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A Chinese test for Theresa May
Theresa May, UK prime minister © Getty Images All new leaders face tests. Do they mean what they say? Will they flinch or give way under pressure? For a prime minister the tests can come from any...
View ArticleTurkey turns east
The attempted coup in Turkey on July 15 may have failed but its consequences are still playing out. Some 40,000 people have been detained as suspected conspirators – so many in fact that ordinary...
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Transition: the reshaping of the energy landscape
© Getty Images The buzz word of the moment in the energy business is “transition”. It provided the theme for the ONS conference and exhibition in Stavanger in Norway two weeks ago as well as the...
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Theresa May’s decision on Hinkley: 8½ out of 10
Theresa May, UK prime minister © Getty Images I have the sense that Mrs May is a grammar school pupil who likes to get a good mark and to be told she has done well. As a grammar boy myself I recognise...
View ArticleWho lost Azerbaijan?
For a few years in the 1990s, Azerbaijan looked like one of the world’s lucky countries. Freed from Soviet dominance, rich in resources, especially oil and gas, and immune to the radical and extremist...
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US energy – does it matter who is president?
Hillary Clinton © Getty Images Is it mad or deeply cynical to say that the outcome of the US presidential election doesn’t really matter for the energy sector? Surely there are big differences of...
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Energy security focus turns national
With the UK government's green light for the Hinkley Point nuclear power project came the announcement of a new national security test for would-be investors in infrastructure © Getty Images For most...
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The Saudis’ strategic failure
The new, pragmatic Saudi oil minister, Khalid al-Falih © Getty Images Two years ago, the Saudi government put in place a strategy intended to protect its position in the world oil market. The plan was...
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Brexit and the energy sector – the risks of Little Britain
Amber Rudd, home secretary, speaking at the Conservative party conference © Getty Images A few weeks ago I argued that Brexit would have very little impact on the energy sector in the UK or Europe....
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An optimist’s view of 2017
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman © Getty Images The downbeat mood of the times was confirmed before Christmas by the publication of the Bloomberg Pessimist’s Guide to 2017. The guide...
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The implications of Iraq’s endless war
The Mosul Dam on the Tigris © Getty Images The understandable focus on Syria, in particular on the horrific situation that has unfolded in Aleppo over the last few weeks, has distracted attention from...
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Energy and industrial policy: the case for a long-term view
Long-term thinking is needed: the London Metropolitan Underground railway in 1863 © Getty Images This week, the UK government will launch an industrial strategy designed to help the economy as we...
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Donald Trump turns the tables on Opec
Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline protest in Washington against Donald Trump's executive orders © Getty Images The US energy sector, or to be precise that part of the sector working on...
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Toshiba and the options on new nuclear
Toshiba's share price (top) is hit after the company's announcement on nuclear on Wednesday © Getty Images Toshiba is just one company in the global nuclear industry, but its current problems are...
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The price of power: how to renew a broken policy
© Getty Images Every strategy reaches the point where renewal is necessary. Time erodes what once seemed logical. Technology transforms the range of possibilities. Assumptions turn out to have been...
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The disruptive impact of technology
© Getty Images Too much of what is written about energy is negative, even despairing. Too much space is taken up by those predicting gloom, seeking subsidies or looking for incredible global...
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Exporting the Energiewende will be a challenge for Germany
Johannes Teyssen, chief executive, after Eon's annual results on 15 March © Getty Images Last week’s results from the German utility Eon offered a stark reminder of the costs of the changes taking...
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Green Investment Bank – the case for globalisation
Investment in renewables is essential for the global energy transition © AFP/Getty Images The UK’s Green Investment Bank is to be privatised. That has provoked predictable criticism about the sale of...
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Toshiba: Japan’s nuclear challenge
Workers decontaminating Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant five years after the nuclear disaster © Getty Images On Wednesday, Toshiba, one of Japanese largest companies, announced that it was placing...
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Alternative truths and some hard facts about coal
© Getty Images Is coal finished, to be displaced by renewables in a move that will solve climate change and clean up air quality across the world? Is coal — as one headline writer put it recently —...
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