The market capitalisation of Scotland’s oil and gas companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) fell by 31.9% to £373.5million as the sector was hit badly by the falling oil price during 2014.
A report by accountants and business advisers BDO – entitled Drilling Down: an Overview of Performance and Prospects of AIM Oil and Gas Companies in 2014 – found that the UK sector market capitalisation fell by 44% in 2014 to £4.9billion.
In Scotland there are four AIM-listed oil and gas companies accounting for 14.8% of the total number but constituting 36.2% of total market capitalisation.
Buzzard operator Nexen has announced it plans to cut its North Sea workforce by 50 roles in response to the downturn in oil prices.
The firm, owned by Chinese oil explorer CNOOC, will cut a further 350 jobs in its North American business where it has interests in the Alberta oil sands.
The firm, which has offices the Prime Four business park at Westhills, said its Nexen UK business has initiated a consultation process to “adjust its staffing levels by approximately 50 employees”.
Trade body Scottish Renewables has announced the appointment of its new chairman and vice-chairman.
Patricia Hawthorn, partner at law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn, has been appointed chairman of the renewables body while Gordon MacDougall, managing director, Western Europe at renewable developer RES, has been appointed vice-chairman.
Ms Hawthorn replaces Ronnie Bonnar, managing director of Repsol Nuevas Energias UK, who has chaired Scottish Renewables since 2013.
A three-pronged approach comprising tax incentives and cuts as well as industry cost reduction could increase North Sea production by as much as 3 billion barrels of oil by 2050, a new report has shown.
The research paper, by leading petro-economist Professor Alex Kemp and Linda Stephen, also showed how a combination of tax cuts and incentives, plus a 15% cut in industry costs, would see firms invest a further £22billion in field development as well as spend a further £23.4billion in operating costs than if things stayed as they were today.
Professor Kemp and his associate worked out a range of scenarios affecting North Sea economics ahead of tomorrow’s budget, which is expected to provide some relief for beleaguered oil and gas producers.
An e-learning firm specialising in the oil and gas sector has seen its profits fall by 66% despite an increase in “learning events” in the year.
Atlas Interactive, which recently won a seven-year extension on its contract to deliver a revised Minimum Industry Safety Training (Mist) online course, also saw its turnover fall 25% to £7million in the year to the end of September 2014.
Atlas said it capped a year of investment and growth in the international oil and gas marketplace with a “positive outlook ahead”.
The revenue decrease was said to be due to two large multi-year bespoke projects coming to aqn end in the first half of the year, and new product development projects taking longer to bring to the market than planned.
George Osborne is widely expected to offer a fillip for the oil and gas sector in this week’s budget although the impact of so-called “rabbits out of the hat” is expected to be fiscally neutral.
In the last budget ahead of the UK general election, Mr Osborne is set to announce a range of support measures, including a new investment allowance to spur North Sea production. Some sources have suggested he could also slash the headline tax rate to less than 50%, partially reversing the effects of the 2011 tax grab when the supplementary charge was ramped up from 20% to 32%.
It is thought the chancellor has “wriggle” room in the UK’s tight finances due to low oil prices and low inflation. Mr Osborne is also likely bring in a “Google tax” in the budget on Wednesday, a charge on profits deemed to have been artificially funnelled overseas which could rake in £250million to £300million a year.
North Sea explorer Iona Energy has asked its bondholders to extend terms on its debt by about £90million until it can reach first oil on its Orlando field later this year or at the start of 2016.
Last year the Toronto and Aberdeen-based raised £185million from lenders. But it has been hit by a double whammy of both falling oil prices and production problems at its main North Sea field in production, Huntington.
Gordon Ballard, the chairman of oil service giant Schlumberger UK was last night feted for his contribution to the North Sea with a special award.
He joined the offshore industry’s highest achievers and most successful companies which were recognised last night at the 2015 Offshore Achievement Awards (OAA).
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond raised concerns in India today over a £1billion tax bill charged to oil explorer Cairn Energy.
Mr Hammond said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had explained the Cairn case was started by the previous government and that he was powerless to stop it, but repeated his promise of no fresh retrospective tax litigation.
North Sea firms that are ensuring that new talent remain are attracted to the workforce will be celebrated at an awards ceremony tonight.
Three companies have been shortlisted at the Offshore Achievement Awards for their work with graduates as the North Sea faces thousands of job losses due to high costs and low oil prices - but which still needs to ensure new entrants see it as a long-term career prospect.
Subsea 7 boss Jean Cahuzac had his pay cut by more than half during the year the oil service giant booked hefty losses.
The French national saw his pay, including base salary, bonus and benefits-in-kind, fall to just £798,000 from £1.7million in 2013.
Engineering giant Siemens moved ahead of Vestas to top the global wind turbine market, a report has revealed.
The German firm is the number one as measured by market share of newly installed machines connected to the grid in 2014, but the gap between the top three companies is small.
An Aberdeen safety culture training firm has launched a workshop course aimed at drill rig crews at a conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Optimus Seventh Generation has developed the ‘Operationalising the Safety Case’ workshop to raise awareness of major hazardous accidents and safety barriers designed to protect the rig.
An Aberdeen company has become the first to tap a joint industry and Scottish government-backed fund to support research and development projects.
Raptor Oil, a pre-revenue start-up company specialising in wellbore data technology, has amassed a pot worth £1.5million to fund a research and development (R&D) project to help boost performance in the oil and gas sector.
E-learning firm Atlas Knowledge has extended its contract to deliver a newly revised offshore safety programme for a further seven years.
The Aberdeen firm will continue to deliver the Minimum Industry Safety Training (Mist) online programme, retaining its position as the only provider of Mist refresher training.
A low oil price of $50 a barrel could create 90,000 UK jobs by 2020, a new report has predicted, but government would need to act to support the North Sea.
Big four accountancy firm PWC said the sharp fall in oil prices since mid-2014 should boost output and employment in most sectors of the UK economy compared to when Brent crude was riding high at $108 per barrel.
A north-east business body has called on the UK government to stick to its promise on cutting North Sea oil and gas taxes and to maintain fiscal stability after the general election.
The Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) has also called for “swift delivery” of a proposed £2billion Aberdeen ‘city deal’ to boost local infrastructure and make up for the benefits other cities will get with investment in high speed rail in its manifesto ahead of the May election.
Energy giant SSE has pledged to invest £12million in order to help meet the need to recruit a shortfall of 208,000 workers in the sector by 2023.
It has called on firms to invest in the support of apprentices to ensure the UK has the skilled workforce needed to deliver major projects required for the future as half of utility sectors workers are set to retire in the next eight years.
Amec Foster Wheeler has launched a consultation with its staff in the north-east that is expected to lead to an unspecified number of job cuts.
The oil services firm, which employs about 3,000 in the region, said it aims to “mitigate the impact” of the fall in oil price through cost cuts but also pledged to relocate staff who will be affected by the move.
The firm, which recently completed a merger with rival Foster Wheeler, was one of the first major oil services groups to cut contractor rates last year.
Offshore training provider Survivex has appointed a business development director as it looks to attract international clients in “difficult times for the sector”.
Chris Bews has been promoted to business development manager, leading the sales team and meeting pre-defined revenue targets.
Before joining the Aberdeen firm in 2011 he held an account management position for an electrical and engineering consumables supply company.
OEM Diesel Products has invested a six figure sum in a base in Australia to meet market demand.
The Aberdeen-based firm opened the office in St George’s Terrace in Perth, Australia.
In Aberdeen, the company recently moved to its new base at the Commerce Centre at Souterhead Road, Altens. The building, which spans more than 6000 sq ft includes a workshop, reception area, additional offices and boardroom.
Engineering firm Rotech Group has relaunched its subsea division four years after selling a similar business to Reef Subsea AS, which went bankrupt last month.
The Aberdeen-based Rotech launched the business following the development of a new range of subsea excavation equipment that involved the investment of a seven-figure sum.
The division will be headed by Stephen Cochrane who has been appointed as Rotech’s director of subsea.
The ditching of two Super Puma helicopters in the North Sea in 2012 was the start of what its makers now call the ‘shaft crisis’, writes Erikka Askeland
When Andrew Dettl accepted the mission to come to Aberdeen three years ago, there had only been one, non-fatal, ditching of an EC225 “Super Puma” that year.
But a few months later there was a second, similar event which grounded the operators of all the Airbus-made helicopters in the North Sea pending investigation.
Mr Dettl had initially been sent from helicopter headquarters in Marignane to improve the “availability” of the EC225 by revamping its Aberdeen-based parts and services operation. Deemed able to manage in a “complex environment”, Mr Dettl had his work cut out for him.
The head of the Scottish Government’s Energy Jobs Taskforce has pledged to do “everything possible” to ensure skills are not lost in the current oil price crisis facing the North Sea oil and gas sector.
Lena Wilson, who is chief executive of the economic development agency Scottish Enterprise as well as chairwoman of the taskforce, insisted the group is “not a committee or a talking shop” and plans will be backed by government funding when required.
She said: “If we come up with any ideas that need funding, we will first of all look to the significant existing resources we have.
Quality testing giant Intertek saw revenues and profits decrease on a drop off in oil and gas project work.
But the firm, which has testing facilities in Aberdeen, said it expects “near-term negative headwinds” in its oil and gas business to “ease”.
In note to investors, the FTSE 100 company said that around 40% of its annual revenues in the first half of the year were linked to the oil and gas industry - through technical inspection (capex), asset integrity management and non-destructive testing, as well as cargo inspection and testing.
