Member Info for romaron

Https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/iain-dale/cross-question-with-iain-dale-13-09-watch-again/

Since juststopoil won the election I wonder what one of their main backers, Dale Vince, thinks. Listen at 56:50 – he thinks ““bacon is more dangerous than North Korea”. I'm gonna try to get Rod Liddle's attention. Ridicule gets further than facts. Pass it on.

(4) “No one could have foreseen the incredible growth of this city into what it’s become today.”

The UK managed to convert close to 13 million households from running on coal gas to natural gas in a decade, Shanks said.

“The new gas was cheap, it was convenient, and people liked that it came from our shores,” he said.

Shanks said this underlined the need for the UK to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, with the decarbonisation of the electricity grid “one of our strongest weapons in the fight against climate change”.

“While 1964 signified the beginning of a new period of energy exploration from under the North Sea, 2024 signifies the increased ambition of our government to accelerate towards energy development above it,” he said.

Union criticises ‘false promises’ on Grangemouth

Ahead of the minister’s appearance in Aberdeen, the Unite union criticised Shanks and his Scottish counterpart Gillian Martin over the closure of Grangemouth.

Unite said both the Scottish and UK governments “collectively failed” to prevent the closure of the refinery, and warned low carbon alternatives “could be years away”.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Scotland backed Labour at the ballot box but so far Labour has utterly failed to deliver for the Grangemouth workers when it needed them most.

“The SNP government has also shown itself to be irrelevant to the needs of working class communities.

“This is industrial vandalism on a mass scale.”

Shanks said Labour is committed to supporting the Grangemouth workforce, and said previous governments had failed to plan for its closure.

“The broader oil and gas sector can be assured that the government has a plan, and that’s what Unite has said throughout is that they want government to plan,” he said.

“That’s what we’re going to move forward with pace, it’s what the previous government could have done but didn’t for such a long time.”

Labour is also committed to a future in the North Sea that will “mean years still of oil and gas”, Shanks added.

“But recognising a transition is already underway and we can’t bury our heads in the sand with that,” he said.

“What we need to do is tackle the opportunities and challenges so that the workforce can move into the clean, green, well paid, trade unionised jobs of the future.”

(3) “Energy strategy must outlast this election cycle, and the next, and the next,” he said.

“We need long term planning and stability. We need collaboration between governments and industry and the workforce.

“But a starting point must be an industrial strategy built on partnership, that leverages our industrial strengths, recognises that the journey to net zero is vital but will take time, puts innovation and technology at its heart, and ensures the UK is globally attractive for the energy investment we need.”

£1.4 trillion private investment needed

While recognising Labour’s public initiatives like GB Energy and the National Wealth Fund had a role to play in the UK energy transition, Whitehouse said the UK will need an estimated £1.4 trillion in investment by 2050.

“The lion’s share of that will come from the private sector,” he said.

“We need the UK to be the place of energy investment.”

Whitehouse said there will be no prizes for deindustrialisation, or becoming increasingly dependent on imports.

“Decisions made by this government in the coming weeks will be felt for decades to come,” he said.

“The energy transition will not wait for us. Investors will simply take their capital to other basins around the world. We cannot let that happen.”

Lessons from industry history ‘must be learned’

In his speech to the conference, the energy minister drew parallels between the beginnings of the North Sea oil and gas sector and today’s transition to renewables.

Shanks, who has a degree in history, said in the 1960s the “memories of an industrial revolution fuelled by coal” made people wary of switching to natural gas.

“When the oil and gas industry first came to Aberdeen, it was met with fishing trawlers and a declining shipbuilding and paper industry,” he said.

“There was cynicism amongst Aberdonians that what was coming would deliver real benefits for them.

(2) Energy leaders speak out

The event in Aberdeen featured business leaders from across the industry highlighting the dangers the sector faces. The trade body boss continued to warn the North Sea energy ecosystem is “under threat” because of UK government policy decisions.

Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) chief executive David Whitehouse said policies made in the upcoming Autumn budget will have “consequences for the future of our energy landscape”.

Whitehouse said the North Sea supply chain could support the scaling up of carbon capture and storage (CCS), floating wind and other decarbonisation initiatives, but its ability to invest is at risk over proposed changes to the Energy Profits Levy (EPL).

“The North Sea, its people, skills, and companies, are a strength and remain a vital part of our energy ecosystem,” he said.

“But that ecosystem, as we have made clear, is under threat.”

Offshore Energies UK chief executive David Whitehouse speaking at the P&J Live in Aberdeen during the 2024 OEUK Conference.

Earlier this month, OEUK warned proposed changes to the EPL could cause a £13 billion hit to the UK economy and put jobs and energy transition investment at risk.

Speaking at the OEUK Conference at the P&J Live in Aberdeen, BP North Sea head Doris Reiter echoed his concerns and warned of a potential “cliffhanger” ahead for the industry, including government plans to remove investment allowances.

Meanwhile, North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) chief executive Stuart Payne called for the oil and gas sector to rise to the challenge of proving it could continue to operate in a decarbonised energy system.

UK investment ‘increasingly challenging’

Whitehouse said in the last two years the UK has become an “increasingly challenging place to do energy business” because of fiscal and political uncertainty.

“Offshore projects have long and arduous pipelines, with planning and consenting processes that can take years to come to fruition,” he said.

“This is an industry that requires stability and supportive policy to make the massive investment decisions necessary to secure our energy future.”

Whitehouse said the UK had the opportunity to be a “true energy world leader”, but said governments must prioritise policy over politics.

It'[s twaddle Dumbly - (1)

UK energy minister Michael Shanks has urged North Sea investors to “look beyond” the government’s proposed windfall tax, despite warnings the oil and gas sector is “under threat”.

Shanks, who was in Aberdeen to attend the annual conference of trade body Offshore Energies UK, insisted the UK government’s plans to focus on renewable energy development through the establishment of Great British Energy and a National Wealth Fund would demonstrate “the UK is open for business, the North Sea is open for business”.

Speaking to Energy Voice, he said: “We’re looking at, for example, making sure there is that stable economic basis where people can invest, but also the commitments we’ve made to a long pipeline of projects in the renewable sector and what we’ve announced around the National Wealth Fund and GB Energy,” he said.

“There’s a real commitment to it, so I think on balance, I absolutely hear what the sector is saying.

“What we want to do is look beyond the Energy Profits Levy to what comes next to give that certainty to investors.”

Labour’s priority is to deliver its manifesto commitment to ensure a “phased and responsible” transition in the North Sea, Shanks added.

“We all recognize the scale of the challenge, and we are not ignorant to the hard work that it will entail, but my absolute belief is that our best days still lie ahead,” he said.

Labour “not agnostic” on UK industrial future

Shanks said the Labour government is “not agnostic on the industrial future of this country”.

“Which is why we’ve announced GB Energy, why we announced funding for the UK Infrastructure Bank. We’re not agnostic about industrial strategy,” he said.

“We want things to be built in this country and that has an impact also for companies thinking about investing, so that the UK is open for business, the North Sea is open for business.”

Labour recognises the importance of the fiscal operating environment for oil and gas companies, but Shanks said the “wider landscape is incredibly important as well".

Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HQgrrcdLK0

Growing up, my parents who were simple working-class people, despaired of the Labour party and often referred to the "Ground Nut Scheme" as an example of their incompetence. Net Zero attracts the evangelists and continues the tradition. Juststopoil won the election and now we are seeing the sheer daftness of their ideas and economics.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même - I'm simple and Labour promote incompetent ideologs.

Anyone else on here over a certain age received a pager from the Government? I'm told I don't need to do anything at the moment and they'll inform me when it goes live. Apparently it'll save billions.

Is actually a misquote of what Descartes wrote - the full quote is "dubito, ergo sum, vel, quod idem est, cogito, ergo sum ("I doubt, therefore I am — or what is the same — I think, therefore I am")

Clearly 'dubito' gets a bad press. Religious zealotry has no room for doubt.

https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2024/09/17/shrinking-island-vanishing-polar-bears-the-climate-scare-stories-that-turn-out-to-be-false/

Https://www.netzerowatch.com/s/letter-to-pocklington-signed.pdf

Www.thegwpf.org/content/uploads/2024/09/Porter-Interconnectors.pdf

Hi Taverham - re: interconnectors. The above makes interesting reading and here's the rub - they tend to increase prices in exporting countries while lowering prices for importers. This p*sses off Norway whilst Britain has higher electricity prices than its neighbours and benefits. "Interconnector analysis has always been challenging" - meaning we (the public) will never understand it but the High Priest can turn ignorance into mumbo-jumbo that supports the religious ideology which doesn't require facts; just a confusing collection of half-truths.

Whilst writing my earlier rant my wife called out. "Starmer's in trouble over an undeclared gift of £5,000 to his wife for new clothes."

I wasn't that interested and said "so what" - he's Teflon at the moment.

She replied that my indifference is all well and good but the same man took away £300 from her 94 year old mother who only has a state pension and modest savings. It hit home to me when explained in those terms.

We need to appoint one a.s.a.p. with the sole job of correcting Ed Miliband. My blood pressure was a little low so I went on "X" to read Ed's latest:

https://x.com/Ed_Miliband/status/1834558711949349256

He even trumped the World champion at lying and with fewer words. He said this:

"At the moment, as a country, we’re exposed to International gas markets, controlled by dictators like Putin. That’s why we had the cost of living crisis. But there is answer. Clean, cheap, home-grown power that we control."

He can only have been talking about LNG because we control the supply of North Sea gas. After intense research (one google) I found this:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/274528/major-exporting-countries-of-lng/#:~:text=The%20world's%20largest%20exporter%20of,for%20shipping%20and%20storage%20purposes.

So have I missed the fact that the US, Qatar and Australia are now dictatorships? Home-grown power? The companies are mainly foreign owned and the infrastructure and building blocks are made elsewhere, mainly China. It certainly isn't cheap and is only clean because the emissions in their construction are offshore. We don't control anything. We subsidise renewables through a mixture of hidden subsidies and taxing the cheapest energy to extinction. That's why companies like Orsted and Vattenfall circle the dying O&G sector. As for the cost of living crisis - how come it affected the US with its own gas? I spent an afternoon yesterday with an American who moved back to the States after many years here. I loved his comment - "prices in our supermarkets make Waitrose look like Poundland".

In the real world US gas prices are a third of ours whilst LNG is 3X more expensive than NS gas by the time it reaches us. I couldn't be bothered to check the specific 11,000 homes quote but would have a reasonable bet that it is capacity that is never reached and no mention of businesses and hospitals that also use electricity. He's a fluffer that has helped create a new religion.

The National Energy System Operator (Neso) – will oversee planning for the UK’s gas system. It will run alongside GB Energy, the public company set up by Labour to invest in green energy projects.

The cost of the deal will initially be met by taxpayers but will be largely recouped via charges on energy bills.

Mr Miliband said public ownership of Neso would help “build a network that is fit for the future. We need to move Britain off expensive, insecure fossil fuel markets, and onto clean, cheap homegrown power that we control. This is how we reduce bills in the long term, strengthen our energy independence and support skilled jobs across the country.”

Cost met by taxpayers and recouped through bills? Can I expect a tax rebate?

“A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money." - Everett Dirksen

At the time of writing, UK and EU gas prices are five times more expensive than gas at the Henry Hub in the US. It is clear the reason the UK and much of the EU is deindustrialising is because of high energy costs. It is simply much cheaper to make things abroad. Of course, making things abroad probably makes global CO2 emissions worse than if we made them at home.

Labour want to build 1.5m new homes. Try doing that without diesel and cement. The most productive industry is oil and gas which Labour, in their wisdom, are in the process of killing off.

https://davidturver.substack.com/p/mission-impossible-economic-growth-and-net-zero?utm_source=substack&publication_id=1285567&post_id=147749614&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=lx6e9&triedRedirect=true

Ed - "It is deeply disappointing that Petroineos have confirmed their previous decision to close Grangemouth oil refinery."

It is deeply disappointing that my wife left me after I told her that I wanted a divorce.

Three in four people when asked agree that abolishing the Winter Fuel Allowance is wrong and will sign a petition stating so. There is a planned mass lobby of Parliament on 7 October that I will attend. There is another demo planned at the Labour Party Conference on 23 September. There is even a level of secrecy where actions are planned and when. Not to confuse the police but to stop Labour banning them. A ridiculous state of affairs when people at the tail-end of their life have to act like juststopoil activists. At least prison is warm I'm told.

I am being sucked in but attacking from a different angle. Just harmless and noisy demos are limited. One suggestion is for blue-badge holders to block roads as the taxi drivers have done in the past. You can park on double-yellow and cause chaos; legally.

I'm actually agnostic about the whole thing and never felt I deserved it BUT some do need it and struggle to claim or get credits they're entitled to. My sister couldn't get a blue badge but I got it for her. All because I knew how to scan documents - many pensioners cannot do this relatively simple action. They are terrified of forms and computers.

I am pushing hard to have a separate approach by showing that renewable subsidies are years ahead of any benefits. Stop or reduce them and we can keep our pensioners warm. 3/4 of homes are heated by gas. In simple terms half of gas is natural and cheap, cheap. The other half is LNG which is 2.5-3.00 times the cost of our natural North Sea gas (and dirtier). Ed Miliband in his wisdom has decided that we will tax North Sea gas to the level and beyond of LNG. In fact Grangemouth is being turned into an import refinery. There is plenty of life left in the NS but Labour have chosen to go for more expensive energy and pensioners - (most of whom are on fixed incomes) - cannot subsidise those who can do the extra hours. There is real fear and hardship out there. This ideology needs to be attacked and the transition slowed. Does anybody believe that the what? 15 million gas boilers will be exchanged for heat pumps that end up costing multiples of the price of gas boilers because of essential insulation improvements. Why do they hate the UK O&G industry so much? It makes life better for all of us.

Labour have unleashed the Kraken.

Available on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTZR2XpUUvg

Https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2024/09/11/brits-brace-for-economic-catastrophe-as-labour-sacrifices-jobs-for-green-obsession/#respond

Lot of hypocrisy on show here from Rees-Mogg. Wasn't he in the Boris Government that declared that in the future we'd be the Saudi Arabia of wind? The Tories had the same Green obsession.

What a miserable Country the UK is becoming.

"Coincidentally, the Baroness warned in May that the prices on offer in AR6 “may not be appealing enough” and said that the then Tory “Government needs to be a bit more generous and a bit more flexible.” Baroness Brown is also the chair of the Carbon Trust which until recently employed Chris Stark as their Chief Executive. Mr. Stark is now Head of Mission Control in DESNZ, tasked with “turbocharging [the] UK to clean power by 2030.” Chris Stark and Baroness Brown have quite a close relationship because Baroness Brown also sits on the Climate Change Committee, where Stark was CEO until earlier this year. Stark is also listed as a member of Baroness Brown’s staff in her register of interests in the House of Lords" From an article in Eigen Values

https://davidturver.substack.com/p/ar6-contracts-for-cronies?utm_source=substack&publication_id=1285567&post_id=148688393&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=lx6e9&triedRedirect=true

*Serica HYR presentation @ 9.00

I picked this out from the RNS

"As a reservoir engineer, I am encouraged that there are multiple attractive opportunities to invest in our portfolio to allow us to sustain production and deliver home-grown low-carbon energy in the medium term. However, we will only be able to make these investments if the fiscal environment allows us to generate a fair return on your capital. We also have the option to add to our portfolio through acquisitions and that is why we will continue, intensively but prudently, to seek value-accretive M&A, both at home and abroad." plus "with the level of capital allowances remaining uncertain until the Autumn Budget on 30 October" and this " Cash tax paid of $72 million in H1 2024. Serica's tax liabilities, apart from the EPL, are partially shielded due to the tax losses acquired with Tailwind, the balance of which remained at over $1 billion at 30 June".

Does sound like the industry is being kept in the dark regarding any respite from Labour regarding fiscal adjustments.

Hi KO - I wonder if AB and others are prevented from buying because talks/contracts are at a sensitive stage? I'm not sure our SP is falling. There's always the 3 D's and when nothing is happening the prices tend to drift downwards.