Over the past several weeks, thousands of offshore workers have been put through short courses to get familiar with the new Category A compliant Compressed Air Emergency Breathing System (CA-EBS) mandated by the Civil Aviation Authority following its inquiry into North Sea helicopter safety.
We’ve all seen horrific photos of people going around, through or under barriers at railway crossings and just making it across the track before a train comes thundering through. They are extreme examples of how we all take risks to save a few precious minutes.
It's evident that the UK oil and gas market is going through adjustment following a period of substantial investment growth.
It’s only natural to become caught up in your own affairs and put national interests first. But, we must endeavour to keep a European perspective and also an international perspective. This year’s ONS shows we’re not adverse to global workforce sharing. Many delegates are men and women who are already working or becoming fully-fledged energy ex-pats in the likes of Houston, Singapore, Dubai or Perth. I’d like to see the same adventurous spirit closer to home.
Norway presents a unique opportunity to the independent explorer due to its very favourable tax credit system, to help with exploration costs, and the sheer scale of the under-explored continental shelf.
The workflow in most businesses, including energy, is subject to seasonal fluctuations. But layoffs and pay cuts should always be the last resort for employers when they need to cut costs.
Yesterday we discovered a massive black hole in Alex Salmond’s economic case for independence. Sir Ian Wood, one of the world’s foremost oil industry experts, issued a clear warning about the Scottish Government’s projections for North Sea oil extraction. He said that their prediction that 24 billion barrels of oil still remain to be extracted from the North Sea is between 45% and 60% too high. His view is that the correct figure is between 15 and 16.5 billion barrels remaining.
Energy Voice’s broadcast of Sir Ian Wood’s view on the Scottish independence set a new record for viewing on this site. That’s hardly surprising given his standing in the UK and wider international oil and gas industry.
Last week, Bristow Helicopters got in touch with us full of enthusiasm.
Those who work abroad, for the oil industry or other business sectors, have always been encouraged to ensure they look after their health. It is considered essential to have all the necessary vaccines, perhaps take a course of malaria tablets, avoid drinking the tap water, use sunscreen and keep hydrated. Workers are expected to protect themselves from harm by using personal protective equipment, and safety messages surround us all in our everyday working lives.
Ask for your policy on international travel and I guess you’ll get a 20 page downloadable booklet with a link to your occupational health provider, medical evacuation provider, risk analyst and security consultant. Your company possibly has kidnap and ransom insurance too, but it’s not allowed to say so. Posted to Iraq? No problem. Your 4.5 ton company car is waiting for you at the airport, local driver with Kalashnikov included. This industry is pretty sophisticated when it comes to sending its people to hostile territories abroad. We pride ourselves on going prepared.
“It is time for renewables to join the market* (...)”
Skills shortages constraining business growth, concerns over the "great crew change", retaining talent - it's hard to miss these headlines when considering the future of the UK oil and gas industry.
With just few weeks to go before the independence referendum vote on September 18, many minds may be turning to the promise of a sovereign wealth fund in a newly independent Scotland.
One product of the various inquiries and reports which followed the Deepwater Horizon incident is the EU Directive on the safety of offshore oil and gas operations which came into force in July 2013.
We need a clear signal that the North Sea is open for business.
The bystander effect happens when a group of people don’t step forward or intervene when they should – seeing someone in distress in a public place for instance.
Last month brought a major announcement from regulator Ofgem that carried the glad tidings of the "green light" for a new £1.2billion link between Caithness and Moray.
I was disappointed but not actually particularly surprised that the now former minister of state for energy Michael Fallon decided to ridicule the nine months or so of effort that I and my fellow Commissioners put into the production of the report of the Expert Commission on Oil and Gas by calling it "copy-cat stuff".
Dementia is often wrongly seen as a condition affecting only the elderly and, as such, unrelated to business.
On July 28, the UK government launched its biggest ever onshore energy car boot sale . . . approaching half the land area of the British Isles with its population of 60million or so souls.
For the ill-informed grand job titles like Global President, Regional Vice-President, European Chairman, UK Director, Country Manager, Head and Senior Partner make prospects for increased status seems limitless. We must be near job-title hyperinflation by now. It’s fuelled by the need for non-cash benefits and the desire for credibility without authority. Our HR departments need a non-proliferation treaty to allow them to catch up with what all these titles actually mean.
The feed in tariff accreditation team at OFGEM must have been working all hours of the day and night to process the mountain of applications they got through in June. During the month, 13.25MW of hydro applications were processed, more than doubling the average for the year to date of 5.23MW. This will have a crippling effect on the hydro industry as the bumper month has triggered the threshold for accelerated reduction of the feed in tariff, the main source of support for developing green electricity from the UK’s rivers.
Tom Faichnie, partner and energy group member at Scottish independent accountancy firm Campbell Dallas LLP, discusses the opportunities for export of skills and technologies to Mexico as the country opens its doors further to international oil and gas operators and service companies.
With a softening rig market upon us, now is a good opportunity for operators to secure a rig for drilling projects and at a significantly lower cost than the high rates we have been seeing recently.