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Working together to deliver a decarbonised, net zero future will form the theme and direction for SPE Offshore Europe 2021 being held in Aberdeen, Scotland, 7-10 September 2021.
The shortlist for this year’s prestigious OGUK Awards has been revealed today. The annual awards ceremony celebrates the brightest and best talent from across the country’s offshore oil and gas industry and finalists represent the hard work, innovation, and collaboration the industry has adopted throughout 2020.
The UK could see more than £3 billion invested in the emerging hydrogen sector as more businesses step forward to pledge funding – but only if PM Boris Johnson backs the low-carbon fuel in his forthcoming Net Zero speech expected this week.
Members of Hydrogen Strategy Now, which combined employs around 100,000 people and has a value of £100bn in the UK, said their shovel-ready projects would create thousands of jobs across the country, helping to kick start a post-Covid green recovery.
The group has welcomed the recent appointment of Andrew Griffith, MP for Arundel and the South Downs, as the Government’s Net Zero Business Tsar, as a positive step in the right direction from Parliament. But its members have warned that unless the sector receives load and clear backing from the Government, the UK risks being left behind the rest of the globe.
Attracting cross-party support, the Hydrogen Strategy Now collective wants to see a clear, strategic plan to help unlock significant private funding in hydrogen technologies and manufacturing across the country, driving growth and generating hundreds of thousands of green jobs.
A letter from the group to Chancellor Rishi Sunak earlier this year stated;
“As you look to design a post-COVID recovery, we encourage you to focus on creating high-skilled, green jobs, in sectors that will be critical to the future economy, such as low-carbon energy, transport and heavy industry.
“These measures would be wholly complimentary to the Government’s levelling-up agenda and long-term decarbonisation goals. For example, the Committee for Climate Change has made it clear that the UK will not meet its Net Zero targets without significant investment in the hydrogen economy.
“The global hydrogen economy is estimated to be worth $2.5 trillion by 2050, supporting 30 million jobs. Other nations, such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and China have already set ambitious strategies for growing their hydrogen economies. Just last week, Germany joined this list with their own €9 billion hydrogen strategy. The European Commission is also creating an EU hydrogen strategy, which includes plans for multi-billion euro investment in hydrogen projects, and schemes to boost sales of hydrogen electric vehicles.
“It is now clear that hydrogen is going to play an essential role in the world’s future, low-carbon economy. The increasingly bold steps being taken by other nations underlines the need for the UK to bring forward urgent measures to establish a hydrogen strategy and unlock investment and innovation. We should not risk falling behind other nations in developing our hydrogen industry.”
Baroness Brown, vice-chair of the influential Committee on Climate Change, said;
“The UK missed the boat on wind technology and missed the boat on batteries. We can’t afford to miss the boat on hydrogen.
“I strongly agree that the UK urgently needs a hydrogen strategy, as there are too many small, piecemeal funds and projects. We need some serious private and public funding, and a coordinated effort between government and industry, to kickstart and grow a green-job-creating hydrogen economy across the country”.
Petroineos has announced its proposal to reconfigure the Grangemouth refinery to meet the current and future anticipated demand for its fuels products. The reconfiguration will impact on the 637 current full-time roles at Grangemouth but is anticipated to retain 450 highly skilled roles at the site.
The global refining industry is facing huge challenges as increasing electrification of the transport fleet and more fuel-efficient vehicles leads to reduced demand for fuel, a trend that has been accelerated this year by the COVID-19 pandemic.
To address this, Petroineos proposes a realignment of its refining capacity at Grangemouth in line with current and anticipated future demand for fuel in Scotland, the North of England and Northern Ireland. The proposal to keep the two production plants, Crude Distillation Unit 1 and the Fluidised Catalytic Cracker Unit (FCCU) in a mothballed state will reduce future incurred costs associated with operating these two older plants.
With these changes, Petroineos believes it can have a viable longer-term business, employing up to 450 highly skilled jobs.
Franck Demay, CEO Petroineos Refining, says;
“As a national critical infrastructure it is vital we retain a productive capacity of fuels in Scotland. For almost a century the Grangemouth refinery has reliably produced high quality fuels for the domestic market and for export. We firmly believe that only by taking action now will we preserve one of Scotland’s last large manufacturing sites and a significant contributor to the Scottish economy.”
Petroineos is entering into a statutory consultation period with its workforce and their representatives to discuss its proposals.
Mabanaft, one of the UK’s largest independent fuel importers and wholesalers, has just released the results of its 2020 customer survey.
Martin Cook, managing director, says of this year’s survey results:
“Despite the challenging circumstances of 2020, Mabanaft is delighted to have delivered a reliable supply of fuel and provided what our customers deem to be an excellent service throughout.”
View highlights of the results here. Detailed analysis of the survey results will appear in the December Issue of FON.
Autogas UK, a joint venture between Shell and LPG supplier Calor, saw more than 250 Shell sites supplying Autogas in the UK, at its peak. More recently, the Autogas UK website has closed down, now directing anyone seeking alternative supply to the independent fillLPG website.
A statement released by Autogas said;
“Following a business review by the Autogas board, the difficult decision has been taken to end the joint venture and to decommission its LPG refuelling network.
“Autogas is a joint venture between Shell and Calor and, although drivers of LPG vehicles will no longer be able to refuel at Autogas sites at Shell service stations, there remains a large network of LPG sites across the UK, with infrastructure available to support LPG drivers.”
Calor will continue to supply LPG at more than 1,000 sites across the country, and according to fillLPG there is a total 1,907 stations still in operation throughout the UK and Ireland.
An Autogas spokesman explained that there were a number of factors at play in the decision to exit the UK market;
“Customer demand for LPG for domestic transportation has declined due to changing customer preferences and the increasing availability of other lower-carbon fuels. Many of our Autogas sites are therefore increasingly under-utilised, which is why the LPG offering is being phased out.
“The current Autogas refuelling network was installed around 20 years ago and, as such, significant investment would be required to maintain the long-term safe and compliant operation of these facilities.”
Shell, out of all the major oil companies, has been the one with the widest range of alternative fuel options, investing in pilots for hydrogen as well as expanding its electric charging service and providing Autogas. It is also working on GTL (gas to liquid).
ProGARM, the UK’s leading arc flash protection specialist, is celebrating a string of recent appointments made by the firm, following its recent business success.
Protecting contractors in the petrochemical industry, the specialist PPE provider has welcomed four new recruits over recent months; Maciej Stachaczynski as an internal account manager, Lynn Palmer in customer services, Jemima Pridham as internal sales assistant and finally Celina Suehring as internal sales executive for the company’s German operation.
The new recruits joined the company before and during the COVID-19 pandemic – a time of uncertainty for many businesses. However, having enjoyed significant growth, the company is investing in its business to ensure constant innovation, quality development and consistent availability of its products, which are already blazing a trail in the health and safety industry.
Tony Arnett, managing director at ProGARM, said;
“We’re thrilled to have been able to welcome new members to our team during the last few months, which have proven challenging for so many of us. Every one of the new team members has been a huge asset to the business throughout this time, and has helped us to maintain our growth.
“Like most businesses, we’ve had to adapt our ways of working and consider our existing supply chain processes throughout the recent months. I’m truly impressed by the whole team for how they have all adapted during this time and contributed to the growth of the company.”
Employees at Essar Stanlow have been able to make a valuable difference to a cause close to their hearts, thanks to the company’s Let’s Give programme.
The initiative links safety achievements and charitable giving, with donations made to local charities nominated by employees. A £3,000 donation to The Hospice of the Good Shepherd came after Essar recently recorded two million working hours without a Lost Time Injury.
For over thirty years, the Hospice in Backford has delivered end of life care to patients living with life limiting conditions. It provides a 10 bedded in-patient unit, a Living Well Centre that offers day support to help patients maintain their independence and stay at home longer, as well as bereavement support across its catchment area. In the last year, almost 1,000 families have benefited from the combined services of both the Hospice and the bereavement team.
Essar production specialist, Andy Taft, explained;
“When my mother was dying of cancer, the Hospice gave my father and I respite by taking my mum in for a break. Fortunately, this was short term and we cared for my mum at home until she sadly passed away. Whilst this was a difficult time, it was made easier by the support and care from the Hospice. Since then, I lost my father and I cared for him at home, but always knew the Hospice was there if needed.”
Paul Wilcox, inspection team leader, who also nominated the charity, added;
“Many colleagues at the refinery and their families have benefited from the care and support the Hospice offers and it is great that we are able to collectively thank them, especially during these difficult times, for the incredible work and services provided to so many local families.”
Justin Caroe, community & events manager for the Hospice, commented;
“We are delighted to receive this generous donation from Essar, which will make a huge difference in allowing the Hospice to continue providing vital services to the community. We continue to source and raise funds on a daily basis to allow our Hospice to remain open, and whether its company or individual funding every penny is a step closer to a more sustainable future for us.”
The Hospice is currently facing an unprecedented financial crisis due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and could run out of money in a matter of months. Not part of the NHS, the Hospice receives only 25% of its income from government funding, meaning it has to raise just over £3 million each year from donations, fundraising events and its charity shops, which have all been severely affected.
It is anticipated there will be at least a £1.1 million shortfall in fundraising for this year, so the Hospice continues to collect funds through its #SupportYourHospice appeal JustGiving page. You can donate to the Hospice via: www.justgiving.com/campaign/saveyourhospice or by calling 01244 851811.
The Future Fuels & Hydrogen Economy Virtual Conference is taking place 9 – 10 November 2020. Explore the fundamentals around future fuels on the market from the industry’s leading experts.
With plans to reduce shipping emissions by at least 50% by 2050, the use of e-fuels will play an important role in decarbonising the shipping and transportation industry. The conference will cover how to stay at the forefront of the IMO’s 2030 and 2050 GHG reduction targets as expert speakers dig deep into the regulations and technicalities of fuel innovations that will help you on your way to meet the imposed targets and kick start bringing these fuel options to market.
Key agenda themes:
• Macroeconomic view of trade and global economies in times of COVID-19
Assess national economies, the global supply chain and what the future holds for shipping and energy sectors moving forward.
• Bringing hydrogen forward in energy market
Understand the benefits of using hydrogen within your business and the environment, bringing the fuel to market and its current stage of development.
• Overcoming barriers in the alternative fuels market: Policy and regulatory landscape
Discover the policies, legal guidelines, IMO targets, technologies and more behind the use of alternative fuels.
Save 10% by quoting FKT3723ER at the checkout. Book online today.
LQM Petroleum Services believes that female leadership should be a priority for maritime businesses – particularly in the bunker industry – where women make up just nine per cent of senior positions.
Ahead of the set-up of Consumer Scotland in late 2021, UKIFDA has submitted its views on the Scottish Government consultation on the Energy Consumers Commission’s first work plan covering 2020-2021.
North West-based Crown Oil has strengthened its brand in the North West after acquiring an £18m-turnover oil supplier.
The Greater Manchester company, part of the £420m-turnover Crown Oil family of companies, has completed the purchase of Stockport-based Star Oil for an undisclosed sum. This deal for the 20-year-old business will increase Bury-headquartered Crown Oil’s reach in the region and take staff numbers to more than 1,250.
Star Oil, set up by Christian Hatherall and Michael Doyle, has seven tankers covering the North West and supplies fuel, oil and lubricants to industrial operations, farms and homes. Christian and Star’s 10 staff will remain with the business, while Michael will seek new opportunities elsewhere. The business will continue to trade as Star Oil for the time being.
The deal is Crown Oil’s first purchase since 2018, when it added Birlem Oil, in London, and West Midlands-based Beesley Fuels to its portfolio. The business, established by the Greensmith family more than 70 years ago, had worked with Star Oil for some time when the opportunity arose.
Matthew Greensmith, managing director of Crown Oil Group, said:
“We’re excited to have announced this deal, which will see the Crown Oil family expanding once again. Star has been around for 20 years and, in that time, has built up a fantastic reputation for great service, which will fit in with Crown’s ideology of putting the customer first.
“We’ve worked closely with Christian and Michael and we were keen to take up this opportunity to safeguard the future of Star and strengthen our North West footprint. We are looking forward to building on these successes together and we wish Michael all the best for the future.”
Christian Hatherall, who will be senior operations manager of the business, said:
“I am delighted to see the completion of this deal, which has come about from the solid relationship we have built with Crown over the years. I look forward to seeing the business flourish and grow. Being part of that growth journey and working for the Crown Oil Group brand is a very exciting prospect for me.”
The board of Essar Oil UK Ltd has announced the appointment of Stein Ivar Bye, former boss of Sweden’s largest fuel firm, as chief executive officer.
Leaving behind his job as chief operating officer at Scandinavian crude oil giant Preem, Stein Ivar Bye will be based at Essar’s Stanlow Manufacturing Complex in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. He brings with him over 28 years’ experience in the Oil and Energy sector, working internationally across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Stein, who graduated from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and has an MBA in Business Strategy and Management from BI Norwegian Business School, previously spent 25 years with ExxonMobil and was latterly chief operating officer at Preem.
An experienced executive leader in multicultural and international environments, Stein has an impressive track record in refinery operations, coupled with broad experience in supply and trading, strategy and planning and business development.
Mr Bye is the second new CEO to take charge at Essar since the start of the year. In January, it was announced that ex-BP boss Mark Wilson had replaced Srinivasalu Thangapandian. Essar said on Monday that Mr Wilson left in June under a “mutual agreement” with the firm after less than six months in the role.
Speaking about the latest appointment, Prashant Ruia, non-executive chairman, Essar Oil UK, said;
“As an organisation, our sights are firmly set on transforming our UK business, ensuring its growth and long term sustainability as we transition towards a low carbon energy economy and deliver the energy solutions of the future for Britain. Stein will be pivotal in meeting this challenge and fulfilling this ambition.”
Stein Ivar Bye added;
“I am honoured to be selected as CEO for Essar Oil UK and excited to be part of Essar’s transformational journey. Society’s demand for efficient and sustainable energy solutions is an inspiring challenge and will require creativity and perseverance. With the collective competency and commitment of the Essar organisation, and strong stakeholder engagement, I am confident Essar Oil UK will be a part of the solution for the future.”
Now operating on over 250 trucks in the UK and Ireland, the additional benefits that OptiMate brings fuel oil operatives, in terms of saving time, money and preventing fuel contaminations, are behind MechTronic’s recent success in both Northern Ireland and Ireland.
OptiMate is a revolutionary and futureproof system that is developed to meet changing customer demands. Launched in 2016, Optimate has become the electronic metering system of choice as fuel oil operatives face increasing pressure to deliver multiple fuel grades to a wide range of customers within a timely manner. Its unique self-draining manifold ensures the manifold is clear of product before starting a line change and prevents a contamination.
Brad Wilkie, sales and marketing manager at MechTronic said;
“As a family business, MechTronic listens to our customers changing requirements and we are proud that our latest update supports fuel oil operatives to deliver fuel by hose/bulk or gravity – regardless of the delivery, OptiMate will ensure the delivery is metered and accounted for.”
Northern Ireland has the largest percentage of domestic homes using heating oil in Western Europe and, in Ireland, 40% of all homes rely on home-heating oil. In July 2019, heating oil prices reached their highest levels since 2014, following four consecutive years of growth. Naturally Covid-19 has impacted oil prices this year however, with more people staying at home, the demand for home heating oil is increasing and prices rising.
This growth over the last four years has helped fuel oil operatives to invest in their fleet and move towards metering systems that don’t just simply meter fuel but offer additional benefits to the fuel oil operative.
A range of automatic processes to prevent contamination include Optimate’s unique automatic line change procedure where it automatically empties the manifold before introducing the new product and delivers the optimum line change quantity every time. Automatically recognising different line change volumes removes the requirement for drivers to manually calculate volumes and, with busy schedules, drivers may potentially overcompensate in their calculation, resulting in lost revenue.
The flexibility to automatically perform a pre-determined line change or return product quickly without the threat of contamination saves both time and money
Fuel oil operatives invest in OptiMate
In 2018, Lissan Coal Company (LCC Oil) was the first fuel oil operative in Northern Ireland to purchase four OptiMate systems closely followed by Murphy Oils, McLean Fuels and Holden Fuels.
Michael Moran, operations director at LCC said;
“The automatic processes that OptiMate offers in terms of line change protocol was of particular interest to us. We were also impressed by the simplicity of OptiMate and that it can be controlled by just three buttons. It also offers our drivers the ability to amend their route to meet changing customer requirements without worrying about performing a line change.”
More recently, fuel oil operatives in Ireland are also making the decision to move to OptiMate with Dundalk Oil, Atlantic Oils and Stewart Oils all placing (and receiving) orders in 2020.
Barry Finlay at Dundalk Oil said;
“We are delighted to be the first fuel oil operative within Ireland to be out delivering with OptiMate. We chose OptiMate as we liked the automatic processes that it offers. Drivers have already commented on how easy the system is to use, and how they are able to make deliveries quicker due to the automatic line changes.”
A recent report released by UKPIA claims that the UK downstream oil sector is already playing a significant role in meeting societal targets for decarbonisation and is capable and willing to do more to reach net zero.
The ground-breaking report, titled “Transition, Transformation, and Innovation: Our role in the Net-Zero Challenge”, looks at credible scenarios and proposes an illustrative pathway for the UK downstream sector to achieve government mandated net zero targets, with practical policy solutions to help overcome this challenge.
Transition, Transformation, and Innovation makes three key findings:
New independent research, commissioned by GripHero, has revealed that 66% of drivers are aware that Covid-19 can be passed from driver-to-driver at the fuel pump, driving demand for hand protection. With 86% of drivers now actively looking for hand protection, forecourt owners are being advised that failing to provide suitable hand protection could impact business.
Conducted in October 2020, the survey of 2,000 drivers throughout the UK showed that concerns over health and the potential transmission of Covid-19 at the fuel pump have led to a change in motorists’ forecourt preferences. 74% of motorists are now more likely to wear hand protection than before the pandemic began, with 85% saying that they would now travel further to a forecourt where hand protection is readily available, over a closer alternative without.
That could have significant implications for forecourts that are unable to provide drivers with readily available hand protection and could lead to a loss of valuable income from retail outlets.
Since the survey was last carried out in 2017, the largest change was the increased number of drivers that said that they would now always wear hand protection – if it were readily available – rising from 19% to 83% of all drivers. That sends a clear message to forecourt owners that hand protection is now a major factor influencing where drivers fill up.
Oli Yeo, inventor and managing director of GripHero Ltd, commented on the findings, saying;
“Throughout 2020, we’re pleased to have seen very significant growth in the numbers of networks around the world taking up our eco-friendly customer protection system. The feedback we have received from both operators and drivers correlates with the results of the survey – with many operators reporting an uptake in custom since providing convenient customer protection as well as an increase in the number of drivers protecting themselves.
“However, with the high dispensing efficiency GripHero brings, the plastic waste and consumption figures actually drop considerably. Operators report a dramatic reduction to their plastic and carbon footprints, whilst protecting more customers.”
“We must also remember that often with typical motorist behaviour, they fail to clean their hands before picking up the fuel-pump, which means that there’s a very real possibility that any illness could be passed on to the next users of that pump,” added Oli Yeo.
“That’s why GripHero was invented – to protect drivers from foul-smelling, fuel-impregnated hands, and to stop the avoidable contraction of illness, which has become particularly pertinent following the outbreak of Covid-19.”
A win-win situation
Through the development of ATEX certified anti-static materials, GripHero’s hand protection systems are permitted within the refuelling zone – creating the world’s only solution that allows drivers to enjoy the convenience of hand protection exactly where they need it – right in front of them, on the fuel pump handle that they are about to hold, directly at the point of use.
Moreover, as each dispenser releases just one item of hand protection at a time, it prevents clumps of hand protection being taken accidentally or deliberately. So, there should never be a shortage of hand protection at forecourts installing GripHero. That means drivers can refuel and grab a snack safe in the knowledge that their hands won’t have touched a surface handled by hundreds of other drivers, who could be carriers of Covid-19. That’s a win-win scenario for all concerned – forecourt owner and driver.