RESOURCESTOCKS: Robert, how has the soaring oil price affected your business?

ROBERT HUPJE (Ernst & Young oil and gas advisory partner): Soaring oil, and indeed US gas prices, are just one of many factors that are driving industry change and increasing activity levels in particular in the area of LNG and oil supply security.

RS: How has the industry changed during your time and how has the company adapted?

RH: Rising prices, increased competition for access to new resources, the changing role of national oil companies, and concerns around energy security are driving significant structural change in the industry. At Ernst & Young, we anticipate these and work actively and creatively with clients offering new services. For example, in the area of LNG we see existing buyers and sellers moving into different parts of the value chain. The traditional buyers are actively looking to “link” upstream equity participation with the LNG supply, and shipping is increasingly seen as a strategic segment of the value chain as opposed to simply a “cost centre”.

RS: What points differentiate you from your competitors?

RH: Our oil and gas industry team is staffed by experienced professionals that have come from the industry, generally large corporations, bringing a wealth of technical and commercial experience gained in a diverse number of international locations. Combining this with the firm’s traditional strengths in tax, corporate finance and accounting puts us in a very strong competitive position.

RS: How does the company plan to continue improving its service to the oil and gas sector?

RH: Continually maintaining our tailored and top quality advice based on industry knowledge and insight. We are continuing to broaden our recruitment into the firm to include those with specific industry skills as well as improving the communication flow between our global offices. The sharing of experiences, opportunities and ideas has enabled us to position ourselves as a leader in the sector.

RS: What do companies need to be wary of during acquisitions, financing and organising third party involvement?

RH: The foundation of any successful acquisition is to ensure the strategic and commercial rationale has been fully considered, and that this is appropriately aligned with the transaction execution.

conservative. Too often in the current environment we are seeing material cost and time blowouts.