Advocacy Advisory Committee – Goals for 2025
Over the last few years, the rhetoric around the oil & gas industry globally, but in particular in the UK, has been misleading at best and dangerous at its worst. People believe what they read but whilst the correct facts are often reported, today’s news headlines are purposely provocative. The messaging has often been one dimensional, focused on the need for an energy transition, rather than a more nuanced approach to an energy evolution and the importance of hydrocarbons in the delivery of a modern economy.
A lack of understanding and education amongst the public and press, coupled with a distinctive ideology on behalf of the current government, has led not only to an unsupportive fiscal framework that is unsustainable for the North Sea, but has had a knock-on negative effect on every aspect of our lives from high inflation and electricity costs to a lack of energy security.
That being said, I think we are starting to see a shift in the narrative in the media with many outlets starting to question the true approach (and cost) of Net Zero at all costs.
One of PRAGMA’s key goals is to work alongside the industry and existing industry bodies and associations, to change the narrative of how the oil & gas sector is perceived amongst investors, policy makers, the media and the wider public. To that end, PRAGMA established the Advocacy Advisory Committee to help us to accelerate our mission to, with one stronger, louder, voice, showcase the economic, fiscal and societal benefits of the O&G industry to all stakeholders.
In December, the Advocacy Committee met for the first time to set our goals for the next 12 months and start to identify the actions we need to put in place to make real change. We have been busy working on these behind the scenes but as we head into the UK government consultation, we wanted to share the goals with you.
The Challenges
In order to determine our plan of action, we first outlined the challenges the industry currently faces around advocacy, or a lack thereof. Whilst there are many, the top 5 were as follows:
One;
The committee agreed that there was a notable disconnect between the public’s perception of the industry and the actual role that O&G plays in powering a modern economy. A lack of understanding is perhaps fuelled by the industry’s complexity, but the sector has not always been successful or proactive at showcasing the critical contribution of oil & gas to people’s everyday lives. The industry has also struggled to clearly convey its role within the energy transition and the continued importance of oil and gas in the current, and future, energy mix.
The committee also felt that it is often the case that O&G companies are referred to as homogeneous without taking into account nuances around scale and size. It is crucial to correct misconceptions around industry profits and the realities behind high energy prices.
Two;
Over the last few years, activists have become increasingly vocal. Well-funded and consistent communicators, they have been successful at communicating their narrative using a plethora of media channels and influencers. Whilst a majority of activism is done with the best of intentions, the data is often misleading and poorly researched, and the language used is incendiary.
Three;
On the topic of data, the committee agreed that the industry itself has a role to play in providing stronger, accurate, more reliable data. When it comes to quantitative data, there is currently no one- size-fits-all, systematically consistent approach on areas like emissions management, making it difficult to compare and contrast companies, hold management teams to account or put forward comparative data to investors. In addition, from a qualitative perspective, the industry has been poor at showcasing real-life examples of success around areas like decarbonization and sustainability.
Four;
Government agendas on both sides of the Atlantic were a matter of considerable conversation amongst the committee members. Slow approval times for development projects due to regulation, a tightening of the environmental regulatory landscape and a worsening fiscal regime in the UK have all contributed to instability, investor uncertainty and an impact on operations.
Five;
And finally financing and investment. A few weeks after the advocacy committee meeting, we ran our capital committee meeting where advocacy also formed a part of the discussion. Participants agreed that the oil & gas industry is a tough sector to understand with complex topics around geology, geopolitics and capital allocation. Where investors have been scarred by underperforming assets in the past, coupled with the complexity of the sector, this has led to capital staying on the sidelines. In addition, they cited the regulatory environment as a risk factor, in particular in Europe.
In terms of solutions, participants felt that the sector needed to be re-framed for the generalist investor, as well as larger allocators, with a focus on the importance of energy, and in particular gas, in the race to power data centres as well as the role oil & gas could play within an infrastructure led strategy. This would need to be coupled with education and an emphasis on today’s data accuracy as opposed to the unpredictability of data captured in the past.
PRAGMA’s Goals
With these challenges in mind, PRAGMA’s Advocacy Committee has agreed to focus on 3 core goals across 2025:
1. Ensuring a common language around energy evolution and the importance of O&G within the energy mix
2. Organizing an effective advocacy action blueprint that will shift the influential public, media and investor community’s perception of the industry
3. In the UK, ensuring a healthy and consistent UK fiscal regime with a sliding scale removal of the EPL that will bring certainty and investability back to the sector
PRAGMA’s Actions
One; Qualitative and quantitative data
Using detailed research to meaningfully shift perceptions of oil and gas, and its role in the global economy
1. Our first goal is to gain a comprehensive understanding of different audiences, their priorities and how to influence them
2. We will work hand-in-hand with industry and rating agencies, emissions measurement organisations etc to improve accuracy and confidence in the data
3. Work with existing data providers to collate industry data that is accurate and can be used to support the oil & gas narrative
4. Collect activist data points and arguments in order to debunk information that is beingshared, where relevant
5. Wewill collect positive case studies both in written and podcast formats to share with media publications and on PRAGMA’s own communication channels. Case studies will be from oil & gas companies large and small as well as the investor and finance community – we will focus on what the industry is actively doing to address concerns, such as striving for a lower-carbon future and ensuring energy reliability and affordability
Two; Simple, Consistent & RepeatedMessaging
Crafting a narrative that connects energy,sustainability, and innovation, based upon the feedback and insight from our research
1. We will work with industry, the committee and an external agency to create a consistent core narrative for the oil & gas industry that can be used again and again
2. In order to educate the media and general public around the daily contributions of hydrocarbons, we will create and distribute a short film showcasing what a day without oil & gas would look like
3. We will emphasize the industry's role in providing reliable and affordable energy in all messaging
4. We will stress the industry's commitment to delivering cleaner fuels, noting examples like the lower emissions intensity of Norwegian gas compared to other imports in the EU
Three; Enhanced Engagement
Mapping key influencers and stakeholders and accurately targeting the groups that can help us influence the debate
With the media
1. We will encourage articles across traditional media channels that focus on energy systems; supply/demand trends, pricing, energy security and the role of oil & gas in powering modern economies instead of environmental impact alone
2. We will engage and connect with audiences on an emotional level through articles that focus on cost of living and pricing
3. Understanding that traditional media will appeal to only certain population demographics, we will create content relevant for social media platforms such as tiktok by engaging in debates and conversation with university and college students
4. PRAGMA and affiliated committee members will actively join external podcasts and news features to provide accurate information about the oil & gas industry to a wider public
With government
1. Working with existing partners who have access to government, we will continue to directly engage with central government including the Treasury and DESNEZ
2. We will identify the key constituencies that are likely to be affected by a change in energy policy or adjacent policies and speak directly to those MPs to suggest areas of discussion
With the activist community
1. We will engage in factual, pragmatic debate with the activist community to ensure the oil & gas industry has a voice and is part of the conversation
2. PRAGMA will launch a debate series on their own channels as a starting point
3. We will endeavour to identify shared goals and develop mutual solutions that can bridge gaps in understanding
With the influential public
1. We will create partnerships with associations and representatives of adjacent industries and consumer groups such as the agricultural, pharmaceutical, industrial and fashion industries to educate them on the role of hydrocarbons within their supply chain and encourage them to support and advocate for the oil & gas industry
2. We will work with schools, colleges and universities to encourage debate and discussion around the impact of oil & gas
3. PRAGMA and affiliated committee members will actively join external podcasts with influencers to share industry messaging with a wider audience
With industry
1. Oil & Gas executives at all levels should be the industry’s biggest advocates; we will work with press and communications teams to provide resources with consistent terminology and information to ensure consistent messaging and continued advocacy
2. We will work with independent oil and gas companies to suppoprt them as they advocate in front of government and change perceptions around profits
3. We will collect positive case studies around transformation and/or sustainabilitysuccess in order to present this to a wider audience
With financiers and investors
1. We will work hand in hand with PRAGMA’s capital committee to help construct the right messaging around the investability of oil & gas, showcasing success stories and positive risk adjusted returns as well as putting together an education pack for generalist investors that breaks down the complexity of the sector and reframes the importance of oil and gas in the context of infrastructure and power needs
2. We will work with traditional media to showcase positive stories around the oil & gas industry
3. We will interview leading financiers and investors who continue to be bullish about oil and gas and include these podcasts on social media and our own channels
4. We will focus on influencing large scale asset managers who have significant leverage and dry powder to deploy
There is no doubt that there is a lot of work to be done. To deliver these goals, the industry requires time and funding. If you would be interested in getting involved and donating either, please get in touch with me directly at amy.miller@pragma-energy.com.
