The UK needs to focus on decarbonising the North Sea energy industry “damn hard and damn fast”. A panel of industry specialists at a conference discussed what Energy Industries Council (EIC) president Campbell Keir called an “urgent necessity” to “reshape industries, create new partnerships, generate sustainable jobs and secure a future where energy and environment responsibilities built together”. In the first session of the North Sea Decarbonisation conference, RV Ahilan Ahilan, chief energy transition officer of ABL Group, admitted annoyance with UK energy policy. ABL, is headquartered in London but listed on the Oslo stock exchange which gives the global firm insight into both sectors of the North Sea. “Even looking across the pond to Norway, we have a completely inconsistent policy about oil and gas development between the two countries. “One is ready to have no oil and gas licenses. The other one is saying we should have more “We have to somehow find a way to attract industry that can work on both sides of this agenda, and that’s the bit that I’m consistently having to struggle with. “The second part is that I think it’s also very annoying that we have a decarbonisation target and yet heavy subsidies for fossil fuels and subsidies for renewables without actually redirecting those in an efficient manner across the country’s GDP. That’s a big problem. It’s putting the foot on the accelerator and on the break at the same time and expecting decarbonisation to happen. And that’s very provocative. Matt Abraham, head of operations for James Fisher and Sons, called for acceleration of North Sea decommissioning as a means of driving carbon reduction and industry innovation while also maintaining oil and gas production “We could lead the world in the decommissioning of installation. Genuinely, there’s a whole lot of new different

Preliminary official figures released Wednesday showed Norway produced 351.3 million standard cubic meters a day (MMscmd) of natural gas in March, dropping month-on-month and year-on-year but beating the official forecast by 0.4 percent. The Nordic country, which has displaced Russia as the European Union’s top source of pipeline gas in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, sold 10.9 billion standard cubic meters (Bscm) in March. That is up 100 MMscm from February, according to figures published online by the Norwegian Offshore Directorate. According to the latest quarterly gas market report of the European Commission, Norway accounted for 50 percent of gas imported into the EU by pipeline in the fourth quarter of 2024. In March Equinor ASA said it has put the Halten East field in the Norwegian Sea onstream, unlocking new gas for Europe. “We are starting up Halten East at a time where piped gas from Norway is in high demand and important for energy security”, Geir Tungesvik, executive vice president for projects, drilling and procurement at Equinor, said in a company statement March 17. Halten East, a tie-in to be developed in two phases, holds about 100 million barrels of oil equivalent recoverable reserves, according to the Norwegian majority state-owned energy company. “The second phase is planned in 2029”, Equinor said. Meanwhile Norway’s oil production in March 2025 averaged 1.76 million barrels per day (MMbd), up sequentially but down year-over-year. In late March Equinor achieved first oil at the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea, growing Norway’s production capacity by 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) at peak. “The Johan Castberg field will contribute crucial energy, value creation, ripple effects and jobs for at least 30 years to come”, Tungesvik said. Recoverable volumes are estimated to be 450-650 million barrels, Equinor said. “Johan Castberg opens a

Energy security is national security, industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) stated in a release sent to Rigzone by the OEUK team on Tuesday, which highlighted that OEUK is holding a Security and Resilience Conference in Aberdeen at the end of the month. In the release, OEUK noted that “specialists from industry, defense policy, the security services, and academia” will address the “high-level” conference, which is being held  in the Union Kirk in Scotland on April 30. OEUK said in the release that the conference will hear from leading defense specialists at the cutting edge of technological solutions, including the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning for the enhancement of maritime security. It added that delegates will also be given an overview of approaches to defense used by other countries in protecting offshore energy supply chains. “The event will underline why energy security is national security and will give offshore energy operators and supply chain companies an overview of the collaborative approach being taken to possible risks and help them develop strategies to protect energy distribution installations from potential threats,” OEUK stated in the release. “The offshore energy industry is highly regulated with close lines of communication to the various agencies of national defense, but sharing information to protect vital UK offshore energy producers from deliberate damage to their operations is of paramount importance,” it added. In the release, Mark Wilson, OEUK’s director of health, safety, environment, and operations, who is also a former army officer, said, “this is the first event of its kind to be held by OEUK”. “Given the current geopolitical instability and the potential risks to subsea infrastructure, we believe it is important for the offshore energy industry to take seriously the need for optimum security,” he added. “We have an unbeatable line-up of leading

Indian energy importers are switching from pricey liquefied natural gas to cheaper oil products, a move that will help ease tight global supplies of the super-chilled fuel. Buyers including Gail India Ltd. and Indian Oil Corp. canceled LNG purchase tenders due to high prices, according to people with knowledge of the matter who didn’t wish to be named due to the sensitivity of the trade. India’s LNG imports this month are estimated to average 1.9 million tons, down 5 percent from the same month last year and the lowest monthly volume since December 2023, according to data analytics firm Kpler. Prices of LNG have been elevated due to a series of recent outages at export plants in Malaysia to Australia. That’s in spite of fears that the global trade war will cut gas demand. Any reduction in Indian purchases will help to free up supply for rival buyers in Asia and Europe. Spot prices have been trading between $11 to $12 per million British thermal units over the last few weeks, while naphtha rates in India are closer to $8 to $9 per million Btu thanks to a slump in crude. That’s pushing refiners, which account for 12 percent of India’s LNG consumption, to switch to naphtha, which is currently readily available due to shutdowns at petrochemical plants like Haldia Petrochemicals and Gail’s Uttar Pradesh facility, the people said. Industries such as ceramic tile-makers have also shifted to cheaper propane, while local, less expensive gas is available on the market due to a shutdown at Reliance Industries Ltd.’s Jamnagar refinery and maintenance at some fertilizer plants, they said.  Still, India’s LNG demand could suddenly recover if hotter summer weather from next month prompts the government to mandate higher gas-fired power generation, the people added. Much of India’s gas power capacity is currently offline

TotalEnergies SE said it will end ethylene production from the oldest steam cracker at its Antwerp refining and petrochemical complex by 2027, citing “overcapacity” in Europe. The facility will continue to produce ethylene from a newer steam cracker. Investment will also be refocused on the facility’s decarbonization. The older cracker has relied on a third-party consumer, which recently decided to end the contract by 2027. “As a result, the steam cracker, which is not integrated to TotalEnergies’ downstream polymer production, will no longer have any outlets for its ethylene production”, the French integrated energy company said in an online statement. “The unit shutdown will allow the site to focus on its more recent steam cracker, whose ethylene production is entirely consumed by TotalEnergies’ industrial units in Antwerp and Feluy”. The shutdown will not result in layoffs. “The 253 employees concerned will each be offered a solution aligned with their personal situation: retirement or an internal transfer to another position based at the Antwerp site”, the statement said. “This project is subject to the legally required employee consultation and notification process, which TotalEnergies will initiate with representatives of Antwerp platform employees in late April”. The facility, on the other hand, will this year enable a conventional refining unit to co-process biomass to produce 50,000 metric tons a year of sustainable aviation fuel. This will be supplied to aviation customers, TotalEnergies said. Meanwhile as part of the facility’s decarbonization TotalEnergies has signed a tolling deal for 130 megawatts (MW) from a 200-MW electrolyzer project of Air Liquide. That secures 15,000 metric tons per annum of green hydrogen for the Antwerp complex. “Upstream of the electrolyzer, TotalEnergies will supply green electricity thanks to its OranjeWind offshore wind project”, TotalEnergies added. “Scheduled for the end of 2027, the project will reduce CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions at the

The UK government and Italian energy firm Eni are set to announce approval for a major carbon capture project in England on Thursday, according to reports. The FT reported that officials will announce the go-ahead for a 38 mile pipeline as part of the HyNet North West carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, citing two people familiar with the project. The announcement will be made at a major energy security summit in London later today. Under the HyNet plans, industrial emissions will be capture and transported for storage at Eni’s Douglas CCS platform in the Liverpool Bay. Based in the north west of England, HyNet was selected as one of the two Track-1 CCUS clusters to receive funding from the UK government in November 2021 alongside the East Coast Cluster. © HyNetHyNet The UK government gave approval to the Northern Endurance Partnership CCS project, part of the East Coast Cluster, in December last year. The approvals come after the government last year pledged nearly £22 billion for the Track 1 projects over the next 25 years. Energy Voice has contacted Eni and the UK government for comment in response to the FT story. HyNet North West Industries set to make use of CO2 storage through HyNet include cement, construction materials, oil refining, recycling and waste management, low carbon hydrogen and waste-to-energy generation. Eni expects to be able to store 10Mtpa of CO2 before the end of the decade. The project backers, including EET Hydrogen and Viridor, estimate HyNet will contribute up to £17bn in economic benefits. Alongside the HyNet and East Coast Cluster, the industry is also progressing the Acorn CCS project in Scotland and the Viking CCS project in the Humber under the Track-2 process. In 2024, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) regulator also finalised its first ever offshore carbon