Has ETZ become too big to question?

UK Government money. Scottish Government money. Just Transition Fund money. All stacked on top of Sir Ian Wood's own £20 million pledge.

That raises an uncomfortable question. If the next £100 million landed tomorrow, would you put it into ETZ again?

I have huge respect for Sir Ian Wood. He built one of the world's great energy service companies. He created thousands of jobs. He has ploughed millions of his own money into the north east. Few Aberdeen business leaders have done more.

As Chairman, Sir Ian set ETZ's vision. Maggie McGinlay, as Chief Executive, has been tasked with delivering it.

I remember Sir Ian warning years ago that Aberdeen could not live on North Sea oil forever. He said the basin was maturing and prices could stay lower for longer.

He was right.

The problem was never recognising the need to diversify. The problem was where we placed the biggest bet.

ETZ was built on offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture becoming Aberdeen's next industrial revolution.

Reality had other plans.

Much of the offshore wind manufacturing went to yards that could build cheaper, bigger, faster. Hydrogen has crawled rather than sprinted. Carbon capture keeps slipping. Planning delays, transmission charges and shifting government policy have all throttled investment.

Then BP tore up its 2020 renewables pledge in February 2025 and put the money back into oil and gas. Chief Executive Murray Auchincloss said the company had gone too far, too fast into the transition. Billions moved back upstream.