The European boss of Amec has warned that the oil and gas industry must do more to secure the future of supply chain firms.
John Pearson, European president with the services group, says the industry must take measures to support supply companies in preparation for the end of the North Sea oil boom.
“It’s a long way off – and frankly we never spent as much money as we did last year – but at some point the UK oil and gas industry will be dominated by the supply chain that’s got products and technologies and capabilities that people from around the world will want, because just being in Aberdeen won’t cut it any more,” he told Energy Voice.
“We’ve had some tremendous successes over the years, but ultimately we can be much more effective, more efficient, we can be faster and frankly it’s a hard business innovating.
“We do succeed, but we can be an awful lot more effective in that process. Now’s the time to develop that, while we’ve got a vibrant, booming industy. I think the benefits will be equally spread across the chain.
“We need strong supply chain companies to grow into bigger SMEs.”
Pearson, who is vice chair of industry body Oil and Gas UK, was in Aberdeen for the ITF technology showcase, looking at how to get the most from technology innovations for the North Sea and beyond.
Watch our full interview with John Pearson below
The event comes in the wake of last week’s Wood Review publication, which called for industry and the Government to work together on supporting technology advances to improve oil recovery from the UK Continental Shelf.
And Pearson believes that the benefits from Sir Ian Wood’s recommendations could be felt sooner rather than later.
“We hope to get the technology leadership board in place by the end of the first quarter this year,” he said.
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