2023 Winners: Energy Council Awards of Excellence

NOC of the Year

Equinor have had a consistent commitment to the funding of transition projects and initiatives including fantastic initiatives to decarbonise the North Sea such as the Hywind floating windfarms. They have also been investing heavily in energy security for Europe.

Sponsored by: Kongsberg Digital

Large-Cap of the Year

Eni have done some great things this year: rebalancing the portfolio, high-grading, project sanctions, energy transition moves, joint ventures and government-to-government deals. They have continued to invest and grow the portfolio across the globe through successful exploration, strong M&A deals and project start-ups. They have a great approach to risk and get deals done with the notable acquisition of Neptune energy with Var Energi. Acquiring the Neptune business at a value of c $2.3bn complements the Eni business well and supports its objective of increasing its share of natural gas production by 60%. Reported 2P reserves of c 484million boe adds around 130kboed to Eni and Var portfolios. All of this has resulted in a +26% YoY performance.

Sponsored by: Houlihan Lokey

Mid-Cap of the Year

This year, Serica Energy successfully managed the transition of their Chairman, a merger with Tailwind (a deal worth approx. £397m) and the repositioning of the company more generally. They have had well timed and well focused growth – as one nomination stated: “you never look at their acquisitions and think “why did they do that?”

Sponsored by: bp

Small-Cap of the Year

Impact Oil & Gas is a great example of an explorer still delivering after 10 years in business accumulating deepwater acreage! This private junior explorer has delivered multi billion barrel / TCF discoveries in Namibia and farmed out operatorship to TotalEnergies.

Sponsored by: Progressive TSL

Exploration of the Year

The Baleine project is the largest finding of hydrocarbons made by an energy company in Côte d'Ivoire, as well as the first commercial discovery made in the country, in the past 20 years. It will allow the country to further increase domestic access to energy, strengthen its role as a regional energy hub for neighbouring countries and Baleine will be the first net-zero emission development (Scope 1 and 2) in Africa, thanks to innovative projects.

Sponsored by: Welligence

Services Company of the Year

SLB have shown strong sector leadership on most indices (size, financial performance etc). They have had a successful rebranding from Schlumberger to SLB and have made meaning energy transition moves around sustainability performance, global leadership in technology for decarbonizing core oil and gas and digital and major investments in New Energies.

Sponsored by: A&M

Decarbonisation Project/Technology of the Year

Acorn was founded to be a catalyst that transforms UK industry in support of a net zero economy and a cleaner future. They have worked to secure government funding after a very long battle and the project will be critical to decarbonisation of the Scottish economy.

Sponsored by: Aeromon

Lifetime Achievement Award Winner 2023: Sam Laidlaw, Founder & CEO, Neptune Energy 

Neptune Energy has set an example through its status as one of the UK’s lowest carbon producers and their transition objectives were also complemented by exceptionally strong financial performance. In September 2023, Neptune announced they would be sold to Italian energy firm ENI in a deal worth $4.9, the largest cash deal in the European oil & gas sector in several years. In addition to his role at Neptune, Sam as also been a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group and has advocated for the role of the UK North Sea in providing domestic gas supply and achieving energy independence by 2040, and the impact of the windfall tax on investor confidence.

Executive of the Year Award Winner 2023: Gilad Myerson, Executive Chairman, Ithaca Energy

Gilad joined Ithaca Energy plc in 2019 and served as the CEO and CFO of the Group before moving to his current role as Executive Chairman in 2021. Gilad has led Ithaca Energy through a period of transformational growth driven by material M&A activity, with the completion of five value-accretive acquisitions over a period of three years including Chevron North Sea, Mitsui North Sea, Marubeni North Sea, Summit and Siccar Point Energy, building one of the UK’s leading independent oil and gas operators.

Ithaca Energy’s rapid growth journey culminated in its admission to the Premium Segment of the London Stock Exchange in November 2022, the largest UK IPO across all sectors that year. In September 2023, Ithaca sanctioned the development of the Rosebank field, the UK’s largest undeveloped discovery together with Equinor, delivering against Ithaca’s stated strategy at IPO and providing critically important future domestic energy and substantial economic value creation. His leadership team commented that his infectious energy and enthusiasm drives all those around him to deliver continuous safe and sustainable growth in the UK North Sea.