September 10, 2026
Understanding where an industry is heading requires more than watching from the sidelines. It means being in the room; at board tables, technical seminars, on conference panels and in the informal conversations that often reveal more than any published report. Cokebusters’ recent attendance at the EIC’s Energy Exports Conference in Aberdeen, offered exactly that kind of insight into where the sector currently stands and where it may be heading next.
Energy Sovereignty Meets Decarbonisation
Nations are increasingly prioritising energy independence and security of supply, even as decarbonisation commitments remain firmly in place. Rather than one displacing the other, the two objectives are now being pursued in parallel, which marks a shift in emphasis that is beginning to influence policy, investment and how energy security itself is defined. What was once framed primarily around the pace of energy transition is increasingly being discussed in terms of resilience.
AI: From Differentiator to Expectation
The tone of Artificial intelligence has somewhat shifted. No longer just treated as a forward-looking differentiator, it is increasingly built into client expectations and contract requirements. Alongside broader decarbonisation credentials, operators are expecting to see evidence of how AI is being applied to deliver efficiency and value.
This mirrors what Cokebusters has experienced directly through our own ongoing Knowledge Transfer Partnership, applying machine learning to further optimise inspection data capture. It’s a reminder that this expectation is not abstract, but already shaping how service providers are expected to operate. Closely related is the growing prominence of data centre power demand, which is a theme raised repeatedly as a fast-emerging area of industry focus.
A Shifting Global Picture
Beyond these two headline themes, discussions painted a varied global picture. Gas and nuclear are experiencing something of a renaissance, whilst certain renewables projects are experiencing challenges in securing final sanction and are therefore not progressing at the pace initially considered.
In-country presence and local delivery capability continue to grow in importance for operators across several regions, reflecting a broader shift toward demonstrable, on-the-ground commitment rather than remote service delivery alone. Meanwhile, logistics and infrastructure disruption – from congested ports to shifting shipping routes – is increasingly shaping how projects are planned and delivered, adding a further layer of complexity and cost to an already demanding operating environment.
Why We Engage
Cokebusters has been a long-standing member of the Energy Industries Council, valuing the opportunity it provides for direct dialogue across the industry, from major operators and EPC contractors to fellow specialist service providers. That relationship deepened further in 2025, when Managing Director James Phipps was invited to join the EIC board as a Non-Executive Director. This appointment reflected Cokebusters’ ongoing commitment to contributing to, and helping shape, the industry conversations that matter most.
Conversations of this kind rarely offer neat conclusions, but they consistently surface the themes that matter most to the clients we serve, often well before they become widely discussed.
Staying Close to the Industry We Serve
Engagement of this nature isn’t incidental to how Cokebusters operates. We recognise that it is crucial to understanding shifting client priorities, emerging technology expectations and the operational realities shaping projects across regions allows us to remain genuinely responsive, rather than reactive.
As the industry continues to navigate a complex and evolving landscape, we remain committed to staying closely engaged with the conversations shaping its future, because that is ultimately how we continue to serve our clients well.
A Partner Who Stays Informed
For operators, this kind of engagement translates into a tangible benefit: a service partner who understands not just the technical demands of a project, but the wider commercial and strategic pressures shaping decision-making across the industry. If you’d like to discuss how these trends might affect your integrity or maintenance planning, we’d welcome the conversation.
