Businesses are increasingly expected to do more than generate profit, and for Balmoral Group this expectation is a guiding principle. With a rich history of over 40 years, Balmoral is not just building successful businesses – it’s building a legacy of sustainable growth and social impact. The group’s unique model of investment, coupled with its commitment to giving back through the Milne Family Foundation and its support for Friends of ANCHOR, offers what the group believes is a blueprint for the future of strategic investment. From strategy to impact © Supplied by Balmoral GroupBalmoral actively supports its community through education, charity, and cultural involvement, with strong backing for Friends of ANCHOR in cancer care and research. At its heart, Balmoral’s success lies in its ability to identify and transform businesses with strong fundamentals and untapped growth potential. Whether it’s enabling Blaze Manufacturing to diversify and triple its turnover, internationalising the Tanks business or spearheading innovative growth in renewables through the Comtec business, Balmoral excels. A prime example is Blaze Manufacturing, which, under Balmoral’s guidance, successfully diversified its operations and tripled its turnover. Similarly, building on decades of expertise in oil and gas, Comtec is seamlessly pivoting to capitalise on the booming renewables market. Set just two years ago, Comtec has already exceeded its ambitious £40 million renewables revenue target. Innovation and diversification are the cornerstones of Balmoral Group. Across its businesses, it is constantly advancing to address the challenges and opportunities of the future. Unlike traditional private equity firms driven by short-term returns, Balmoral operates with patient capital – investing off its own balance sheet. This approach grants the group unparalleled flexibility to support businesses through challenges and deliver growth strategies tailored to their unique needs. For companies like Blaze, this has meant more than just financial backing. Balmoral’s active

The BlueFloat Energy and Nadara Partnership has chosen Sarens PSG to study how floating wind turbines can be deployed on an industrial scale in the North Sea. The programme will be delivered by the existing engineering team at Sarens PSG’s Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence in Aberdeen’s Energy Transition Zone The study will focus on developing methods to deploy completed floating wind structures directly from construction or production facilities to operational sites. It aims to achieve this for production line scale volumes, spanning multiple operational years. By investigating deployment operations, the study will identify key cost, risk, and scheduling implications and assess the impact of these factors on port infrastructure within the context of the partnership’s projects. UK portfolio director at the BlueFloat Energy and Nadara Partnership David Robertson said: “These studies represent a significant step forward in the development of our pipeline of floating offshore wind projects in Scotland and will not only deepen our understanding of some of the most pertinent technical challenges facing our industry, but also leverage local expertise through the regional supply chain.” BlueFloat Energy and Nadara are developing the 99.5MW Sinclair and Scaraben floating offshore wind farms as part of the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round in 2022. They previously brought in Edinburgh-based consultancy Arup to assess emerging technologies needed to deliver the projects, and First Marine Solutions (FMS) to design mooring solutions for the projects. In addition to Sinclair and Scaraben, BlueFloat is developing the Bellrock, Broadshore and Stromar ScotWind projects off the coasts of Aberdeen, Fraserburgh and Caithness, respectively. However, Sarens PSG’s study is expected to help inform the entire pipeline of floating wind projects in Scotland. Sarens PSG managing director Steve Clark said: “While deployment techniques have been trialled in smaller-scale demonstrator projects, scaling these processes to

A patented tool that cleans blocks out of subsea pipes could clear the way for the production of tens of millions of barrels of North Sea oil and gas. Aberdeen-based Pipetech has unveiled a new downhole scale remediation (DSR) technology it expects will be able to fight the scourge wells that are prematurely shut-in. Pipetech’s new kit aims to address long-standing industry challenges posed by scale, wax, and other naturally occurring deposits that obstruct fluid flow, compromise production efficiency and create unsuitable surfaces for bridge plugs. The DSR tool was supported by the Net Zero Technology Centre’s (NZTC) emissions reduction programme. Testing of the new tool is scheduled across redundant wells in the UK, Norway, and other countries later this year. Scale of the problem Over 30% of the UK’s oil and gas wells are shut-in, according to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA). The regulator said “more than 20 million barrels could potentially be produced cheaply and cleanly” by bringing around 200 existing wells back online. Pipetech operations director Leonard Hamill told Energy Voice that his firm’s new tech works differently from traditional solutions that use a “mechanical wiper” that drills out scale build-up in a well. © Supplied by PipetechPipetech’s DSR tool. The issue with this, Pipetech found, was that traditional solutions cannot expand and contract depending on how clogged up the pipe is. “The uniqueness of the tool is that it tracks the inner diameter of the pipe so if the diameter opens up then closes down again the nozzle will always track the inner diameter,” he explained. “It gets the pressure onto the scale, which effectively removes the scale, so there’s no other system which can actually change with the diameter and follow the inner track of the wellbore.” Hamill added: “We’ve done initial concept test

John Wood Group PLC has been contracted to deliver long-term maintenance solutions for Esso Australia-operated onshore and offshore assets in the Gippsland Basin, Victoria. Under the agreement, Wood will provide maintenance services and shutdown support to optimize the operational performance of the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture’s offshore assets in the Bass Strait and the Longford and Long Island Point facilities, Wood said in a media release. The Gippsland Basin Joint Venture is a 50-50 joint venture between operator Esso Australia Resources Pty. Ltd. and Woodside Energy Pty. Ltd., Wood said. The Bass Strait is the largest single source of natural gas for the Australian market and supplies approximately 40 percent of the country’s east coast demand, Wood noted. The contract, secured through a competitive tender process, commences in January 2025. “We are proud to be trusted by Esso Australia as their maintenance partner in the Gippsland Basin, operating assets and facilities critical to the country’s energy security”, Ken Gilmartin, CEO of Wood, said. “Wood is a market leader in integrated operations and maintenance solutions with a growing portfolio in Australia as we bring our expertise to an expanding client base”. Wood recently secured a five-year contract renewal to continue delivering brownfield engineering, procurement, and construction solutions across the same Gippsland Basin assets. To contact the author, email [email protected] What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the Rigzone Energy Network. The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share knowledge, connect with peers and industry insiders and engage in a professional community that will empower your career in energy. MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR

Pakistani exploration and production company Oil & Gas Development Co. Ltd. (OGDCL) has increased production volumes at the Pasakhi-7 well, in the District of Hyderabad, Sindh. The well is part of the Pasakhi Development and Production Lease, where it holds a 100 percent working interest. “As part of its optimization efforts, OGDCL deployed a rig to replace the tubing and re-complete the well using an artificial lift system (Jet Pump)”, OGDCL said in a regulatory filing. Furthermore, OGDCL said it has introduced Multiphysio Chemical Stimulation technology, marking its first use in the Southern Region. With the enhancement measures implemented, OGDCL said the production at the Pasakhi-7 well jumped from 375 barrels per day (bpd) to 520 bpd, a 145 bpd increase. Additionally, OGDCL said it has started production at the Chak 212-1 well in the Rahim Yar Khan District of Punjab Province, where OGDCL holds a 100 percent working interest. It is the company’s first discovery in the Mari East Block. “Following the laying of a 4”-14.5 km (9 miles) flow line from the well site to the Maru-1 facility, gas from Chak 212-1 is now being supplied to M/s Engro Fertilizer. Currently, 2 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) gas is being supplied”, the company said. Earlier OGDCL started production at the Kharo-1 well in the Khewari Block in the Khaipur District, Sindh Province. OGDCL holds a 95 percent working interest in the block while Government Holding Pvt. Ltd. holds the remaining 5 percent. The well, according to the company, is producing 20 bpd of oil and 5 MMscfd of gas. It has been connected to the OGDCL Sinjhoro processing plant, which integrates the gas into the Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd. network. To contact the author, email [email protected] WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments included

Dive Brief: President Donald Trump began his second term Monday with a bevy of executive orders, including one that temporarily withdraws all federal waters from consideration for offshore wind leasing, and pauses permitting, approvals and loans for all onshore and offshore wind projects. The administration’s pick for Secretary of the Interior, former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, will lead a comprehensive assessment of federal wind leasing and permitting practices, the order said. Trump’s order cites “various alleged legal deficiencies underlying” the federal government’s leasing and permitting of wind projects, and concerns that the projects could lead to “negative impacts on navigational safety interests, transportation interests, national security interests, commercial interests, and marine mammals.” Trump also issued Monday executive orders that declared an energy emergency and a regulatory freeze. Dive Insight: While Trump has been a staunch critic of both onshore and offshore wind generation, North Dakota became a national leader in onshore wind generation under Burgum, who took office as governor in 2016. Wind power generation more than doubled in the state from 2015 to 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and currently provides 36% of the state’s electricity. “This withdrawal shall go into effect beginning on January 21, 2025, and shall remain in effect until this Presidential Memorandum is revoked,” the order said. Offshore wind critic Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J. said last week that Trump asked him to draft this executive order, and that the pause would last for six months, according to reporting from AP News. In a Monday release, American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet said that the group “strongly supports President Trump’s effort to reform the permitting process to speed the development of all forms of domestic energy production.” “President Trump is correct that absent significant changes in energy policy, our nation will not