Scottish Energy Seminar : ‘What do low oil prices mean for the Scottish energy sector?’

Introduction

The recent fall in North Sea crude oil prices, combined with the steady decline in oil production since its peak in 1999, increased extraction costs and future uncertainty created by the Brexit vote have dramatically impacted on the North Sea oil industry in terms of output, investment and employment.  A panel representing industry, policy and academia will discuss the future of Scotland’s oil industry in the light of low oil prices and take questions from the audience.

Speakers

Prof Charles Hendry, President of BIEE and former UK Government Minister for Energy and Climate Change

Charles Hendry was Conservative Member of Parliament for Wealden from 2001 to 2015 and was Minister of State for Energy from May 2010 until September 2012. He was previously the Conservative Party’s spokesman on energy issues, holding the portfolio longer than any previous Minister.
After leaving Ministerial office, Prime Minister David Cameron appointed him as his Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, a post which he held until leaving Parliament in 2015. He has also been appointed as a Visiting Professor at the University of Edinburgh (in both the Business School and the Academy of Government). Charles is President of the British Institute of Energy Economics; Patron of the Nuclear Institute; and an Honorary Fellow of the Energy Institute. He is President of the Advisory Board of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce and of the British Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan.
In addition to a number of roles in the energy and trade sectors, he is currently undertaking a review of Tidal Lagoons for the Government and is Commissioner of the UK Pavilion at Expo 2017 in Kazakhstan on the theme of Future Energy.Prior to entering Parliament, Charles had his own communications consultancy, supporting chairmen and chief executives in their corporate networking.

Prof Alex Kemp, University of Aberdeen

Alexander G. Kemp is currently Professor of Petroleum Economics and Director of Aberdeen Centre for Research in Energy Economics and Finance (ACREEF) at the University of Aberdeen.  For many years he has specialised in his research in petroleum economics with special reference to licensing and taxation issues and has published over 200 papers and books in this field.  He was a specialist adviser to the UK House of Commons Select Committee on Energy from 1980 to 1992 and also in 2004 and 2009.  From 1993 to 2003 he was a member of the UK Government Energy Advisory Panel.  In May 1999, Professor Kemp was awarded the Alick Buchanan-Smith Memorial Award for personal achievement and contribution to the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry.  Professor Kemp is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.  He was awarded the OBE in 2006 for services to the oil and gas industries. He was a Member of the Council of Economic Advisers to the First Minister of the Scottish Government from 2007 – 2011.   In June 2011 Professor Kemp was appointed a member of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board to the Scottish Government.  He has written The Official History of North Sea Oil and Gas which was published in 2011 in 2 volumes.  In March 2012  Professor Kemp received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Society of Petroleum Engineers Offshore Achievements Awards ceremony.  In September 2013 Professor Kemp was appointed a member of the Independent Oil and Gas Expert Commission by the Scottish Government.  Its report was published in July 2014.  In June 2015 Professor Kemp received a Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the “Press and Journal” Gold Awards event.  In November 2015 Professor Kemp was appointed by the New Zealand Government to be a member of its Petroleum Resource Allocation Advisory Group.

Mike Tholen, Head of Upstream Policy, Oil and Gas UK

As Economics Director for Oil & Gas UK, Mike Tholen seeks to foster a business environment which sustains the competitiveness of this mature oil and gas province. Particular responsibilities within the oil and gas industry trade body include fiscal and energy policy and regulatory affairs. He is actively engaged with HM Treasury and DECC on the future of the UK oil and gas fiscal and regulatory regime which will be critical to deliver the full potential of the basin.
Prior to joining Oil & Gas UK he worked with Shell for 20 years, latterly holding a variety of commercial positions including economics and planning manager for their upstream UK gas business and Offshore Infrastructure Manager in the Netherlands.

Andrew Jamieson – CEO, the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult

Andrew is Chief Executive of the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, a technology and innovation centre supporting businesses to accelerate the design, deployment and commercialisation of renewable energy technology.  In 2014, the Catapult merged with Narec, further enhancing the business’s technical expertise and adding large scale plant test capabilities.

He was previously at ScottishPower where he was responsible for energy policy and regulation in the renewables business.

He sits on the Scottish Government’s Energy Advisory Board, is a past Chair of Renewable UK and Scottish Renewables and has led a number of reports for Government, including the Cost Reduction Task Force for Offshore Wind in 2012.

Agenda

• 18:00 – Registration and coffee
• 18:30 – Presentations and  Discussion
• 19:45 – Networking reception

Venue

University of Edinburgh Business School

Resources