Wireline Issue 52 Winter 2021

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a single asset base. They should also be regulated and earn revenues from that one asset base. But the accounts for the key elements of the value chain – onshore transport, offshore transport, storage and system operation – should be kept separate it says. It expects the projects that will be dotted around the country will link up and form a UK carbon network. Scotland’s oil industrywill ‘lead theway’ to net zero OGUK welcomed the Scottish Government’s backing for the nation’s energy workers and companies in building a low-carbon future Scotland’s oil and gas industry, and the 100,000 Scots who work for it, will play a key

role in achieving the government’s target of reaching net zero by 2045, trademinister Ivan McKee told an energy industry conference in early September. Thenation’s expertise inoffshore engineering meant Scotland could also become “a world leader in emerging areas such as hydrogen technology, carbon capture and storage, and offshore wind,” McKee told the delegates at the opening session SPE Offshore Europe Virtual Conference. McKeealsowarnedthatsuchtransformations must be carefully managed, not rushed. “Like many countries Scotland was scarred by the deindustrialisation in the 1970s and 1980s, but as someone who witnessed that first-hand in the West of Scotland, I vividly remember the damage done to communities there.” OGUK’s Sustainability Director Mike Tholen said the speech was “welcome recognition that Scotland’s energy communities and the tens of thousands of people working in this sector can and should be at the heart of those changes.”

OGUKwelcomes UK hydrogen strategy OGUK Director of Sustainability Mike Tholen welcomed the publication of the UK’s long- awaited awaited Hydrogen Strategy in early August. Its aim is to enable hydrogen to be a vital resource as one of the multitude of low- carbon solutions we now require. “This provides a clear long-term signal that government is committed to building a world-leading UK hydrogen economy and sets out how it will work with industry to achieve this,“ he said. “Consistent with the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan, our North Sea Transition Deal, and our Methane Action Plan alike, this strategy can help energy communities realise the full potential of this alternative fuel. “The recognised need for the development of green and blue hydrogen is a sentiment we echo – all options should be made viable if we are to transform the UK’s energy system to a sustainable one. “We look forward to working with the UK Government to consult on this and help develop hydrogen, as well as the other necessary low-carbon solutions we know will be needed to reach net zero.”

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