5 Days in the UK – Reveals the Strong Need for: Collaboration, Creativity and Competence

Day 1

IGAS Energy PLC

There is a long history of oil and gas development in the UK and our first meeting was with the largest independent producer of oil and gas onshore in Britain. This meeting set us on the fast track to understanding what’s happening in the region. IGas Energy PLC is a company dedicated to harnessing the gas potential of the UK and Mr. Andrew Austin, the Chief Executive Officer is responsible for managing over 30 fields across the country, producing over 3000 barrels of oil and gas equivalent per day. IGas is a leading onshore hydrocarbon producer in the United Kingdom, delivering natural gas and crude oil to Britain’s energy market.

The company explores and develops gas and oil reserves at onshore locations in the North West of England, the East Midlands, the Weald Basin in Southern England and the northern coastal area of the Inner Moray Firth in Scotland. With almost a decade of experience in onshore drilling, IGas is able to exploit prolific and lower-cost hydrocarbon reserves which contribute to Britain’s energy security while at the same time delivering value to IGas investors. A very humble Mr. Austin says, “There’s some things you do that are smart and there’s somethings we do that are lucky”.

While there has been looming fracking concerns in the region IGas took a smart and strategic move in addressing people’s concerns. Rather than responding to self-appointed authorities on fracking, IGas communications’ approach is to take a more proactive strategy with fracking and educate people about fracking before concerns manifest into hyper-hysteria – Great idea! Now if we could only deliver fracking education in such a way that it’s as entertaining as our favourite movie – that would be a winning formula. Learn more at www.igasplc.com

EY Energy Advisory

Meeting with EY partners and senior official at the heart EY London office is a trip. The grand entrance way and international lobby welcomes you with comfy seats, the news of the day and lots of water to keep you hydrated. I think they’ve got the welcoming of guests right. Chris Lewis, Julie Speirs, Ray MacSweeny and Andrea O’Neill joined our contingency to discuss the “Getting ready for UK shale gas report”. The report details the supply chain and skills needed to develop shale gas reserves in the UK. The study was commissioned by UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG) to identify any supply chain or skills gaps that will prevent the UK from realizing the potential of shale gas.

The European Union issued an approval for hydraulic fracturing under certain conditions as of January 2014. It recognizes that fracking can be an economic stimulator with the correct safety and regulatory processes in place. If safely and economically extracted, shale gas can develop a new onshore gas industry which provides local employment and ensures energy security in the UK. Currently, Europe remains a hub for a significant shale market which could virtually transform its energy portfolio much like that of the USA. Learn more at www.ey.com

Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil (OUGO)

The Department of Energy and Climate Change, Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil resides at 3 Whitehall Place downtown London. There we met with Duarte Figueira, to discuss the responsibility that this office holds in encouraging and overseeing energy developments in the UK, including licensing oil and gas exploration and production to ensure Britain makes the best use of its natural resources.

Unconventional gas and oil can enhance Britain’s energy security, provide economic growth and be part of the transition to a low carbon future. The Government’s Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil aims to promote the safe, responsible and environmentally sound recovery of the UK’s unconventional reserves of gas and oil. This covers the development to shale gas and oil and other forms of unconventional production such as coal bed methane. Learn more at www.gov.uk/government/groups/office-of-unconventional-gas-and-oil-ougo

Mercury Design and Marketing Ltd.

The final meeting of the day gave us the pleasure of meeting Simon Taylor who furnished us with a first hand understanding of the challenges of drilling on land. Public concern surrounding drilling and tracking has literally fuelled the naysayers of the industry. Simon’s role has been to address public concern in ways that truly educate and satiate the need to know more about oil and gas development and how to leave people safe and the environment pristine. While we don’t normally think of public concern as being closely related to the economy, It’s clearly been revealed than misinformed people who protest and make ill-informed claims on social media, can often cost developers millions of pounds to address concerns.

Addressing public concerns is always important however if the public are misinformed, uneducated or not taken responsibility for gathering the facts, that can be detrimental to progress overall. Buying into “no” for the sake of no, or aligning with social media scare-mongering really gets us nowhere. There has to be a better way than socking it to the operators who are fueling our economy. Learn more at www.mercury-marketing.co.uk