The European Commission has appointed a coordinator to ensure the completion of a project to decouple the power grids of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from Russia as the deadline looms, citing “urgent needs”. “These 3 countries remain the last EU countries synchronized with networks of non-EU countries, in this case Russia (including Kaliningrad) and Belarus”, the Commission said in an online statement. “Their synchronization with the EU networks is one of the most urgent priorities for EU energy infrastructure, and has already received political, technical and financial support for the past 12 years. “With the target date for completing the synchronization in February 2025 and additional measures to be implemented in the years to come, the Commission is keen to ensure the closest possible coordination between the respective EU countries and the Transmission System Operators”. Catharina Sikow-Magny, the coordinator, previously served as the Commission’s director for the green transition and energy system integration. In November 2024, the transmission system operators of the three Baltic states announced they had jointly agreed to pull out of the BRELL agreement of February 2001, which links them to a grid in which the electricity frequency is controlled by Russia, on February 7, 2025. Synchronizations tests will then follow, according to statements by Estonia’s Elering AS, Latvia’s Augstsprieguma tīkls AS and Lithuania’s Litgrid AB. On August 3, 2023, the governments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania agreed to quicken the decoupling project and their integration with continental Europe nearly a year earlier than previously agreed, in a move prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Under a joint declaration by their prime ministers “the deadline for synchronization is brought forward from the end of 2025, as initially established by political declarations in 2018 and 2019, to February 2025”, the European Commission said in a press release then. The August 2023

Last year was the hottest on record and the first to breach a key global warming threshold of 1.5C above pre-industrial temperatures, scientists said. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) confirmed previous projections that 2024 was the warmest on record globally and the first calendar year that the average temperature exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. The scientists said human-caused climate change was the primary driver for record temperatures, while other factors such as the Pacific Ocean’s “El Nino” weather phenomenon, which raises global temperatures also had an effect. Analysis from the Met Office, University of East Anglia and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science also found 2024 was the hottest on record, and “likely” the first year exceeding 1.5C. Climate experts said a single year with average temperatures of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels did not mean the world had reached that level of global warming, though they issued warnings about how close it now was. But the record heat should be a “reality check” with a year of extreme weather events showing how dangerous life with 1.5C of warming was, one expert said. Pursuing efforts to prevent the world warming more than 1.5C above pre-industrial temperatures is one of the key commitments of the global Paris treaty which countries agreed to in 2015, in a bid to avert the most dangerous impacts of climate change. The UK analysis found that the global average temperature in 2024 was 1.53C above the 1850-1900 average, with a margin of error of plus or minus 0.08C, making it likely the first calendar year to exceed 1.5C. It was also the 11th year in succession in the data series that has equalled or exceeded 1C above pre-industrial levels. Colin Morice of the Met Office said: “A single year exceeding 1.5C above pre-industrial does not

An oil rig worker with a medical emergency has been rescued from his North Sea base by the Coastguard. A staff member was flown off the Noble Patriot rig, near the Shetland Isles, on Wednesday and put in the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service. A spokesperson said: “The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Sumburgh caried out a medical airlift from an offshore installation off Shetland. “HM Coastguard was contacted at about 1.30pm on January 8. “The person was passed into the care of Scottish Ambulance Service. Lerwick Coastguard Rescue Team assisted.” Noble Corporation (NYSE:NE), the rig operator, was unable to comment due to healthcare privacy laws. The Scottish Ambulance Service was contacted for comment. Recommended for you North-east oil workers are warming to Green way of thinking, says Patrick Harvie

Malaysia’s national oil and gas company announced Thursday a positive final investment decision (FID) on the Hidayah field, part of the North Madura II Production Sharing Contract (PSC) in the waters of East Java province, Indonesia. The plan involves drilling oil production wells, supported by an unmanned integrated wellhead and central processing platform. The field will have a floating storage and offloading vessel with living quarters and a central control room to ensure safety and the reliability of operations, Petroliam Nasional Bhd. (Petronas) said in a press release. “This achievement builds on the momentum of our promising oil discovery in the North Madura II Contract Area in 2021, paving the way for us to play a more strategic role in supporting the region’s growing energy needs”, said Mohd Redhani Abdul Rahman, Petronas vice president for international upstream assets. The discovery, Hidayah-1, showed an oil-bearing carbonate build-up with “good reservoir qualities” in the Ngimbang carbonate formation. The well was “tested at approximately 2,100 BOPD [barrels of oil per day] with good crude quality”, Petronas said in a statement February 24, 2021. Mohd Jukris Abdul Wahab, Petronas executive vice president and chief executive for upstream operations, said Thursday about the FID, “This milestone underscores PETRONAS’ unwavering commitment to supporting the government of Indonesia’s target of achieving energy self-sufficiency”. The company added, “Amid the energy transition, PETRONAS remains focused on expanding its global footprint while exploring lower-carbon initiatives to support sustainable energy development, delivering secure, affordable, and reliable energy to its customers worldwide”. Petronas subsidiary PC North Madura II Ltd. operates North Madura II with a 100 percent stake. Also in East Java, Petronas operates the Ketapang and North Ketapang PSCs. Offshore West Papua province, Petronas operates the Bobara PSC. It is also a co-venturer in five PSCs spanning offshore and onshore areas

Aberdeen-headquartered OSSO is looking to consolidate its growth in geothermal energy after a “milestone” year its revenues increase by 50%. The fluid temperature control and separation solutions firm also saw its headcount double in 2024. It comes as OSSO looks to continue its recruitment efforts in 2025 amid further expansion in Europe and the Middle East. Speaking to Energy Voice, OSSO chief executive James Scullion said the “positive” results stem from a strategic plan established three years ago to move beyond its core oil and gas drilling market. Alongside geothermal energy and pursuing an expanded presence in the Middle East, Scullion said OSSO is also targeting the municipal construction and water sectors. Since 2023, OSSO has invested £5 million into fleet expansion in an effort to capitalise on “strong demand” from its strategic pivot into new markets. “Now we’ve diversified between upstream, midstream and downstream as well as into our other offerings that we now have,” Scullion said. “There’s been there’s been a good wind behind us as well, but it’s all based on good planning too.” OSSO, previously known as Centrifuges Unlimited, was acquired in 2020 by Linton Investments, the family office which benefited from the £320million sale the Kintore-based supply chain giant Ferguson Group in 2014. Geothermal expansion The company’s construction unit has scaled rapidly, with its fleet growing more than fivefold, and is on track to double its revenues by the end of the financial year. Meanwhile, in 2024 OSSO’s geothermal business secured three contracts in Europe representing a combined seven-figure sum. Scullion said OSSO identified geothermal as an opportunity as diversifying from the mature North Sea basin “was an absolute must”. © Supplied by ExproA geothermal pipeline. Scullion said tackling European geothermal projects was a “logical” way to build on its oil and gas experience to

The share of electricity in Ireland supplied by wind fell during 2024 due to grid constraints, an energy company has said. Wind Energy Ireland said that despite wind supplying nearly a third of all electricity to the island of Ireland last year, the share of electricity provided by wind was down by 3% compared to 2023. In its annual report published on Friday, it said this was largely due to wind farms being shut down because the electricity grid is not strong enough. The report also noted a steady rise in electricity prices, with the average wholesale price of electricity at 136.99 euros per megawatt-hour during December, compared to 88.97 euros in December 2023. Chief executive of Wind Energy Ireland Noel Cunniffe said last year was “the worst on record” for the amount of wind power lost. “Every time a wind turbine is shut down because the grid can’t take the electricity, it means higher bills and more carbon emissions. “Making the electricity grid strong enough to accommodate increasing volumes of renewable energy is essential. Building out our energy storage infrastructure is also vital so that we can save excess renewable energy for when we need it.” It said the funding announced in Budget 2025 is expected to help reinforce the existing grid infrastructure. The report calculated that 32% of the island’s total electricity supply came from Irish wind farms last year, with this rising to 41% during December. Cork wind farms produced more wind energy than any other county, followed by Kerry, Galway and Offaly, the latter of which has made the top four counties for the first time. Ireland now provides 5,000MW of onshore wind, which is more than halfway to the Climate Action Plan target of 9,000MW by 2030. The amount of electricity generated by Irish wind