Gas Supplies fall to Low Levels.

[Ricardo]

Apparently we could be in trouble as Gas stocks fall across Europe while low levels of wind and solar are unable to compensate.

 

[morty]

Well. Imagine my surprise.

If only we had years worth of gas, somewhere near here under the sea, that we could issue exploration licences for...

 

[Fen Canary]

Can’t build houses, no new reservoirs for decades despite importing millions of people, no new power stations (and most of our nuclear ones due to reach the end of their life within a decade),low levels of gas despite sitting on years worth of the stuff, borrowing now more expensive than during the Truss fiasco, the elected government trying to hide the fact the Southport murderer was in fact a terrorist, homeownership rates falling, privatised public transport and utilities are eye wateringly expensive and badly run/maintained, armed forces cut to the bone but still being sent to the Middle East to pick sides between two disgusting regimes…..makes you proud to be British

 

[Fenway Frank]

Can’t build houses, no new reservoirs for decades despite importing millions of people, no new power stations (and most of our nuclear ones due to reach the end of their life within a decade),low levels of gas despite sitting on years worth of the stuff, borrowing now more expensive than during the Truss fiasco, the elected government trying to hide the fact the Southport murderer was in fact a terrorist, homeownership rates falling, privatised public transport and utilities are eye wateringly expensive and badly run/maintained, armed forces cut to the bone but still being sent to the Middle East to pick sides between two disgusting regimes…..makes you proud to be British

Yeah but apart from all that life's great and we've got lots to look forward to

 

[morty]

I was recently working in Australia, and spent some time in Perth. And apart from the obvious weather difference it really struck me how clean, tidy, and prosperous it was.

Britain feels a bit grubby and run down, by comparison.

 

[Fen Canary]

I was recently working in Australia, and spent some time in Perth. And apart from the obvious weather difference it really struck me how clean, tidy, and prosperous it was.

Britain feels a bit grubby and run down, by comparison.

Brisbane is the same (or at least it was when I was there many moons ago).
Lot more money in Aus though, largely as a result of their mining

 

[How I Wrote Elastic Man]

National Gas are reporting that stocks of gas are "healthy"
Even Centrica have stated that storage facilities are "half full"
Half full, people, not half empty

 

[morty]

National Gas are reporting that stocks of gas are "healthy"
Even Centrica have stated that storage facilities are "half full"
Half full, people, not half empty

 

[lyb]

I agree with the general sentiment of an excess of idealism and a lack of pragmatism on energy policy. As Morty say, we should be keeping the North Sea viable simply for security reasons while we can't afford to be without.

I believe we don't really have anything significant in the way of emergeny reserves as a rule?

 

[Fen Canary]

I agree with the general sentiment of an excess of idealism and a lack of pragmatism on energy policy. As Morty say, we should be keeping the North Sea viable simply for security reasons while we can't afford to be without.

I believe we don't really have anything significant in the way of emergeny reserves as a rule?

Not just security, but financially as well. Even if we got the stage where we didn’t need it ourselves we could still sell it to help fund other things

 

[morty]

Not just security, but financially as well. Even if we got the stage where we didn’t need it ourselves we could still sell it to help fund other things

North sea oil and gas is taxed at 75%. They are absolutely cutting their noses off to spite their faces. I have seen an estimate that the policy of not granting exploration licences loses us 12 billion in tax receipts. Some fag packet maths says keep that and you don't have to shut private schools, tax farmers, or take heating allowance off old ladies...

 

[morty]

I agree with the general sentiment of an excess of idealism and a lack of pragmatism on energy policy. As Morty say, we should be keeping the North Sea viable simply for security reasons while we can't afford to be without.

I believe we don't really have anything significant in the way of emergeny reserves as a rule?

Theres shale gas if we want it, but people don't for many reasons. Unfortunately Britain hasn't actually owned much of the oil and gas for a very long time. I think there is at least 30 or 40 years of southern sector gas left, and there are huge oil deposits west of Shetland.

North sea oil, a potted, probably not hugely accurate history.

We discovered north sea oil when the country was on its arse, we were flat broke, so didn't have the cash to extract it (I work in oil and gas, the sums of money are staggering) so we got the yanks over to show us how to do it. We gave companies incredible tax breaks to get the oil out of the ground for us. We had a nationalised oil company but due to massive price fluctuations in the oil price, it was deemed too risky to keep it in the public domain with the taxpayer having the burden of losses, so it was sold. At the same time Norway took the decision to keep theirs, and that turned out pretty well for them.

Again though, the country was on its arse so it was a decision that had to be made, you could say, in retrospect a bad one, but that is only with the benefit of hindsight.

 

[Fen Canary]

Theres shale gas if we want it, but people don't for many reasons. Unfortunately Britain hasn't actually owned much of the oil and gas for a very long time. I think there is at least 30 or 40 years of southern sector gas left, and there are huge oil deposits west of Shetland.

North sea oil, a potted, probably not hugely accurate history.

We discovered north sea oil when the country was on its arse, we were flat broke, so didn't have the cash to extract it (I work in oil and gas, the sums of money are staggering) so we got the yanks over to show us how to do it. We gave companies incredible tax breaks to get the oil out of the ground for us. We had a nationalised oil company but due to massive price fluctuations in the oil price, it was deemed too risky to keep it in the public domain with the taxpayer having the burden of losses, so it was sold. At the same time Norway took the decision to keep theirs, and that turned out pretty well for them.

Again though, the country was on its arse so it was a decision that had to be made, you could say, in retrospect a bad one, but that is only with the benefit of hindsight.

Im not sure it’s a decision that HAD to be made, but it was the prevailing ideology at the time (and one that has arguably been in place ever since) that the private sector will always lead to better outcomes than publicly owned utilities. In my opinion that has turned out to be utter bollocks unfortunately

 

[morty]

To give you a small insight to the costs involved. I work on a pipelay vessel, we lay rigid pipes subsea connecting the wells, there isn't a rig on every well, instead each wellhead is connected with a pipe, which could either head onshore, or connects to other pipes then eventually routes to a floating production vessel. The design and manufacture of the subsea structures, and the pipe runs into hundreds of millions of dollars, and the whole thing can take years before you even start producing.

My vessel is contracted out to companies for $350,000 a day. It isn't unusual for us to be on a project for a year.

 

[morty]

Im not sure it’s a decision that HAD to be made, but it was the prevailing ideology at the time (and one that has arguably been in place ever since) that the private sector will always lead to better outcomes than publicly owned utilities. In my opinion that has turned out to be utter bollocks unfortunately

Oh agree, in hindsight, it was a terrible decision. But, as I say it was based on the thinking that the taxpayer should not bear the burden of losses of plummeting oil prices. The whole thing was basically on shaky ground from the start, we were never able to afford to build up a buffer reserve so we could absorb oil prices dropping.

 

[lyb]

Oh agree, in hindsight, it was a terrible decision. But, as I say it was based on the thinking that the taxpayer should not bear the burden of losses of plummeting oil prices. The whole thing was basically on shaky ground from the start, we were never able to afford to build up a buffer reserve so we could absorb oil prices dropping.

All well and good in theory, but one way or the other the taxpayer always ends up picking up the costs of losses anyway. A moderate chunk of the national debt is picking up the losses of private sector cock ups.

I think it makes sense to have a nationalised player in the domestic energy production market, albeit open to private sector competiition to keep everyone on their toes.

 

[morty]

The biggest problem remains the obsession, by both major parties, with decarbonisation. I'm not against the concept of greener energy, but the plan, and subsequent implementation of it has been absolutely farcical. The transition could have been planned so much better, I mean, I get it, if you say "We'll do it when we can afford it" you will probably never do it, so I get the "rip the plaster off" approach.

But it really is damaging us, financially, and also we run a real risk of the lights going off.

As an aside do you know that the term "fossil fuels" was actually coined to make you think it was a finite commodity, and therefore more valuable? The fact is theres bloody loads of it.

 

[Rock The Boat]

Huge oil and gas deposits discovered off the coast of the Falkands. What's the betting we hand over the Falkand Isles to Argentina for free within the next four years?

 

[morty]

Huge oil and gas deposits discovered off the coast of the Falkands. What's the betting we hand over the Falkand Isles to Argentina for free within the next four years?

That has been rumbling on for years. The logistics of extraction don't make it that attractive.

 

[How I Wrote Elastic Man]

I take it everyone is familiar with the potential xlinks and icelink projects?
Solar power from Morocco; hydro & geothermal from Iceland.

The Icelandic project is unlikely to get off the ground as it needs UK government funding and Icelandic Alþingi approval, neither of which seem to be forthcoming.

The Moroccan project seems more of a goer, and the undersea cables possibly less likely to be "interfered" with