Q1 2022

What an interesting Gumbo we have in the Global Energy market! The first Quarter of 2022 has proven to be a very volatile mix of supply and demand, geopolitical, military, cautious optimism, exuberance, and major anxiety....just to name a few. A dear friend and colleague put it best when he stated that "what we have here in the energy market is a good old fashioned South Louisiana Gumbo.......with lots of interesting flavors mixed together and swirling around as it cooks!" Nobody knows, even the experts at Wood MacKenzie, McKinsey & Co. and other pundits, for sure how all of this is going to play out in the near and long term but one thing is certain, chaos is everywhere and as the old adage goes, "where there is chaos, there is opportunity." This confluence of chaos, opportunity and optimism creates a situation where due diligence is paramount so that we leaders can understand the risk-reward component for all opportunities......whether it be a capital investment, career change, market strategy, product commercialization, etc. You would be wise to seek out your most trusted advisors, listen to your instincts, hire experienced agnostic consultants to provide the unbiased facts and then move, move quickly! Hard to know, really how our global energy industry is going to react to war, geopolitics and the other aforementioned elements. One thing is certain though, traditional oil & gas isn't going anywhere anytime soon, even with trillions of investment dollars pouring into renewable energy developments and the global supply chain's efforts to reduce LCOE (levelized cost of energy). So here we all are, once again riding the wave of an up-cycle, some would say a super-cycle. Whatever it turns out to be, we would all be wise to conduct thorough due diligence in all key decisions. We can't let excitement and the possibility of ridiculous profit blind us to the basics. Good luck!  A Leading Global Energy Consultancy Helping Clients Navigate The Rapidly Evolving Energy Evolution "Uniting our unique and diverse people to share knowledge, innovate and inspire change within the energy industry" Xodus Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of www.subsea7.com is a leading global engineering consultancy who supports energy sectors such as Oil & Gas, Offshore Wind, Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage, Cables & Interconnectors, Hydrogen and Marine Energy and provides expert advise on key drivers in these industries including: Asset & Integrity Management Climate Risk Decarbonization Energy Hub Disputes Supply Chain & Markets Advisory Engineering Environment With regional locations in the U.K., Australia, U.S., Middle East, Africa and Japan, their organization can assist clients with a wide range of due diligence so that major decisions on capital investments, business strategy and other significant decisions can be made with confidence. Their clients include: Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Subsea 7 and many others in the offshore energy space. BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER In 2019 we set out a bold vision that “together, we will deliver a responsible energy future”. Bringing people together is as much about diverse skillsets as it is about creating a sense of belonging; creating a platform where everyone can feel their best and perform at their best. Plus have a lot of fun doing what we do!We are pretty good at it, but there’s always room for improvement. Our 2020 Gender Pay Gap Report highlights our ambitions around gender and the appointment of a Diversity and Inclusion Transformation Manager (you can hear from her in the report). We are on a journey (sorry for the cliché); bringing people together and ensuring they feel they belong is right at the heart of it.

Disruptive technologies - how renewables are evolving

The below summary is taken from Rystad Energy's March 2022, Renewables Newsletter, which does an excellent job of illustrating the various renewables technologies that are in the process of being developed, tested and commercialized.

Decarbonizing and electricity system – case study To better understand the effect of high VRE penetration on the energy system, we analyzed Germany’s electricity generation and consumption in 2021. We found periods with high renewable energy generation, mainly wind, followed by several days of low generation. This is compensated by increased fossil fuel electricity generation (mainly coal). But to build a robust and reliable fully decarbonized electricity grid, fossil fuel electricity generation must be replaced. Implementing MDES and LDES is one solution to the challenge as energy could be stored during periods of high renewable generation and delivered to the system as needed. Housed, rail, shaft, floating and subsea-based concepts under development  Based on the hydraulic lifting of a large rock mass, a gravity battery works by using excess energy from the grid to raise a mass to generate gravitational potential energy, which is then lowered to convert the energy into electricity through an electric generator. A gravity battery stores gravitational or potential energy in an object resulting from a change in height due to gravity. If renewable energy is used as the feedstock, it is a sustainable form of energy storage with the potential to store and release affordable and clean energy on demand. The most common form of gravitational storage is pumped hydro with water released from a height to power turbines to generate electricity. However, constraints on the geographic suitability and availability of water for sizeable dams means pumped hydro has its limitations in many contexts.

2022 Offshore Technology Conference -In-Person Event- https://2022.otcnet.org/welcome The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is where energy professionals meet to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters. Celebrating 50+ years since 1969, OTC’s flagship conference is held annually at NRG Park (formerly Reliant Park) in Houston. OTC has expanded technically and globally with the Arctic Technology Conference, OTC Brasil, and OTC Asia. OTC is sponsored by 13 industry organizations and societies, who work cooperatively to develop the technical program. OTC also has endorsing and supporting organizations. TOP REASONS TO ATTEND OTC Quality: 350+ peer-selected technical presentations, leveraging 13 societies’ collective knowledge and covering topics from the wellbore to topsides and everything in between.   Value: 500,000+ sq. ft. of exhibit space with ground-breaking innovations and 2,000+ leading providers of products and services in one place, at one time. Networking: 60,000+ energy professionals from 100+ countries are there. Always Something New: Connect with global C-suite leaders and 100+ speakers to discover what innovations we can expect over the next 50 years. Media Exposure: 300+ journalists from around the world attend OTC. Investing Back in the Industry: OTC’s sponsoring organizations use revenue to provide many other important programs for its members, such as training and technical journals. In the World’s Energy Capital: Combine OTC with client meetings, business proposals, and company training.

Quotes and Mantras “Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” Seneca “Even monkeys fall from trees.” Japanese Proverb Micro-accomplishments, every day, add up to a whole year of dramatic transformation!

Ensearch specializes in recruiting Brainpower for C-Level, V.P., G.M., Engineering, Project Execution and Finance & Accounting positions in the Offshore Renewables and Offshore Oil & Gas Space. We bring 25 years of proven, hands-on experience in helping leading technology driven companies like Shell, Siemens, Aker Solutions, and KBR hire the best talent the market has to offer. We actively participate in conferences, technical forums, professional society luncheons and other activities necessary to keep abreast of industry trends, learning new technologies and recruiting/networking with the best in the business. We're passionate about sharing how The Energy Industry and Career Management intersect and hope you find this newsletter useful.