Author: Gary Scoggin

An interesting article from SPE’s Journal of Petroleum Technology which outlines a lot of the econonomic and technical challenges pertaining to Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS). The economic discussion goes into depth regarding the sources of value pertaining to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and the tax incentives for CCUS. However, it doesn’t really speak … Continue reading CO2 EOR Could Be Industry’s Key to a Sustainable Future or Its Biggest Missed Opportunity

I ran across this new paper a few days ago. Click to access WP67_Victor-et-al.pdf The authors make two important arguments… “First, the quality of disclosures is highly uneven and generally lousy. There are some signs that whilethe volume of disclosure from corporate equities rose sharply over the last decade, anecdotal evidencesuggests quality has gone down. … Continue reading Flying Blind: What Do Investors Really Know About Climate Change Risks in the U.S. Equity and Municipal Debt Markets?

I am coming here from the perspective of a consultant working with mid-sized energy companies. There are three key things to consider when addressing sustainability challenges: 1. Key stakeholders, especially investors, are interested. Many large, institutional investors are becoming more active in encouraging – or even requiring – companies to continually improve their ESG performance. … Continue reading How do you Tackle Sustainability? Opportunity and Threat

A big focus of my efforts are middle-tier companies in the oil and gas business. Some of these companies see sustainability issues – particular those related to climate change — as an existential threat to their business. This can be a self-fulfulling pr0phesy. The energy transition from heavy fossil fuels to renewable sources is real. … Continue reading Sustainability in mid-tier O&G companies

Demonstrated good performance in the realm of environmental, social, governance (ESG) issues is quickly becoming a “needed to play” competency for firms of all sizes. While this is especially true for public-facing companies, this is also true of firms that do not sell directly to the public. Customer-facing companies large and small are increasingly looking … Continue reading Development of an Environmental, Social, Governance Strategy

(This was originally posted on LinkenIn on March 25, 2020.) As the ill-fated launch for the Space Shuttle Challenger approached, design engineers from Thiokol recommended postponing the launch due to the effects of the cold weather on the O-rings which acted to isolate hot gases from the rest of the craft.  Under intense schedule pressure from NASA, … Continue reading COVID-19: Lessons from the Challenger Disaster

This is my initial post as I set up my new website. I hope to use this forum to discuss the things I run across in the business world, especially as they intersect with Sustainability and ESG issues. I appreciate any and all feedback and the opportunity to discuss the things I post about.