Podcasts about hydrocarbons

Energi Media CEO Markham Hislop appeared the weekend of April 5 and 6, 2025 on the US PBS program, White House Chronicle, hosted by Llewellyn King and Adam Clayton Powell III.Note: the audio is sometimes not synched with the video.

Journalist Markham Hislop interviews Tim King, president of Nexans North America, a global cable products company, about the electrification of the North American economy and how Canadian and American power grids are responding to growing power demand. Hint: not well in the US, better in Canada.

A decade ago, 21 youth plaintiffs in Oregon filed a lawsuit asserting that the government had violated their due process rights of life, liberty, and property by encouraging and permitting the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels such as oil and gas.The plaintiffs were represented by Our Children's Trust, a litigation firm based in Eugene.The case, known as Juliana v. United States, was dismissed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020 for lack of standing and upheld in February 2021. An amended suit was dismissed by the Ninth Circuit in May 2024 again over lack of standing, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case in March 2025.The proponents are now attempting to put their hydrocarbon paranoia into the Oregon Constitution. On March 26 the state legislature held a hearing on SJR 28, which would add the following language to the Constitution:"All people, including children and future generations, have the fundamental right to a clean, safe and healthy environment."This is just performative politics. Hydrocarbons power the modern world; but if lawmakers think the public wants to return to the 18th century, they should vote to outlaw fossil fuels right now and run for re-election on that record.

Journalist Markham Hislop interviews Angella MacEwen, is a senior economist with the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the author of the very interesting Substack, Social Economics.

Long-chain hydrocarbons found on Mars, has dark energy been decreasing over time? a completely flat telescope lens, the center of the Milky Way contains a star grinder. And in our free version on Patreon, a new theory for the formation of Mercury.

Long-chain hydrocarbons found on Mars, has dark energy been decreasing over time? a completely flat telescope lens, the center of the Milky Way contains a star grinder. And in our free version on Patreon, a new theory for the formation of Mercury.

Markham interviews Josh Dorfman, climate entrepreneur, author, and media personality. As CEO and host of Supercool, Josh hosts the company's weekly podcast spotlighting real-world climate solutions that cut carbon, boost the bottom line, and improve modern life.

Energy journalist Markham Hislop interviews economist Dave Sawyer of Enviro Economics about the Parliamentary Budget Officer's math mistakes in its economic impact study of the Government of Canada's proposed oil and gas emissions cap. The cap is extremely contentious, especially in Alberta, the epicentre of Canada's oil and gas industry.

In the past decade, China has ramped up its engagement in the Middle East, a region which is far from China geographically, but carries growing importance in China's foreign policy. Economically, China is the biggest importer of the Middle East oil, particularly from Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Chinese state-owned enterprises have invested heavily in the region under the Belt and Road Initiative with an emphasis on physical and digital infrastructure, including telecommunications, 5G connectivity, submarine optic cables, and security information systems.  Diplomatically, China played a role in brokering a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran, two longstanding regional rivals. Beijing has also been instrumental in expanding the BRICS multilateral mechanism to include four Middle East countries. Securing access to vital natural resources is a key driver of Beijing's intensified engagement in the Middle East. But China's interests are broader and encompass economic, geopolitical and strategic considerations.To further discuss China's interests and evolving role in the Middle East, Michael Schuman joins host Bonnie Glaser. Michael is a nonresident senior fellow at the Global China Hub of the Atlantic Council and an author and journalist with more than 25 years of on-the-ground experience in Asia.  He is the co-author of a recently published report by the Atlantic Council titled China's Middle East policy shift from ‘hedging' to ‘wedging.' Timestamps[00:00] Start[02:06] China's Interest in the Middle East[04:23] Evaluating China's Strategy of “Wedging” [06:51] Evaluating China's Position of Neutrality[10:17] Factors Driving China's Middle Eastern Strategy [13:46] Chinese Bilateral and Multilateral Engagement [16:08] China's Energy Ties with the Middle East[19:41] Implications for the United States[24:19] Limits to Chinese Engagement 

Cinderella X had a private conversation from Tim Parrish from Let's Get Jacked Up and Jacked Up Daily.  They talked about the Apophis asteroid that will miss or hit the earth in 2029.  They also talked about Wormwoood and Revelation and the sun and moon and hydrocarbons in comet fragments as well as the pre-wrath rapture model.

Recorded on January 23, 2025 https://youtu.be/n4MJn2UE1w0 Episode 125 of PetroNerds podcast is your complete outlook and overview on oil prices, M&A, activity, Trump, and US shale. Trisha Curtis, CEO of PetroNerds and host of the PetroNerds podcast, is joined by Chris Atherton, the CEO of Efficient Markets, also known as EnergyNet. PetroNerds is proud to announce the first PetroNerds podcast sponsorship by Efficient Markets. This is a partnership between Efficient Markets and PetroNerds. Trisha Curtis and Chris Atherton cover everything from oil prices and M&A to changes in the regulatory landscape to infill drilling, PDP, production, and refracs. They talk about what their clients are asking them, oil price volatility, and how oil and gas prices are impacting transactions, deals, and M&A. Chris talks about the stability in oil prices in 2023 and 2024 lending itself to a good transaction environment. They talk about CAPEX and spending and the public market. Chris Atherton talks about weather in Houston and the spike in natural gas prices in 2025. They get into trends and themes and views within the industry, capital discipline, Saudi Arabia, and natural gas prices. Trisha diagress with the thought that capital will be disciplined with higher natural gas prices. She is bullish on activity in the US and the runway. She also gets into OPEC and EIA and the differing views on US shale production potential. Trisha and Chris discuss the question, will capital discipline constrain growth in the US, and at what price point? They talk about the role of private companies, deregulation, and the rig count in Wyoming and Utah reflecting the current regulatory environment and expectations under Trump. Chris talks directly about M&A under higher natural gas prices and M&A with oil price volatility. They also talk about Trump, policies, and what Trump wants for oil and gas prices and what that means for money and investment in the space. Trisha says "Hydrocarbons are back in fashion in America." Chris discusses renewables and where wind and solar now sit on the deal side. This podcast is jam-packed and covers all of this and a whole lot more. You are going to want to listen to it more than once and share it with your colleagues and friends. If you are interested in podcast sponsorship and partnering with PetroNerds, reach out contact us here. Listen on Itunes

Proactive's Tylah Tully breaks down ‘Just the Facts' of the latest news from Brookside Energy Ltd. Brookside is progressing with its strategic expansion in the Anadarko Basin, Oklahoma, with drilling preparations for the Bruins Well in the SWISH Play acreage unmderway. The Bruins Well, which is expected to spud by the end of this month, will be the first of three planned wells in the company's 2025 drilling program and will feature a 10,000-foot lateral well targeting the Woodford Shale formation. Pre-spud activities, including site selection, regulatory approvals and surface agreements, have been completed, and an all-weather drilling pad is under construction. Brookside anticipates increasing its working interest in the Bruins Well to approximately 70%, subject to final regulatory approvals. As of December 31, 2024, SWISH Play wells had produced a total of 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE). The Bruins Well is projected to produce more than 1 million BOE in its lifetime, with approximately 640,000 BOE (~53% liquids) expected in the first five years. Estimated gross capital expenditure for the well is around US$11 million. Brookside views the Bruins Well as a key milestone in its drilling program and aims to maximise production outcomes, create value for shareholders and further expand its operations in the Anadarko Basin. #BrooksideEnergy, #OilAndGas, #EnergyInvestment, #AnadarkoBasin, #SWISHPlay, #BruinsWell, #DrillingOperations, #USOil, #ShaleProduction, #EnergySector, #Hydrocarbons, #OilExploration, #ResourceDevelopment, #EnergyGrowth, #WellSpudding, #WoodfordShale, #BOEProduction, #OperationalMilestone, #OilIndustry, #ShareholderValue

Halen Mattison and Luke Neise are co-founders at General Galactic. General Galactic is a seed-stage e-fuels startup out of El Segundo in the Los Angeles area that converts captured CO₂ into synthetic fuels, starting with natural gas. They claim that their end product is a carbon-neutral drop-in replacement for natural gas that can run in all of today's vast gas infrastructure. In their view, any company or country can in theory become a gas producer. The two founders met at Stanford and went on to early careers in aerospace, Halen at SpaceX and Luke at Varda Space Industries. As they'll share, the vision for General Galactic was ultimately inspired by technologies that are used in space today, which they felt could help solve the energy transition here on Earth.In this episode, we cover: [1:43] The origin of the name General Galactic (GG)[3:07] Halen and Luke's backgrounds[7:00] An overview of GG[8:14] How GG's technology leverages existing infrastructure[14:15] GG and its connection to SAF[16:55] How GG chose to focus on natural gas[19:18] Differences between CNG and RNG[22:44] An overview of LNG[26:06] The Jones Act and its impact on fuel transportation[28:14] GG's drop-in replacement and its economic implications[31:02] The footprint of GG's “Genesis modules”[34:49] The importance of location for GG's hardware[38:05] Addressing methane emissions concerns[40:19] GG's technology readiness and commercialization pathways[42:11] GG's business model and go-to-market strategy[45:12] GG's financing to date[49:20] Who GG wants to connect withAdditional Resources:Our World in Data - Energy MixEstimates of Methane Emissions by Segment in the United States*The claims made in this episode are based on current research and theoretical models. Real-world impact will depend on factors like scalability, infrastructure readiness, and policy support. We encourage listeners to stay curious, explore further resources, and engage in the evolving conversation around these solutions.Episode recorded on Nov 7, 2024 (Published on Jan 30, 2025) Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

In this month's episode of the Oil & Gas Measurement Podcast, host Weldon Wright is joined by David Wofford of Wofford Energy Consulting to discuss meter freezes. Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript, as well as detailed show notes with relevant links and insider term definitions. 

Markham interviews Kristina Pearson about her paper, co-authored with Sara Hastings-Simon of the University of Calgary, titled “The mid-transition in the electricity sector: impacts of growing wind and solar electricity on generation costs and natural gas generation in Alberta.”

Markham interviews Eddie Soleymani and Shidan Gouran, founders of Bluesphere Ventures, a venture capital firm that funds and nurtures startups addressing America's escalating energy demands. It brings together industry-leading entrepreneurs and experts to develop solutions across energy storage, clean energy marketplaces, carbon capture, and renewable energy credit systems.

About Chris: Former financial journalist and publisher. Founded and sold Evandale Publishing. Environment Editor of the Daily Sceptic - no "settled" science allowed. In this episode, Tom interviews Chris Morrison about his work with the Daily Sceptic, highlighting the publication's role in challenging mainstream narratives on COVID-19, climate change, and net zero policies. Chris elaborates on their investigative efforts exposing flawed data and "junk science" used by institutions like the UK Met Office to justify climate agendas, while also discussing the broader collapse of net zero commitments worldwide. The conversation also touches on the political implications of these issues and the resistance they face from fact-checkers and mainstream media. 00:00 Introduction and Welcome Back 00:31 The Evolution of the Daily Skeptic 04:01 Fact-Checking and Media Critique 06:34 Investigating the UK Met Office 09:31 Challenges with Temperature Data 13:45 Global Warming and Climate Narratives 21:16 Political and Social Implications 30:36 Skeptical Voices and Future Outlook 35:28 The Role of Hydrocarbons in Food Production 35:55 CO2 Levels and Their Impact on Plant Growth 37:32 The Collapse of Net Zero Banking Alliance 38:02 Challenges Facing the UK Government 39:34 Economic Implications of Net Zero Policies 41:44 Impact on the Car Industry 44:47 Critique of Climate Data and Reporting 59:54 Retractions and Skepticism in Climate Science 01:05:48 Concluding Thoughts on Climate Policies https://twitter.com/CMorrisonEsq https://dailysceptic.org/author/chris-morrison/ ========= AI summaries of all of my podcasts: https://tomn.substack.com/p/podcast-summaries My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tomanelson1 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL89cj_OtPeenLkWMmdwcT8Dt0DGMb8RGR X: https://x.com/TomANelson Substack: https://tomn.substack.com/ About Tom: https://tomn.substack.com/about

Markham interviews Dr. Kevin Timoney, who has spent most of his career studying the ecological impact of the oil sands, about his recently published paper, “Regulatory failure to monitor and manage the impacts of tailings spills, Alberta, Canada," in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.

Sintana Energy CEO Robert Bose recently spoke with Steve Darling from Proactive to provide an update on the company's second exploration campaign in Namibia's Orange Basin. The campaign is focused on Blocks 2813A and 2814B, governed by Petroleum Exploration License 83 (PEL 83), which is operated by Galp Energia. Sintana indirectly holds a 49% interest in Custos Energy, which maintains a 10% working interest in PEL 83, alongside NAMCOR's 10% stake. The PEL 83 Joint Venture recently announced a significant milestone: the successful drilling and logging of the Mopane-2A well (Well #4), which spud on December 2. The exploration revealed hydrocarbons in two reservoirs: a gas-condensate column in AVO-3, characterized by thin net pay within its sweet spot, and a light oil column in AVO-4. Bose highlighted the reservoirs' promising characteristics, including high-quality sands with excellent porosity, permeability, pressure, and fluid properties. Additionally, the reservoirs exhibited minimal CO2 content and no H2S or water contacts, further underscoring their quality. The data collected from Mopane-2A is now under analysis to deepen the understanding of the Mopane complex and evaluate its commercial viability. Meanwhile, the drillship has relocated to the Mopane-3X exploration well (Well #5) site, where drilling is set to target two stacked prospects, AVO-10 and AVO-13. Spudding for this well is scheduled for early January. This progress reflects Sintana Energy's commitment to advancing its exploration initiatives in one of the world's most promising emerging hydrocarbon basins. #proactiveinvestors #sintanaenergyinc #tsxv #sei #otcqb #seusf #invest #investing #investment #investor #stockmarket #stocks #stock #stockmarketnews #OilExploration #Namibia #OrangeBasin #EnergySector #PEL83 #RobertBose #GalpEnergia #Chevron #QatarEnergy #EnergyNews #ProactiveInvestors #2025EnergyTrends #investing #investment #investor #stockmarket #stocks #stock #stockmarketnews

Markham interviews Rob Gramlich of Washington-based Grid Strategies LLC.

Markham interviews Bill Russo, formerly Chrysler's top executive in China and now an EV consultant with his firm Automobility. 

Markham interviews Prasanna Krishnan of Surya Energy Consulting and Andy Hira, professor of political science at Simon Fraser University about their new paper, “The macro view of solar policy: The case for supporting utility-scale power.”

This episode is brought to you with the support of Incogni...the best way to cleanup your privacy online and remain that way. To get our special 60% off offer, visit www.incogni.com/spacenutsSpace Nuts Episode: Stink in Space, Sombrero Galaxy, and Dark Energy Revelations #479Join Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson as they explore the latest cosmic events in this entertaining episode of Space Nuts. From a mysterious odour aboard the International Space Station to stunning images of the Sombrero Galaxy and groundbreaking theories on dark energy, this episode is packed with stellar insights and astronomical wonders.Episode Highlights:- International Space Station's Stinky Situation: Discover the unexpected odour that caused astronauts to temporarily seal off a recently docked Russian supply ship. Explore the potential causes and the measures taken to ensure the crew's safety.- Sombrero Galaxy's New Look: Marvel at the breathtaking mid-infrared images of the Sombrero Galaxy captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Learn about the intricate details revealed in the galaxy's dusty rings and the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.- Dark Energy's New Twist: Delve into the latest research suggesting that dark energy might not be constant, challenging our understanding of the universe's expansion. Consider the implications of this potential paradigm shift in cosmology.For more Space Nuts, including our continually updating newsfeed and to listen to all our episodes, visit our website. Follow us on social media at SpaceNutsPod on Facebook, X, YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, and TikTok. We love engaging with our community, so be sure to drop us a review, message or comment on your favourite platform.For more Space and Astronomy News Podcasts, visit our HQ at www.bitesz.com.Become a supporter of this podcast for extended commercial-free episodes and more. Visit our Support page for options: spacenutspodcast.com/aboutStay curious, keep looking up, and join us next time for more stellar insights and cosmic wonders. Until then, clear skies and happy stargazing.For our special NordVPN deal, visit www.bitesz.com/nordvpn00:00 - Andrew Dunkley hosts Space Nuts, where we talk astronomy and space science01:08 - Professor Fred Watson will be doing archival episodes over the Christmas New Year period03:02 - Bad smell coming from Russian spacecraft docking with International Space Station09:01 - Arthur Dent. What a name. Only Douglas Adams could think up a name like that09:24 - Andrew Dunkley says odour on International Space Station could be anything11:09 - Incogni is a way of cleaning up your online presence13:17 - James Webb telescope has taken a marvellous mid infrared image of galaxy18:32 - The James Webb Space Telescope is seeking 78,000 hours of observing time24:54 - Andrew Dunkley and Fred Watson discuss the accelerating expansion of the universe32:25 - Fred Watson: This could indicate new physics that we don't yet understand✍️ Episode ReferencesSpace.com[https://www.space.com](https://www.space.com)Phys.org[https://www.phys.org](https://www.phys.org)Incogni[https://www.incogni.com/spacenuts](https://www.incogni.com/spacenuts)Bytes.com[https://www.bytes.com](https://www.bytes.com)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-nuts--2631155/support.

Markham interviews Chingis Idrissov, Senior Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, author of the new  report, "Sustainable Biofuels & E-Fuels Market 2025-2035: Technologies, Players, Forecasts."

Markham interviews Jarand Rystad, founder and CEO of highly respected consulting firm Rystad Energy, which recently released a new report, Long-term Oil Macro Scenarios.

Petroleum is a complex mixture of many compounds. Regulatory and technical guidance documents commonly focus on the hydrocarbon components of that mixture, or perceived risks that they present. However, focusing on a specific area of concern often causes practitioners to overlook other aspects of a release. For example, concerns related to exposure to total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) risks may be overlooked while pursuing concerns related to light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) recovery or petroleum vapor intrusion (PVI). This class is designed to provide a basic overview of hydrocarbon behavior in the subsurface and how to scientifically assess concerns arising from the release of petroleum products into the environment. It will highlight key issues that help identify and manage TPH, LNAPL, and PVI risks together. Key concepts will include: Fundamentals of petroleum hydrocarbonsPetroleum chemistryHow TPH, LNAPL, and PVI are relatedBuilding an integrated conceptual site model (CSM) What is a CSM…what is its purpose?When is a CSM complete?Identifying and managing the risks from petroleum hydrocarbonsDefining LNAPL risks based on acute, saturation, composition, or aesthetic concernsEmphasize the importance of biodegradation in risk management decision makingHow to select remedial goals and remedies that align with your goals This course is based upon three separate Guidance Documents developed by ITRC that address the course content in detail:Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (LNAPL), LNAPL Site Management: LCSM Evolution, Decision Process, and Remedial Technologies (LNAPL-3) Petroleum Vapor Intrusion (PVI), Fundamentals of Screening, Investigation, and Management (PVI-1) Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH), TPH Risk Evaluation at Petroleum-Contaminated Sites (TPHRisk-1) To view this archive online or download the slides associated with this seminar, please visit http://www.clu-in.org/conf/itrc/Hydrocarbons_120524/

SpaceTime Series 27 Episode 146*Supernova's Potential to End the Dark Matter SearchAstronomers are eagerly awaiting a nearby supernova that could finally solve the mystery of dark matter. A new study suggests that axions, hypothetical particles, could be discovered within seconds of a supernova's gamma-ray burst. The Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope might detect these gamma rays, offering insights into the mass of QCD axions. However, the rarity of such supernovae and the telescope's limited field of view pose challenges. Researchers are considering launching a fleet of gamma-ray telescopes, named GALAX, to ensure comprehensive coverage.*Magnetic Tornadoes at Jupiter's PolesA recent study reveals that Jupiter's poles are home to magnetic tornadoes that generate Earth-sized concentrations of hydrocarbon haze. These phenomena, visible only in ultraviolet light, are linked to the planet's strong magnetic fields. The findings, based on Hubble Space Telescope images, shed light on the unique atmospheric dynamics of Jupiter, contrasting with Earth's auroral processes.*Arrival of the World's Biggest Digital Camera at NASANASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre has received the Wide Field Instrument, the largest digital camera ever built, for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. This advanced camera will offer an unprecedented panoramic view of the universe, aiding in the study of dark energy, dark matter, and exoplanets. Scheduled for launch in 2027, Roman's capabilities will surpass those of current Space telescopes.The Science RobertA new study links prolonged sedentary behaviour with increased heart disease risk, even among active individuals. Research highlights the crucial ecological role of large sharks, threatened by overfishing and habitat loss. Palaeontologists use dinosaur faeces to trace the evolutionary rise of dinosaurs. Advances in lithium battery technology promise safer and longer-lasting power sources, potentially revolutionising energy storage.www.spacetimewithstuartgary.comwww.bitesz.com

John R. Christy is a Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science and Director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has served as Alabama's State Climatologist since 2000 and is best known for developing, along with Roy Spencer, a global temperature dataset from satellite microwave measurements. For this work, Christy and Spencer were awarded NASA's Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement in 1991 and a Special Award from the American Meteorological Society in 1996. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:20 Hurricane Helene and Flooding Analysis 04:02 Data-Driven Climate Insights 04:58 Fresno Temperature Trends 09:04 Urbanization and Temperature Records 10:57 U.S. Historical Climatology Network 14:13 Extreme Temperature Records 24:04 Rainfall and Atmospheric Rivers 27:53 Snowfall Measurement Techniques 28:48 Analyzing Snowfall Trends in the Western US 30:32 Mega Droughts vs. Modern Droughts 32:25 Global Atmospheric Temperatures and El Niño 36:07 Climate Models and Observations 39:56 Hydrocarbons and Climate Impact 42:03 Q&A Session 51:07 Concluding Remarks Slides for this podcast, along with AI summaries of all of my podcasts: https://tomn.substack.com/p/podcast-summaries John's Alabama State Climatologist site: https://www.nsstc.uah.edu/aosc/ ======== AI summaries of all of my podcasts: https://tomn.substack.com/p/podcast-summaries My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tomanelson1 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL89cj_OtPeenLkWMmdwcT8Dt0DGMb8RGR X: https://twitter.com/TomANelson Substack: https://tomn.substack.com/ About Tom: https://tomn.substack.com/about

In this episode of the Main Column, Hydrocarbon Processing interviews Keven Dunphy, Vice President and General Manager at Emerson. They discuss Dunphy's role and Emerson's contributions to the hydrocarbon processing sector. The conversation delves into recent technological advancements that enhance efficiency and safety in hydrocarbon applications, the impact of fluctuating investments and renewable energy adoption on the industry, and strategies companies are employing to adapt. Additionally, they explore how operating companies are addressing environmental regulations and sustainability goals, and which sectors within the energy transition market are attracting investment. Dunphy shares insights on how Emerson and its partners are positioning themselves for future growth in this evolving landscape.

This is the episode where Jacob and Jay smoke.  Wait, what?  Nope... Jay and Jacob just talk about smoke.  What is it, actually?  What are some of the good things it can do, and some of the bad things it's responsible for?  Then when it comes to the food segment, they talk about one of the best things smoke can do: make meat taste fantastic.  But how does it get into the meat?  What's all this about a smoke ring?  What are their favorites and which cuts are they afraid of?  Not only does smoke elevate the flavor of briskets and butts, it also plays a role in tricking those pesky bees into giving up some of their honey (which goes nicely in a barbecue sauce, by the way.)  So get the fire going in the smoker of your choice, light a cigar or pipe (if that's your thing), and listen to this episode via your favorite smoke signal app.

In this interview with Andrew Thomson, a Scottish seasoned professional in the energy sector, we delve into the multifaceted landscape of oil, renewable energy, and their global implications through a personal lens. Andrew shares his journey from working in the oil industry over 20 years to recently transitioning into nuclear and wind energy sectors. Through his experiences, he provides insights into the socioeconomic impact of oil, the challenges of transitioning to renewable energy, and the complexities of global politics that intertwine with the energy sector.Exploring Andrew's experiences working offshore in locations like Nigeria and Azerbaijan, the discussion uncovers the substantial influence of hydrocarbons and the cultural, socio-economic, and safety developments within the oil sector. The discussion delves into the critical role of energy across modern life, impacting everything from education to communication, while critiquing governmental actions on energy policies and advocating for a balanced energy strategy, similar to Japan's where currently works in setting up Wind Turbine Platforms (using much of the same technology as oil rigs). Furthermore, the dialogue highlights the philosophical and challenging practical shifts toward renewables, exploring political and economic challenges in this transition. Through Andrew's perspective, one can try to better attempt to begin to understand the global energy politics, the necessity of interdisciplinary approaches in energy careers, and the shifting dynamics in the energy sector.Time Stamps * 00:00 The Importance of Energy in Modern Life* 01:00 Introducing Andrew: From Oil to Climate-Friendly Energy* 01:46 Andrew's Background and Career Journey* 02:38 Life and Work in the Oil Industry* 07:34 Challenges and Dangers of Offshore Drilling* 10:54 The Culture and Lifestyle of Oil Workers* 20:58 Global Perspectives: Working in Africa and Beyond* 23:58 Corruption and Local Interactions in the Oil Industry* 38:09 A Costly Mistake and Cultural Reflections* 38:54 Corruption and Anti-Corruption Measures* 40:09 Cultural Differences and Acceptance* 41:13 Colonial Legacy and Historical Perspectives* 43:41 Nationalized vs. Private Oil Companies* 45:46 Transition to Renewable Energy in Japan* 46:12 Challenges in the Oil Industry* 48:22 Geopolitics and Energy Policies* 56:43 Experiences with Government Agencies* 01:03:56 Future Prospects and Peak Oil Debate* 01:08:06 Final Thoughts on Energy and PolicyHighlights and Quotes of Interest On Energy Source MixesJapan has a long term vision.It has a vision of a percentage mix of nuclear fossil fuels, renewables, whereas I feel like I'm fairly against it in my home country, in the UK, because we don't have a long term plan. We've had four prime ministers in the last two years. One of them wanted to build eight nuclear power stations, the next one to start fracking. I believe in an energy mix. I think there's a lot of irresponsibility talked about these days in terms of the energy transition. I do think there should be an energy mix.And then the one now wants to quadruple our offshore wind capacity in eight years, which is impossible. It's quite nonsensical. It's quite short term thinking. I'm not anti wind, I'm not pro oil, I'm not anti or pro any, anything. What I'm pro is a science based, long term, non subsidy, non corruption based market solution.On Incentives in Oil Vs “Renewables”So right now, it seems like oil is completely negative and then offshore wind is completely positive. You look at the motivations behind companies putting in offshore wind turbines or the service companies exactly the same as motivations behind all companies.Neither one is doing them. For anything other than to make money. And I think it's simplistic and a little bit silly to think that the boss of an oil company is some sort of J. R. Ewing, person that likes to run over puppies on the way home and the boss of an electricity company or a turbine installation company or whatever is some sort of, sandal wearing saint that doesn't care about money. Everyone in pretty much, I would say any corporation, that statistic about men are CEOs, they're psychopaths. All they care about is money. And I think there are a lot of like there's a lot of talk about subsidies in [renewables] On Oil's Beastly NatureIt only takes, one ignition source and then you're on top of a fireball…potential that the entire thing can blow up underneath your feet. On Life without Oil It's the world we have is impossible to have without oil. Sure. You can reduce it. It's going to run out eventually one day anyway.So reducing it is not a bad thing, but to pretend that you can just press stop and then you can put in a wind turbine is nonsensical. And the politicians know it's nonsensical as well.  The sheer scale of, Hydrocarbon involvement in our modern industrial life is so incredibly difficult to untangle. There's literally nothing more important than our energy because it ties into the availability of education and medicine and travel and communication. Right, without. some form of mass energy production. We're right back to the medieval ages.On The British State I speak from a very UK point of view because it's my country, it's my home. I feel As ever, the British state works against the British people, not for the British people, which is a contrast to some of the countries that we may look down our noses on a little bit more as not developed, where, and Japan is a great example of this, where Japan seems to do things for the benefit of Japanese people, which seems to be a controversial idea back home. Learning from Travel This is part of, traveling. You see so many countries where people are so proud of their country. Nigerians were some of the most proud people I think I've ever met, and it's the same in Japan. And I worry the direction our country's going, both the UK and the US, when we were raising a generation of children who are being taught to be embarrassed by where they come from. Though I really feel like in the West we've made a mistake over the years in trying to impose our way of looking at the world on other cultures.Post Interview Notes / Links from AndrewHere are some relevant links that might be of interest:"Empire of Dust", a fascinating documentary widely referenced online, but with no major release I don't think, that shows interaction between a Chinese contractor and locals in the DRC. It's a perfect example of culture clash, the strength in the documentary being there is no western-style narrative, it's simply two very different cultures interacting honestly with each other. The film-maker is Belgian which is particularly interesting given their colonial history in the DRC.Watch @ https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5gdfm4I can particularly recommend Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness if you're interested in the dark side of colonialism, or any history of DRC or Zaire as it was. One of my favourite films is Apocalypse Now, which along with the book perfectly makes the point I was trying to, which is how these cultures are manifestly different from ours, and any attempt to convert or run these societies in a western way will ultimately end up in failure, unless it's done by complete dominance, which of course, is wrong. It's a subject I find really interesting, and my experiences in Africa really changed how I view the world.On Energy Prices “Strike Prices” and Renewables Some links explaining the Strike Price for electricity set through the CfD (Contract for Difference) mechanism that guarantees a specific rate for electricity to renewables companies.https://www.iea.org/policies/5731-contract-for-difference-cfdhttps://www.eurelectric.org/in-detail/cfds_explainer/ It's quite hard to find a non-biased article explaining this, but the basic mechanism is:What isn't always mentioned is the "top-up" when the price falls is paid to the generators by the consumer, in the UK at least, in the form of a levy on the electricity price. Which is fine in theory to have a set electricity price, but currently the UK has the 3rd highest electricity costs in the world:https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cost-of-electricity-by-countryOn British Embassy Support (Weapons:Yes / Hydrocarbons: No)UK government ending support for oil and gas sector abroad:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-announces-the-uk-will-end-support-for-fossil-fuel-sector-overseasBut no issue promoting UK weapons manufacturers:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/3/15/uk-spent-1-3m-on-security-for-worlds-biggest-weapons-fairSubsidies provided to the oil and gas industry in the US: (this can be complicated to assess because the IMF considers environmental and health costs after production as an effective subsidy, whereas the OECD and the IEA do not)https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-fossil-fuel-subsidies-a-closer-look-at-tax-breaks-and-societal-costsCorrection on Refinery Capacity in NigeriaI was slightly mistaken, there is some refinery capacity in Nigeria, in fact it's the highest in all of Africa, however it is still around half of what Houston alone produces per day.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13203-018-0211-zOn Oil Piracy / Theft (Discussed During Interview as Another Source for Danger / Volatility / Environmental Damage) Oil pipeline theft still seems to be a problem in Nigeria sadly:https://www.pipeline-journal.net/news/explosion-nigeria-oil-pipeline-kills-12-shell-blames-crude-oil-theft-tragedyOn Working in the Pubic SectorI was thinking about one of your last questions afterwards, whether I'd ever work for the government. You know, I would actually love it, to be able to make some type of positive impact, I'd really enjoy that much more than my current job, it's just that what I would advocate is so far in the opposite direction of the UK foreign office and civil service's ethos (non-judgmental promotion of UK interest and people without imposing change on other countries) that I wouldn't get the opportunity. The British sitcom "Yes Minister" captures perfectly how the UK establishment works, it's from the 80s but still very relevant. It works to ensure the continued existence of the establishment, not the general population.AI Machine Transcription - Enjoy the Glitches!Andrew: The sheer scale of, Hydrocarbon involvement in our modern industrial life is so incredibly difficult to untangle.There's literally nothing more important than our energy because it ties into the availability of education and medicine and travel and communication. Right, without. some form of mass energy production. We're right back to the medieval ages.Leafbox: Andrew, thanks so much for making time for me. I know you're a busy guy. Yeah, I really appreciate it. Actually, when I first met you, I was actually fascinated with your work because you're one of the few people I know who has jumped from the oil sector to a climate friendly energy sector, I call it, so I was very curious about your perspectives on both. Having, your wife told me that you lived in Baku and that alone, it is probably a book's worth of questions. Andrew, why don't we just start tell us who you are, where you are, what's the weather like in Fukuoka? And where are you from?Andrew: Well, the most important thing the seasons in Japan seem to follow rules like the rest of Japan. So it's got the memo recently that it's not summer anymore, which is great because summers here are pretty brutal. And it's cloudy and rainy, which from someone from Scotland is nice and familiar.Yeah, I guess be brief biography. I'm Scottish from the North of Scotland. This is usually the point where someone says, well, you don't sound Scottish, but that's because I was born down in England. But moved up Scott, two parents from very remote rural part of Scotland. And we moved up when I was about six.So I went to the local university Aberdeen which at the time was the oil capital of Europe. So with a passion for engineering and a desire to Just have adventure really as a young guy wanting to see the world. Also oil is always historically been very well paid. Probably along the lines of, I don't know, market wise, your career options, lawyer, doctor, that sort of thing, which was never really my interest in an oil worker.So anyway financial motivations, adventure motivations, just an interest in big, heavy engineering pushed me in that direction. I joined, graduated, I took a master's in offshore engineering graduated and joined Halliburton about six weeks before 9 11. So this was in the year of of Dick Cheney, of course then I eventually ended up working offshore.For a company that worked on drilling rigs, doing directional surveys, so you would run drilling tools down the well and that was quite life changing, really very exciting. A lot of. Pressure. This is all gonna make me sound very old, but pre smartphone days. So you were a lot more on your own in those days.I did that for four years. Then I ended up running operations in Lagos, Nigeria. Did that for three years, joined a Norwegian company, worked for them in Aberdeen, and then again, oil service. And ended up running their operations in Baku and Azerbaijan. Then COVID came along and like for a lot of people turned the world upside down.So with the low oil price ended up being made redundant and Really struggled for about a year or so to find work and then it wasn't ideological either one way or another in terms of the energy transition, it's quite heavily marketed these days but I'm not overly convinced that it's as easy as politicians seem to say it is but I took a job for a company drilling offshore foundations.And I was working on a nuclear power station, the cooling shafts for a nuclear power station. And then I simply got a job offer one day an online recruiter to come to Japan to work on offshore wind which has some, Close. It's basically the same things I was doing, except it was in nuclear.So yeah, none of it's been a straight line or a plan, but just the opportunity came up. We really wanted to have another period abroad. So we took the move and then I find myself on a beach speaking to yourself after about a year or so. Leafbox: So Andrew, going back to university time, exactly what did you study? Was this petroleum engineering? Or Andrew: It was no, it was mechanical engineering. But being in it was Robert Gordon university in Aberdeen, but being in Aberdeen, it was very heavily oil influenced at the time. I was actually. obsessed with cars and motorbikes, anything with an engine. So I really wanted to do automotive, but I didn't have the grades to go to a lot of the bigger universities down South.And I was 16 when I went to university and didn't really want to go too far. So I did mechanical. And then that led on to a degree in offshore engineering at the same university, which was completely oil focused. Leafbox: And then Andrew, can you tell me a little bit about the makeup of, the demographics of when you entered the oil industry and especially in Scotland and what were these offshore platforms like, you have engineers with high degrees and then what about the workers themselves?Andrew: Yeah. Yeah. So, your average rig is made up of a lot of different job functions. At the top or guess with the most responsibility. So you've got your company that own the rig. They're the drilling contractor and they have their personnel the guy that manages the rig, and then they have all different personnel, including all the deck crew and all the roughnecks raised about, but then you have the oil company that contracts them.And they have someone offshore running it, but they have a lot of engineers. And then you have all these like service companies, which is what I've worked for that come in and do things. So you typically have on the oil company sides. You'd have someone with, degrees, you'd have like their graduate programs, you'd have young people coming offshore, their first time offshore, but they'd be quite high up relatively.And then you would have your deck crew, mechanics, electricians, which typically weren't university educated. And the guys right at the very top who'd be like, Oh, I am like the rig manager generally, especially in the old days, wouldn't be university educated, but they would just have worked offshore for a very long time.So that they'd be very knowledgeable and skilled in what we're doing. A lot of them took degrees as, technology increased. And it became, more important to have a degree, but especially in the old days, although I think at that level in that job, people wouldn't have had degrees, but you do have, it is a big mix between like I said, your deck crew and the people that are more like the, engineers, geologists, et cetera.And I can't speak for every region, but you do find that you've got, so say the comparative salary or career prospects of a welder, or a mechanic or somewhere you've suddenly got someone who could earn, I don't know, in the U S but in the UK, maybe Twenty five twenty twenty five thousand pounds a year.Maybe, like three years ago in their offshore making like 60, and it's I think it's the same thing in the U. S. you have people from very poor areas that can go offshore and just, quadruple more there their salaries and it's a, But there's a reason why they're, there's a reason why they're getting paid that is because it's a lot more difficult and dangerous when you're away from home and stuff. It's a strange old mix in a lot of ways. Leafbox: And then can you describe for people just what the actual dangers are? Give people an image of what these platforms are like to be on them and how to build them and the complexity of these devices.Andrew: There's so you have there's a lot of different forms, but basically you have a drilling rig. which can be like a semi submersible which floats or a jack up which legs are like sitting on the ground or you could even have a ship that comes like, it all depends on the the depth of the water depth usually.So you'll have this vessel that drills a well and then eventually, so they'll drill a number of wells and then you'll have a platform which is fixed to the seabed usually and then that can that has like a. A wellhead that connects all the wells and then takes the hydrocarbons on board and then it might pump it to another bigger platform or it pumps it to some like somewhere where it's processed and then it's pumped on shore.There's different. There's common dangers. Everything from there've been a number of helicopter incidents over the years. Generally, a lot of these rigs are so far away that you'll take a, you'll take a chopper backwards and forwards. And it's been well documented of things like gearbox failures and stuff.You're probably one of the biggest, I don't have the HSC statistics in front of me, but one of the biggest injuries are probably slips, trips and falls. Because, your average drilling rig has maybe four or five levels to it, and you're up and down stairs all day with big boots on and a hard hat and glasses and stuff, and people tripping on themselves.Obviously drilling, you've got well you've got a lot of overhead lifts, a lot of people get injured with the fingers getting caught between loads roughnecks, raced abouts on the drill floor when they're handling drilling pipe. I've met a lot of people over the years that have got one or more fingers missing, because it's very easy to get your finger nipped between two things are being lifted, especially when people put their hands on to try and direct them.And then obviously the pressure of the hydrocarbons look at deep water horizon, for example the oil and the gas, It's funny listening to your podcast with Jed about oil being sentient that the pressure that the oil is under.So when you tap into, obviously it wants to go, it wants to go up and out. And then that could literally rip a rig apart if it's not if it's not controlled. And then obviously you've got the ignition risk, which, you've got Piper Alpha in the UK and you've got, like I say, Deepwater Horizon, there's been a number of rig explosions and then going back to what I said about platforms.So Piper Alpha was a platform and that was processing gas. So you have 100 and 170, 200 odd people working and living. on a structure offshore where there are like an enormous amount of gas that's being pumped. extracted and pumped like underneath their feet and it only takes, one ignition source and then you're on top of a fireball.And I remember being offshore when they're flaring, which is a process whereby they burn off excess gas and just being stunned by the ferocity of the noise, nevermind the heat of the, that it's just like a primal hour, you, you can stand a couple of hundred. Yards away from it and you can feel it on your face, it's just, it's very different.I've been offshore on a wind turbine installation vessel, which has the same offshore industrial risks in terms of lifted injuries, slips, trips, and falls and suspended loads. But you don't have that. You don't have that like potential that the entire thing can blow up underneath your feet.Leafbox: So with this danger and this kind of. wild beast underneath you. How did the men and women respond? You had in your email, a little bit of this kind of cowboy culture. I'm curious what the culture of these workers are like, and maybe in Scotland and what you've seen around the world. If these people aren't usually they're more working class or what's the relationship with them and the engineers and yeah, tell me about that.Andrew: It's it's a very, it's a very masculine environment. That's not to say that there aren't women offshore in the industry. There, there absolutely are. And there, there are more and more these days especially in certain countries, like in Scandinavia, for instance But it's a very, especially when you get down to the deck crew, it's a very, the recruits are very masculine, very like macho environment.It's quite a tough environment. It's a very hard working environment. The it's not that people I wouldn't say a matter of fact to say the opposite in terms of people having a cavalier attitude to safety. There have been a number of incidents over the years in the industry and each incident spurred along quite a lot of improvements in health and safety.So I'd say probably in terms of. Industry, it's probably one of the safest industries, well, it's probably one of the industries with the best safety attitude. I'm sure maybe nuclear is probably up there as well, but people are aware offshore of the risks. There's a huge QHSE industry.There's a, most companies have some form of a HSE system, which allows anyone from someone who works for the camp boss, like someone who changes the sheets, the cleaners, the cooks to like the driller can stop operations if they think that something is dangerous and there can't be any comeback, and stopping operations offshore is a big deal.Because the average. Rigorate is, it fluctuates, but the average is, I don't know, a few hundred thousand, I don't know what it is at the moment, but let's say up to maybe a half a million more for the biggest rates, biggest rigs per day. That's what, 20, 000 an hour. So if you see something that's dangerous and you stop it for a couple of hours that's a lot of money.So it takes a lot of nerve to do that, but the industry has been pretty good. They have these systems called stop cards. Like I say, Different companies have different names for it, but it gives the ability to It gives you authority for someone not to be forced into doing something that they think is dangerous.So overall, I actually think the health and safety culture is quite good. But if you look at Deepwater Horizon, that was a classic example of even at the corporate level, people being frightened to say no and frightened to halt operations. So that does still persist due to the sheer amount of money involved.Leafbox: And then tell me about in your email, you had a quote line about, these workers spending their money, maybe not as wisely. I'm curious to describe and understand the cowboy. I have this image, my father worked for Exxon for a long time. And his biggest problem was piracy. They had so much issues with piracy, but this was in the Caribbean. So it's just constantly people stealing oil from them. So maybe yeah, tell me how it is now after I guess 2000s, how it's changed. You're describing this very safe sounding MBA driven culture, but I have trouble.Yeah. Tell me what it's like around the world. Andrew: So that's the sort of the day to day attitude offshore, which is pushed very heavily by the oil companies. It's a lot of recording. They record lost time statistics which also not to get sidetracked, but that has a slightly negative effect as well in terms of if a rig has, say.That they'll, quite often rigs will have a big display when you arrive and it says this amount of days from the last accident and if they go like a year without any LTIs, everyone on the rig could get like an iPad or some sort of bonus or something and it's a big deal not to have incidents that cause a loss of time and that, by that if someone has to go to hospital, someone has to leave the rig, but that also does encourage it can encourage hiding of things, someone maybe, they've smashed their finger, but can they just maybe report it, but maybe just go on like light duties or something rather than go to the hospital before, before their shift change sort of thing which does happen and it's not healthy.But anyway, to get back to your point I think it comes from, as I say it's, a way for someone who would have no other avenue to earn the amount of money that they would get offshore by taking on the additional risk and being away from home. So say an electrician, your average construction electrician wages are probably pretty good these days, but if you take someone working in, some rural place in, in the States who is like a car mechanic or something, and then they go offshore And they're multiplying their salary, but they're multiplying their salary, perhaps coming from an environment where no one's ever had that type of money.They're coming home with maybe try to think of some people I've known, hundreds of thousands of dollars a year when their salary may have been I don't know, sub six figures, but they don't come from an environment where that sort of money is common. So you then have a situation whereby they are the one person in their family or town or their local bar.who has loads of money, who's been away from home for four weeks, but he doesn't have the most stable relationship precisely because they're not at home, but yet they've got loads of money and loads of time. You can see how that can encourage perhaps resentment. Or just a feeling of alienation from that community.That sort of person, say they have a lot more money than their friends, maybe they want to buy them drinks, but then do they want to have to do that all the time? I've known people that have been divorced multiple times, that have bought boats and all sorts of things that they never use and they end up with, paying for There are families that they never see, the families that get remarried, the kids that they never see.I've worked with directional drillers that I've got a wife in one country, an ex wife in another country, kids that don't like them, and they just pay for all these families. They get onshore and then they spend the next couple of weeks with some, teenage prostitute blowing all the money on that drink for the rest of the month and then they're back offshore.the shakes and then they decompress over the month and then the cycle repeats itself. So in the one sense, it's a fantastic opportunity for social mobility, but it also can leave a lot of chaos behind it. And I'm certainly not at all. And having come from a work class background myself, I'm not certainly saying that.It shouldn't be there. I think it's a positive thing and it's up to these people what they want to do with their money. I'm just saying it's an interest in social observance that it's, you don't get that many working class people that can leave school and have a manual trade and can go and be a lawyer or a doctor or a CEO but you are all of a sudden getting these people in situations who are making the same amount of money, but without the family structure.Or the societal structure that can prepare them for that.Leafbox: Jumping to the next topic, I'm curious, you first mentioned Dick Cheney, what was your relationship, you're in Scotland, and how does that fiddle in with the Middle East? oil wars and just the general kind of, I feel like when my father worked in oil, there wasn't that much of a hostility in the general environment.It was just people drove cars and you worked in the oil industry and it wasn't that. So in post 2000, I would say things change both from the climate perspective and then from the kind of American imperialist association with oil. Andrew: It's changed massively in terms of hostility. Just, it's just like night and day. So when I graduated, I remember being at school in the early nineties and there was, I don't think it was climate, no, no global warming. It was called then. So there was discussion of it.But the greenhouse the ozone layer was the big deal. And there was environmentalism, Greenpeace was quite big at that time. But. The, there was no stigma like whatsoever into going into the oil industry. And you could see that in terms of the courses at the time they were called there was like drilling engineering courses, offshore engineering courses petroleum engineering.You go back to the same universities now and it's like energy transition. I think you'll struggle to find that many courses that have got the words petroleum or drilling in it. And also it was very easy to get a job in those days in the industry. The, yeah the Gulf War, so the second Gulf War at the time working for Halliburton, I was very conscious of, it was very interesting to me how the company was structured.So you had Halliburton Energy Services and you had KBR, Kellogg, Brennan, Root, and they were the company that won the uncontested contract to rebuild in Iraq. But the way the company was structured. Was that they were that they were split up basically. So if one of them had gone down the toilet for any of these issues, they were separated.I was very happy to join Haliburton. It was a big career wise. I thought it was very good. I look back now, it's funny how I look back, like inside, I look back on that whole Iraq war with absolute horror now, but I had grown up with Free internet with, what at the time were considered authoritative news sources with the BBC and British newspapers.It might sound naive, but you believe that people are doing the right thing. And I just thought at the time that, that, we were going into Iraq because it was a very bad person there. And I look back now, with I look at Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld and all the things that have happened with absolute horror.But at the time it just seemed quite straightforward. My, my view on the oil industry hasn't changed in terms of, I, I believe in an energy mix. I think there's a lot of irresponsibility talked about these days in terms of the energy transition. I do think there should be an energy mix.I don't think it should be any one source of energy. But I feel like we're in the same position that we're in before except instead of it being everyone's desperate to make money out of oil. I think everyone's desperate to make money out of renewables these days. Leafbox: Well, before we jump to that point, I want to I think that's a big topic we'll go to, but tell me about your jump to Nigeria.You're still naive then, or eager help, Nigerian oil industry or what you get assigned to Nigeria. What's that like? Andrew: Well, so I so that four years of us, so the three years I worked for that company originally was on it was on an ad hoc basis. So basically I would be at home. I'd get a phone call.And I could, I had to live within 45 minutes of the airport but I usually got at least a day. Sometimes it wasn't, it will, it was literally a day. Sometimes it was like a week, but I would get a call and then I could go anywhere in a region was Europe, Africa, Caspian. So I could go anywhere.Most of it was in West Africa. So I would go and work offshore in the Congo. Not the DRC, but the Republic of Congo Gabon, Nigeria, but all over Europe and occasionally like the Far East. So I had a lot of experience of Africa at that point. My very first, one thing I did want to, I was thinking the other day, one thing I did want to mention was when I first went, in terms of naivety, when I first time I ever went to Africa was in the Congo.And I'd grown up in the eighties where we had Live Aid was basically anyone's kind of opinion of Africa. And I remember at school we used to be forced to sing Do They Know It's Christmas, like every Christmas. So that was everyone's opinion of Africa was like just basically starving children. And I arrived in the Congo.They've got quite a decent airport now in Point Noir, but when I arrived it was literally a concrete shed with arrivals on one side and departures on the other and just like sand on the ground. And I can't remember coming out of that totally by myself just with my Nokia phone with the local contacts phone number and all these little kids appeared like Tugging it, tugging at my trousers asking for money and I was absolutely horrified I'd never seen like poverty like that and I felt horrible that I couldn't help them.But it's funny how You not that I don't care about children, but you harden yourself to what the reality of life is like in places like that. And I did that for three years. I was in Angola rotating for a year. In Cabinda, which is a chevron camp. And then I I got the job in Nigeria.And actually my father passed away just before I got that job. So I was a bit rudderless at that point. I really enjoyed it got to me in the end, I was there for three years and I started to get very frustrated when I was at home, that's when I thought I need to make a change.But there's a sort of happy level of chaos, I found. It's. in Nigeria, where things are, they don't work in the sense that they would do in, in, in what you'd call, developed countries. You can't rely on things to work. You can't really rely on people in a certain sense, but there's a sort of happy, it's difficult to explain.Like it's just, It's a very chaotic place, a very noisy, chaotic place. But once you accept that it's quite a good laugh actually. I have some quite happy memories from working there. Leafbox: So Andrew, when you enter in these places you first described your kind of exposure to Congo, but how do you conceptualize the interaction between the Western oil companies and I guess the local developing country?Do you think about that? Or are all the workers local? Or is everyone imported from all over the world? And Andrew: There's a big move towards localization in pretty much any location I've been which is, which has changed over the years. So when I first started working say in Africa, as an example.Pretty much all of the deck crew, all of the roughnecks were all Africans or locals from whichever ever country you're in. But once you got to the upper levels, like the Western oil companies, you would have, so you'd have like drill engineers, which weren't. You might describe them as like project managers of the drilling operations.So there you would have kind of a mix of locals and expats, but you pretty much always find once you went above that to like drilling managers. You'd find all what they call company men, which are the company's representative offshore, pretty much always expats. That has changed over the years, which I think is a very positive thing.A lot of countries, Azerbaijan's like this, a lot of countries in Africa, Nigeria is like this. They put within the contracts, like a local content. So for a company to win the license and which is then cascaded down to the subcontractors, you have to have a percentage of local employees and you have to have a system for replacing your senior people, training up locals and replacing them over time, which I think is very positive because after all, it's there.Oil is their resources. There are in certain locations with certain companies, a pretty bad history. Shell Nigeria, for example. You can your listeners can look all this up, but there have been, various controversies over the years on the whole, I think on the whole, I think.that it's a positive for these countries because I look at it in terms of a capitalist sort of capitalist approach that, you know and it's almost like the thing that I was saying where you have like someone who comes from a family or a class where they are not exposed to money and all of a sudden they have a huge amount of money where you could say the same thing with some tiny country where by a that they've had a level of civilization and a level of like income over the years and all of a sudden someone discovers oil and there's no way you can reasonably expect a society to just, you can't take somewhere that goes from like tribal pre industrial revolution conditions and make it New York City overnight.It's just, it's not going to happen. And just expanding that slightly, I was in Papua New Guinea in the eastern part And up in the highlands on a well site a while ago. And that was fascinating because Papua New Guinea is still, it's a country, but it's still very tribal. So once you leave Port Moresby you're really, it's not like you're going to call the police if someone tries to assault you or call an ambulance or something.It's very much like I say, pre industrial revolution, tribal. societies, but they're sitting on billions of dollars of gas. So you get these little pockets of on the shore drilling rigs. And they're just pumping millions and billions of dollars worth of gas out from under your feet, but they pay the locals.And the site that I was on right at the top of the hill overlooking it was a big mansion owned by the who, as soon as he started drilling, he would get 10 million. And then, as I was informed, would probably disappear down to Australia and, enrich the local casinos and stuff. But, who is to say that is, would it be great if he built a hospital and built a school and improved the lives of everyone around him?Oh, of course it would. But who's to say morally that we Chevron should be, I understand the point that maybe Chevron should be building these things, but who is to say that the condition should be attached to what that chief spends his money on. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I I think I place a lot of responsibility on hydrocarbons are located.I do think there have been a lot of very negative practices by By all companies over the years, and they absolutely have a duty to maintain the environment. But I think it's a bit hypocritical. I see a lot of rich Western countries, especially now saying to a lot of poorer, undeveloped countries that they shouldn't be drilling or they shouldn't be, should be using the money differently.And I think, well, it's their resource. I look at it more from a capitalist point of view, rather than, like I said in my email, I'm quite anti interventionist in that sense. So historically I'm going to, this continues now, but there have been issues with literally, so they put these big pipelines through people's villages and the way that a lot of these things are organized is like I said, about Papua New Guinea they'll contact, the tribal chief and we'll pay a rent or some sort of fee to, to put these big pipelines through, through these small places.But there are some times when, I haven't, I, the right tribal chief or they've not paid enough or there's some sort of dispute and you will get villagers literally drilling into these oil pipelines with drills and buckets to steal the oil. And of course someone's doing it and they're smoking or there's some sort of ignition source and the whole thing erupts and, the village is burnt and it's a horrible, tragedy but it's just it's a funny, again, it goes back to the theory of what I was saying, the juxtaposition of that very valuable resource with a very, with a civilization, with a community, probably better way of putting it, who has never had access to that amount of money.So you're literally pumping these, this thing through their village that is worth more money than they'll ever see in their lifetime. And obviously the temptation to try to take some of that. is there, almost like understandably, but then again it quite often results in a lot of death and destruction.So that's yeah, it's just it's part of the whole industry in a lot of ways. And other industries, when you look at things like lithium mining and diamonds and stuff, you have a very high value resource That has been, by pure chance, located in a very poor part of the world and it results in these tragedies sometimes.Leafbox: I was going to ask you about the processing of oil. So when export the raw crude. Mostly the oils and process somewhere else. You were, you're taking the oil from Nigeria. Like Venezuela, they have to ship it all to Houston or whatnot to get turned into different solvents and gasoline. And, Andrew: This is probably when I'll need some fact checking, but my recollection of the time in Nigeria was that they weren't processing the oil on shore.I stand corrected if that's wrong, but my understanding was that they weren't, or at least there wasn't very many refineries, so it was basically all, like you said, extracted and then sent abroad. To be refined. That's certainly the situation in in Papua New Guinea. A lot of it is turned an LPG there and then shipped abroad.I guess I would guess, I would assume that would be the situation in a lot of West African countries for a lot of reasons, you have an established. Supply chain, you have established skill set in other places, then it comes down to cost and then you have the security of, you can imagine the enormous amount of investment you would need in a refinery.And would you rather do that in a place that's had a history of civil war, or would you take the cost to ship it abroad and do it somewhere else, Leafbox: no, it's understandable. I think that's important for listeners to understand that. The refinery in Louisiana or whatnot, or, it's so massive, it's billions of dollars and it's such a dangerous place to work also. Right. Those are just like literally atomic bomb sized potential energy. Andrew: The one thing that, there's always been, say in Scotland, there's been a little bit of resentment towards, Aberdeen and they're all like rich up there from other places in Scotland, but I think that there is, people are aware of Deepwater Horizon and Piper Alpha, et cetera, but I do think that there has been an underappreciation of the, just the Crazy risks that are involved when you're working offshore and handling hydrocarbons.Like I said, you take a helicopter to work with all the risks that I had in, in tails, and then you spend a month or so working on top of something that is effectively, a bomb if if things aren't handled properly. And you're, how far away are you from like emergency services?There are supply vessels and stuff, but. It's very much an environment where you have to just be very careful and very aware of dangers, which I think the industry now has got very good at. But yeah, the wages are high, but they're high for a reason. It's not it's not an easy, it's not an easy job in terms of that.And like I alluded to before, in terms of family stability, working away and coming back is not really conducive quite often to, to a healthy home life.Leafbox: Going back to Angola for a second I read an account of the Chinese are very heavily in Luanda and Angola, and they had the terrible civil war.But one of the things that really stood out to me is that all the Chinese use Chinese labor. So their oil boats are all Chinese workers and they often use ex felons, which I thought was interesting. But there's, I guess they, all these ex felons in Angola, I don't know if you saw this, I wanted to confirm it, but there's a lot of half Chinese, half Angolan children now because all the Chinese roughnecks.They're all men. So there's a booming Angolan prostitution and it just was so wild. Angola think Luanda is the most expensive city in the world. But then the most violent too, so yeah, just what's your general impressionAndrew: I I've been in Luanda in total, probably just a couple of days.Most of my time was spent in a, so Chevron Texco have this place called Cabinda. Which is actually, technically speaking, if you look at the map, it's not actually connected to Angola, you've got Angola, then you've got a little gap, and then you've got Cabinda, which is the little gap is part of the DRC, I think but Cabinda is where all the onshore processing of the oil is.It's part of Angola and it's like a prisoner of war camp and you go up there and you can't leave pretty much until you've finished your work. But my impression of Lulanda wasn't great at all. I remember driving into it and there's these massive shanty towns on the edge of the city with just like literal rubbish tipped down the side of these hills.And then you get into the city and it's just a. massive continual traffic jam with Porsche Cayennes and Range Rovers and G Wagons. And it just felt in the way that I was describing Lagos and even Port Harcourt, which has a pretty bad reputation as a sort of, chaotic, but fun sort of chaos.I felt and this is just my personal impression, I felt Lwanda was chaos, but dangerous chaos. Not you wouldn't stay in a staff house there and you wouldn't go out for a drink anyway. You wouldn't even really go out for lunch much. You just stayed in. It looked to me like as if you'd taken a European city, which I guess it, that's how it was built.And then you just start maintaining it from like 1960s onwards, but then you'd add it in a civil war and I appreciate the civil war was like a proxy civil war and then just didn't repair any infrastructure and just peppered the whole place with like bullet holes.It wasn't, it was not particularly, it's not a place that I would recommend to be quite honest with you. In terms of the Middle East, the comparison with the Middle East I've not really worked that much in the Middle East, to be quite honest with you. I guess my closest is the Caspian, which is more Central Asia, but that was way more structured.Yes, there's massive amounts of corruption, massive amounts of poverty. But yeah, absolutely more structured and less chaotic in that sense. Leafbox: Andrew, what's the relationship in Nigeria, there's famous activists who, like the Shell, they polluted so heavily, but then I guess the military tribunals would erase or disappear people.Maybe this is before you worked there, but what, as, what was the relationship of the company men with the government? Was there open kind of corruption or? What was your general vibe of is the manager's job and kind of getting these contracts. Talk to me about that. Like Deanna, how did the, you know, Exxon versus Armco or whatever it is, whoever's ever getting these contracts, there's obviously backdoor dealings.Andrew: Yeah, in terms of, actual drilling licenses I was never near or even remotely near the people that will be making those sort of decisions. And I'm certainly not going to allege corruption at that level. And I don't have any evidence, but what I would say, and again, all of this is just my personal opinion.It's, I'm not disparaging any one particular place in general, but the level of corruption. that I would see was so endemic that I just came to feel it was cultural which again, it's not really don't want to make that sound like it's a slight, to me it was an understanding of I really feel, and just briefly going back to the whole Bob Geldof Live Aid thing, I really feel like in the West we've made a mistake over the years in trying to impose our way of looking at the world on other cultures.And what I would see in most West African countries was it was just an accepted way Of living, accepted way of dealing. So you would go to the airport. We used to have these boxes that would have electronic equipment in them. And we had to hand carry them cause they were quite fragile.And then you would go to the check in desk and they would be like okay, well we have to get some stairs to lift this into the plane. So that's an extra 50. I'm not sure you actually own this equipment. It's got another company written on it. You give me a hundred dollars.Sometimes it's not quite said, you'll just get so much hassle and you'd see other, you'd see some people there that would freak out in case thinking that they were gonna, arrested or something. They just open their wallet and hand over loads of money. The, but it's not it's not like some under the table nefarious plot it's just like the checking guy is getting paid next to nothing He sees someone who's obviously got all my money and he has How can I get that money off him and it's at every single level my I mean I suppose I would say I was wise to it, but even I would make naive mistakes.I remember on a leaving day when I left Nigeria I had this driver who I'd still consider a friend. I messaged him on Facebook sometimes, and he was a really nice young guy who would go out of his, literally out of his way to help me. And I made the silly mistake of handing in my bank card on my like, leaving due.I'd had a little bit to drink and I just thought, surely it'll be fine. And of course I get back to the UK, I check my statement and there's a couple of hundred dollars missing or a hundred pounds missing. At the time I was like, that must be a bank error, surely not. But I look back in it now and I just think, again, this isn't, this honestly isn't even a criticism, it's just the culture is to try and hustle.And if you, if it doesn't work, well, I tried. It's just, it's endemic in that sense. I don't doubt that there most likely have been over the years some very shady practices on the behalf of Western oil companies and Western governments. You only have to look at the history of, BP and the UK government and Americans in Iran and coups to get oil and all these sorts of things.But I'm just talking about like the corruption that I've seen, it seemed, Cultural in that sense. It's just everywhere. The one thing that I would say is that companies I've worked for within the contracts is very heavy anti corruption. So the FCPA, if I'm remembering that right, in the US. The anti corruption laws are very strong to the point where if a company official from a country, say like Scotland, is a manager and he signs off on a bribery expense, he can actually, if I'm right in recalling this, he can end up going to jail himself for that.So a hundred percent, I'm sure it's happening by at the same time legally, there are some very strict laws against it. Leafbox: When they just outsource to local sub providers, that's what I would imagine they do to get around that. Andrew: I think it's a case of well, just don't tell me sort of thing.Leafbox: Yeah. Andrew: I'm pretty sure that, that's why. Well, Leafbox: I think people don't understand if you haven't been to these countries, it's just it's just not Norway. It's not. Yeah. It's a very different. Yeah. Andrew: And. I, sorry to interrupt you, but I've done quite a bit of work in Norway and I have found that some countries and some cultures seem to have a difficulty accepting that the world isn't the way that they are.And I think that that, not to, not to boast or to my trumpet here, but I think that one thing that I've learned over the years is that some places they just are the way they are. And it's, of course you don't want to encourage. Corruption, you don't want to encourage mistreatment, but I don't believe it's your right.Like I'm like, I live in Japan now and some things, a lot of things about Japan I absolutely love, but there are also some things about Japan that just don't seem right to me. But it's not my place to come in and say, right, you're doing this wrong. You should be doing this the other way. It just isn't, it's not my country.And I felt the same way in Africa. There's loads of things about Nigeria that I was like, this is absolute madness. But it's their madness, it's not my madness, and I'm a guest in their country. Leafbox: What do you think the difference, in your email to me, you wrote about the colonial being British, how's that relationship been for you?You've, non interventionist now, but you wrote about, your forefathers or previous generations having quote, good intentions. Maybe tell me about that. Andrew: I think that I know that there's a lot in the UK as with America now that's quite, there's a lot of attempt to be revisionist within history and question history, which I'm a big fan of people questioning history.I just think once again, that we are tending to look at things from a very Western point of view without taking into account like global history. I know believe, through my experience of traveling, I now think, well, exactly like what I just said, I don't think it's our place to change countries to mold them in our ways, but I do have a more charitable view of a lot of our maybe not every one of them, certainly not every country's colonial adventures, but I do think that some of them were more motivated by, as I said, a Christian desire to end certain barbaric practices.If you look at, the I forget what the practice is called, but the practice of people burning their their wives on the husband's funeral pyre in India and the whole slavery, which, yes, Britain was a part of but it's quite clear that, the British Navy was very important, effective in, in, in ending the global slave trade.So I'm very proud of where I come from and I'm proud of my ancestors. I don't deny that They were put that they, there weren't some, as I said, some negative aspects and atrocities, but I just think that again, when it comes to, and I think about this more because I have kids now.So I think about how I want them to feel about the country going forward. This is part of, traveling. You see so many countries where people are so proud of their country. Nigerians were some of the most proud people I think I've ever met, and it's the same in Japan. And I worry the direction our country's going, both the UK and the US, when we were raising a generation of children who are being taught to be embarrassed by where they come from.Leafbox: Going back to oil for a second, Andrew, the colonial legacy is impossible to digest in a short interview, but do you have, what's the general like Pemex or the Venezuelan oil companies or the Russian oil companies? What's your general impression of nationalized oil companies versus the private?Andrew: Yeah. I so I guess my biggest experience is in Azerbaijan, there's a company called Soka which is the national oil company. And of course all these national oil companies, a lot of them have shares in international like private oil companies.So it's not always a clear divide of either one or the other, but I guess I, as someone who really. believes in capitalism. I think that in terms of efficiency and certainly in terms of safety, in terms of environmental compliance, I think that the private oil companies are much more answerable to activism, to just a sense of corporate responsibility than private oil companies.And if you're in somewhere like Russia, like you say, Venezuela and the national oil companies is polluting the water. Well, What are you going to do about compared to a private oil company who has, a much more, it has shareholders and I guess more of a global footprint. But I also come back to the point, as I was saying about localization that these resources are the country's resources and I think it's quite right that companies pay.I wouldn't say prohibitive amounts of tax, but I think it's quite right that companies pay a lot of money in tax when they extract the hydrocarbons, and they have local content. I guess the ideal for me is private, but with a level of public ownership. But not actually running the operations because I think as soon as you take away, as soon as you take away that meritocracy, you end up with health and safety risks, you end up with just waste, and when it comes to something like with the large amounts of money involved That just ends up taking money away from the actual people.I don't think it's, I don't think it's generally a great idea, but I think a sort of public, a bit like you see a lot here in Japan actually, a public private mix, if done properly, is probably the way to go for a lot of utilities. Leafbox: Great. So Andrew, maybe it's time to jump to the oil and energy diverse mix.Tell me about what brings you to Japan. First, you work on nuclear and now wind. Andrew: Yeah. For me, I can't claim any sort of high minded high minded drive to change from one industry to the other. It was purely, I had a mortgage and a new baby and I desperately needed a job. So that was how I made that jump.The one thing I have experienced over the years, it's certainly the place I've worked. It's very, Unless you're in a region that has like a national oil company, it's even then I guess depends who you are. It's very meritocratic, but it's quite cutthroat. So oil companies, service companies, as soon as oil price drops, it's very cyclical.People just get made redundant. People, I saw people at Halliburton had been there for literally 40, 50 years being made redundant just because the share price dropped a few points. I've been made redundant twice myself. And yeah, it's just horrible. And there's nothing you can do about it because it's an economic decision.It's nothing to do with your performance. And that happens to, it's probably very few people on the street that hasn't happened to It's the downside of the high salary really. So coming into wind it was really an opportunity to, as I say, we wanted to live abroad again for a little while.And opportunities to live in Japan don't come by very often. And it's interesting. It's interesting. It's very different. It's interesting from an engineering point of view. It's a lot of heavy lifts. And Japan, I think Japan has a good attitude towards offshore wind, because everything else, Japan has a long term vision.It has a vision of a percentage mix of nuclear fossil fuels, renewables, whereas I feel like I'm fairly against it in my home country, in the UK, because we don't have a long term plan. We've had four prime ministers in the last two years. One of them wanted to build eight nuclear power stations, the next one to start fracking.And then the one now wants to quadruple our offshore wind capacity in eight years, which is impossible. It's quite nonsensical. It's quite short term thinking. I'm not anti wind, I'm not pro oil, I'm not anti or pro any, anything. What I'm pro is a science based, long term, non subsidy, non corruption based market solution.Obviously you've got environmental aspect of climate change, et cetera, which needs to be taken into account. But I found, I find a lot of the attitude towards renewables and towards the energy mix quite histrionic and not really based on facts. Leafbox: Do you ever think about, geopolitics as an engineer in terms of, where these pressures are coming from.Europe particularly seems so against oil and hydrocarbons, but if you do any scientific research, you just, there's the capacity of hydrocarbons to produce energy is just unparalleled in terms of the input to output. And wind is just not a realistic option. Andrew: I think that, I think there's a general I would say it's a mistake, but I think it's done on purpose, but there's a general attitude that seems to be portrayed in the media that you can have one company or one industry is virtuous and everything they do is virtuous and there are no negative connotations or motivations behind what they're doing.And then the other is just all negative. So right now, it seems like oil is completely negative and then offshore wind is completely positive. You look at the motivations behind companies putting in offshore wind turbines or the service companies exactly the same as motivations behind all companies.Neither one is doing them. For anything other than to make money. And I think it's simplistic and a little bit silly to think that the boss of an oil company is some sort of J. R. Ewing, person that likes to run over puppies on the way home and the boss of an electricity company or a turbine installation company or whatever.is some sort of, sandal wearing saint that doesn't care about money. Everyone in pretty much, I would say any corporation, that statistic about men are CEOs, they're psychopaths. All they care about is money. And I think there are a lot of like there's a lot of talk about subsidies.You just touched on it, I think. And people talk about subsidies and oil when they're talking about subsidies and oil, what they're talking about is the The fact that when you drill an oil well, which can be anything between, I don't know, 30 and like upwards of 100 million, you basically get to claim that back off the tax.Now the tax in the UK is, it was about 75 percent on the oil that they extract and profit from the oil they extract. But if you have that say 100 million cost, how many companies can drill three or four wells at 100 That you're going to get anything out of that. Very few companies can afford to take that risk.I don't think it's a bit rich to call that a subsidy when you've got the whole CFD process for offshore wind, which effectively guarantees the strike price of electricity. So you imagine if you had that for oil, you would have, You would have countries buying oil off the oil companies when the price dropped, and they don't have that, they don't have that, that, that mechanism, but you simply wouldn't get offshore winds without a decent strike price, which you've seen recently in the auctions when no one bid on the licenses in the UK, and I think it was the US as well.Leafbox: So in essence you prefer just like a free market, totally. Not a totally free market, but in the sense that a clear transparent market. So if that really incentivized the right incentives, like you're saying in Japan, they have that mix of nuclear and hydrocarbon and wind and solar. And in Japan, I always feel like they're just burning trash.That's their real power generation. Andrew: It's funny that it's such a funny place in so many ways, but you've got this island, which has, a lot of geothermal resources. But in terms of mineral resources, it's not in a great position yet. It manages to be so incredibly self sufficient in terms of industry, in terms of fuel price.Like they, they said to me when I arrived here, Oh God, it's so expensive electricity. It's like about 60 to, to a month for the electricity in your house. And it's a four bed house with five air cons on 24 seven. I'm like, geez, you just see the price UK. You'd be like, 10 times almost. So they managed to make it work, but like everything else here, like I said, it's a long term, long thought process.And Obviously, I guess we haven't really talked about it, and I'm not, I don't feel qualified even to talk about it at all, to be honest with you, but in terms of climate change, I am very much meritocratic and capitalist in that sense that I think the market will identify the most efficient.way of providing energy, but I completely accept that there needs to be a level of environmental regulation because going back to what I said, CEOs, I think of any company would do anything if it made them money. And I've seen, I saw this in Azerbaijan. You go out, you're back, he's an absolutely beautiful city, but if you look back through its history of being part of the Soviet Union, the level of just pollution was unreal and it still suffers from a lot of that, especially out with the main city. So I 100 percent agree with environmental regulations. I think that, I think there's a lot of politics behind climate change. I'm quite skeptical of international NGO organizations, especially with the last few years that we've had.But I think that the yeah, I think that Japan's got it right. I think we need a mix and we need to not. Pretend like we are doing in the UK at the moment that for instance, the electricity price in the UK is doubled since 2019. And it hasn't here in Japan, and there, there tends to be a thought of, well, we just need to do all this because climate change is going to happen.It doesn't matter that, that people are suffering now, I don't think, I think people tend to. tend to maybe forget the, it's like the, the just stop oil extinction rebellion types. It's the world we have is impossible to have without oil. Sure. You can reduce it. It's going to run out eventually one day anyway.So reducing it is not a bad thing, but to pretend that you can just press stop and then you can put in a wind

Institutional reforms, policy reversals, debt restructurings and the prospect of new hydrocarbon production are leading to gradual improvement in some sovereigns' creditworthiness from weak levels.Guest: John Walsh, Analyst, Sovereign Risk Group, Moody's RatingsHost: Vittoria Zoli, Analyst, Credit Strategy & Guidance, Moody's RatingsRelated Research:Sovereign – Sub-Saharan Africa: Governance is key to realising credit benefits for new hydrocarbon producersSovereign – Sub-Saharan Africa: Institutional reforms are supporting creditworthiness for select sovereigns

In this episode of the Oil & Gas Measurement Podcast, host Weldon discusses the important topic of dew point measurement with Dr. Sohrab Zarrabian, CEO of Zegaz Instruments. Dr. Zarrabian provides insights into both water and hydrocarbon dew point analysis, how dew points are measured in the field, and the complexities involved in natural gas systems. The conversation covers the fundamentals of dew point, the significance of accurate measurements, and the use of advanced technologies like chilled mirrors for precise dew point detection. Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript, as well as detailed show notes with relevant links and insider term definitions. 

Process industry professionals have long known about the risks of failure hidden in piping infrastructure, but robotic inspections are poised to solve this safety and risk problem. The pipes with the highest risk profile are undoubtably those used in the petroleum industry, and detecting and assessing their condition under layers of coatings and insulation is one of the most important challenges for the industry. Piping can fail for a variety of reasons, and inspections are expected to detect a broad range of conditions and potential failure points. Most of the more insidious piping weaknesses are not visible to the eye, which can mislead managers into thinking that pipe integrity is assured. Piping failure in a refinery context can be truly catastrophic. Hydrocarbons are toxic and explosive, carry enormous safety implications, and considerable financial risk. A failure of a non-redundant pipe can result in total plant collapse. Suffice to say, the scale of piping infrastructure, the complexity of the material science at stake, the logistical challenges involved, and the nature of the microscopic problems under scrutiny combine into a major undertaking for plant owners keen to avoid substantial financial and safety risks. Better solutions are now available, and feature such innovations as robotic operations, better sensing under insulations, and dramatically improved diagnostics. Dianna Liu is the founder & president of ARIX Technologies, a robotic inspection company using pipe-crawlers and a data analytics software platform to help manufacturing companies better manage corrosion and schedule maintenance. Prior to founding ARIX, Dianna was an engineer for ExxonMobil with roles in logistics/operations and engineering. She has also had R&D experience in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries and prior entrepreneurship experience in founding and managing a 23-year-old online horse game. Dianna holds dual mechanical and biomedical engineering degrees from Duke University and an MBA from Yale University.   Additional Tools & Resources: Connect with Dianna!

This week, we welcome on special guest Walker Moody, President of Pickering Energy Partners based out of Houston. He'll educate us on the geopolitical ramifications on the energy sector, from wars to our elections. Walker also tells where he sees the future of energy transition heading—in terms of investment—and why Pickering is focused on upstream investments and looking toward longer time horizons. Key Takeaways [00:17] - Introducing Walker Moody, President of Pickering Partners [04:28] - Geopolitical ramifications on energy, from war to our elections [15:39] - When will a lack of investment lead to higher prices? [22:48] - In the last 20 years, who won with the advent of capital into shale? [29:36] - Why Walker will never say “This time is different” [35:00] - Why the road is long and the returns are low for alternative/green energy View Transcript Links Walker Moody Pickering Energy Partners Connect with our hosts Doug Stokes Greg Stokes Stokes Family Office Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts lagniappe.stokesfamilyoffice.com Disclosure The information in this podcast is educational and general in nature and does not take into consideration the listener's personal circumstances. Therefore, it is not intended to be a substitute for specific, individualized financial, legal, or tax advice. To determine which strategies or investments may be suitable for you, consult the appropriate, qualified professional prior to making a final decision.

Forget Fan Mail, Fan Text Us!

Suresh Bansal has spent ~40 years investigating the topic of biogenic vs abiotic oil. Some of his conclusions: 1. ~80% of current fossil fuel theory and ~80% of current abiotic oil theory is correct. 2. Both sides are ignoring the scientific evidence of the opposite side for the SAME oil deposits—the SAME oil deposit often contains a mixture of biogenic hydrocarbons and larger percentage of abiogenic hydrocarbons. 3. People sometimes use the term “organic” to refer to complex hydrocarbons, but the assumption that all complex hydrocarbons are biogenic isn't true. 4. *Before* there was any life on Earth, a series of asteroid strikes created lots of abiotic hydrocarbons on Earth. 5. In conjunction with the series of asteroid strikes, a “gigafactory” involving lots of chemical reactions in the Earth's atmosphere resulted in simple hydrocarbons being transformed into complex hydrocarbons which then rained down to the surface of the Earth. 6. A key compound in #5 may be tholin, a complex organic compound formed through the irradiation of simple organic molecules like methane and nitrogen, typically by ultraviolet light or cosmic rays. It's believed to be common in the outer solar system, particularly on bodies like Titan. 00:00 Introduction to the Podcast 01:43 Suresh Bansal's Background and Research 04:19 Debunking Biogenic Theory 10:18 Explaining Abiogenic Theory 14:06 Balanced Hypothesis and Giga Factory Explanation 22:50 Source Rock Misconceptions 26:56 Deep Drilling and Hydrocarbon Reserves 43:12 Challenges in Scientific Consensus 46:39 The Balanced Hypothesis: A New Perspective 48:45 Challenges and Debates in the Scientific Community 51:40 The Conspiracy Theory Behind Oil Prices 52:25 Russia's Deep Drilling and Scientific Papers 54:14 Coal and Methane: Organic vs. Abiotic Origins 59:55 Sedimentation Process and Hydrocarbon Formation 01:14:49 Revisiting Fossil Fuel Theory and Kerogen 01:29:46 Future Prospects: Titan and Asteroid Collisions 01:33:23 Final Thoughts and Future Plans Suresh's email: deepthinkers7777@gmail.com https://x.com/sureshbansal342 ========= AI summaries of all of my podcasts: https://tomn.substack.com/p/podcast-summaries My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tomanelson1 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL89cj_OtPeenLkWMmdwcT8Dt0DGMb8RGR X: https://x.com/TomANelson Substack: https://tomn.substack.com/ About Tom: https://tomn.substack.com/about

In this episode of the Crazy Wisdom Podcast, host Stewart Alsop interviews Kip Mock from Valar Atomics. They discuss Valar Atomics' innovative approach to creating synthetic hydrocarbons using nuclear energy, diverting from traditional electricity-based methods. Kip explains the technical challenges and advantages of their thermal-chemical process, the economic implications, and the potential impact on global energy markets. They also delve into the startup culture in El Segundo, California, and its role as a hotspot for deep tech and hard tech innovation. Additionally, they explore the philosophical and societal impacts of advancing technology and addressing humanity's energy needs.   Check out this GPT we trained on the conversation   Links of interest Valar Atomics Kip Mock on Twitter Kip Mock on Linkedin   Timestamps   00:00 Introduction to the Crazy Wisdom Podcast 00:24 Valar Atomics' Vision for Synthetic Fuels 01:45 Thermochemical Process and Engineering Challenges 05:12 Entrepreneurial Insights and Market Strategy 10:00 Microsoft's Energy Needs and Nuclear Power 14:13 AI Revolution and Energy Efficiency 23:51 Valar Atomics' Current Status and Future Plans 25:50 Combining Engineering Solutions 27:28 Targeting Jet Fuel Production 29:14 Challenges and Skepticism in Synthetic Fuels 32:28 The Mission of Valar Atomics 35:14 El Segundo: A Hub for Deep Tech 46:46 The Future of Technology and Society 50:09 Closing Thoughts and Contact Information   Key Insights Synthetic Hydrocarbons from Nuclear Energy: Kip Mock introduces Valor Atomics' innovative approach to nuclear energy, which focuses on producing synthetic hydrocarbons instead of electricity. This method leverages nuclear heat to create fuels like diesel, kerosene, and gasoline, integrating seamlessly into existing energy infrastructures designed for hydrocarbons. This innovation addresses the logistical challenges of transporting large amounts of energy, highlighting the potential of synthetic fuels in revolutionizing the energy sector​​ . Thermochemical vs. Electrical Processes: Kip explains the significance of using a thermochemical process over the conventional electrical methods for producing synthetic fuels. Valor Atomics employs the sulfur-iodine cycle to catalyze water splitting at lower temperatures, making the process more efficient by avoiding the energy loss associated with generating electricity first. This approach underscores the technical ingenuity and complexity involved in Valor Atomics' solution, aiming to optimize the use of nuclear reactor output for fuel production​​ . Economic and Environmental Viability: The episode delves into the economic rationale behind Valor Atomics' focus on synthetic fuels. Kip emphasizes that the company's success hinges on producing hydrocarbons at a cost lower than traditional extraction and refining methods. By potentially reducing the cost of energy, Valor Atomics aims to drive a significant shift in the energy market, offering a commercially viable alternative that does not depend on government subsidies or mandates ​​. Challenges and Milestones: Kip outlines the company's current status and future milestones. Valor Atomics is in the early stages, focusing on building and testing non-nuclear prototypes and developing their fuel synthesis process. The next crucial steps include validating their reactor design and achieving successful fission tests, with a target to reach production within three years. These milestones are essential for demonstrating the feasibility and reliability of their technology​​ . Innovative Business Model: Drawing parallels to Elon Musk's strategy with SpaceX, Kip discusses Valor Atomics' decision not to sell nuclear reactors but to own and operate them, selling the fuel instead. This vertical integration strategy aims to streamline the commercialization process, avoiding the lengthy and complex sales cycles typical in the nuclear industry. This business model reflects a strategic shift designed to accelerate market entry and impact​​ . The El Segundo Deep Tech Hub: The conversation highlights the burgeoning deep tech and hard tech scene in El Segundo, California. Stewart and Kip discuss the concentration of innovative companies tackling complex problems in a small area, attributing this to a supportive ecosystem and a culture of high standards and collaboration. This environment fosters a unique camaraderie and competitive spirit among entrepreneurs, driving advancements in various high-tech fields, including aerospace and manufacturing ​​. Philosophical Reflections on Technology and Society: Throughout the episode, there are reflections on the broader implications of technological advancements. Stewart and Kip touch on the balance between innovation and its societal impact, discussing the potential for technology to both solve critical problems and create new challenges. They explore the idea that while technology enhances human capability, it also requires thoughtful integration to ensure it serves humanity's best interests ​​.

Just like magic, big “islands” appear to come and go on the lakes and seas of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. They first showed up in radar images snapped 10 years ago by the Cassini spacecraft. And planetary scientists have been trying to explain them ever since. Titan is bigger than the planet Mercury. It has a cold, thick atmosphere. Hydrocarbons at the top of the atmosphere create an orange haze — like the smog that blankets many cities. Methane and ethane form clouds. They also fill the lakes and seas. In most of Cassini’s images, these bodies of liquid looked dark and calm — any waves would be no more than a fraction of an inch high. But occasionally, a bright patch would appear — like an island suddenly rising from the depths. There are several possible explanations: big waves, patches of nitrogen bubbles, and others. And a study this year suggested sheets of ice. In this scenario, particles would drop from the haze layer, forming ice grains along the way. The grains could collect in sheets along the shore. The ice would be porous, like a sponge or a honeycomb. A sheet might break away and float into a lake or sea. Eventually, though, the spaces would fill up, the ice would sink, and the island would vanish — just like magic. Look for Saturn near our own moon the next few mornings. It’ll stand well to the left of the Moon at dawn tomorrow, but much closer to the Moon on Thursday. Script by Damond Benningfield

Pine chemicals editor Leonardo Siqueira talks to Steve Williams, VP of Argus C5 and Hydrocarbon Resins, about navigating the pine chemicals and hydrocarbon resins markets, including:    How plant shutdowns may impact trade flows and regional supply/demand balances.   The impact of Chinese consumption taxes on C5 tackifier markets.   CTO demand in the US and Europe.   Other key factors the industry need to stay close to in 2024 and beyond.  This podcast is delivered by Argus' chemical experts using data and insights from the Argus Pine Chemicals and Argus C5 and Hydrocarbon Resins services.   Request a free trial or more information for Argus Pine Chemicals service.   Request a free trial or more information for Argus C5 and Hydrocarbon Resins service.  

In the news this week, after the death of rugby legend Rob Burrow, we explore the mechanisms of motor neurone disease with John Ealing from the Manchester MND Care Centre. Also, we hear from Alexander Forse at the University of Cambridge who has helped to develop a carbon sponge which can suck CO2 out of the atmosphere, and Inga Kamp from the university of Groningen explains why a new finding from the JWST could reveal the secrets of how Earth-like planets form. Plus, the intriguing story of a non-drinker who couldn't stop getting drunk... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Welcome to another fascinating episode of The Box of Oddities podcast, where we dive into the weird, wonderful, and downright bizarre. In this episode, we explore four distinct and captivating topics that will leave you questioning the very fabric of reality. First, we venture into the depths of space to ponder the age-old question: Is there life on Saturn's largest moon, Titan? Join us as we unravel the mysteries of this enigmatic celestial body and speculate on the possibility of extraterrestrial existence. Next, we delve into the heart-wrenching tale of Mao Yin, a young boy who vanished without a trace, leaving behind a mother determined never to give up hope. Prepare for an emotional rollercoaster of his mother's relentless search for answers in the face of unimaginable adversity. Then, we take a chilling journey through the haunted halls of Kempton Park Hospital, where echoes of its dark and twisted past linger in the shadows. From ghostly apparitions to unsettling encounters, discover this abandoned institution's spine-tingling history and its eerie secrets. And finally, we lighten the mood with a dose of laughter as we explore the hilarious origins of the Box Wars. From cardboard chaos to epic battles of wit and whimsy, learn how this quirky phenomenon has captured the imagination of people around the world. Tune in to The Box of Oddities podcast for a mind-bending blend of curiosity, intrigue, and the unexplained. Don't miss out on these four captivating tales that will leave you spellbound and craving more. If you would like to advertise on The Box of Oddities, contact sales@advertisecast.com http://www.airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just over 70% of humanity's energy consumption comes from hydrocarbons like coal, oil, and natural gas. The world is dependent on hydrocarbons, not just for energy but also for plastics, contact lenses, and computers, and so many other things. Using hydrocarbons like fossil fuels for energy has also led to huge amounts of climate change-causing emissions. So, knowing how important hydrocarbons are to modern society, how can we also ensure that they do not become our downfall?This week, we sat down with Casey Handmer of Terraform Industries, a startup combining solar power with direct air capture of CO2 to produce synthetic hydrocarbons. How does this work, and will it help? Tune in as Casey explains the importance of hydrocarbons, the potential impacts of switching to synthetic, and how Terraform's technology is trying to make synthetic, renewable natural gas affordable.Tune in!Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.Contact us at contact@climatenow.comVisit our website for all of our content and sources for each episode.

In this episode of the Pipeliners Podcast, Stephen Anson from Waterbridge and Jonathan Dye from OneOK join to discuss the International School of Hydrocarbon Measurement (ISHM).  They discuss their roles within ISHM, its history, organization, and unique features such as educational exhibits. Anson and Dye emphasize the importance of ISHM for professionals in the oil and gas industry, highlighting opportunities for networking, continuing education, and career advancement.  Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript, as well as detailed show notes with relevant links and insider term definitions. 

You have to give the Justice Department credit - after two slow enforcement years, DOJ is starting off 2024 with a relative "bang;" first, DOJ reached a large settlement with SAP in January, and now, DOJ has reached a blockbuster settlement with Gunvor S.A. for $661 million. Gunvor is one of the world's largest commodities trading companies. DOJ's settlement represents a "return" to its long-standing aggressive approach to FCPA enforcement. DOJ did not permit Gunvor to enter into a deferred or non-prosecution agreement. Instead, DOJ required Gunvor to plead guilty to one count of FCPA conspiracy. Following the plea agreement, the court sentenced Gunvor to pay a criminal monetary penalty of $374,560,071 and to forfeit $287,138,444 in ill-gotten gains. The sentence includes credits of up to one-quarter of the criminal fine each for amounts Gunvor pays to resolve investigations by Swiss and Ecuadorean authorities into the same misconduct so long as the payments are made within one year. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland simultaneously announced a parallel resolution of its investigation into Gunvor's misconduct that involved the payment of approximately $98 million by Gunvor to Swiss authorities. Gunvor's conduct stretched over nearly a decade and involved systemic bribery payments to officials of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Petroecuador, the Ecuadorian state-owned oil company, in exchange for valuable contracts to acquire oil products. In total, Gunvor earned more than $384 million in profits from the business it corruptly obtained related to Petroecuador. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews the Gunvor FCPA settlement.Gunvor's recent $661 million FCPA settlement with DOJ for bribery in Ecuador signifies a return to aggressive enforcement. The plea agreement and forfeiture highlight the consequences of anti-corruption violations for global companies.Prior individual enforcement actions preceded Gunvor's corporate resolution, showcasing a pattern in FCPA cases. The company's cooperation, including document production and internal investigation, played a crucial role in the resolution.Gunvor's implementation of remedial measures post-bribery scheme reflects a commitment to compliance. Enhancements to ethics programs and controls demonstrate a proactive approach to mitigating risks and ensuring regulatory compliance.The bribery scheme involving corrupt third parties and shell companies underscores the importance of robust monitoring and due diligence. Gunvor's delayed response to red flags highlights the need for swift action in high-risk activities.Gunvor's cooperation with the investigation, including sharing facts and facilitating interviews, showcases a commitment to transparency and accountability. Collaboration with authorities is essential in resolving compliance issues and maintaining credibility.ResourcesMichael Volkov on LinkedIn | TwitterThe Volkov Law Group

Doug Sandridge has spent his entire career in the oil and gas sector, but about three  years ago, he became a staunch advocate for nuclear energy. In this episode, Sandridge explains why more than 100 hydrocarbon executives have signed onto a declaration in support of nuclear energy, the challenges facing nuclear deployment around the world, spent nuclear fuel, and why the domestic nuclear sector will need strong government backing to succeed. (Recorded February 22, 2024.)

Hydrocarbons have been a key driver of geopolitics and globalization over the past century. Even in the past decade, we have seen how US shale production and China's energy security policies have dramatically changed the world. Now, peak demand and the energy transition is set to upend decades of global policy and economics – with a huge impact on the commodity markets. Will battery metals become the crucial natural resource? Will the electron revolution reverse globalization? We are delighted to have as our guest, Pulitzer Prize winning author and Vice Chairman of IHS Markit, Daniel Yergin at the time. We discuss Daniel's latest book – The New Map, Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations and explore his take on the future of hydrocarbons and the impact of energy transition.To find out more about HC and our talent advisory services in the energy & commodities sector visit www.hcinsider.global To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/