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.
Administrators have confirmed that 77 jobs have been lost immediately following the collapse of Specialist Subsea Services (S3). The Aberdeen firm will retain five members of staff as KPMG restructuring supremo Blair Nimmo seeks to find a buyer for the business. The remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) specialist was hit when its majority owner and biggest customer, Reef Subsea AS, was put into liquidation earlier this month as backers pulled support from the firm in the wake of falling oil prices.
The boss of Maersk Oil UK will be returning to Denmark as the firm appoints a new head of its UK business. Martin Rune Pedersen will become head of the Danish firm’s domestic oil business, while Morten Kelstrup will become managing director in Aberdeen from 1 April 2015. Mr Rune Pedersen has been managing director of the business since 2010. He has worked for the firm for 17 years following a career as an officer in the Danish Army.
An Aberdeen company specialising in subsea surveys has become the latest victim of turmoil caused by the slump in oil price. Specialist Subsea Services (S3) called in administrators yesterday, putting the jobs of an estimated 70 employees at risk. The company, which specialised in chartering remote operated vehicles (ROVs), is owned by Reef Subsea AS, which was which was put into liquidation by its Norwegian owners along with its subsidiary, Technocean Subsea, earlier this month.
The boss of one of the largest energy services firms in the world has called on the oil and gas sector to “reinvent” itself in the wake of low oil prices. Samir Brikho, the chief executive of the newly merged international conglomerate Amec Foster Wheeler, said it was “insane to believe that if we continue to do exactly the same things as we have been doing in the past we will expect different results”. He added: “We need to reinvent ourselves and go back and think whether we have been doing the right thing and whether we do things differently.”
Andy Samuel, the head of the new Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) last night published an “urgent call to action” to the industry and government in the face of the “significant risks” facing the North Sea industry. The paper was prepared in response to Secretary of State Ed Davey’s demand in January that the fledgling OGA to identify key risks to oil and gas production following a more than 60% decline in oil prices. The report outlined key risks to the sector as well as the OGA’s top priorities as it becomes the North Sea’s official regulator in April .
Oil and gas skills body Opito is backing a UK Government campaign that aims to dispel myths about “men-only” industries and inspire the rise of women across a range of business sectors. The Department for Work and Pensions’ Not Just For Boys Campaign aims to encourage women to pursue careers in roles where they may be under-represented, such as engineering and science. Opito has joined a host of businesses and individuals across the UK using the hashtag #NotJustForBoys on social media to raise awareness and celebrate women working across a range of industries.
There is no “silver bullet” answer to the problems facing the North Sea as oil prices remain at around half the level they were last year, the boss of Wood Group has said. But Bob Keiller, the chief executive of Wood Group PSN, pointed to the “higher cost culture” in the North Sea basin as one area that will need adjusted in order to ensure that jobs in the region remained sustainable. His firm Wood Group was among the first to cut the rates it paid to independent contractors last year - not once but twice.
Oil and gas services firm Wood Group PSN said it would continue to cut cost this year as it prepares to face challenging conditions “for the forseeable future”. Bob Keiller, the chief executive of the Aberdeen-based company, said the company expects to make costs savings of about £20million this year which would include job cuts across the firm’s global operations. But he added that these would be “nothing like” the “scarily large numbers” rivals and peers in the sector - including Baker Hughes and BG Group - have announced.
A hydro-electric power scheme near Crianlarich will be the first beneficiary of a £60million fund for community-scale renewables projects across the UK. Business Secretary Vince Cable will launch the fund today in Edinburgh at the headquarters of the Green Investment Bank (GIB). The bank, along with the Strathclyde Pension Fund (SPF) have backed the fund which will be managed by Albion Community Power (ACP).
Leading oil and gas industry figures will give their views on the growing importance of technology in helping the sector tackle cost in a difficult business environment at an event in Aberdeen next month. The Technology Showcase organised by the Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) in partnership with Oil & Gas UK, aims to highlight the emerging technologies needed to improve production efficiency and curb rising operating costs in the UK Continental Shelf. The exhibition will showcase latest innovations from companies across the UK. The opening session will include presentations from Paul Warwick, executive vice president Europe Atlantic for Talisman Energy and Philippe Guys, managing director of Total E&P UK.
Scottish Gas owner Centrica will unveil plans to slash spending and potential job cuts as it grapples with low oil prices and the effects of warm weather. The new boss of the firm, Iain Conn, is this week expected to reveal a 29% plunge in operating profit to £1.9 billion, according to City estimates. Mr Conn, a former BP executive, will present Centrica’s annual results on Thursday just six weeks after he took over the role from former chief executive Sam Laidlaw who had been at the helm for eight years.
Aberdeen-based oil and gas consultancy Optimus has hailed its “best ever” period in its 15-year history after turning over contracts worth more than £5million in the ten weeks to end-January. But while turnover in the engineering firm’s most recent financial year grew 32%, profits were flat as the firm said it “sacrificed” margin on investment in new offices, staff and technology. Managing director Karl Green said: “We sacrificed profits to build our team and development capabilities, and procure new hardware; we hired experienced people even if we didn’t have immediate work for them,” said Mr Green. “This was the correct decision for last year, providing a real growth spurt and building our capabilities to support fit-for-purpose delivery in the modern era.
The UK energy sector’s attempts to pull itself out of the mire are being hindered by a lack of collaboration, urgency, and boldness, industry leaders said at Europe’s largest subsea event yesterday.
