There is no doubt that the UK-based offshore oil & gas supply chain is making heavy weather of the current downturn; not just in its domestic market but overseas too.
The North Sea has been hit hard and, one year in, there are no signs of pressure easing; rather it has intensified in recent weeks.
There is a consensus developing that points towards a prolonged slump and that, to stay in business, the supply chain in Britain will have to go back to basics, get fit and learn to succeed in a very different oil price environment of little over a year ago.
Diversification has to become core business . . . not just as a diversion to get out of a tight corner as has so often been the case over the 40 years since first UKCS commercial oil production started; a bit earlier in the case of gas.
This has to be among the most challenging, nay, difficult core themes ever tackled in the 42 years history of Offshore Europe.
But when the decision was taken some 15 months ago to headline 2015’s Offshore Europe with How to Inspire the Next Generation, oil was trading north of $100 per barrel.
As I pen this a barrel of Brent is trading below $50.
The crash in the price of crude will deliver a"shock treatment" that will eventually lead to a stronger North Sea industry, according to an Aberdeen executive search director.
Michael Diamond said that there is long-term potential for many new jobs being created in areas such as decommissioning, but there is no benefit in looking at the current health of the sector through rose-tinted glasses.
As the low price of oil rocks confidence in the North Sea, the importance of Aberdeen’s biennial offshore trade show has taken central stage.
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) flagship conference, Offshore Europe, kicks off tomorrowtues.
The four day event has been a north-east fixture, starting in 1973 with the advent of oil coming ashore to the event in 2013 which attracted a record-breaking 63,000 attendees.
Hari Vamadevan, the regional manager, UK & Southern Africa for risk management firm DNV GL said companies and individuals attending this year’s show faced adjusting to what he called the “new normal” of lower oil and gas prices.
Rebecca Wain, a 24-year-old geologist with Statoil in Aberdeen joined the Energy Voice panel ahead of Offshore Europe next week.
The rising star spoke eloquently about the challenges faced by her peers in finding employment during the downturn in the industry.
Wain gave her thoughts on the panel discussion speaking to Energy Voice after the research from Energy 2050 - Securing Our Future was discussed to a sold-out crowd of more than 300 people.
A managing partner at EY in Aberdeen said in order to “radically" improve the cost base in the UKCS there would need to be a behaviour change within the oil and gas industry.
Speaking after the event, Derek Leith said he had been surprised by findings from Energy Voice’s research which showed a ‘negative’ view of the industry.
Leith was joined by a panel including Sir Ian Wood, Andrew Reid, chief executive of Douglas-Westwood, Rebecca Wain, a 24-year-old graduate geologist and Michael Engell-Jensen, co-chairman of
Offshore Europe at the Energy Voice – Securing Our Future event at the Tivoli in Aberdeen.
Sir Ian Wood said there had been a step change in focus by the North Sea oil and gas industry in how to persevere through the current downturn.
Speaking to Energy Voice following its Energy 2050 – Securing Our Future event at the Tivoli in Aberdeen he said it was clear the industry was “now prepared to give proper though about how it solves its problems”.
He was one of a panel of experts who discussed the findings of a survey of 450 sector leaders, which was commissioned by Energy Voice.
Sir Ian Wood said last night that the North Sea was facing one of its “toughest times ever" – but insisted it was “not dead by any means".
The industry doyen warned that the “worst thing" offshore firms could do was lose talented younger people and vital infrastructure during the current downturn.
He called for further UK Government action, including for the Treasury, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) and the industry to “get their heads together very quickly" to find solutions.
Sir Ian was speaking to more than 300 people at a summit organised by The Press and Journal's sister website Energy Voice at Aberdeen's Tivoli Theatre last night.
Energy Voice is getting ready for its Energy 2050 – Securing our Future event taking place tonight ahead of Offshore Europe.
Editor Rita Brown will be joined by a panel which includes industry leader Sir Ian Wood, Statoil graduate geologist Rebecca Wain, EY’s UK head of oil and gas taxation, Offshore Europe co-chairman Michael Engell-Jensen and Douglas Westwood’s Andrew Reid.
The panel want to hear your views on the North Sea oil and gas industry and how to inspire the next generation of innovators.
The threat carried by difficult to detect chemicals that affect asset integrity will be the topic of discussion when corrosion specialist Lux Assure addresses delegates at Offshore Europe next week.
Equalizer International, designer and developer of flange maintenance tools for the energy sector, will launch its new NutSplitter range at next week’s Offshore Europe.
OPITO, the oil and gas industry skills organisation, is looking to make contact with people now working in the sector who have attended its schools engagement programme Energise Your Future.
It’s 42 years since the first Offshore Europe conference was held in Aberdeen and 30 years since it first occupied its current home at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
Energy Voice sat down with three young SPE Aberdeen (Society of Petroleum Engineers) graduates and interns working within the oil and gas industry.
The interviewees,Ross Taylor and Lalit Bhamare ,spoke ahead of Energy Voice's groundbreaking event on Wednesday, September 2 at the Tivoli in Aberdeen.
They answered a range of questions about how to inspire the next generation of industry leaders.
With this year marking the 50th anniversary since oil and gas was first discovered in the North Sea, the subject of ageing assets and asset maintenance is a hot topic of conversation across the industry. There is a misconception that mature assets are unreliable, unsafe and inefficient, but with a robust and proactive asset integrity management strategy in place, this is simply not the case.
The industry is well aware that corrosion poses one of the biggest threats to assets, not just offshore, but onshore too. It is also notoriously expensive and difficult to treat, and therefore understanding the corrosion prevention methods and technologies available to the industry is essential. Considering the current industry climate, and that pipelines can cost up to $3million per km to replace, putting the solutions in place which prolong the lifetime of infrastructure and avoid preventable damage is extremely valuable to operators.
Energy Voice sat down with three young SPE Aberdeen (Society of Petroleum Engineers) graduates and interns working within the oil and gas industry.
The interviewees, Marie Backstrom, Gabriella Thomas and Adam Zalewski, spoke ahead of Energy Voice's groundbreaking event on Wednesday, September 2 at the Tivoli in Aberdeen.
They answered a range of questions about how to inspire the next generation of industry leaders.
Scottish back-deck equipment specialist Maritime Developments will be using Offshore Europe as a platform to highlight a key innovation on a groundbreaking North Sea development.
New technologies to scan deeper waters for undiscovered oil are poised to bring all the excitement of space exploration to the global offshore energy industry.
Energy Voice is pleased to announce that tickets for the Energy Ball, Aberdeen's premier oil and gas get-together, are now being made available with a 10% discount.
