The Geothermal Exploration Society for Greenwashing Britain

As some of you may know I worked for about twenty years in the oil industry before moving into retail...  

Yesterday, an event happened which I predicted to myself only last month.  The Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain has decided that its name is not PC enough anymore and it is undergoing a rebranding in the hope that the Greta Thunbergs and Robin Inces of the world will no longer see it as a fundamental evil in society.  

James Churchill, PESGB President, relates to me below that from now on the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB) will now be called the Geoenergy Society of Great Britain (GESGB) in order to pretend that all the energy comes from geothermal and very little from dead fossils.  Of course we are promised that soon in the future all the cars will be electric and there will be no more fossil fuels – all the energy will come from cleaner alternatives like nuclear and fusion (if it ever happens) or by renewable wind farms or …whatever… underneath the greenwashing the oil industry suffers a deeper existential crisis – what’s it for?  Despite the fact that most of the world’s power still comes from fossil fuels the oil industry is clearly as doomed as the coal industry that Boris “thanked” Mrs Thatcher for dismantling yesterday… It’s really no shock that the PESGB wants to change its name – is it greenwashing or an admission that the name is now offensive?

So what will the GESGB be for?  It used to exist ‘to promote for the public benefit, education in the scientific and technical aspects of petroleum exploration’ but now it is going ‘to advance for the public benefit, education in the scientific and technical aspects of subsurface energy and related technologies’.  So pretty much the same thing but a bit more woolly.  Wandering over Linkedin I see many of my ex-colleagues clothing themselves in sheeps’ clothing without actually changing the nature of their job as their job becomes more and more politically verboten.

As to how I ended up in the oil industry.  Reader, I went down the Job Centre … of course as a career it was never exactly PC even in the 1990s but it seems sad that we have now reached the end of the road.  I thought the PESGB was great.  Very jolly, didn’t take itself too seriously and encouraged everyone to join.  I remember the company paying everyone’s membership in the good times.  Even the secretaries and probably the cleaners too.  But that world is gone now and soon it will be as dead as the fossils that have been heating our homes for over 150 years until they made the planet too hot… 

Dear Anthony,

Should the PESGB change its Charitable Objects and Name?

Whether we broaden the scope of the PESGB in response to the Energy Transition, has been a question for the Society for at least the last two years. Indeed, I recall Council meetings discussing the topic when I was Aberdeen Director Elect in 2019.

Expanding the remit of the Society is a significant undertaking and the first since the society was formed in 1964. The membership of the PESGB is loyal to the Society and passionate about the industry they work in. Consequently, any change to our Charitable Objects and Name is not taken lightly. Most importantly, this is a question about including other energy sectors, that our members may work in during their careers, rather than the exclusion of petroleum. 

As a charity, the society’s membership must vote on this to make any changes. The question of potentially changing our Charitable Objects and Name has been explored on behalf of the membership by an Energy Transition Working Group. There were some energised meetings as this difficult and emotive subject was discussed. Petroleum will continue to play the lead role in all that we do, as this represents the careers of the bulk of our members, but it was felt pertinent and timely to ask the membership about the future direction of the Society. Expanding the remit of the Society is limited to subsurface energy sources, and related technologies including CCUS, with the deliberate exclusion of other energy sources e.g. wind.

It is proposed that we change the current PESGB Charitable Objects from:

‘to promote for the public benefit, education in the scientific and technical aspects of petroleum exploration’ 

to: 

‘to advance for the public benefit, education in the scientific and technical aspects of subsurface energy and related technologies’.

The change in wording from ‘promote’ to ‘advance’, allows more scope for the society to engage with the public/schools in outreach activities.

To reflect a change in our Charitable Objects it is proposed that we change the Society’s name from the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB) to the Geoenergy Society of Great Britain (GESGB). 

A new name would not only reflect the inclusion of other subsurface energies, but also societies interpretation of energy, as reflected by the rebranding of University courses that many of you would have attended under another name, and traditionally O&G focused companies. The Society will continue to primarily represent petroleum but will then be prepared for a future with a different energy mix.

The proposed changes to our Charitable Objects and Name will be separate votes and take place at the AGM in September 2021. It will be held on a one member, one vote basis.

For an opportunity to review the rationale of the Energy Transition Working Group, and the proposed changes, follow the link to our website where the full report is available.

Kind regards,

James Churchill, PESGB President