Member Info for romaron

I wonder if these are evidence that we are close to an announcement and they're putting the ducks in order at EnQuest Towers.

1. The Indonesian deal announcement.

2. Announcing the PSP awards.

3. Shuffling the Bonds.

4. Easter deadline.

The Bonds/HYNs is just a feeling in my water as is the Easter deadline. People do love deadlines and figures in to the lawyers and accountants plus there was an unusual movement in the HYNs today. They reported a movement but the price remained the same as the 14th. It could be that they changed hands in a bookkeeping entry. All pretty flimsy but the lack of news doesn't mean there hasn't been plenty of paddling below the waterline.

I heard that Serica swiped right.

I had a dream.

AB joins that illustrious roll of Lord (Peter) Palumbo and Roger Dudding who saw a potential and continued a project that started in 2010 with the formation of EnQuest (shortly to be joined by a little known UK investor, romaron). He [AB] joined up the skills of the UK O&G industry with the explosive growth of Asia. But he wasn’t the first. The Sultan of Brunei saw the potential before him. In the 1970’s he developed the oil & gas industry bringing Middle Eastern levels of wealth to the small country. This true anecdote may give you some idea of the country in its heyday. I was included on a coach tour of the RR and Bentley factory at Crewe in the late 90’s. You don’t see them so often here but many were ‘pimped’ up with outrageous colours and chrome. Money clearly no concern and I asked the guy showing us around that with this ostentatious show of wealth was he ever impressed? He replied “Once, by the Sultan of Brunei, it wasn’t the block order of 50 or so Bentleys and RRs he ordered. It was the motorway he built to drive them on that impressed me.”

Brunei has a declining O&G industry but unlike the UK they realise the value it has for its citizens. It doesn’t hurt either that EnQuest is run by a fastidious and modest Muslim in this area of Asia.

Renewables (and gas) misinformation on the BBC:

https://open.substack.com/pub/davidturver/p/renewables-misinformation-bbc?r=gdn8q&utm_medium=ios

That isn't a question by the way. I thought that the programme was pretty well put together. To paraphrase Churchill's democracy quote - “The BBC is the worst form of public service broadcaster, except for all the others.”

They do try to get a balanced programme and they are very cost conscious. David Turver is largely self-funded and gets some return from substack. Adam Berman is paid a salary by Energy UK who in turn have Dale Vince of Ecotricity as a paid up member. Not evenly balanced at all I'd say. On top of that there is a fair chance that Energy UK have better contacts and maybe a PR agency whose success is measured in getting him on programmes like this. And bvefore anyone criticises - the BBC is still gold standard for accuracy and envied throughout the world - just not here.

I could go on but as long as we keep knocking at the door and drip feeding information we'll continue to get the true story out there.

£127k per house - £1.27m for 10 houses. Refusing to answer FOI requests using Section 43 (2) for the Retrofit and performance of Energetik. But vandalism of our heritage is OK. Did you know that Enfield declared a Climate Emergency in 2019? Plenty of officers for that.

I have my obsessions but not for Forms 8.3. They require everyone with a position of over 1% to fill in the form to ensure transparency and no dodgy dealings. Has anybody totted up these holders that would not appear in the Major Holdings that are on the EnQuest web page?

I'd love to see Jim Ratcliffe put in a bid for British Steel. That would be a legacy to leave. Maybe he could do a deal with Grangemouth involvement too. That would send a signal to the world that we're still an industrial Nation. If we're happy to spaff £billions on renewables there must be plenty of wiggle room. They do it elsewhere in Europe and we have the advantage of huge deposits of all forms of fossil fuels. I'd love to see that. Jim in, Ed out!

They chopped down a 500 old year oak tree in Enfield. I have an ash tree in my garden with a TPO. It has a circumference of 2.4m (8'). I had the tree surgeon around because it is close to my house and I wanted 3m off. Normally I tell my regular man and he gets the OK from Enfield Council. This time the Council's TS turned up. He hobbled from his car on a pair of crutches. He explained that he used to be a tree surgeon and the crutches were a result of an accident. Turns out that he stepped backwards into a stump-grinder. 14 pints of blood and an air-ambulance saved him. He offered to show me the pictures. I declined. Then, after me expressing sympathy he went back to the office and blocked the trimming. My TS had to reapply and they've agreed to 2m. The tree touches the f*cking roof. Meanwhile they allow a king of the trees - a 6m diameter oak to be chopped down without any protection. No wonder they retrofit at £1274k a house and have spaffed an untold amount on Energetik (borrowings £60-£90 million) a mini Drax that is another money-pit.

"Aberdeen’s world-first hydrogen bus fleet has been off the road for almost a year – and the council might have no way of fuelling them for months yet.

A multi-million-pound parade of H-powered buses are stacked up at First Bus’ King Street depot – as they have been since July.

The Wrightbus vehicles were the first hydrogen-fuelled double decker buses to operate anywhere in the world when they launched on the Peterculter to Tillydrone number 19 route in early 2021.

Each cost around £500,000. They were bought as part of a £8.3 million city council project funded by the European Union and Scottish Government.

Concerns have been raised that First Bus may hand them back to the council – and stick them for the bill for their temporary replacements – if the shortage continues.

And The P&J can reveal council chiefs are bracing for the fuel scarcity to last through until the autumn as they bring the 10-year-old refuelling stations back from the brink of “failure”."

----

This is what happens when Councils "invest". They really should stick to potholes and bin collections. The killer is of course the "grants" from EU ad the Scottish Government. Who pays for these "grants"?

They then kid themselves that they've only lost half the amount or whatever bit the grant paid for. Of course you're then left with a white elephant that continues to rack up bills.

Unless you're an evangelist most people are slowly becoming aware of these false promises/prophets. Doesn't augur well for the promotion of heat pumps.

Meanwhile the unsung diesel engines trudge reliably on.

"The key driver of the rapid renewable ramp-up was the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive - part of the 2020/20/20 package. It was certainly the thing that Treasury officials were more concerned about breaching than any domestic commitment. So who signed up the UK to particularly tough renewables targets? The rumour, although never confirmed, is that then-PM Tony Blair got confused between energy and electricity in the negotiations and agreed to 20% of energy coming from renewables rather than 20% of electricity. An expensive mistake - as 20% energy translated into c.35% of electricity, from basically a standing start and no major hydro or biomass resources, which helped other countries. Because we are swotty, the UK basically met this target even though, because of Brexit, we did not, in the end, need to. We also decided to pay for what was essentially an innovation support policy through people and businesses’ energy bills rather than general taxation, which would have been more progressive (but would require other taxes)."

From an article by Peter Atherton - Energy analyst

*Reason I posted is that the complications of energy are enough to confuse even the brightest and the British do have a reputation for c*ck ups.

And if you don't like them I have others. Nice picture of Beijing Barry: https://x.com/BarryGardiner/status/1911053109230514238/photo/1

Https://petition.parliament.uk/signatures/151633690/signed

They won't Nationalise. The arguments for renewables are crashing because they are built on fantasy. Perfect though. Ed is the darling of the extreme Left and they will never say NO to Nationalisation. If they choose steel where does that leave Net Zero? They are literally on the horns of a dilemma especially if our industry plays the verge of bankruptcy card to an essential industry. Does this silence the Left because they will acquiesce to continuing to keep producing virgin (echoes of coal-mine closures) steel which flies in the face of NZ ideology.

*If you want some interesting background (Oct 23 will love this) there is a breakdown by Unite. It is nonsensical and two of the authors work for Uplift. This is how sinister and far-reaching the feelers of the fanatics reach: https://www.unitetheunion.org/what-we-do/unite-investigates/unplugging-energy-profiteers-the-case-for-public-ownership/unite-investigates-renationalising-energy-costs-and-savings-full-report

Parliament to be recalled tomorrow re: Nationalising British Steel.

This is massive. Time for Ed Miliband to do the honourable thing. Oil and gas is also of National Importance.

Usual stuff Oct 23. Rubble from grouting the paving, cardboard and a hosepipe without any holes in it. I didn't go to their shop as it's full of junk. I'd been having trouble as I jet-washed and realised the hosepipe was to thin for the Hozelock fittings and kept spraying me at intervals. I never realised that there must be 1/2" and 15mm fittings on plastic hoses? I then went to B&Q where I picked up new knee-pads. Called "Site" as their own make though cheaper only had one strap and a Resolva weed spray on special offer (£5.00 from £7.55). Got 2 bottles of milk at Aldi and a Melton Mowbray pie because I had a few drinks last night in Hammersmith (by the river) and had a need for some fat.

Once I've calmed down from all the excitement it'll be time to plan for tomorrow's early raid on the fruit & veg stall at Barnet market tomorrow morning. Those avocados and figs disappear so quickly. Thanks for asking. This board needed a bit of livening up!

In a recurring dream I had I become a successful investor and pay for a dogsbody.

I'm including this under the subject. I was listening to LBC as I drove to the tip this morning (exciting life I lead) and I had LBC on and James O'Brien. Earlier I caught the tail-end of Nick Ferrari and he'd been talking about NZ.

What really surprised me was that the Left Wing rabble-rouser and supporter of NZ was suggesting that Keir Starmer was the problem. Now this is a man in love with himself, Dale Vince and any other Tory/Reform hater so it was actually quite out of character. I suspect he has a new book or trying to be more of a shock-jock but I think (hope) it is possibly that he is on a downward spiral. Not a collapse but his numbers are falling (I can only take so much of him and change channels frequently) and he wants to prove he is his own man. He thinks Starmer has all the evidence and won't act. The evidence is what O'Brien thinks it is, especially the effect of Brexit. He even thinks that as a decent number of Brexit voters have left the mortal coil it is time to re-enter Europe. He doesn't suspect for one moment that many young people voted for Brexit. I was a remainer but the ECHR doesn't represent my views as stupidly I think the majority is still important and not all people who show nativism are deplorables. It is as always, nuanced. Not with O'Brien.

Maybe, just maybe the chink that is opening is getting wider by the minute. Starmer is upsetting the far left and that is good for us. The far-left are strong backers of the green blob. Not necessarily as believers but they are naturally against any support for business and have a special hatred of profit and dividends. They still believe, against all the evidence, that Nationalisation works.

Starmer is going nowhere but I hope O'Brien disappears up his own microphone. I'm taking it as a good sign.

Hi Dumbly, we are broadly aligned but I disagree with timing. ESIM was a poorly thought out reaction that has caused untold damage and needs repealing/replacing. Labour's first misstep was imo endorsing it and whacking on another 3% to the EPL. And, as you point out, we could have good news regarding environmental concerns and a possible green light for further development of B&B that is covered by "the spring". The date of May 28 gives plenty of time for cabinet infighting and 'events' to unfold. We are now in a quandary of whether an extremely cautious PM will act out of character and implement changes that may benefit us before 28 May and I assume there would be a period of review following the responses. In the review it says this:

"After a period of several changes to the fiscal regime, I recognise the importance of providing the oil and gas sector with long-term certainty on taxation. That is why this government is committed to ending the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) on 31 March 2030, or earlier if the Energy Security Investment Mechanism is triggered. Once the EPL ceases, it is the government’s intention to implement a new mechanism that gives investors certainty about how the fiscal regime will respond to any future oil and gas price shocks." Wiggle room there.

It would be nice if this Government could move from crusading and revert to what politicians all eventually do, that is expediency. They might also rediscover pragmatism.

The memo hasn't reached Peston or Theresa May's right-hand man Gavin Bardwell as of late yesterday evening. They're both closer to the action than we are. Mind you, Ørsted seem to be going through a period of buttock-clenching. I worry that a RTO might attract the wrong media comment. What is to be gained? It will be spun into "obscene profits" and in a world that loves to scapegoat why bother.

Nothing a few billion in increased subsidies can't handle. Paid for out of the public purse, naturally. And this "energy security, energy independence, affordability" - renewables fail on every metric but you shouldn't judge a religion by these corporeal standards.

I have sent this to various sources. Barwell will be getting letters. Peston is a lost cause.

Hi xxxxxx, in case you didn't watch it:

Peston last night - listen from 27.00 https://www.itv.com/watch/peston/2a4458/2a4458a0354

Peston was interviewing Nigel Farage who said “energy costs are 5X what they are in the US” and added “renewables don’t work without subsidies and there is enough gas and oil (albeit depending on price) to not only supply UK but to be exporters.”

Peston guffawed and threw in “comparative advantage” regarding steel as a riposte which kinda missed the target as cheap energy is exactly that . Farage spotted the error immediately.

At the end (31:25) Peston brought in Lord Gavin Barwell who’s by-line is ‘Former No.10 Chief of Staff’ which kinda gives the game away as it was to Theresa May for comment and is there I guess as a fact checker?

Barwell agreed with Farage that Steel is important for National Security and added “but where he’s [Farage] wrong is that we’re too dependent on the gas price. Go to the Carbon Brief website and see that the the electricity price almost exactly correlates with the gas price.”

Eh - the same Carbon Brief that headlined renewables being 9X CHEAPER than gas back in the day?

No wonder Peston gets access to top politicians. They know he is as challenging as a warm bath and a Net Zero supporter.

*I went to Carbon Brief website but it is full of propaganda and I couldn't find what Barwell was referring to.

Kinda pointless now I'd say. We only have 14 working days anyway and I'd accuse both boards of recklessness if they pushed ahead under these conditions. The only route for the companies presently is to stick to their knitting. I doubt we'll have any resolution before the deadline and this Govt loves procrastination when it comes to domestic issues. Our future is out of our control. Stuck between a US President who is rejecting the world order of decades and a UK Government openly hostile to the oil & gas industry and seemingly unconcerned about energy prices or the future of heavy industries, TBF the previous Govt wasn't any friendlier.

How many Labour MPs does it take to change a lightbulb? They don’t. They hold a consultation called “Going Forward in Darkness”.

On Day 112 of our economic crisis, the Chancellor gave a brief statement to the House in reaction to the Trump tariffs and declared “nothing is off the table.”

“What is on the table?” asked MPs. Do we even have a table?

Tables, of course, are made in China, cost 14p and collapse when you put a mug on them – as resilient as the Chancellor, who inspires net-zero confidence. Literally anyone could do this job better. Pat McFadden. Michael Barrymore, Milli Vanilli. I’ll stop short at Kwasi Kwarteng, who now judges the topless darts on GB News.

Tim Stanley - The Telegraph