This week I'm joined by Erik de Haas.

Erik has worked across offshore oil and gas, renewables, subsea operations and major marine projects around the world.

We discuss why offshore remains a "prove it, not potential" industry, whether the sector really has a skills shortage, and why valuable experience is often being overlooked.

We also dive into the energy transition, the risks of an increasingly polarised debate, and why energy security may be the missing piece in conversations about affordability and sustainability.

A thoughtful conversation on leadership, commercial decision making, offshore culture and the future of energy.

Topics include:

• Offshore hiring and skills shortages

• Why experience still matters

• Oil and gas vs renewables

• The energy transition debate

• Energy security and geopolitics

• Offshore wind challenges

• Leadership and decision making offshore

• Learning from failure

• Building high performing teams

#energy #energysecurity #offshoreenergy #podcast

0:00 Introduction

0:20 Erik's background and journey into offshore energy

2:56 Moving from engineering into commercial leadership

5:18 Why offshore is a "prove it, not potential" industry

7:30 Is the industry protecting itself from new talent?

8:40 Offshore wind vs oil and gas on developing people

10:12 Why innovation struggles to gain traction offshore

12:34 Why offshore wind treats every project like a prototype

14:23 Where offshore projects lose the most value

16:22 Who really owns project interfaces?

17:31 What actually drives major offshore decisions?

18:51 Is there a disconnect between onshore and offshore?

25:15 Skills shortage or hiring problem?

27:50 Why experienced workers are being overlooked

30:18 Oil and gas, renewables and the energy transition

33:07 The missing pillar: energy security

35:35 Groningen, Aberdeen and domestic energy production

37:22 Energy transition vs energy addition

39:08 What happens when energy shortages become real?

40:59 Politics, taxes and difficult energy decisions

42:52 Why energy should not be a tribal debate

44:55 Learning from what doesn't work

47:24 Erik's proudest career moments

49:35 Advice for people struggling to find opportunities

50:05 The abundance mindset that shaped Erik's career

51:05 Closing thoughts

In this episode of Wind, Waves & Wells, I sit down with Ian Garden, Managing Director of RigDeluge and creator of the False Positives documentary.

Ian discusses concerns he has raised over more than a decade regarding offshore firefighting systems, emergency response planning, rescue capability and what he describes as the growing gap between safety messaging and operational reality.

We talk about HSE investigations, platform shutdowns, speaking up in the industry, leadership, accountability and why Ian believes the offshore sector needs to focus more on action and less on optics.

Whether you agree with Ian or not, this is a conversation that raises important questions about safety, culture and the future of the UK energy industry.

As always, the purpose of this podcast is to provide a platform for discussion and allow listeners to make up their own minds.

00:00 Introduction

00:18 Who is Ian Garden?

01:10 Building RigDeluge and lessons from offshore

04:30 The origins of False Positives

07:12 Documenting concerns since 2013

08:11 Early firefighting system trials and resistance to change

11:20 Flare boom safety concerns

14:00 Taking concerns to regulators

15:10 Six firefighting systems that should have been condemned

18:00 Refusing to continue work on an unsafe asset

19:50 Escalating concerns to the HSE

22:20 Platform shutdowns and industry response

25:50 Being NRB'd and speaking up

28:10 Has offshore safety improved since Piper Alpha?

30:15 Safety culture versus safety performance

32:00 The gap between onshore messaging and offshore reality

33:20 Why False Positives was created

35:30 Industry reaction to the documentary

36:30 Why people are reluctant to speak up

40:00 The 124kg rescue capability debate

45:45 Government policy and the future of the North Sea

50:05 Ian's vision for the UK's energy future

52:00 Politics, energy policy and investment

57:10 What if a major incident had happened?

58:00 Firefighting systems and reliability concerns

01:00:15 Will there be a False Positives 2?

01:02:10 Why Ian continues to challenge the industry

01:11:00 The personal cost of speaking out

01:14:00 Proudest career moment

01:15:20 Leadership, accountability and integrity

01:18:30 Safety in numbers and collective action

01:20:30 Paperwork versus real safety

01:21:00 What happens next?

01:24:00 Final thoughts

What happens when an offshore driller hits rock bottom and decides to rebuild his life from the ground up?

In this episode, I sit down with Keeley Bell, founder of Silverback GRIT, to discuss offshore life, addiction, mental health, leadership, fitness, and why the energy industry needs to start taking care of its people as seriously as it takes care of its equipment.

Keeley shares his journey from the drilling rigs of the Gulf of Mexico to becoming a passionate advocate for mental resilience and personal transformation. From battling alcoholism and surviving a heart attack to building a company focused on improving the wellbeing of offshore workers, this is an honest conversation about the realities many people face but few talk about openly.

The discussion covers offshore culture, isolation, leadership, fitness, sleep, nutrition, mental health, family life, and what companies can do to better support their workforce.

Most importantly, it is a reminder that no matter how difficult things get, there is always another day to keep moving forward.

00:00 Introduction

This episode is one of the most balanced and honest conversations we’ve had on the podcast.

John Underhill, Professor at the University of Aberdeen and Director for Energy Transition, joins me to break down what’s actually happening in the energy world right now.

This isn’t about picking sides.

It’s about understanding reality.

We get into the North Sea, the role of oil and gas in the transition, the truth behind emissions reporting, and why energy has suddenly become such a political battleground.

John brings decades of experience across academia and industry, and gives a perspective that cuts through a lot of the noise.

We also talk about:

• Why the UK has become more dependent on imports

If you want a proper, grounded view of where we are and where we’re heading, this is one worth listening to.

00:00 – Intro

This one is a proper deep dive into the world behind the wells.

Juan Cottier joins me to break down what geology actually is, how it fits into oil and gas, and why it’s one of the most misunderstood parts of the industry.

We get into how oil is really found, the different stages from exploration through to production, and why geologists spend their careers making decisions with incomplete data.

But this goes well beyond rocks.

We talk about the disconnect between offshore and the office

And one of the biggest points in this episode:

Why the oil industry might actually be “eating itself”

Juan also shares stories from working across the world, including West Africa during civil unrest, and gives a brutally honest view on where the industry is heading.

This is one for anyone in energy who wants to understand what’s really going on beneath the surface.

Another one from the Jim & Joe Show and this one goes everywhere.

We start with what’s kicking off globally

Then it turns into exactly what you’d expect

Stories from offshore that probably shouldn’t be told

From diesel spills to dropped gear, to nearly turning the North Sea fluorescent green…

Yeah… it’s one of those episodes

Bit of the usual speaking rubbish and putting the world to right.

00:20 – Catch up and what’s been happening

This one goes stateside.

Stu Turley, CEO of Sandstone Group and host of Energy Newsbeat, joins me to break down what’s really going on in the energy world right now.

We get into the current situation in the US, why California is facing serious energy issues, and how global events like the Strait of Hormuz could have a much bigger impact than people realise.

But this is not just headlines.

We talk about:

Stu doesn’t hold back.

Whether you agree with him or not, this is a proper look at how energy, politics, and global power all tie together.

00:20 – Introduction and who Stu Turley is

This is one of the more honest conversations we’ve had on Wind, Waves & Wells.

Omar joins me to talk through a journey that starts in Bradford and ends up offshore, travelling the world in oil and gas. But this one goes far deeper than job titles, projects, or locations.

We get into what the industry is really like when you first step into it

And then we shift into something far more real

Mental health

Omar opens up about experiences he carried for decades, the impact it had on his life, relationships, and career, and how he eventually faced it head on through therapy, self work, and writing his book.

This is not a polished story

If you work offshore, in energy, or in any high pressure environment, there will be parts of this that hit home.

00:20 – Introduction and Omar’s background

A new offshore policy is coming… and it’s already dividing the industry.

From November, any worker over 124kg won’t be allowed to travel offshore.

In this episode, I sit down with Graham Skinner from Offshore Energies UK to break it all down.

Where did the number actually come from?

We get into everything:

• The real reason behind the 124kg limit

This isn’t a simple conversation.

It’s safety vs livelihoods.

You might not agree with it.

But it’s coming.

00:24 Who is Graham Skinner and his offshore background

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16 years on from the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

On April 20th 2010, 11 men lost their lives in one of the most significant offshore disasters in modern history.

This episode of Wind, Waves & Wells is a re-release of a conversation that was never widely heard.

John Guide was the BP Drilling Supervisor for Deepwater Horizon, working from the office at the time.

In the aftermath of the incident, much of the narrative focused on BP from the outside looking in.

John shares his full career journey into deepwater drilling…

From the negative pressure test…

This is a rare insight into the side of the story that was largely unheard.

This is not about blame.

00:00 Intro music