Wood Mackenzie 2022 Research Excellence Awards

As we reflect on another year of Wood Mackenzie research, it’s clear that these are challenging times for energy and natural resources markets. In 2022 our global teams tackled everything from progress on the path to net zero to the massive repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This year ten reports – from a large pool of very strong contenders – stood out in delivering the most compelling, considered and timely analysis. These reports collectively bring together more than thirty contributors, whose insightful work reflects our mission to inspire decisions that help to transform the way we power our planet.

My fellow judge Harriet McGann, VP, Editorial Integrity and I are delighted to present the Wood Mackenzie 2022 Research Excellence award winners:

Insights:

Can the Middle East become a global hydrogen player? (January 2022)

Alexandre Araman and Claude Mourey

The Middle East has finally embraced the energy transition. Countries are drafting visions and policies that vary greatly in scope and objectives. And for most of them, low-carbon hydrogen is a cornerstone of their energy strategy. Find out more.

Labour win in Australia to accelerate shift to a low-carbon economy (May 2022)

Robert Liew, Viktor Tanevski and Rory Simington

On 21 May, the Labor Party declared victory in Australia’s federal election, marking an end to the incumbent Liberal-National Coalition. The election result highlighted a swing towards minor parties, including several independent candidates, and the Greens. The people of Australia voted for change. This report asked: what might this mean for Australia’s mining and energy sector?

The new swing market: Asia LNG demand response to high prices (August 2022)

Lucy Cullen, Miaoru Huang, Valery Chow, Asti Asra and Raghav Mathur

Europe’s efforts to wean itself off Russian gas saw LNG demand soar, turning the global market on its head. This insight assessed demand response risk across Asian markets and sectors to better understand the region’s price sensitivity. Find out more in this overview.

UK government swoops on North Sea windfall profits (May 2022)

Graham Kellas, Neivan Boroujerdi, Luke Parker and Fraser McKay

After months of political pressure, the UK government announced an increase to the oil and gas tax via a third tax, the Energy Profits Levy. This insight dissected the changes and tackled key questions on the likely impact on investment, the companies most affected, and the alternatives to ad hoc tax hikes. Find out more.

US LNG exports: upping the upstream ante (June 2022)

Robert Clarke, Ryan Duman, Michael Stinebaugh, Kristy Kramer and Dulles Wang

Spreads between international prices and Henry Hub exceeded US$30/mcf in early 2022. It was easy to see why shale E&Ps were eyeing exports. Our Upstream & LNG research teams collaborated to explore this topic, focusing on producer due diligence. The resulting insight delved into a series of data-driven benchmarks and shared a view of the liquefaction road ahead.

Why the Majors need to consider margins in weighing up offshore wind (July 2022)

Akif Chaudhry, Tom Ellacott and Erik Mielke

Will offshore wind deliver higher operating cash margins than oil and gas? This insight highlighted how a new metric – operating cash flow per GJe – provides the answers. Read the overview for a look at some of the key findings.

Core reports:

Benchmarking the IOCs: resilience and sustainability (May 2022)

Luke Parker, Alex Beeker, Robert Polk and Erik Mielke

Which IOCs are best positioned to navigate energy transition over the coming decades? Which would be best placed to handle a shock to markets in the next few years? This report drew on our Corporate Resilience and Sustainability Indices (CoRSI) to answer these questions. Find out more in The Edge.

Exploring economic feasibility along the CCUS value chain (October 2022)

Lucy King and Peter Findlay

The impact of CCUS is quickly expanding and could abate the equivalent of 15% of current global CO2 emissions by 2050. At the same time, the companies developing and funding projects still have many unanswered questions. This report addressed one of the biggest: "what makes an economically feasible CCUS project?"

Global gas strategic planning outlook (April 2022)

Massimo Di-Odoardo, Kristy Kramer, Lucy Cullen, Conner McKinney, Kateryna Filippenko, Henrique Anjos, Eduardo Seraphim, Stephen O'Rourke, Valery Chow, Dulles Wang, Giles Farrer and Mauro Chavez

The Russia/Ukraine war is pushing Europe to a point of no return: a diversification away from Russian gas, with implications that will extend to global gas markets. This report explored the changing landscape in detail.

Horizons:

Sea change: navigating the trillion-dollar offshore wind opportunity (May 2022)

Søren Lassen

We project that nearly US$1 trillion will flow into the offshore wind industry over the next decade. This edition of Horizons laid out a new competitive framework to enable offshore wind players to determine what capabilities and competencies they need in which markets to improve their chance of success. Read it here.

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