A decision from North Sea operator Harbour Energy to cut up to 25% of its workforce is a “devastating blow” according to an Aberdeen business leader. Harbour said it will undertake a review of its North Sea operations in which it expects to cut 250 onshore roles from its Aberdeen headquarters. In response, Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) chief executive Russell Borthwick said he fears the job losses could be “just the tip of the iceberg”. “This is a devastating blow for the 250 plus families directly affected – and I fear it is just the tip of the iceberg, unless the government changes course,” he said. Harbour said its decision came in response to the UK government’s “ongoing punitive fiscal position and a challenging regulatory environment”. © Supplied by Wullie Marr/ DC ThomHarbour Energy offices, Hill of Rubislaw. Since taking office, the Labour party has increased and extended the windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas firms. As a result, Harbour claims it paid a 108% tax rate on its UK operations in 2024. The latest job cuts come after Harbour cut 350 jobs in 2023, which means it has shed around half of its workforce since the imposition of the levy. In another blow to industry, Labour also pledged not to issue new licences for oil and gas drilling during the campaign, a policy it is now consulting with the industry over. 10,000 North Sea jobs lost, AGCC says The AGCC has been a vocal critic of the windfall tax and its impacts on supply chain firms in the north east of Scotland. While Borthwick said Labour’s long-term ambitions around clean energy are “laudable”, he said mounting job losses in the oil and gas sector show that “enough is enough”. “Labour’s long-term ambitions are laudable,

Score has expanded its operations in Australia with the acquisition of mechanical maintenance and turnaround specialist BLJ In-Situ Solutions. BLJ was founded over 20 years ago to provide specialist mechanical maintenance and turnaround services to the Australian engineering sector. Score, headquartered in Peterhead, said the deal expands its capabilities in on-site services, with BLJ’s proven track record complementing Score’s global operations and engineering knowledge. The value of the deal was not disclosed. © Supplied by ScoreBLJ showcases its 4.3M orbital miller on a wind turbine repair. Score is part of D2Zero, an international group of companies specialising in industrial decarbonisation and energy transition backed by private equity firm, SCF Partners. With established workshops in Brisbane and Gladstone, Queensland, BJL will also retain its leadership team. Brooke Blomer and Wayne Jamieson will continue in key leadership roles to ensure continuity and maintain the strong customer partnerships they’ve built. Score already operates from over 30 locations across five continents. Business unit director of Score’s APAC operations Graeme Stephen will step into the role of managing director at BLJ, working closely with the existing leadership to guide the company through its next phase of growth. Stephen said: “By combining BLJ’s trusted customer relationships and local expertise with Score’s global scale, engineering depth, and emissions elimination solutions, we’ll be better positioned to support a wider range of customers across more sectors and geographies. “This acquisition strengthens our competitive edge, enhances our service offering, and accelerates investment in technology, talent, and sustainable solutions.” In a statement, the firm offered its “deep gratitude to the Jamieson family, whose leadership and values have shaped BLJ into the respected business it is today”. It added: “Their legacy will continue as the company enters this exciting new chapter.

Consumer-led flexibility has been touted as a key part of the energy transition, with smarter responsiveness bringing more stability to the grid. Speaking to Energy Voice, Flexitricity founder and chief strategy officer Alastair Martin said: “Flexibility is not an end in itself. The purpose of flexibility is to make the best use of the resources that we have when we have them.” Founded in 2004, Flexitricity works as a demand side response aggregator – allowing its customers to control their energy consumption or even supply spare power during economically optimal times. The company currently has around 1.2GW of capacity connected to its so-called virtual power plant, covering various assets ranging in size from the 50MW Thurcroft battery storage site to smaller devices such as backup generators in the hundreds of kilowatts, down to EV chargers at around ten kilowatts. “The 1GW threshold is significant because it puts us in the league of large power stations,” Martin said. “In terms of scale, the national transmission system peaks out nowadays at around 47GW. And as we’re quite active, we’re a busy gigawatt.” Clean Power 2030 Consumer-led flexibility forms part of the UK government’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. Making the grid more flexible by reducing or increasing consumption with the ebbs and flow of renewable generation aims to improve stability and contribute to the net-zero transition “Despite the progress in renewables, you still have ebbs and flows over a period of hours, and the geographic spread of wind and solar means you need a different sort of flexibility,” Martin noted. © Greg Macvean PhotographyAlastair Martin, founder of Flexitricity Consumer-led flexibility incentivises energy consumers, whether domestic or industrial, to modify how they use energy. Not only does this reduce power use – for example, when electric vehicle users charge outside peak demand hours –

BKV Corporation and Comstock Resources, Inc. have entered into an exclusive, non-binding agreement for BKV to develop carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) projects at two of Comstock’s natural gas processing facilities in its Western Haynesville operating area. As part of the agreement, the companies plan to develop CCUS injection wells to permanently sequester carbon dioxide waste produced at Comstock’s Bethel and Marquez natural gas processing and production facilities in Texas, as well as other locations, according to a joint news release. The terms of the prospective projects are subject to further negotiation and execution of one or more definitive agreements, the two companies said. The agreement “seeks to combine BKV’s proven and innovative CCUS capabilities with Comstock’s position as a leading producer in the Haynesville shale, a premier natural gas basin in Northwest Louisiana and East Texas with direct access to the high value Gulf Coast markets and [the] LNG [liquefied natural gas] corridor,” according to the release. “BKV is proud to bring our proven track record to the table as we deliver innovative solutions that meet rising energy demand while managing carbon emissions,” BKV CEO Chris Kalnin said. “Collaborating with a premier partner like Comstock is a compelling opportunity to showcase how our CCUS portfolio can enable other natural gas producers to utilize low-carbon infrastructure and operate more sustainably. We view carbon capture as essential to the future of responsible energy, and this collaboration reflects a shared commitment to innovation, sustainability, and the long-term viability of natural gas. We’re excited about what we can achieve together”. “Industrial customers desire scalable, low-carbon energy solutions, and enhancing Comstock’s infrastructure with innovative CCUS partnerships will deliver exactly that,” Comstock Resources CEO M. Jay Allison said. “We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate on carbon capture projects that align with Comstock’s

North Sea operator Harbour Energy has confirmed it will cut 250 jobs from its headquarters in Aberdeen. Harbour said the decision comes mainly due to the UK government’s “ongoing punitive fiscal position and a challenging regulatory environment”. In a statement, Harbour Energy UK managing director Scott Barr said the firm is launching a review of its North Sea operations, which it expects will lead to the loss of 250 onshore roles in Aberdeen. “The review is unfortunately necessary to align staffing levels with lower levels of investment, due mainly to the government’s ongoing punitive fiscal position and a challenging regulatory environment,” Barr said. “Harbour remains among the largest producers in the UK North Sea and, while our dedicated and highly skilled people will continue to produce vital energy safely and responsibly, we must take these difficult steps in response to the challenges presented by the current external environment.” Barr also highlighted ongoing uncertainty around UK government support for its Viking carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the Humber. The Viking project is part of the government’s Track-2 CCS process, alongside the Acorn project in Scotland, in which Harbour also has a stake. While the UK government has progressed Track-1 projects in Teesside and Liverpool Bay, it has yet to confirm the same support for Viking and Acorn. Barr said Harbour is “reviewing the resourcing required” to support Viking as the project has been hindered by “repeated delays” to Track-2 funding. Harbour Energy’s North Sea operations While Harbour reported around $4.1 billion in profits in 2024, the company has overseen “materially reduced capital investment in the UK” due to the windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas firms. The previous Conservative government introduced the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) in 2022, and since taking office the Labour party has increased

In a release posted on its site on Monday, Sunoco LP announced that it will acquire Parkland Corporation in a transaction valued at $9.1 billion. Sunoco noted in the release that the parties have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Sunoco will acquire all outstanding shares of Parkland in a cash and equity transaction. The deal includes assumed debt, Sunoco highlighted.    In the release, Sunoco stated that, under the terms of the agreement, Parkland shareholders will receive 0.295 SUNCorp units and C$19.80 for each Parkland share, “implying a 25 percent premium based on the 7-day VWAP’s of both Parkland and Sunoco as of May 2, 2025”. Sunoco added that Parkland shareholders can elect, in the alternative, to receive C$44.00 per Parkland share in cash or 0.536 SUNCorp units for each Parkland share, “subject to proration to ensure that the aggregate consideration payable in connection with the transaction does not exceed C$19.80 in cash per Parkland share outstanding as of immediately before close and 0.295 SUNCorp units per Parkland share outstanding as of immediately before close”. Sunoco highlighted in the release that it has secured a $2.65 billion 364-day bridge term loan for the proposed cash consideration and said the transaction has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of both companies. It is expected to close in the second half of 2025 upon the satisfaction of closing conditions, including approval by Parkland’s shareholders and customary regulatory and stock exchange listing approvals, Sunoco noted in the release. As part of the transaction, Sunoco intends to form a new publicly traded Delaware limited liability company named SUNCorp, LLC, Sunoco revealed in the release. “SUNCorp will hold limited partnership units of Sunoco that are economically equivalent to Sunoco’s publicly traded common units on the basis of one Sunoco common unit for