Written by the leading expert in the history of UK energy, this study provides new, in-depth analysis of the development of UK petroleum policies towards the North Sea based on full access to the Government’s relevant archives.
Written by the leading expert in UK petroleum economics, this study provides a new, unique, in-depth analysis of the development of British policies towards the North Sea oil and gas industry from the early 1960s to the early 1980s. Drawing on full access to the UK Government’s relevant archives, Alex Kemp examines the thinking behind the initial legislation in 1964, the early licensing arrangements and the events leading up to the boundary delimitation agreements with Norway and other adjacent North Sea countries. He explains the debate in the later 1960s about the appropriate role of the state in the exploitation of the gas and oil resources, the prolonged negotiations resulting in the early long-term gas contracts, and the continuing debate on the role of the state following the large oil discoveries in the first half of the 1970s resulting in the formation of BNOC (British National Oil Corporation). The debate leading up to the introduction of, and subsequent increase in, the Petroleum Revenue Tax is fully explained as is the introduction of Supplementary Petroleum Duty. The author also outlines the debates around interventionist depletion policies and on how the oil revenues should best be utilised. The Official History of North Sea Oil and Gas will be of much interest to students of North Sea oil and gas, energy economics, business history, and British politics, as well as to petroleum professionals and policymakers.
Becoming the centre of public debate during the 2014 Scottish referendum, the North Sea oil forms a crucial chapter in Scottish history. Written by an industry insider, a combination of lightly technical explanation and anecdotal accounts explore the process of developing new oil fields and oil production. A poignantly human perspective of a lucrative and challenging industry, Shepherd highlights the importance of the reserves to a nation, and the impact of the production surge upon the men and women of the local community in Aberdeen.
This volume offers a review of measures taken at different levels to prevent oil inputs to the North Sea from sources such as shipping and oil installations. A range of data from satellites, remote sensing, aerial surveillance, in-situ monitoring, oil spill sampling and beached bird surveys presents a comprehensive portrait of trends in oil pollution over many years. Topics include Bonn Agreement-based actions to eliminate illegal and accidental pollution from ships, OSPAR monitoring of oil installations, EMSA CleanSeaNet activities, and an internationally approved common standard for oil spills presented by the Bonn-OSINet. A chapter on the role of the IMO in preventing oil pollution from ships provides an international context, while others discuss efforts being made at the national level. A decadal review of the state of the North Sea prepared by OSPAR supports the view that there has been a significant reduction of oil inputs to the sea. This thorough review addresses national and international agencies and government bodies, as well as policymakers and practitioners in the fields of shipping, ports and terminals, oil extraction and marine management. Further, it provides researchers with essential reference material on tools and techniques for monitoring oil pollution and offers a valuable resource for undergraduate and post-graduate students in the field of marine oil pollution.
Geological Society Memoir 52 records the extraordinary 50+ year journey that has led to the development of some 458 oil and gas fields on the UKCS. It contains papers on almost 150 onshore and offshore fields in all of the UK’s main petroliferous basins. These papers range from look-backs on some of the first-developed gas fields in the Southern North Sea, to papers on fields that have only just been brought into production or may still remain undeveloped, and includes two candidate CO2 sequestration projects. These papers are intended to provide a consistent summary of the exploration, appraisal, development and production history of each field, leading to the current subsurface understanding which is described in greater detail. As such the Memoir will be an enduring reference source for those exploring for, developing, producing hydrocarbons and sequestering CO2 on the UKCS in the coming decades. It encapsulates the petroleum industry’s deep subsurface knowledge accrued over more than 50 years of exploration and production.
Since the early 1970s, experts have recognized that petroleum pollutants were being discharged in marine waters worldwide, from oil spills, vessel operations, and land-based sources. Public attention to oil spills has forced improvements. Still, a considerable amount of oil is discharged yearly into sensitive coastal environments. Oil in the Sea provides the best available estimate of oil pollutant discharge into marine waters, including an evaluation of the methods for assessing petroleum load and a discussion about the concerns these loads represent. Featuring close-up looks at the Exxon Valdez spill and other notable events, the book identifies important research questions and makes recommendations for better analysis ofâ€"and more effective measures againstâ€"pollutant discharge. The book discusses: Inputâ€"where the discharges come from, including the role of two-stroke engines used on recreational craft. Behavior or fateâ€"how oil is affected by processes such as evaporation as it moves through the marine environment. Effectsâ€"what we know about the effects of petroleum hydrocarbons on marine organisms and ecosystems. Providing a needed update on a problem of international importance, this book will be of interest to energy policy makers, industry officials and managers, engineers and researchers, and advocates for the marine environment.
Since the 3rd edition of this publication, emphasis within the petroleum industry has shifted from exploration to appraisal and development of existing hydrocarbon resources. This change is reflected in this new 4th edition, which has been significantly expanded to accomodate additional material. The centrepiece of the book, however, remains a series of descriptions, in stratigraphic order, of the depositional history and hydrocarbon related rock units of the North Sea.
Most European seas articifial reef (AR) programmes are included in this book. Interests in ARs are varied, ranging from the "expected" fishery enhancement through mariculture and ranching, nutrient removal and into environmental and habitat protection and nature conservation.
A Recommended Read from: Vogue * USA Today * The Los Angeles Times * Publishers Weekly * The Week * Alma * Lit Hub A stunning and brutally honest memoir that shines a light on what happens when female desire conflicts with a culture of masculinity in crisis In her midthirties and newly free from a terrible relationship, Tabitha Lasley quit her job at a London magazine, packed her bags, and poured her savings into a six-month lease on an apartment in Aberdeen, Scotland. She decided to make good on a long-deferred idea for a book about oil rigs and the men who work on them. Why oil rigs? She wanted to see what men were like with no women around. In Aberdeen, Tabitha became deeply entrenched in the world of roughnecks, a teeming subculture rich with brawls, hard labor, and competition. The longer she stayed, the more she found her presence had a destabilizing effect on the men—and her. Sea State is on the one hand a portrait of an overlooked industry: “offshore” is a way of life for generations of primarily working-class men and also a potent metaphor for those parts of life we keep at bay—class, masculinity, the transactions of desire, and the awful slipperiness of a ladder that could, if we tried hard enough, lead us to security. Sea State is on the other hand the story of a journalist whose professional distance from her subject becomes perilously thin. In Aberdeen, Tabitha gets high and dances with abandon, reliving her youth, when the music was good and the boys were bad. Twenty years on, there is Caden: a married rig worker who spends three weeks on and three weeks off. Alone and in an increasingly precarious state, Tabitha dives into their growing attraction. The relationship, reckless and explosive, will lay them both bare.