Richard J 🍞🍺

@Ed_of_O @janrosenow @UKERCHQ I've been involved with dozens of offshore exploration wells, and every one was an extremely risky proposition (Average Chance of Success ~30%). Several found resources worth $100-1,000 million, and many were worthless. It is a high-risk high-reward business.

@half_tree @janrosenow @UKERCHQ That's an extremely risky proposition if there are no known recoverable reserves over 2.9 billion. Go explore it and find out first. The cheaper oil & gas is, the less likely any company will want to develop anything. Cheaper to try for shale than deep water.

Every time there’s a fuel price shock, the same calls emerge: drill the North Sea. New @UKERCHQ analysis cuts through the noise and explains why this argument doesn’t hold up. ukerc.ac.uk/news/drilling-…

@laurnorman Sadly they did in London too

I’m old enough to remember when Iran celebrated and praised October 7.

@DPJHodges The police haven't given nationality or commented on motive. Nothing like a good stir though.

Not our war though...

@Ed_of_O @janrosenow @UKERCHQ "15 billion bbl yet to find" is what it says. It is a mean estimate of undiscovered resource. The economics of future discoveries depend on things like tax. Current 78% is a killer.

@half_tree @janrosenow @UKERCHQ Have they proven those reserves and that they're extractable long-term at under $80/bbl?

@SharePickers Agree. NSTA estimate 15 billion barrels yet to find offshore UK. 30 years supply. We should also do the same onshore. If fracking fails then the argument is over for good. If there is something then we can sensibly debate the pros and cons of developing it.

There’s always going to be disagreements on how much oil & gas is in the North Sea. So why not settle the argument once and for all. Why doesn’t the government just cancel the windfall tax and let O&G companies find out? At the moment the tax is too costly for companies to even find out. Currently the government collects less than £3bn from this tax and this will be going down to near zero over time. If they allow companies to explore, not only will they find out if there are viable resources but if there is a positive outcome the government could generate a lot more revenue at a normal tax threshold. It would lower our energy costs, help economic productivity / profitability and create jobs. If there’s no viable resources the government wins the argument. It’s a win, win for them but currently their policy is a lose / lose. We lose a lot of money importing oil & gas (we spend £100bn+ importing) Our high energy cost make us uncompetitive (our energy costs is 4x of the U.S. & 8x that of China) The carbon footprint is bigger shipping this around the world The blank refusal to even explore the option makes them very unpopular It’s ironic that at the heart of exploration is entrepreneurship. It’s about weighing up the risk and reward of potential economic success. A subject this government is seemingly illiterate on. Btw it’s worth watching this video: news.sky.com/video/is-brita… @EdConwaySky @Ed_Miliband

@DanBurmawy All major religions have gone on wars of conquest in the name of their "true god". No major religion currently has a "mandate" to conquer others.

What’s wrong with Starmer? Why is it so difficult for him to understand that Islam is not like other religions? Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity do not have a religious mandate to acquire political power and enforce their worldview on the entire society. Why is he so ignorant of the fact that Islamic public celebrations are not religious, but political activism?

@TheReformRepub1 @marcthiessen The final round being discussed was in Geneva. Earlier rounds were in Oman. Checkmate!

@marcthiessen One signal that it is bullish*t is the fact that the U.S. - Iran talks referred to took place in Oman - not Geneva.

What a total load of BS

@satire_sentinel @marcthiessen That was actually Iran's money frozen in 1979. Obama's JCPOA offered carrots and sticks, and it worked. Trump offered only sticks, and has sleepwalked us into global economic crisis.

@marcthiessen Right, Sure! And Iran leaders also said they would return the BILLIONS that Obama and Biden sent them!

@marcthiessen Certainly doesn't fit the Israeli story line.

@chico_ray Kaja Kallas is from Estonia, with a border with Russia, with a history of occupation by Russia and a Russian brutal invasion of Ukraine just to her south. Of course Europe's priority is to stop a war in Iran that mainly benefits Russia and refocus on Ukraine.

The EU is so weak and useless when it comes to Iran. It’s shameful. Kaja Kallas recently said: “we don’t need an escalation in the war, we need an exit from it.” I can’t help but wonder if she truly understands what she’s advocating for. If this war ends without the complete destruction of the Islamic regime, thousands of Iranians would face certain death. The execution of civilians—sentenced in sham courts—is ongoing, even while getting hammered by Israel and America. These are bloodthirsty religious fanatics. Psychopaths. Kaja would condemn millions of Iranians to living under oppression for their entire lives—and generations that follow. The Iranian people are currently being given a chance that may never be given again. This is an opportunity to change the world. To bring peace and stability to the Middle East. Is this not a risk worth taking and worth supporting? Apparently not. The EU would rather get back to having nice “diplomacy” with a regime that butchers and oppresses its people. But don’t worry, the EU have their pens at the ready—to write strongly worded statements condemning “breaches of human rights”. If Kaja Kallas knows what she’s pushing for, that either makes her evil or brainless. It definitely makes the EU useless. An entity that loves talking about “democracy” and “freedom”, yet bulks in indignation when freedom has to be fought for. When Iran is free, all these voices that wanted to leave the Iranian people in chains, will never escape their shame. Never. I’m so grateful that there are leaders out there with the courage to do what’s necessary, even when it’s hard.

@jonburkeUK A post that says "I know nothing about the oil business". These companies each have $200-$400 billion of capital invested, so the return on capital averages less than 10%, just slightly higher than utilities, and far lower than, say, pharma or IT.

There’s a reason every account peddling lies about North Sea oil and gas and net zero has a blue tick. They generate money from X for fossil fuel propaganda that has high engagement rates. If you want to know who is lying, always ask yourself ‘who gains most?’

@DrEliDavid An error but not as incompetent as Hegseth's use of Signal chat.

How incompetent is the French military? A sailor on Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier just revealed its location by using a fitness tracker (Strava) while jogging on the ship's deck 🤣 Source: Le Monde

@ChrisGPackham @Helen_Whately Many villages near us are blighted by the reckless rush for ugly solar farms. Nobody can sell their properties and family plans have been turned upside down. You used to be good in Countryfile, how about standing up for people who live in the country?

On BBC Question Time, @Helen_Whately just said ‘we can’t afford Net Zero’ . She is a human health hazard and grossly misinformed or lying . Time to call out the lunatics leading us to hell . No facts , no truth , no integrity - no hope.

@ret_ward This weedy "analysis" ignores the 15 billion bbl of yet to find offshore resource that the NSTA estimate we are sitting on. Sufficient for 30 years of supply.

Drilling for Oil and Gas Will not Reduce Bills or Deliver Energy Security. Here’s Why | UKERC | The UK Energy Research Centre ukerc.ac.uk/news/drilling-…

@colinwalker79 Without economically affordable days/weeks of storage any sensible promoter of renewables would agree that intermittency and weather dependency is a huge issue, meaning we have to pay for two parallel sets of generation infrastructure.

People who ‘follow the data’ would probably use a sample period that’s a little longer than 12 hours How about, say, the last 12 months? In which time renewables have generated 42% of the UK’s electricity Gas, meanwhile, is at 28%

@MrHarryCole Yesterday he was doing his Churchill schtick while sat next to the PM of Ireland, where Churchill is mostly a hate figure. Boy was that hilarious to all the Irish too.

Honestly this pearl harbour thing is such a useful test. You either think it’s funny or you’re the problem.

@whittomd @johnkonrad Everyone knows that Netenyahu bounced Trump into action because Israel had intel on the ayatollah's whereabouts and said they were going in anyway. The idea of there being an "imminent threat" has been denied at all levels.

@half_tree @johnkonrad There was no time to study the problem, to create new regulations, to build a pork barrel to get everyone on board. Europe is still playing stupid games wrt to Ukraine.

Dear Europe, I know you feel outrage. I have talked to many of you on the phone. I know politicians and media on both sides of the Atlantic are furious. I attended a conference with mostly Europeans. The worry and frustration was palpable. I get it too. You are dependent on Middle East oil and aluminum and fertilizer and shipping and LNG. Dubai is a vital travel hub for you. Vital. But don’t worry. Trump will lose the midterms and Congress will flip and side with you. Or maybe not… I live in the bluest town in the bluest state, where protests are practically a seasonal sport. I drove over eight hours across New England this week past the usual corners where outrage normally lives. This time? Nothing. Left, right, center. I’m hearing almost no one talk about this war. MAGA doesn’t even care. Ask someone and you’ll get the expected talking points. But in coffee shops, kitchens, real life? Silence. Hard truth: most Americans just don’t care. And since the weather warmed, not a single keffiyeh in sight. So when Trump says you need to go protect the ships and airports that are vital to YOU, I think he means it. Because the vast majority of Americans don’t care. And it’s not that we want to see you spin into an energy and food shortage. It’s that even the most TDS-inflicted liberal American is getting tired of your BS. Hating Trump is one thing. Almost half of America is OK with that. But your anti-American vitriol and arrogance and weakness is exhausting. Nobody likes a needy person who is angry and thinks they are better than you. It’s literally the worst combination in a person. And you might not want to admit it, but you are needy. You need us to reopen Hormuz. You need our banks and our markets. You need a lot. “We will not participate in this war” is fine. Nobody is asking you to bomb civilians. What’s weak is you won’t surge defensive missiles and planes to protect European-owned ships and property. When exactly did defense make you a participant? Defense of innocent life and property isn’t a “war crime.” And you DO own the majority of ships getting attacked. Ships that you are unwilling to defend maybe because you outsource the labor to Indonesia, the Philippines, and Ukraine. You are the wealthy lords who abandoned the mansion but told the help to stick around and defend it. So you might want to send a few warships and missile defense units to protect YOUR property. Or at least leave them at anchor and send the innocent crews home. You want us to defend the Strait because we started this mess? That’s reasonable. Problem is the reaction from most of America to your demands is: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@BylineTimes As a progressive news site you should mention that 50% of the world's polysilicon in solar panels is processed in Xinjiang and there are many verified accounts that China uses Uighur forced labour in the factories, and that is a key reason for low solar costs.

🔴 The UK Could Be Quietly Heading for a Solar Power Revolution As fossil fuel prices soar due to Trump's Iran war, the UK Government's plans for 'energy independence' could transform how British households power their homes, reports Josiah Mortimer bylinetimes.com/2026/03/19/the…

@Kelseypinkcabin @johnkonrad I asked for a credible source.

@half_tree @johnkonrad It was during negotiations with Witkoff this month. Witkoff said Iranians were proud of having evaded oversight in multiple tv interviews. You say right here 300kg of 60%...why? That's weeks from 90% & far beyond civilian applications. You say it like its acceptable. It's not.