Politics of Oil & Gas in a Changing UK: International Perspectives
08 May 2013 - 09 May 2013
09:45 - 21:30
Venue: King's College Conference Centre
Public conference
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You can now download a full session-by-session description of the conference, and reserve your free place in one or more of the sessions.
For those travelling to Aberdeen, the city hosts most hotel chains and here is a list of budget accommodation.
In 2014 Scottish voters face a referendum on whether they remain citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or become an independent nation state. Their understanding of the political economy of oil and gas is likely, for the first time since the 1970s, to play a significant part in how they decide their future. But Scottish independence is only one of many decisions to be made about the future of hydrocarbons, and whether Scotland is independent or not, they are decisions that need to be taken. Public debate of the many aspects of this looming future is scarce, almost as if the future was inevitable or we were unable to influence it. Many decisions are being left to lawyers, government, experts or the market. The debate has taken place, moreover, with little reference to the vast array of international experience in the politics of oil and gas, across countries as diverse as Norway, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ecuador, Canada, the United States, as well as Nigeria, Venezuela and other OPEC member states.
At this significant moment in history, the University of Aberdeen, with partner organisations, has organised a public conference to bring together academics, politicians, environmental and civil right activists and trade unionists. It will be hosted by the University’s Centre for Citizenship, Civil Society and the Rule of Law (CISRUL). We aim to stimulate broader public debate by addressing at the conference a series of key questions about the future of oil and gas in the UK (and beyond).
The conference will begin and end with a focus on the decisions that need to be taken and on who should be involved in those decisions and how they should be involved. It will focus on the decisions to be taken on three (overlapping) sets of issues:
1. What should be done with the profits of oil and gas?
2. How can oil and gas production be best reconciled with care for the environment?
3. What should be the future of the oil and gas workforce?
Although the focus will be on the UK, the conference will address not just what can be learned from other countries, but will include a session on the UK’s global responsibilities and how it can meet them.
Confirmed speakers include:
- John Paterson, Director, Centre for Energy Law, Aberdeen
- David Toke, Senior Lecturer in Energy Policy, Birmingham
- Simon Pirani, Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Institute of Energy Studies
- Andrew Cumbers, Professor in Geographical Political Economy, Glasgow
- Malcolm Webb, CEO, Oil & Gas UK
- Ewan Neilson, corporate lawyer, Stronachs
- Frank Doran, MP (Labour), Treasurer, All-Party Oil and Gas Group
- Christopher Harvie, ex-MSP (SNP), author of Fools' Gold: Story of North Sea Oil
- Jake Molloy, RMT Regional Coordinator
- Rob Edwards, environmentalist and journalist, regular contributor to Glasgow Herald, Scotsman
- Dick Winchester, energy columnist, member of Scottish Energy Advisory Board
Contact
Tracey Connon t.connon@abdn.ac.uk