Sign up today to get the best of our expert insight in your inbox.
4 minute read
Simon Flowers
Chairman, Chief Analyst and author of The Edge
Simon Flowers
Chairman, Chief Analyst and author of The Edge
Simon is our Chief Analyst; he provides thought leadership on the trends and innovations shaping the energy industry.
Latest articles by Simon
-
Opinion
AI and data centres will transform US power market dynamics
-
The Edge
Getting China back on track
-
The Edge
Future energy: biomethane’s time has come
-
Opinion
What the Middle East conflict means for oil, LNG and the global economy
-
The Edge
The complexity of capital allocation for oil and gas companies
-
The Edge
What the Middle East conflict means for oil and LNG
One of my favourite traditions at Wood Mackenzie is the annual Research Excellence Awards. It’s an opportunity for us to reflect on another year of stellar analysis from our global team. Analysis that builds on our proprietary data with unique, actionable intelligence that fuels confident decision-making.
Choosing the winners is always a tough task. This year ten reports stood out from a packed crowd, delivering compelling and timely insights that support our mission to bring clarity to the energy transition and transform the way we power our planet.
My fellow judge Harriet McGann, VP, Editorial Integrity and I are delighted to present the Wood Mackenzie 2023 Research Excellence award winners:
Chairman's award:
Energy transition outlook 2023
Prakash Sharma, David Brown, Jom Madan, Lindsey Entwistle, Roshna N, Sarah Jameson
The energy transition outlook (ETO) report maps three different routes through the energy transition with increasing levels of ambition – but also difficulty and investment.
Horizons thought leadership award:
Playing by new rules: how the CBAM will change the world
Elena Belletti, Nuomin Han, Ivan Perez | September 2023
Ahead of the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in October, this edition of Horizons set out the global implications of the first mechanism of its kind to be introduced anywhere in the world.
Informs:
The Jonker discovery in Namibia: what could it be worth?
Gail Anderson, Julie Wilson | March 2023
Shell's Jonker-1 well was the third major discovery in the Orange sub-basin within 12 months, in the world's hottest deepwater exploration play. This inform gave our assessment of the scale of the discovery, the implications for development – and how much Jonker could be worth.
INSIGHTS:
North America renewable natural gas (RNG): state of the market
Natalia Patterson, Dulles Wang | May 2023
This report delivered a comprehensive analysis of the North America RNG market, including the supply and demand outlook to 2050, carbon intensity comparison, policy and regulatory mechanisms and trends and key industry players and investments.
All eyes on DRI
Sushmita Vazirani, David Brown | October 2023
The steel industry stands on the cusp of decarbonisation, with direct reduced iron (DRI) at its core, potentially heralding a new era of sustainable industrial practices. This report delved into some key DRI technologies, cost economics and the challenges and levers influencing the shift to green DRI as the clarion call for decarbonisation amplifies globally.
Visit the store to read this report.
The state of US distributed solar-plus-storage
Max Issokson | August 2023
This report leverages our project-level distributed solar data to delve into the state of distributed solar-plus-storage in the US. The report includes insights on attachment rates on the national and state levels, key drivers of adoption, the competitive landscape of installers and battery vendors, and key trends shaping the markets.
2023 tight oil cost inflation: tempering the runup
Nathan Nemeth | January 2023
This report delved into how sustained high commodity prices, geopolitical uncertainty and constraints on OFS supply chains drove inflation higher than previous predictions. Margin expansion continued to be pushed by OFS companies in efforts to regain profits to 2014 levels. Limitations to frac fleet and drill rig access, skilled labour and OCTG remained the top hindrances to elevating activity.
Find this report on the store.
CORE REPORTS:
Global gas investment horizon outlook
Lucy Cullen, Kateryna Filippenko, Massimo Di-Odoardo, Dulles Wang | December 2023
In this webinar, our panel of experts highlighted key themes from our latest global gas investment horizon outlook, exploring the European gas market balance, Asia as the driver of global LNG demand growth, global LNG supply and demand balance and global gas prices.
Waste to energy landscape: projects, technologies and costs
Jom Madan | May 2023
Global waste is piling up, with annual volumes expected to grow from 2.3 Bt in 2022 to 3.4 Bt by 2050. Nearly 70% of this refuse currently ends up in open dumps or landfill, resulting in severe pollution with impacts on local communities and ecosystems. This report explored waste-to-energy (WtE) as a potential solution to this impending crisis.
HyNet Northwest Cluster CCUS valuation
Lucy King, Harris Jones, Gabriel Cann | December 2023
HyNet North West is one of the leading decarbonisation projects in the UK. Along with the East Coast Cluster, it was selected as one of two Track 1 cluster projects to progress through the UK’s Cluster Sequencing Process, which will underpin the country’s target to capture and store at least 20 Mtpa CO2 by 2030. This report delved into the detail.
To mark the accomplishments of all of our winners, a donation was made to Let’s Share the Sun to facilitate the use of solar energy in developing communities around the world.
Get the latest news and views from our experts
Each week, The Inside Track delivers a selection of the latest insight from our global team of analysts straight to your inbox. Sign up.