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Press and Journal
27-05-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Aberdeen firm invests in new base for 200 engineers
Energy consultancy Penspen has marked a major milestone in its north-east growth story by opening a new, larger office in Aberdeen. The hub brings together 200 specialist engineers under one roof as the company ramps up delivery of energy transition and infrastructure projects across the UK and Europe. Penspen says the move to Balmoral Business Park in Altens shows its long-term commitment to Aberdeen, where it has had a presence since the late 1980s. The purpose-built office replaces the company's former base at Queens Gardens and brings in staff from C&I Engineering Solutions, the local firm it acquired in 2024. 'Aberdeen is a critical hub for us – a region where we have deep roots and long-standing relationships with key clients,' said Darren Bartlett, Penspen's director of engineering and energy transition. 'This move reflects both our history in the north-east and our ongoing commitment to its future.' From its new base, Penspen will lead on serval major low-carbon infrastructure projects. These include engineering work on the HyNet CO₂ pipeline in Liverpool Bay and a hydrogen infrastructure gap analysis for the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, part of the EU's Southern Gas Corridor. The company is focused on two key areas: energy security and the repurposing assets for hydrogen and carbon transport – sectors seeing fast-growing demand. The Balmoral office will also serve as a training hub, for skills in hydrogen systems, CO₂ transmission, and infrastructure reuse. These skills are considered vital to the UK's future energy system and local workforce development. Penspen has operated globally for over 70 years. Its workforce has grown from 750 in 2019 to 1,200 today, including more than 200 staff in Aberdeen. 'Bringing the Penspen and C&I Engineering Solutions teams together under one purpose-built roof will strengthen collaboration and further enhance the service we deliver to our clients,' said Mr Bartlett. 'Investing in our Aberdeen presence enables us to grow our team and our capabilities to deliver technically challenging projects that support global clients at every stage of the energy project lifecycle. 'We're proud to make a commitment to the city as it positions itself at the heart of the energy transition.' Although headquartered in London, Penspen is part of Sidara, which is currently in talks to acquire Aberdeen-based engineering giant Wood.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Turkey Balances Carbon Interests with Green Ambitions
Complicating Turkey's COP31 bid is Ankara's diplomatic distancing from the West in recent years, coupled with mounting democratic backsliding, underscored by the recent arrest of Erdoan's leading political rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who maintains his jailing is politically motivated. To secure COP31, Turkey is expected to engage in high-level dialogue seeking support from Western Europe, North America and New Zealand. According to Ümit ?ahin, a prominent Turkish climate expert and the coordinator of climate change studies at the Istanbul Policy Center, Turkey's ability to secure COP31 will require some adjustments to the government's present foreign political course. 'Turkey needs to move beyond seemingly logical reasons such as fossil fuels or carbon footprints and instead make a fully political intervention, which perhaps could be an argument that Turkey will further align itself with the West,' ?ahin said in a recent interview with Turkish news outlet T24. 'As long as these steps are not taken, EU support cannot be secured, and it seems very difficult for Turkey to win.' Australia's COP31 bid has experienced a hiccup since the UN climate summit in Baku. According to a report published by the Australian Associated Press, some elements within the country's coalition government believe hosting a global summit would not be a wise expenditure of taxpayer funds. But Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen sought to tamp down speculation that Australia might back out. 'We are bidding to host COP31 in partnership with the Pacific because it is in Australia's national interest to bring down energy bills and emissions with reliable renewables while safeguarding our international relationships,' the AAP quoted Bowen as saying. Perhaps surprisingly, Turkish civil society organizations – which have come under growing pressure from Erdo?an's regime in recent years, and are often at odds with the government's climate policies – generally are supportive of the government's COP31 bid. Experts argue that hosting the summit could push Turkey toward adopting more decisive climate policies. ?ahin notes that securing COP31 could encourage Turkey to take more concrete steps, such as phasing out coal and enacting stronger environmental protections. Environmental organizations, including Greenpeace, also have voiced support for Turkey's bid, with Berkan Özyer, program director of Greenpeace Mediterranean, commenting that hosting COP31 could give Turkey's climate movement a much-needed boost by encouraging bolder decision-making. Whether or not Turkey can win EU support for its bid could be the determining factor in the COP31 hosting competition. With the EU seeking to bolster its energy security — and Turkey well positioned to assist through the Southern Gas Corridor and renewed high-level dialogue — Ankara holds valuable cards. Yet, ongoing concerns over democratic backsliding cast a shadow over its credibility. By Ata Turkoglu via More Top Reads From this article on
Reuters
09-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Azerbaijan urges EU to reassess finance restrictions on gas corridor expansion
BAKU, April 9 (Reuters) - The European Union must reassess its financing and policies on long-term contracts if it wants to keep importing natural gas from Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev said on Wednesday, adding Baku may seek other export markets instead. He named the European Investment Bank's ban on new fossil fuel financing and a lack of long-term gas purchase contracts as barriers to expanding exports to the EU. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. "The EU market is premium in terms of legislation, rules and pricing, but we should not look only to the west," Aliyev told a policy forum. "We can look to the east, to the south. This is important for the future of Azerbaijan's gas industry and Europe's energy security." As it diversifed its energy imports from Russia following the start of the war in Ukraine, the EU has increased gas imports from the South Caucasus country to nearly 13 bcm in 2024 from 8 bcm in 2021. In 2022 Brussels signed a deal with Baku to double gas imports to at least 16 bcm a year by 2027. Azerbaijan plans to increase gas exports to Europe to 14 bcm next year, the country's energy minister said this month. But Aliyev's comments suggested those goals might be elusive, given challenges with securing infrastructure financing from Brussels. "All our major energy projects - oil or gas - were funded on a 70% borrowed, 30% corporate financing model," Aliyev said. "Now European institutions must return to that approach." Azerbaijan has said it wants to expand its main gas artery to Europe, the Southern Gas Corridor network, which runs across 3,500 km (2,175 miles) from Azerbaijan to Italy. A total of 12 countries, including ten in Europe, receive Azerbaijani gas, Aliyev said, with gasification projects agreed in Albania and planned in Bulgaria. The United States is also vying to sell liquefied natural gas to Europe in the context of possible trade negotiations.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BP Sells Gas Pipeline Stake to Apollo Funds for $1 Billion
(Bloomberg) -- BP Plc said Apollo-managed funds will purchase a 25% non-controlling stake in BP Pipelines — known as BP TANAP — for about $1 billion, marking the British energy giant's first divestment under its turnaround plan. New York Subway Ditches MetroCard After 32 Years for Tap-And-Go Despite Cost-Cutting Moves, Trump Plans to Remake DC in His Style LA Faces $1 Billion Budget Hole, Warns of Thousands of Layoffs Amtrak CEO Departs Amid Threats of a Transit Funding Pullback NYC Plans for Flood Protection Without Federal Funds TANAP holds BP's 12% interest in the Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline, part of the Southern Gas Corridor pipeline system that carries fuel from the Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijan section of the Caspian Sea through Turkey to markets in Europe, including Italy and Greece. The deal is set to close in the second quarter, subject to regulatory and TANAP shareholder approvals. Proceeds from the transaction will contribute to BP's $20 billion divestment program, the company said Friday in a statement. BP has come under pressure from investors, including the aggressive activist Elliott Investment Management, to flip its trajectory. After the company's value plunged during Chief Executive Officer Murray Auchincloss's first year in the role, he announced in February that BP would return to focusing on fossil fuels after the firm previously tried moving away from hydrocarbons. Part of the strategic reset includes $20 billion worth of divestments by the end of 2027 to improve cash flows. 'This unlocks capital from our global portfolio while retaining our role in this strategic asset for bringing Azerbaijan gas to Europe,' BP Executive Vice President William Lin said in the statement. (Updates with EVP comment in final paragraph.) A New 'China Shock' Is Destroying Jobs Around the World Tesla's Gamble on MAGA Customers Won't Work How TD Became America's Most Convenient Bank for Money Launderers The Real Reason Trump Is Pushing 'Buy American' One Man's Crypto Windfall Is Funding a $1 Billion Space Station Dream ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
