Twenty Five Years in Energy

Today, the 4th September, marks the 25th anniversary since I started working in the energy industry. On Monday 4th September 1995 I started on BP’s commercial graduate scheme as a middle distillate operator in oil trading, with a starting salary of ￡21,700!

1995 is best remembered for things like the collapse of Barings Bank, the apex of Britpop, the end of the war in Balkans, the launch of Windows 95 and the email becoming mainstream. Back then I managed to live quite happily without a mobile phone, which were then bulky chunks of plastic with heavy batteries and could only be used for calls and texts.

The energy industry has been transformed since I started working. Energy demand has surged in the last 25 years, growing by over 60%, which is almost double the global population growth since 1995. Energy efficiency and technology has means that consumption per capita has fallen in the OECD. However energy consumption has risen by nearly 70% in Non-OECD countries. Cheap and abundant energy during this period has help lift millions out of poverty and is set to continue doing so.

Demand for my own energy specialism, natural gas, has nearly doubled in the last 25 years and we have witnessed the transition from national monopolies in 1995 to a highly competitive global market today. 

Annual renewable power production has exploded in the last twenty five years from 155 TWh to nearly 3,000 TWh. And this is just the beginning as investment in renewable energy becomes central to the strategies of the big international oil and gas companies as they seek to transition to become carbon neutral.

1995 may feel like another world to many of you, but I am sure that things will be equally different in 2045. However, I am confident that energy will continue to get cheaper, cleaner and more accessible than it is today. The industry will carry on bringing more and more light, heat and power to an increasing proportion of the world’s population.

I am delighted to have played a small bit part in the transformation of the energy industry in the last 25 years and look forward to continuing to do so for many years to come. Thank you to all my employers of the last 25 years for making this possible and, most importantly, for rewarding me for my contributions.