NOF Energy: A New Year Bringing New Opportunities

As we stand at the start of 2017 many of us will be wondering what this year will bring. I am certain the majority of our Members and businesses in the wider supply chain will be hoping and wishing for a brighter business environment, more opportunities and greater confidence in what UK businesses can achieve in what are undoubtedly challenging times.

As I have said many times previously, at NOF Energy we are on the opportunities side of the equation. That doesn’t mean that we hide away from the challenges; instead we search out the opportunities that come with the challenges.

How do we identify the challenges?
Undoubtedly one of the main tools we use is our ever increasing network. Although our Membership is in excess of 450 businesses our network actually consists of several thousand contacts both here in the UK and overseas.
We have seen this grow during 2016 as we have continued to diversify; we now
operate in other energy sectors such midstream & downstream oil and gas, refineries, wave & tidal and the power sector.

This network not only provides us with vital industry intelligence it also enables us to introduce our Members to key individuals across the entire energy sector in the UK and internationally. During 2016 we made 1161 personal introductions on behalf of our members. In oil and gas terminology the network is our reservoir from which we draw our keynote speakers; essential for our Events activity. During the past year we have held 54 events attracting 2367 delegates from across the UK and also internationally.

Energy: A Balanced Future 2017
One of the key events in the energy industry calendar is our National Conference and Exhibition Energy: A Balanced Future. Once again this will be held at Sage Gateshead on 8th March with the Pre Conference Reception taking place on the evening of 7th March.

The programme not only contains presentations on our core sectors of oil & gas,
offshore renewables and nuclear, the prospects for these sectors will be debated by a panel of industry experts, but also contains presentations on midstream & downstream oil and gas, and the power sector. As usual we have several high profile VIP guests from the client community attending just to network with you; and where we can on the day we will make those all-important
introductions.

I encourage all our Members to come along to the Conference as the presentations and debates will undoubtedly help you shape your business development activities for the coming years.

Looking ahead
As I have mentioned previously the energy sector continues to face many challenges if we are to ensure that the lights remain on in the coming years.
The UK’s oil and gas industry has experienced very difficult trading conditions since 2014 following the collapse of the oil price. It has, however, taken significant steps to ensure that the industry is in a much healthier state for when the recovery comes and it will undoubtedly recover. In fact many oil & gas professionals are predicting that things will start to improve towards the end of this year with the recovery taking a firmer hold during 2018/19.

With regard to offshore renewables there are strong signs that the UK supply chain will start to reap the benefits of the growing use of offshore wind with operations and maintenance providing many of the future opportunities.
The nuclear industry remains perhaps the most challenging area for businesses
looking to diversify their activities. It is hoped that the decision to finally develop the Hinkley Point station will provide a much needed catalyst for the industry.

Returning to the programme for Energy: A Balanced Future; Nugen who are looking to build three new reactors at Moorside in Cumbria will provide an update on their development. Also Ian Marchant, former CEO of SSE and a widely respected industry figure will also give a presentation entitled The Power Industry; The future ain’t what it used to be.The two presentations again make attendance at Energy: A Balanced Future an absolute must for businesses involved in the energy supply chain.

And finally

I will finish this post by restating NOF Energy’s absolute commitment to ‘helping members win business’.We have never wavered from this objective and we know that over the last seven years we have helped Members secure over a quarter of a billion pounds worth of additional business.Continued success is only achievable if we continue to work in partnership with our Members and with that in mind I strongly urge our Members to ask things of us.All our Members have a share in NOF Energy and must look upon us as part of their resource to achieve even greater success. The team look forward to working with an increasing number of you during this coming year.

For any companies considering joining the NOF Energy network come talk to us , our value proposition is all about helping members win work