Putting aside the obvious issues surrounding the global pandemic, there are changes aplenty happening and perhaps one of the most important for our industry is the election of Joe Biden as president of the United States.

What is interesting about the Biden presidency is that it is potentially both good and bad for the drilling industry. If you're involved in the fossil fuel sector it's bad news. Within days of taking office, Biden had cancelled the Keystone XL oil pipeline along with mandating that only top agency leaders could approve new drilling permits over the next two months. There are also suggestions in the press that he will push the issue further by suspending the sale of oil and gas leases on federal land.

However, there is good news to take away from Biden occupancy of the White House and that is an obvious increase in renewable energy. Companies who service wind farm operations will benefit as an increase in their use will mean more site investigation and more foundation piling, alongside HDD work for the cabling needed to transport the electricity generated. Indeed, in this issue of GDI, there's a feature that examines the particular needs of site investigation for offshore wind farms.

Staying with the green theme and the reason for this increased need for electricity being driven by the trend for electrification of vehicles means more good news for drillers. Every EV needs batteries, which require nickel, copper, etc and that need means increased exploration by drillers using ever more technical methodology and new extraction techniques. Both of which are examined by GDI contributors this month.