EVOL: Wood gives Gilmartin the boot, Worley talks AI, and delays, delays, delays

We discuss the news that Wood's chief executive, Ken Gilmartin, is set to leave and the recent delays announced by both the UK government and the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA). Worley's Fabricio Sousa also swings in past to discuss all things artificial intelligence (AI). This week's episode features Energy Voice’s Ryan Duff and Michael Behr, with editor Mark Selby making an appearance in a prerecorded interview. First up, Michael gets us caught up on all things Wood as the beleaguered services giant looks to close its takeover saga with one last twist in the tale, Ken Gilmartin's exit. Admittedly, this might not be the biggest surprise, but what may shock some is his permanent replacement, Iain Torrens, who was initially brought in as interim CFO earlier this year. Next up, we hear from Mark and Fabricio as they discuss what served to be a major theme of the Gastech Exhibition & Conference this year, AI. The pair discuss the role of AI in driving the imminent boom in global power demand – and what that actually means for both energy and related industry. Finally, Ryan and Michael discuss a series of delays that were reported this week. Up first, Deltic's takeover at the hands of Viaro hit a stumbling block as the NSTA overshot its deadline to approve licences changing hands. Also, the Outer Dowsing and Morecambe offshore wind farms were told that the date of their development consent order decisions had been delayed until after next month's budget. There are a lot of moving parts in the energy sector right now, so what does this mean for future mergers and acquisitions in oil and gas and the likelihood of the UK hitting its clean power 2030 targets?