United Terra Enterprises provides sustainable and pioneering solutions within the energy sector. Through three distinct segments – Oil & Gas, Wind & Solar and Hydrogen – the company remains steadfast in its mission to foster an environmentally conscious and prosperous future. Hannah Barnett spoke to Founder & CEO Peter Krempin, CFO Bill Cummins, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors Patrick Allman-Ward and Group COO Bayne Assmus to learn more.
United Terra Enterprises is a multifaceted energy business, based in Liechtenstein, with a focus on the oil and gas sector. Various initiatives in renewable energy are also currently under evaluation in order to develop a balanced energy portfolio within the next three years.
“Oil and gas is much more than energy for trucks,” said Peter Krempin, Founder & CEO. “Without it, there would not be many of the products that keep the world turning. What many people don’t understand is that the farming industry, chemical industry and a lot of other industries rely on hydrocarbons. The reality is, for at least the next 50 years, without oil and gas companies the world will not turn.”
“All anyone has to do is look out the window to see the use of hydrocarbons,” agreed Bill Cummins, CFO. “Not even out of a window, look at a window; an immense amount of energy is used to melt down sand to make the glass. We see glass towers being built all over the world - we wouldn’t have them without hydrocarbons, because we can’t produce enough electricity to power those sort of furnaces.”
A multifaceted outlook
As the company is keen to point out, even electric vehicles and solar panels require hydrocarbons to produce them in the first place. As a result, the United Terra
Enterprises’ ethos is to emphasise that a multifaceted approach is needed to the energy transition; it cannot be rushed.
“We need more time, that’s our job as an oil and gas principal leader,” Mr Krempin added.
“The energy transition is difficult. We all know solar, wind and hydrogen are good proposals, but green hydrogen doesn’t yet make money. So, we say: why not go to blue hydrogen first to start to change something? It’s a process. We are a small company, but we want to do our best to help the world get better.”
The corporate vision of United Terra Enterprises emphasises the necessity of a dual-track approach, embracing renewable energy in recognition of a world that is evolving. As a result, the company currently welcomes hydrogen as a future-visioned business, once the infrastructure has developed and matured.
“The energy transition is real, climate change is real, no one is denying that,” said Patrick Allman-Ward, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. “We must decarbonise the energy system. But the idea that we
can flip a switch and change something that has taken nearly 300 years to build in just 25, is crazy.
“Whilst we need renewable energies, society still runs on hydrocarbons, not just for fuel. Imagine what the world would be like if we didn’t have pharmaceuticals made from petroleum products and we didn’t have all of the kit currently used in modern health care, we would be back in the 19th century. So, this is not a simple solution. There is no silver bullet. The global energy system is highly complex and it’s going to take time to evolve.”
Potential projects
As part of this multifaceted approach, United Terra Enterprises is also committed to solar as an affordable, efficient and environmentally friendly way to pro duce energy. The company’s goal is to develop solar and wind farms of up to 200MW, including up to 50MWh storage capacity, in the Mediterranean region.
Focusing on areas with good sun exposure and shortages of energy supply, the company plans to enhance the Mediterranean’s economic prosperity as part of a €200 million investment.
“We also need to commit to decarbonising our existing production where possible,” said Mr Allman-Ward. “This means to keep doing what we are doing, but with less energy and less waste, certainly when it comes to the gas industry.”
One of the potential avenues the company may explore in the renewable space involves carbon capture and storage. The blue hydrogen production process, for
example, requires that the CO2 produced is sequestered underground, an action that can be controversial.
“I’m a geologist and frankly, there’s an awful lot of nonsense about carbon sequestration and how unproven it is,”
Mr Allman-Ward said. “Most hydrocarbon resources have been in the ground for tens or hundreds of millions of years. So, to say that putting the CO2 back where the hydrocarbons came from in the first place means it’s all going to leak out again, is rubbish.
“Clearly, there are some technical challenges, but conceptually, these fields are perfectly capable of retaining CO2 for the same period - millions of years. So, this is a real growth area, because as the sector matures, we have even more depleted fields that we can use as a place to store the CO2. That’s a very exciting opportunity for our industry.”
United Terra Enterprises is also a uniquely positioned onshore Albanian oil producer, having operated in the country since 2012. Over this period, it has successfully produced over 1.3 million barrels of oil. But the inherent potential of such projects is not limited to the oil and gas sector.
“We have an opportunity to put together an interesting investment package with several different aspects, whether it be solar, hydrogen or traditional oil and gas,” said Bayne Assmus, Group COO. “And it’s not just Albania, there are a few other entry points as well.”
Contracting the right people has proven crucial in developing the most efficient solar solutions, without skimping on cost.
“It is important to have a very skilled tech nical advisor, to make a thorough analysis of the weather at the location over the years,” Mr Krempin explained. “We are looking into hybrid solar parks too, with some battery storage. What we are thinking of doing at some farms in the north of Albania, is to position the panels high up so they can follow the sun. The farmers working the fields can still have their business and come poor weather the panels can even be used as a roof to protect crops.”
Future proof
United Terra Enterprises is clearly an innovative company with plenty of moving parts. Indeed, this is by design, rather than accident.
“The entrepreneurial spirit is really key to our business development,” said Bill Cummins, CFO. “We’re pretty lean. So, we can decide if something’s worth pursuing quickly. Then it’s about trying to go down the path of due diligence with negotiations to determine whether we can get a deal done.”
“We have a combination of the ability to make quick decisions, and a fundamental cadre of expertise,” added Mr Allman-Ward. “We are staffed by people who have been in the industry for a very long time. This means we have the expertise to make that due diligence process happen very quickly.”
As the CEO of a private company operating in the oil and gas sector, Mr Krempin is well aware of the difficulties of remaining stable and financially sound. Following several turbulent periods in the market over the last decade, the survival of United Terra
Enterprises is something he attributes to hard work and resilience.
“Standing behind your own ideas, I believe, is a key factor in our success,” he said. “The reason we have survived is by always working together to identify the next step. I love working in a team with professionals. And we are now ready to execute our ideas.”
“We’ve all been through the trenches during the worst of the down periods in the sector,” Mr Cummins agreed. “We fought, and we survived. And now we are restructuring the company, with some Board and personnel additions. We’re in a place that should be attractive to all sorts of different investors, employees and other stakeholders.”
For Mr Allman-Ward, who joined in November 2023 and boasts an illustrious CV stretching from Shell to small independents, it is the start-up attitude at United Terra Enterprises that makes it such a dynamic workplace. “It’s very exciting,” he said. “There’s huge growth potential and opportunity to start with something small and to develop it to become successful.”
“My motivation is the opportunity to engage in that start-up aspect too,” Mr Assmus concluded. “It means there’s the opportunity to be involved in day-to-day decisions to implement growth. I’ve been with bigger companies, smaller companies and other start-ups over the years and start-ups are always the most interesting. They give the greatest satisfaction at the end of the day because there’s the incentive to cultivate something from nothing. I guess that’s the gardener in me.” n
