doubt the lessons learned will be shared nationally and globally.

One of the semis off the NW coast which suffered a delay to the start of its contract due to COVID is preparing to crew up to be ready to start drilling in October. EOI and Tendering activity ongoing for drilling in the Timor Sea and the NW Coast of Australia 2021 and same expected for work offshore New Zealand, exploration & appraisal drilling and possible P&A work.

In the offshore space there are more signs of life, Diamond and Beach have agreed a way forward for the Ocean Onyx, it is expected to start a 6 well plus 3 options campaign in the Otway Basin between December 2020 and March 2021. Elsewhere offshore Victoria, BHP announced they are looking to sell their 50% non-operated holdings in the Bass Strait, XOM who are the Operator are reported to have had the assets up for sale for some time. It will be interesting to see the authorities’ approach to decommissioning liabilities after the issues with the Tui field across the pond in New Zealand and up North on the Laminaria / Corallina fields.

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During the challenges with COVID and the low oil price, LMS's revenues have declined by 30 % , however despite this they have seen a 60 % increase in new customer accounts, 35 % were international; New Zealand, Chile, Ivory Coast and East Malaysia to name a few. One of the main issue they faced with international business was delivery delays and huge price increases. This was mainly due to logistics contractors operating with reduced staff and many working from home. Freight pricing increased significantly, again due to limited logistics staff, however also as priority was being given to flights with PPE and medical supplies.

DLAW is helping tackle the global water crisis after securing a deal to manufacture patented water filtration systems that will serve some of the world’s most impoverished areas. DLAW Contractors, based at Port of Sunderland, has secured a contract to manufacture containerised, transportable water treatment solutions and is already in the process of delivering units to a gold mine and desalination plant in Namibia, a community project in Rwanda and a farm in Scotland.

02 26

INTERNATIONAL GROWTH

Q1. The EIC is a global organisation with offices in London, Dubai, Rio de Janeiro, Houston and Kuala Lumpur. How has COVID-19 affected your business? Like every business, we had to act quickly to protect our employees while complying with different national lockdown regulations, all while ensuring business continuity to the best of our abilities. The biggest disruption was to our events, which quickly had to change from being physical to virtual. The team went above and beyond and by the end of August, the EIC and our partners will have run more than 60 webinars to a global audience of over 6,000 delegates. Our core membership offering, our market intelligence databases (EICDataStream, EICAssetMap and EICSupplyMap) can be accessed from anywhere in the world with unlimited users for each member company, so there has actually been an uptick is usage over the past six months, with home-bound members finding it a productive use of their time. In a testament to the value that we provide for businesses, we’ve even seen an increase in the number of new members joining the EIC compared to this time last year, which shows companies are taking more steps to actively find their next business opportunity.

Q2. Exports were covered as one of the growth strategies used by your members in your recent EIC Survive & Thrive report, what were the findings? Now in its fourth year, the EIC Survive & Thrive insight report studies the growth strategies companies use in a market crisis. While diversification across energy sectors was found to be the most used growth strategy, developing new export markets was disappointedly the least used for the fourth year in a row. Typically our members earn 60% of their revenues from exports developed in good times, so it’s quite telling that during tough times companies aren’t willing to take the risk of entering new markets but are more willing to innovate, differentiate and diversify their way out of challenging market conditions. The interviews for this research were done in the context of a tough market, so naturally business owners looked at how to get fast returns on investment when struggling for cash and higher margins, but 97-98% of energy opportunities are outside of the UK so the EIC would really like to see more companies looking abroad to generate more growth.

Q3. Where do you see the best export opportunities right now? As a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the pressures of low oil and gas prices, at least 30% of all global energy projects have been delayed. Using our CAPEX project tracking database EICDataStream we continue to support our members to focus on those projects that are still going ahead.

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

again focus on helping experienced exporters and inspiring new exporters.

EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE NEW COVID WORLD OGV Energy sat down with Stuart Broadley, Chief Executive of Energy Industries Council, the UK’s largest energy trade association, to discuss export opportunities in the new COVID world. We are also supporting the oil and gas authority in their supply chain and exports task force, by providing them with a list of 146 live projects specifically to help the UKCS service sector with new export growth. The 146 projects are comprised of 85 oil and gas projects with a combined value of $720.6bn. Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, UAE and USA occupy the top five countries in this list for the next oil and gas opportunity. In offshore wind, there are 61 projects with a combined value of US$154.2bn that are going ahead and offer attractive opportunities for the UKCS supply chain, this time in very different regions including China, USA, France, Japan and Germany.

Q4. You have had to go virtual for the Energy Exports Conference this year, what can we expect from the new format for this event? The inaugural Energy Exports Conference took place last year as a collaborative project between the EIC, British and Scottish government and a number of other key partners and saw over 1,000 attendees over the two days including 350 separate British supply chain companies. This year the conference will be free to everyone and fully virtual, connecting thousands of energy professionals, supply chain companies and 20 inward delegations from the comfort of your own desk, and will

We’ve got an exciting speaker line-up from IOCs, NOCs and EPC contractors from high-value export markets across all energy sectors, including Angola, Azerbaijan, Brunei, Canada, Central & Eastern Europe, Cuba, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Senegal & Mauritania, Thailand, UAE, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Western Australia. Taking place from 28 September to 1 October, vEEC Week will give attendees the chance to hear about major project updates from key decision makers. In the new world of travel restrictions and difficulties with meeting new people, this event platform is designed to make it easier to meet your next new client, including booking one-toone meetings with our speakers and arranging immediate meetings with people in an open networking environment.

Q5. Do you see internationalisation differences between traditional oil and gas markets and newer renewable markets? Out of the major energy projects still going ahead in the current climate right now, interestingly we have found only a 5% overlap in countries between the oil and gas and renewables sectors. This emphasises the fact that exporters successful with oil and gas may not be able to quickly diversify into renewables and vice versa, purely because of the practical issues of different locations, cultures and additional investments required. As shown in the EIC Survive and Thrive report, the most popular growth strategy last year was diversification but only 25% of those companies diversified within energy, largely from oil and gas to renewables. Alarmingly, 75% diversified from oil and gas to non-energy markets such as defence, infrastructure and pharmaceuticals, reflecting the increasing uncertainty around oil and gas, the desire by companies to de-risk and the acceptance that there is not enough energy business inside the UK to go around.

Q6. Brexit seems to have gone quiet with all the distractions but is this still a major threat? The pandemic has certainly taken some of the momentum out of the Brexit process that dominated the news cycle over the last few years. At such a crucial time for UK businesses one fundamental fact remains, businesses and government are not prepared for a no deal outcome, so the EIC urges all involved to not let that happen.

VIRTUAL

ENERGY EXPORTS CONFERENCE Monday 28 September â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Thursday 1 October

EUROPE

Expected Participants

2020

SOUTH AMERICA

NORTH & CENTRAL AMERICA

CASPIAN

ASIA PACIFIC

AFRICA

MIDDLE EAST

Access $500bn of global opportunities

Taking place from Monday 28 September to Thursday 1 October, Virtual Energy Exports Conference (vEEC Week) will allow you to explore a multitude of international business opportunities from the comfort and safety of your own desk helping you kickstart your export sales pipeline for 2021.

Angola, Azerbaijan, Brunei, Canada, Central and Eastern Europe, Cuba, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Senegal and Mauritania, Thailand, UAE, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Western Australia.

vEEC Week will help you overcome the challenges that COVID-19 has brought to your business by connecting you with buyers from over 20 countries across the globe including:

Find out more and book your free delegate place at: www.the-eic.com/events/ energyexportsconference

INTERNATIONAL GROWTH

International opportunities & DIVERSIFICATION Arnlea Systems Ltd, the global leader in industrial mobile software for tracking, inspection and maintenance for the oil & gas industry, is based in Aberdeen. Success in its local market has been considerable for the SaaS provider, with the majority of North Sea installations using their inspection software, IntrinsixEX for its ATEX inspections and reporting.

he opportunities for Arnlea’s inspection and asset management software have continued outside the North Sea, and beyond the traditional offshore oil and gas market. Arnlea specialises in offshore assets in the oil & gas industry in the UKCS – the majority of assets there utilise IntrinsixEX. Clients deploying Intrinsix are experiencing multi-million-pound savings and payback of the system well within a year, whilst improving operational excellence, compliance, asset integrity, and reducing their OPEX.

Allan Merrit, Arnlea’s MD said, “Our offshore track record enabled us to win new contracts with two major onshore plants with different operators, one in Europe, one in the Middle East; onshore is a target market for Arnlea and key for 2021-23. These onshore plants have also opened new markets; one is a refinery the other is for LNG. Pioneering into new markets and new opportunities, though challenging during the Covid-19 pandemic, has not been impossible and we believe we have a good foothold in a number of target markets, to continue our growth during the rest of 2020 and into 2021.”

The US market is also a clear strategic target for the business, with the plans to open an office in Houston delayed due to the Covid-19 global pandemic. Business Development Manager Paul Goonan was due to relocate there during Q2 of 2020. Yet this hasn’t Clients deploying prevented Arnlea from signing its first US contracts with a commercial marine company, who have converted their vessels IntrinsixEX are experiencing to LNG and now are required by the US Coastguard to conduct multi-million-pound savings motion simulator and controls regularImmersive Ex inspections. The attraction of IntrinsixEX for them has meant a new inspection regime can be incorporated into and payback of the system their vessel systems and procedures easily, using hardware their well within a year teams are already familiar with. The installation dates will be in the autumn of 2020 and there’s no doubt the US market is prime for Arnlea as it looks forward to the next decade.

IntrinsixEX plays a central role with ATEX industry regulations and IEC 60079 standards compliance, as part of the management of hazardous area equipment. It deploys on handheld technology to provide visibility, accuracy and control of assets, helping to improve efficiency and reliability and, ultimately, extend the asset’s life. Integrating with SAP and IBM Maximo, improving management reporting and overall operational efficiencies IntrinsixEX also improves inspectors’ efficiency by an average of 150%, boosting productivity, and creating a greater sense of ownership during a campaign. It can also help to manage headcount and improve safety; and being cloud-based provides several strategic advantages for its clients, which has had greater resonance with clients since the Covid-19 pandemic. The software’s Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) strategy can reduce inspection campaigns by up to 50%, freeing teams to focus on other areas of responsibility, giving inspectors a full picture of RBI alarms and thresholds for individual tags, areas and work orders, automatically improving their recognition and efficiency. This track record has meant Arnlea is now also working with a number of global onshore plant operators who have deployed IntrinsixEX, demonstrating the cloud-based software’s flexibility for onshore and plant inspection and asset management, as well as its traditional offshore base. In addition, they’re providing IntrinsixEX to LNG operators in the Middle East and traditional oil and gas operators in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as commercial vessels converting to LNG in the US.

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

Arnlea’s project off Malaysia is with Dataran Elektra Sdn Bhd for Wood Group Engineering Sdn. Bhd. Dataran Elektra works with energy partners, manufacturers and EPCC contractors to develop business synergies, technologies and skills to enable them to maximise value. Here, this has provided a two-fold opportunity for both Arnlea and Dataran Elektra as both businesses provide complementary inspection solutions and the two businesses see a significant prospect of working together in the future. This is in addition to both companies working with Wood Group on an operationally critical project to enhance Ex inspections for the oil & gas operator.

IntrinsixEX uses auto-ID mobile technology to increase compliance and decrease costs in Ex inspections and maintenance activities and is compliant with IEC 60079 standards and ATEX directives. This makes it highly desirable for businesses seeking to improve or streamline their compliance into their overall operating systems. IntrinsixEX materially improves operations across a host of different profit centres, including Finance, Deployment, Data & Reporting, User and HSEQ levels, and will continue to bring together many cost and productivity efficiencies to benefit oil & gas inspection operations and other commercial on and offshore teams. Arnlea is a tried and trusted partner for many global oil & gas clients, with more than 25 years’ expertise in supply chain management and operational management activities, providing software solutions to the oil & gas industry.

To find out more: • head over to our website - www.arnlea.com to book a demo or download our brochure • send an email to info@arnlea.com requesting more information • call +44 1224 620000 and you’ll be put through to someone who can help you

INTERNATIONAL GROWTH

First steps towards new DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGY

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amaka Compliance assists with Local Content in Trinidad and Tobago as part of a Diversification Strategy

This forms the organisations diversification strategy to look outside the UK rather than being solely reliant on just the UKCS as a revenue stream. Whilst many look to try and increase opportunities in many of the existing markets, Namaka Compliance has targeted Trinidad and Tobago (TT) Namaka Compliance a Division of Namaka Subsea recently assisted with Local Content In Trinidad and Tobago (TT), this was due to travel restrictions that meant no expatriates were capable of travelling to the country. The requirement was to utilise local nationals for project work offshore on a vessel with the relevant experience and knowledge to deliver the services required by the operator. Namaka Compliance were able to identify and screen personnel and develop a Local Content plan for the individuals involved remotely, whilst engaging with their local offices in TT. The project personnel were then inserted in to ‘Athena’ Namaka Compliances Competence Management System allowing the client to track the Competence and Training development plan that was implemented for the relevant individuals. This Local Content planning ensured that not only trained but a competent and compliant workforce was supplied with the current knowledge in a highly regulated industry.

Jamie Murphy the Operations Manager of the Compliance Division said ” I am glad that we were able to assist a local operator with Local Content, during this period with Covid and restrictions being in place many companies are restricted to what personnel they can provide to projects overseas. This is placing a greater emphasis on Local Nationals having the requisite training and competence to be deployed on Major Energy Projects. With our Local Content training and competency plans we were able to identify and develop the relevant individuals with no detriment to the operations undertaking” Namaka Compliance have two (2) Local Content Programmes, the first of which is Bridging the Skills Gaps (BSG) which is designed to take a local national workforce and upskill them to the standards required by Regulators, the second is Bridging the Suppliers Gaps (BTSG) , which take Local national companies to develop and enhance their capabilities allowing for them the ability to tender and participate in Major Energy projects, while being able to display they have the risk management processes in place for a highly regulate industry. Namaka Compliance see much more emphasis on Local Content wherever International Energy Companies or Engineering, Procurement Companies conduct work internationally. Namaka Compliance are currently in discussions in regards to these products in Emerging Markets in Latin America and Africa.

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INTERNATIONAL GROWTH

Celebrating two years of global growth and success for Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore

advisory, asset management and assurance solutions / support. And it has demonstrated its agility and speed in responding to client requirements across a range of sectors and verticals, from decommissioning to holistic energy transition programmes in the marine and offshore industries. The team is acutely positioned to assess a client’s needs and pull on established service lines that will add value and provide solutions. The BV Solutions M&O team is also able to swiftly respond to clients’ ever changing requirements globally and create consultative approaches and new deliverables that meet their needs. The organisation was recently awarded a contract by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) to support the development of a defence seaworthiness management system (DSwMS) as part of the Navy’s development of a new ‘naval rule set’ as it builds a sovereign shipbuilding capability. Bureau Veritas will support a component of the Navy’s compliance response to DSwMS and, as a result, is to open a new liaison and support office in Adelaide. With a long history of supporting naval seaworthiness and global ship construction, Bureau Veritas will support the strengths and capabilities of the RAN to prescribe the naval ‘materiel’ policies and the new standardised naval material rule set for Australia. This framework will provide a necessary ecosystem for the trusted design, build and commissioning of naval ships now - and into the future - for Australia.

Supporting remote operations A key focus for BV Solutions M&O is in the provision of essential strategic and consultative support to clients in line with industry’s transition towards remote operations. An important part of the company’s commitment to remote inspection and verification is a programme to establish remote service centres at key locations around the world.

Next month Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspection and certification services, will mark the second anniversary of the successful launch of its family of experts - Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore (BV Solutions M&O) with performance figures exceeding targets each year and new contracts continuing throughout 2020.

V Solutions M&O was established to bring together services and people from different domains within Bureau Veritas to create an international, proactive and dedicated capability, offering value to clients through technical services and solutions. It provides technical advisory, asset management, and assurance solutions/ support for clients' assets, processes, people and data management. By listening to clients and knowing their challenges in depth, BV Solutions M&O applies proven knowhow to deliver tangible improvements to assets and business performance.

Asset management – the systematic process of developing, operating, maintaining, upgrading and disposing of assets cost-effectively – is a valuable component in the BV Solutions M&O offering. The organisation works with clients to define the right asset management strategy, using tools such as Bureau Veritas’s Veristar AIM3D software system, (VAIM3D) which combines a digital twin of any marine or offshore asset with smart data. VAIM3D has been successfully deployed on a range of offshore assets, from hull structures to topsides equipment. It improves visibility and understanding of the asset, The organisation works allowing operators to make the right choices faster to improve efficiency, safety, integrity, performance, return on investment and with clients to define the carbon footprint reduction. right asset mangement

strategy, using tools such as Bureau Veritas’s Veristar AIM3D software system, (VAIM3D).

Bureau Veritas created BV Solutions M&O as an independent organisation from its classification and certification activities to provide additional support to clients - backed by 190 years of BV’s experience. Drawing on Bureau Veritas’s globally strong culture and history of service and quality, BV Solutions M&O has over 400 different individual services that can be delivered worldwide – wherever the client is located. A consultative mindset with the nimbleness and agility required for today’s clients has led to international growth, commercial success and a positive contribution to supporting the marine and offshore industries in navigating changing markets around the world.

The proof is in the results Since it was established, BV Solutions M&O has exceeded expectations. It ended 2019 almost 4% ahead of budget and with a year on year growth of almost 17%, demonstrating its value in helping clients boost performance, deal with increasing regulatory pressures, environmental obligations and complex risks. Furthermore, it has delivered meaningful and bespoke technical

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

Seven remote service centres have been created so far – in Singapore, Shanghai, Miami, Rotterdam, Pireaus, Istanbul and Dubai. A centre is proposed for Aberdeen in autumn this year, with others planned to enhance the global network. Bureau Veritas aims to convert 50% of physical surveys offshore to remote surveys by the end of 2021.

In decommissioning, for example, real time digital twinning of any asset has the capability to allow desktop engineering studies and work scope development. From this, standardised work practices, reporting and benchmarking can be delivered. Furthermore, such a true representation of the asset at its ‘end of life’ can be shared with everyone involved to enhance project visibility and collaboration, deliver time savings in the engineering works, provide commercial model opportunities through all stakeholders having access to the same data upfront and support the project in becoming “removal-ready” quicker.

Another area where BV Solutions M&O is able to benefit clients through its knowledge and expertise is in cyber security. Most ships and offshore assets have remotely accessible and digitally connected onboard and onshore systems. Increased levels of digitialisation are providing key benefits to owners and operations, improving operational efficiency and asset monitoring. But they can also leave assets vulnerable to cyber attacks and cyber crime. Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore provides the expertise to guide owners through the complete mapping of onboard systems, key risk assessments and the development of all documentation, policies and procedures required for efficient cyber risk management.

Conclusion Bureau Veritas Solutions M&O is a holistic, consultative service for the business ahead, and while its creation required a cultural and mindset shift within Bureau Veritas, the commercial success of the concept is ample validation. Its introduction into projects at the earliest opportunity can create considerable safety, efficiency and financial benefits for clients.

INTERNATIONAL GROWTH

CR Integrity Ltd (ICR) is a leading provider of integrated maintenance, repair and production solutions for industrial related services to the offshore oil and gas, power, chemical, nuclear and defence industries worldwide. ICR is headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, and has regional hubs in England, Norway, USA and the UAE with a JV relationship in Australia. The business has grown organically overseas from these bases, however, to enable further expansion the business has developed a network of partners and agents around the world – a model that will continue to be of great importance to ICR’s internationalisation plans.

also allowed for more time to research new potential growth areas which will hopefully develop into new business.

ICR continues its ambitious international growth strategy

With Willie Rennie back in at the helm as CEO, having owned and managed the business since 2008 and been a board member throughout, the business planned a renewed focus on increasing its international presence and has invested in a dedicated business development team to lead this charge, focusing on new territories and growth. This team has been empowered and encouraged to explore potential new markets and forge new partnerships in order to deliver the ambitions growth strategy. ICR’s market-leading Quickflange™ and Technowrap™ products allows customers to maintain and repair equipment and assets rather than fully replace them, which has been crucial over the last 5 months. ICR’s cost-efficient solutions can Willie Rennie, CEO, ICR provide savings to operators and NOCs, whilst also reducing downtime and production shutdown. mitigate any issues faced with travel These engineered repairs offer not only cost and restrictions – in turn, allowing clients operating efficiencies, but also help prolong the to continue working as planned and life of assets and equipment. Amongst ICR’s without delay. diverse offering, these core service lines have proven easier to export internationally, as demand As a business, ICR pivoted quickly has remained relatively steady. learning to work as a strong team regardless of distance - with regular COVID-19 has been difficult for businesses and virtual meetings and little or no individuals alike. For businesses like ICR operating commuting for individuals has freed on an international scale, it has restricted the up time to collaborate online. This has movement of people to carry out project work and strengthened communication within technical sales visits. As a result, the business the global business and allowed ideas has had to find different ways to carry out work to flow more freely. There is a need to and continue to support international clients be more innovative in approaches to and partners from afar, whilst also developing growing the business and find ways new relationship and partners to continue the to upskill international partners and continued growth plans. ICR has been able clients by remote training and shared to train local in-country personnel to use their online marketing campaigns. It has solutions, responding quicker to client needs and

Disruption to travel has not been the only major change for the business; restrictions on the movement of people has been a catalyst for the flow of ideas and creative alternatives and has allowed the business more time to look at and review its ongoing marketing strategy. With major exhibitions such as ONS and ADIPEC moving online, ICR has had to adapt - joining the world of webinars and podcasts. The move to a more digital focus for networking and events has provided an exciting opportunity for collaboration and a refresh of existing material. A renewed focus on digital material will benefit the ICR sales team and arm global partners with improved messaging about the business and technologies on offer and enable them to be ‘the voice of ICR’ from afar, taking ICR’s solutions into new and previously untapped markets. At the end of 2019, ICR applied for the International Scale Up programme through Scottish Development International (SDI) and was successfully awarded a place which includes funding and support for international growth strategy and business development activities. The support will allow ICR to expand its services faster in new regions and take advantage of access to relevant strategy workshops and meetings, high-quality market research reports, research of customers and competitors in target markets, due diligence checks on potential partners, and media monitoring on companies and markets. There is renewed confidence for the remainder of the year boosted by the earlier successes of 2020; with a growing and strong pipeline across all services lines and the introduction of new developments including Omni Integrity - a subsidiary company of the ICR Group. Through Sky-Futures, acquired in 2019, ICR has also continued expansion into other industries, including winning a large telecoms Framework Agreement. There is no denying that 2020 has been a difficult year so far for most, but ICR has reacted positively and adapted existing plans to suit the changing global situation with great success.

Where many may look back at 2020 as a year of great difficulty, ICR has pivoted the business into a stronger, more modern position, able to not only survive the ongoing challenges, but realign and grow from a position of strength.

INTERNATIONAL GROWTH

INNOVATION By Tsvetana Paraskova

DIVERSIFICATION:

Increased environmental awareness from investors and the general public coincided with one of the worst shocks to the oil and gas industry in recent memory.

The oil and gas sector had just started to recover from the 2014-2016 downturn when the coronavirus-inflicted shock to oil and gas demand and prices had the companies strategise how to thrive in the energy transition in a world where oil demand may never recover to pre-pandemic levels and oil prices could never return to $100 a barrel. The sector adapted to the near-term shock by slashing capital expenditure (capex), writing down billions of U.S. dollars of oil and gas asset values, and dismissing thousands of employees, including in the supply chain.

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

The near-term shock, however, prompted the oil and gas sector to accelerate strategies for the longer term, with two key pillars in mind: innovation and diversification. From remote work during the pandemic, to the digital oil field and machine learning, energy companies are increasingly embracing innovation, especially in digitalisation, to gain competitive edge. Oil and gas companies are also investing in innovation in carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions and in alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, as they look to diversify oil and gas

operations and stay relevant to consumers and investors in the energy transition. Many firms have committed to targets to reduce the carbon footprint of their operations and the products they sell, and some of them aim to become net zero energy companies within three decades. This means that major oil and gas companies will speed up their diversification into alternative fuels and renewable energy power generation in response to the growing public awareness that the world should try to curb the worst impacts of climate change.

INTERNATIONAL GROWTH

Increased investments in renewables and pledges to become net zero energy businesses would give oil and gas majors the so-called ‘licence to operate’ as the world is going through the energy transition. Since the pandemic hit the global economy, markets, and oil prices, UK-based major bp has become the poster child of pledges for diversification as it aims to innovate and reinvent itself as an integrated energy company. Other majors have also promised increased focus on reducing emissions as Europe’s biggest oil and gas companies have reiterated their recent climate action commitments since the pandemic struck. In many cases, innovation and diversification go hand in hand— companies in the oil and gas industry pledged to pour increased investments in innovative energy sources and solutions in order to diversify their oil and gas portfolios and bring their currently carbon-intensive operations to net zero by 2050 or sooner.

It’s not only the majors that are diversifying amid the near-term market challenges and the long-term challenge to remain relevant in the energy transition. A recent report by the Energy Industries Council (EIC) found that many companies in UK oil and gas supply chain are diversifying into renewables and non-energy sectors amid the low commodity prices, market uncertainty, the COVID-19 pandemic, and fierce competition. EIC’s Survive and Thrive Insight research showed that 49 percent of companies used diversification as their most used strategy, specifically de-risking their revenue sources to rely less on oil and gas going forward. “This year’s research has underlined how much more resilient UK businesses are to market crises, compared to five years ago when companies had to survive the 2014 oil price crash and the new lower for longer market conditions. Companies have learnt to permanently stay leaner and more agile, accepting in most cases that their future survival depends on no longer being over reliant on the oil & gas sector, which continues to be highly volatile and under pressure from future energy transition,” EIC CEO Stuart Broadley commented on the research.

Innovation

Diversification

Diversification is often linked with investment in innovations. Companies and industries are looking to reduce emissions with new technologies and to capture carbon dioxide. Oil majors have earmarked areas in which they believe they will excel in the future. BP and Eni will invest in significantly increased renewable energy power generation. Equinor aims to become an offshore wind major and develop carbon capture and storage projects. Shell invests in hydrogen, Total works in robotics and carbon capture and boosts its solar power portfolio in Europe.

bp has just unveiled its new strategy to become an integrated energy company as it pivots from an international oil company focused on producing resources to an integrated energy company focused on delivering solutions for customers.

The industry also looks at innovations to accelerate clean energy growth and reduce emissions. One of the largest oilfield services providers, Halliburton, has just announced the creation of Halliburton Labs to speed up clean energy development.

bp targets to boost its investment in low-carbon energy to around US$5 billion annually, which would be 10 times its current investment in lowcarbon energy solutions. Within ten years, bp aims to have developed around 50 gigawatts (GW) of net renewable energy generating capacity, a 20-fold increase compared to the 2.5 GW it has developed so far. The company aims to growing hydrogen to 10-percent share of core markets and producing more than 100,000 barrels a day of bioenergy, up from 22,000 today.

“We firmly believe that oil and gas will remain an affordable and reliable energy resource for decades to come. At the same time, we recognise the importance of developing alternative energy sources. We are excited to help advance solutions that have the potential for a long term, meaningful impact and that align well with our sustainability objectives,” said Jeff Miller, chairman, president and CEO of Halliburton.

“We believe our new strategy provides a comprehensive and coherent approach to turn our net zero ambition into action. This coming decade is critical for the world in the fight against climate change, and to drive the necessary change in global energy systems will require action from everyone,” chief executive officer Bernard Looney said. Shell, which also targets to become a net zero company on all the emissions from the manufacture of all its products by 2050 at the latest, is currently reshaping its downstream business and strategy towards a smaller, smarter refining portfolio focused on further integration with Shell Trading hubs, Chemicals, and Marketing. As part of this strategy, Shell sold earlier this year the Martinez Refinery in California to PBF Holding Company for US$1.2 billion, and announced in August 2020 it would transform its Tabangao Refinery in the Philippines into a full import terminal to optimise its asset portfolio and enhance its cost and supply chain competitiveness, as it sees declining refining margins which may remain depressed in the medium term.

In Canada, Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) is committing funding to support 20 projects that would use artificial intelligence and machine learning to better measure and locate methane emissions, and prototyping new approaches to convert natural gas to hydrogen. Apart from funding to specific projects, the oil and gas industry as a whole is using more of the digitalisation arsenal to transform their businesses—and this journey started before the pandemic. According to a PwC survey, oil and gas executives see the most potential for digitalisation in technologies combining data and analysis. The top five technologies executives identified include manufacturing execution systems (MES), cloud computing, energy analytics, connectivity and Internet of Things (IoT), and machine learning. MES facilitate coordination of operations, cloud computing helps improve data quality across value chains, energy analytics support optimisation of energy use and costs across operations, IoT supports remote performance, while machine learning could be used to improve efficiency in predictive maintenance, PwC’s analysis shows. As every company in the oil and gas sector and supply chain has its own strategies how to cope with the changes and challenges of the market, innovation and diversification are and will be key drivers of the evolution of the energy industry.

INNOVATION ZONE

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ON THE MOVE Transitions into new roles are undoubtedly some of the most challenging times in the lives of professionals, whether stepping into a new position by making a move from an external company, or through an internal promotion. Whilst most businesses have implemented a standard onboarding procedure, these typically only address transitions superficially; focusing on administrative elements, process standards and business procedures with a one-size-fits all approach. Executive appointments in particular are extremely high-stakes events and the difference between success and failure is at great benefit or cost to an organisation. Abrupt departures can attach a higher price tag than simply the direct expenses of outlays and overheads; companies may pay the premium of a knock to market standing through a set back to strategy or reputation. Despite their critical nature, companies widely perceive that a hands-off approach to supporting executive transitions is suitable; assuming experienced leaders can self-manage their assimilation. As a result, the absence of meaningful onboarding support within senior ranks is stark; a study conducted by Harvard Business Review

concluded that only 32% of executives felt their company sufficiently prepared them for their new role, with the majority viewing generic onboarding programs as a formality lacking in any real value. Incoming leaders face greater challenges in embedding into a role; these transitions are highly nuanced and internal and external appointments must work through complex professional mazes to fully appreciate the sphere of their remit. In tandem with assuming day-to-day responsibilities, executives understand the expectations of their performance, the scope of influence they hold, identify and engage with key stakeholders they should form relationships with, map where they must build or align capability in their team and decipher the political and cultural landscape around them. In addition, they may also grapple with an adjustment to their personal life; from extreme circumstances such as relocation to seemingly more minor elements changing the equilibrium to work life balance can impact their ability to access and confide in their support structure. Companies cannot expect these elements to fall into place following an off-the-shelf itinerary. Increased investment is unquestionably required, particularly with far more pressure to perform from

Lance Robertson

day one with dramatically less breathing room than those joining further down the organisation. Providing meaningful onboarding to facilitate a successful integration can benefit executives and organisations alike. Now more than ever, leaders must be equipped with valuable support in order to hit the ground running as the uncertainty of the current climate shows no mercy. Onboarding challenges have been exacerbated in recent times as we shift to a new way of working; home offices and travel bans provide less opportunity to take stock of many intangible factors surrounding a new appointment previously picked up in meeting rooms. These circumstances have caused companies to question how to approach onboarding in a digital environment, leading many to critically evaluate transition support more holistically. As a result we have seen increased interest from clients in our executive onboarding offering, The First 100 Days, a bespoke structured coaching program which provides a deeper layer of assurance in the transition process by enabling executives to navigate both old and new complexities in an independent and open environment.

By Sean Buchan

Managing Partner - EMEA at Ducatus Partners

Paul Lee

Tareq Kawash

Brookside Energy, the Australian listed exploration and production company with operations in the Anadarko Basin, has announced the appointment of Gracjan Lambert as Executive General Manager Commercial. He will work alongside Managing Director David Prentice as the company focusses on building their asset base.

Gracjan Lambert

Brookside Energy Appointments Commercial Executive

www.ducatuspartners.com

Endeavor Energy Resources Announces Executive Leadership Changes

Endeavor Energy Resources has announced the appointed of Lance Robertson as Chief Executive Officer following incumbent Chuck Meloy’s retirement. Lance joined Endeavor as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Development in 2017, before which was the Vice President for United States Unconventional Resources at Marathon. Prior to Marathon, he was with Pioneer Natural Resources for seven years, latterly serving as Vice President for Engineering and Exploitation. In his earlier career, Lance held engineering positions with ExxonMobil and Hess in both the United States and Africa.

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

Gracjan joins from Goshawk Energy where he was the General Manager Commercial and prior to this, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Red Emperor Resources, both based in Australia. His experience includes working for Total in Aberdeen and ExxonMobil in Warsaw and Houston, where he spent five years as Commercial Advisor, leading negotiations and conducting commercial analysis of prospective acquisitions across a wide portfolio of assets.

Tailwater Capital Announces Entrepreneur-in-Residence Appointment

Tailwater Capital, the United States based midstream focused private equity firm, has announced the appointment of Paul Lee as Entrepreneur-in-Residence. In this newlycreated role, Paul will focus on cultivating and evaluating investment opportunities across the operated upstream sector. Paul’s career has been focused in the oil and gas sector and most recently served as Vice President at Rees-Jones Holdings where he focused on assets in the Marcellus Shale play. He previously co-founded and served as Chief Financial Officer at Venado Oil and Gas, backed by both EnCap Investments and Riverstone Holdings.

McDermott Names New Regional Senior VP

McDermott has named Tareq Kawash as the Senior Vice President for the organisation’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business. Tareq has been with the company since 2016 and was formerly leading the Europe, Africa, Russia and Caspian region, which has now been combined with Middle East North Africa operations. He was previously with CB&I for over 15 years prior to the firm’s merger with McDermott and held a number of senior leadership roles with the business including Group Vice President, Engineering and Construction and Vice President Business Development. His earlier career includes working with KBR and Consolidated Contractors Company.

ON THE MOVE

Content provided by Ducatus Partners

Ocean Installer Appoints Offshore Wind Leader Ocean Installer has announced the establishment of a new business segment focused on offshore wind development, with Olav Hetland appointed as Director Offshore Wind Farms to lead this strategy. Olav joins from over a decade at Statkraft where he was most recently the Senior Vice president Wind and Solar Northwest Europe with the company. He brings over 30 years’ experience within the energy industry, including more than 17 years of experience in the renewables sector.

Olav Hetland

Sagar Kurada

Eos Energy Storage Appoints Chief Financial Officer

Eos Energy Storage, a manufacturer of safe, low-cost and long-duration zinc battery storage systems, has announced the appointment of a Sagar Kurada as Chief Financial Officer. The timing of this appointment comes after the announcement of an intended combination transaction, which will result in Eos becoming a publicly listed company. Prior to joining Eos, Sagar was the Chief Financial roles of HighTower Advisors before which he was a Managing Director of investment advisory firm FCM. He spent almost 15 years with GE, where he held executive level roles across multiple operating entities, as well as senior finance positions at group level.

OGUK Board Changes Announced

Industry body Oil & Gas UK has appointed Sian Lloyd Rees as its new Vice Co-Chair representing North Sea contractors, succeeding Phil Simons of Subsea 7 in this position. Sian is currently the United Kingdom Country Manager and Senior Vice President of Customer Management at Aker Solutions. Her career began in oil and gas at Stena Offshore and Halliburton before progressing into the IT industry, serving as European Director of start-up form Petrocosm and spending over 13 years with blue-chip Oracle in senior positions including Head of Global Accounts before she joined Aker Solutions in 2014.

Aker Solutions Appoint Chief Executive Officer

Aker Solutions have announced the appointment of Kjetel Digre as Chief Executive Officer. He was previously Senior Vice President of Operations and Asset Development for Aker BP, Aker’s oil company and largest holding. This appointment comes after Aker announcement of its plans to combine engineering firm Aker Solutions and platform builder Kvaerner, while spinning off Aker Solutions’ offshore wind and carbon capture businesses into two separate entities that will form a new renewable energy business, Aker Horizons, which is also proposing to acquire wind developer NBT AS to bolder their renewables footprint.

Weatherford Appoints General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer

Weatherford has appointed Scott Weatherholt as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. He success Christina Ibrahim, who joined Weatherford in 2015. Scott was previously Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Arena Energy where he focused on offshore Gulf of Mexico shelf exploration and production activities. Prior to this, he was an Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Midstates Petroleum, where his work included legal oversight of a merger with Amplify Energy and a large debt-for-debt recapitalisation. Scott also spent over 10 years with Samson Resources, where he was Assistant General Counsel of Operations. He began his career at Oklahoma-based law firm Pray Walker as an Associate in the energy practice group, focusing on oil and gas litigation.

Sian Lloyd Rees

Kjetel Digre

Scott Weatherholt

Equinor Appoints New Chief Executive Officer

Equinor has appointed its Head of Technology and Projects, Anders Opedal to the role of Chief Executive Officer as Eldar Saetre retires after leading the business for six years. He is tasked with a mandate to accelerate Equinor’s transformation into a broader energy company following previous work to re-focus on emission reduction and cleaner energy. Anders joined Equinor in 1997 as a Petroleum Engineer in the Statfjord operations and over the past two decades, has held a range of positions in the business covering drilling and wells, procurement and projects. He has served in numerous senior leadership positions including Chief Procurement Officer, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President for Development and Production International for Brazil. Prior to joining Equinor, he worked for Schlumberger and Baker Hughes.

OPINION Correctly, it was turned down, because Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) policy for over 40 years has been NOT to fund decommissioning - no brainer!. What were OGA’s motives and what were they thinking? They never even consulted with the industry in the interim.

WHO REGULATES THE REGULATORS? (Episode 3) By Hamish the experienced oilfield professional

“Who should we blame for the recent shoddy performance of UK Decom plc” was going to be my topic this month, but I’m afraid there is currently a much more pressing and fundamental issue – the very survival of the UK offshore Oil and Gas industry’s capability and core resources? The simple difference between being a satellite operation of Houston, Texas, or a vibrant global hub. With Covid-19’s inhibiting factors overlaid, this becomes a complex issue with many subplots and interested parties. To the worker splitting open bags of drilling mud beside quayside silos, it is about raising a family and attaining a simple pride in doing a good and necessary job. To the company employing him/her, it is the core requirement to generate income to sustain a structure of delivery and commercial survival. To the nation, it is about creating a sustainable economic model that creates wealth and underpins the societal structures we all term “The Western way of life!” But what are the implications and what does it mean for those that are responsible for regulating the sector, or the bodies that purport to represent the Oil and Gas sector and its specific interests? To them, you would think people’s jobs would be really important, wouldn’t you? Well, I’m asking the questions to whom and why, after reviewing recent events. This led me to examine their capabilities and actions, not just their rhetoric and media releases. Where else to start but the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA). Very adept at blowing their own trumpet and generating mountains of glossy reports and complex “Infographics”. But, what do they do besides? Well, back in April, they were approached with a novel concept for stimulating the market by advancing the return of tax reliefs.

So, we turn in hope to the self-declared “Proud champions of the UK offshore oil and gas industry”, Oil and Gas UK (OGUK). Deemed to represent the “Whole O & G sector”, they stood down their own “Supply chain forum” some two years ago and only resurrected it in the last couple of weeks, under severe criticism from their own members and the sector in general. They have proved totally incapable of balancing their portfolio of Operators, Teir-1 Contractors and SME’s. Yet, they spew out endless statistics and media “Soundbites”. They were also notable for their silence and physical absence in supporting both the “Wells P&A” and “Small subsea initiatives” previously referred to. Have no doubt, they only have the interests of “Big Oil” at their heart, exemplified by a Chief Executive who is on record as declaring that she only an interest in “High-tech jobs” and saying so in front of the Minister responsible for BEIS, until challenged by another participant in the dialogue. So, go hang the “Bag-splitter” and his family! Thankfully though, there are more straightforward and less duplicitous interest groups, none more vocal at the grassroots level than the (good ol’) OILC, now part of the national RMT Union, led by a Regional Organiser not averse to taking on the oil monoliths. He has been working tirelessly to lobby Governments (UK & Scottish) and Trade Bodies, actively opposing Shell Expro’s Curlew FPSO jobs migration to Norway and supporting the Wells P&A programme ideas to get his members back onto rigs and vessels on the UKCS.

Subsea UK, led by a seasoned, level-headed Chief Executive that has developed a members’ organisation that is an exemplar to all others. Great communications, constant fostering of innovation and review of process and a deeply nurtured belief in collaboration that manifests itself in global marketing, joint technical development and commercial opportunities. Recent diversification to other sectors has proved, at "The very survival least, that some capability can be retained along with of the UK offshore globally recognised expertise.

Oil and Gas industry’s capability and core resources is at stake!"

Along with other initiatives, the OGA made a big noise about evaluating the industry’s ideas and taking them to HM Treasury. In May, the OGA Decommissioning Taskforce was formed and two of the primary targets for support were “Wells P&A” and “Small subsea decom activity”. The basic economics of both having already been previously assessed – (Silence!). In August, nearly 4 months later, the industry body, Decom North Sea (DNS) requested an update on progress, to break the secrecy of the OGA internal procrastination. But it appears, however, that in the meantime, the concepts developed with DNS’s members to use an already familiar and adopted HM Treasury process to access the substantial funds already paid in by the industry (Some £12.9 Billion in “credit”) and making these available to stimulate the works, through a very cleverly structured and well thought-out scheme, focussing on the advanced early repayment of decommissioning tax reliefs, had been side-lined by OGA. This scheme was at zero cost to the industry, Treasury and the UK taxpayer. Instead the OGA has approached HM Treasury for a substantial “Investment” loan (£100m), necessitating substantial repayments and creating unknown future cashflow issues.

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

Now you wonder why the clever, experienced and well-paid individuals in the OGA, with their MSc’s in Decommissioning, did not know what everybody else in the industry does?. We now have to wait to see what can be saved from this mess. Meantime, jobs and UK industry capability are disappearing from the UK supply chain, “Like snaw off a dyke”, as their rural-dwelling Head of Supply Chain is likely to remark with his Doric accent. One has to wonder whether the OGA really cares?

On a geographical and more diverse sectoral basis, East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) has proven, without doubt, the benefits of a parochial membership base, but with a much wider vision. It is directed by an ever-enthusiastic and approachable CEO, who came from the charity sector but has applied sound values and interpersonal skills to develop collaboration and a very effective lobby for jobs in their home patch, without the kudos nor advantage of the private funding sloshing around Aberdeen.

So, finally, to the once moribund Decom North Sea (DNS), emasculated by years of leadership emanating from Operators and hamstrung by that limited oil company culture. Unhappy members and falling numbers, until the new Interim Managing Director took over a few months ago. Ignoring Thatcher’s philosophy, he has taken the organisation on a full “U-turn” and restructured things to actually provide what member’s want and need – work and job opportunities. Now the driving force behind the initiative to save jobs, resources and capability in the decommissioning sector and beyond, DNS is pushing aside the obstacles and ineptitudes of other more vocal industry bodies to access the £12.9 Billion of “Credits” in HM Treasury’s accounts, to actually help the “Bag-splitter”, the SME director, the Tier 1 Contractor and even the oil company AND, most importantly of all, to retain the jobs – that are so very valuable, to the individual, the sector and the country! But to bring this about we need joint action – NOW! Who would you go to?

TRAVEL PARTNER Going above and beyond to support a vital service At Traveleads, we pride ourselves on building partnerships with our clients. We work tirelessly to look after your best interests in a number of ways – all with the aim of saving you time, money and adding value through expert consultancy. Ultimately, we want to make life easier for our clients, with a huge focus on the welfare of their most valuable asset - their people. Never more so than at a time like this.

Supporting essential workers Our customers span a variety of sectors – from energy to medical services, manufacturing to sports teams. And whilst there is currently a global ban on the movement of people, the government has recognised the need to keep certain industries operating, meaning many still need to travel domestically and internationally. Whilst this may sound simple, it’s been a real complex challenge that our team has risen to. Let’s look at the energy sector in particular, which like others is working from home where possible. But with critical operations taking place up and down the country, on and offshore, there is no getting away from the fact that these essential workers need to travel; more than 12,000 UK staff are still working offshore, amounting to 40% of the total workforce across 147 offshore platforms. With closed borders, reduced services and a myriad of other complications, our expert advice and continued support to keep them moving safely continues to be pivotal. Traveleads Sales Director Sally Cassidy explains: “Arranging domestic travel to and from Aberdeen, as well as international travel to key energy hubs around the globe, has certainly been interesting at times. With border and quarantine restrictions, as well as complex visa requirements, our team’s skills are being put to the test but despite the odds, they always go above and beyond. Making it work for the client is non-negotiable.”

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Communication and forward-thinking The Traveleads partnership ethos is stronger than ever. Our team of experts are fully conversant with all the latest travel updates, guiding our clients on the best options available and alternative solutions in response to rapidly changing flight schedules and wider travel restrictions. Regular communication and proactive support for all our clients has been vital. Firstly, to provide reassurance that measures are in place for safe travelling. Secondly, as their travel partner, we are working closely with them to fully understand re-entry and return to work plans, offering assistance to update travel policies and procedures with passenger safety at the forefront, whilst continuing to deliver the efficiencies our clients depend on.

What the future looks like We know many of our energy clients are looking to resume travel as soon as is safe to do so and we stand ready to support them with this and the increasingly complex requirements that will no doubt continue. We continue to consult heavily, offering advice and knowledge even on speculative plans to support decision-making in a very challenging landscape. As we look to the future, we recognise that welfare of travellers will be more important than ever and we’re already liaising with suppliers to ensure they’re putting in robust measures to uphold the highest possible standards as travel increases.

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We believe in delivering more than just travel management. We make our customers lives easier and this is proving to be invaluable at a time like this. So, whether our clients are travelling or not right now, we’re here.

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For all enquiries visit www.traveleads.co.uk or contact Sally Cassidy on m. 07715 079 723 scassidy@traveleads.net

LEGAL & FINANCE

Former Royal Navy Navigator retrains to specialise in providing financial advice to the maritime and offshore sector.

Louise Worrall, Advising Principal of Financial Advice firm Louise Worrall Wealth Management, has specialised in providing comprehensive financial advice to those working in the maritime and offshore sectors. Based on her own experiences at sea, she applies her personal understanding of the life and quirks of working in this area, to providing advice specifically designed to fellow mariners.

lthough there are many financial advice options, Louise knew from her own previous career, when trying to find a suitable adviser, that few truly understood the ups and downs, the financial elements and scheduling challenges that arise from working in this sector. By providing flexibility, understanding and years of experience, she is working to make advice accessible and relevant to those that work offshore. Louise did not start out in the financial services industry. Joining the Royal Navy at 17, she undertook a degree at Southampton University before starting Officer Training at Britannia Royal Naval College. Focused on spending a career at sea Navigating, she spent her early career deployed off the North and East coasts of Africa, before taking her first Navigation Department.

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

Despite planning the seafaring career her whole life, things didn’t quite pan out as expected. During her last seagoing role, Louise’s health started to decline. Following a couple of residential stays at Headley Court Defence Rehabilitation Centre, she started to suffer life changing limitations which were later found to be related to a genetic condition. Facing a lifetime of disability and unable to go back to sea, her focus changed to how to work with the industry in a different way. In 2017 Louise attended the St. James’s Place Academy programme in Edinbugh. Enabling her to undertake a full diploma in Financial Planning and to set up the business, Louise Worrall Wealth Management. This natural progression capitalised on an aptitude with numbers that is fostered through a career navigating, as well as the ability to engage with the maritime sector once again.

Louise Worrall Wealth Management is now focused on providing financial planning and advice, including investment planning, retirement planning, property purchase and protecting yourself and your loved ones, to those that work offshore, in the maritime industry and auxiliary industries. If you have financial concerns or questions, or just want more information, Louise can be contacted directly at louise.worrall@sjpp.co.uk

Louise Worrall Wealth Management is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products.

LEGAL & FINANCE

By Will Rollinson, employment and immigration lawyer, Brodies LLP

Positive action in recruitment

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; what do employers need to consider? The Equality Act 2010 allows employers to take positive action in two circumstances. These are: General positive action - e.g. creating a women's mentoring group to help female staff meet senior female leaders in an attempt to help improve under representation of women in senior roles; and Tie breaker action in recruitment - where two or more candidates are as qualified as one another, in certain circumstances an employer may recruit one with a protected characteristic over the others.

Any preferential treatment of someone with a protected characteristic which goes beyond this will be unlawful positive discrimination. The 2019 employment tribunal decision in Furlong v Chief Constable of Cheshire Police is thought to be the first case which considered the tie-breaker provisions.

Furlong v Chief Constable of Cheshire Police Cheshire Police had put in place an action plan to try to improve diversity in its police force to be more reflective of the demographic it served. Progress had been slow and, in a bid to address this, the police decided to take a new approach to their 2018 intake of police constables. Applicants were put through a hard sift and those who made it through were scored at an assessment centre and then interviewed. The interview process was simply a pass/fail with the

BRENT vs WTI 1 YEAR

force deciding that anyone who passed was deemed to be of equal merit. Relying on the tie-breaker provision in the Equality Act, they appointed all BAME; female; LGBT; and disabled applicants who had passed the interview. Other candidates were put on hold as there were not enough vacancies for all applicants. Mr Furlong was a white, heterosexual male who was put on hold. He was told that he could not have done more during the interview

WTI 1 MONTH

process. After submitting a complaint to the force, Mr Furlong then brought a claim for direct discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, race, and sex. The Employment Tribunal decided in Mr Furlong's favour. They thought it to be a fallacy that the force deemed 127 applicants who passed the interview to be of equal merit. Whilst there was no detailed scoring exercise, it was clear from the information available that there was qualitative data from which it could be ascertained that some candidates had performed better than others. A blanket approach of this scale was disproportionate to the (laudable) aim of trying to improve diversity in the workforce. Commentary It is recommended that employers adopt better monitoring and analysis of existing initiatives in order to demonstrate proportionality in their steps rather than adopting blanket approaches such as the one taken in the above case. Whilst general positive action was not examined in any particular detail, with gender pay gap reporting in place and ethnicity pay gap reporting on the horizon, many firms have a renewed focus on initiatives aimed at improving participation and progression of underrepresented groups in their organisations. Careful consideration should be given to what amounts to lawful positive action and what might fall foul of the legislation.

BRENT 1 MONTH

LEGAL & FINANCE

By Erica Kinmond, Head of Employment, Blackwood Partners LLP

www.blackwood-partners.com

Erica Kinmond

Blackwood Partners: What actions can employers take in light of 14 day quarantine for travellers?

In recent weeks we have seen the “air bridges” so recently established with countries such as Spain, Luxembourg, France and the Netherlands slam closed on short notice with thousands of travellers then rushing to return to the UK to avoid the need to quarantine for 14 days. This has left many employers wondering how to manage the business risks arising from the travel uncertainty.

ome commentators have expressed a lack of sympathy for travellers, citing the re-imposition of quarantine measures as an entirely foreseeable risk. However, for many people international travel is necessary for work, to commute, to visit family or due to the financial implications of cancellation. Employers who have never asked their employees to confirm their vacation travel plans before may now be considering doing so. Some may be considering instructing their employees not to travel to certain destinations or contemplating disciplinary action against those who do. Others will be wondering whether they need to pay employees who are unable to attend work due to quarantine.

www.ogvenergy.co.uk I Sepetember 2020

So what actions are open to employers? In the first instance, it will be reasonable for many employers to start asking for details of their employee’s travel plans. If employers don’t know that an employee has been travelling to a high risk country they won’t be able to protect the health and safety of their colleagues. It may also be necessary to understand if someone is at higher risk of quarantine for business continuity reasons. It should be borne in mind that some of the data collected is likely to be special category data as it will relate to health so it would be advisable to carry out a data protection impact assessment. Employers may wish to refer to the useful guidance which the ICO has issued on collecting health data in relation to Covid-19 which is helpful here.

employees use up their annual leave due to the advance notice requirements under the Working Time Regulations 1998.

Statutory Sick Pay is payable where individuals In most circumstances it is unlikely to be are isolating due to infection or having been in reasonable to instruct employees not to contact with someone infected with Covid-19 travel overseas in their personal leisure time but is not payable for quarantine after overseas or discipline them for doing so. Indeed newly travel. Contractual sick pay is subject to its issued government guidance available at terms but may only cover where employees https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selfare actually sick and may be at an isolating-after-returning-to-the-ukemployer’s discretion at any event. your-employment-rights has Employees could therefore find stated that “Dismissal should themselves on zero pay in If employees are able to be a last resort”. these circumstances and it work from home they, would benefit all parties to However, employers be clear on this risk. should be paid as normal. can make clear to their If they have additional workforce what the However, employers should annual leave which they implications could be for also carefully consider the can use up this could also them in relation to pay if personal circumstances of be a way to deal with the they were to travel overseas employees when applying for personal reasons and any blanket policies regarding unexpected absence. then be unable to return to international travel as these work as a result. There is also can give rise to the risk of indirect clearly a distinction to be drawn discrimination claims, for example, between someone who travels knowing if employees were foreign nationals that quarantine will be required and someone travelling home. who is caught by a change in the rules. With Covid-19 likely to be with us for a long If employees are able to work from home, time to come, and with concerns about an they should be paid as normal. If they have upturn in cases across Europe and beyond it additional annual leave which they can use would be prudent for employers to consider and up this could also be a way to deal with the review their policies on travel now, if they have unexpected absence. However, it is unlikely not already, to address the potential impact on to be possible for employers to insist that their business.

KEEPING YOU SAFE. The safety of our delegates and colleagues comes first. Survivex and AIS Training have introduced a comprehensive range of measures to ensure the safety of delegates and staff as our Aberdeen and Newcastle training centres have reopened. Our safety measures include but are not limited to...

SANITISING STATIONS

STAGGERED START TIMES AND BREAKS

SANITISERS PROVIDED AT EVERY ENTRANCE AND CLASSROOM.

TO AVOID CROWDING IN COMMON AREAS.

SMALLER CLASS SIZES AND RECONFIGURED CLASS LAYOUTS TO ALLOW SAFE DISTANCING.

NO CASH

CONTACTLESS CARD PAYMENTS ONLY.

PAPERLESS SIGN-IN REGISTRATION SYSTEM REDUCES CONTACT AND CROWDING.

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DELEGATES SHOWING SYMPTOMS WILL GO HOME IMMEDIATELY AND RESCHEDULE WIHOUT PENTALTY.

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