Malcolm Webb is the public face of Britain’s oil and gas industry.
As the chief executive of Oil and Gas UK (OGUK), he appears frequently in the media.
His job also involves regular meetings with industry leaders and politicians.
Consequently Mr Webb has to do a lot of travelling between his main office in London and Europe’s oil capital of Aberdeen.
He said: “Luckily my home is in Ashtead, between Gatwick and Heathrow.
“I am constantly flying between London and Aberdeen, but I must say I still enjoy the travelling. I love flying over London at night and also the scenery on the approach to Aberdeen.”
The demands of Mr Webb’s role mean that there is no way he can have a 9am-5pm job.
“Minimum 12-hour days are pretty constant and I am quite often out of the house at 6.15am, only getting home after 9pm.”
The chief executive said, however, that his wife, Lesley – a nurse – was used to his work routine.
When he does have time off, Mr Webb is very much a home bird.
“I am a keen gardener and love pottering around in my garden,” he added.
Mr Webb said it was hard to believe he had now been in post for more than five years.
It was February, 2004, when Mr Webb joined OGUK’s predecessor, the UK Offshore Operators’ Association (UKOOA). The association ceased to exist in April 2007, when the new representative body for Britain’s entire offshore oil and gas industry was launched.
OGUK included the oil operators who had been members of UKOOA, but with a broadened membership to take in oil and gas service and supply firms.
Mr Webb is proud of being involved in the launch of OGUK and the subsequent expansion in membership.
“We had about 30 members at UKOOA and we now have more than 80 and this figure is still growing. I hope we will have more than 100 members by the end of this year.”
The chief executive is a graduate of Liverpool University and a lawyer by profession. He began his oil industry career with Burmah Oil in 1974, and went on to work in a series of senior roles for the British National Oil Corporation, Charterhouse Petroleum and PetroFina.
Prior to joining UKOOA, Mr Webb spent three years as director general of the UK Petroleum Industry Association, representing Britain’s oil refining and marketing sector.
The chief executive says he has had an extremely enjoyable time to date at UKOOA and OGUK and has no plans for retirement.
Next month’s Budget will be of major importance to the future of Britain’s oil and gas industry.
OGUK said last month that up to 50,000 jobs could be at risk over the next two years because of the credit crisis and global recession.
It says urgent measures are needed to prevent the effects of the recession and banking crisis damping investment in recovering the UK’s still-significant oil and gas reserves.
Mr Webb said that the UK oil and gas industry, with its central hub in and around Aberdeen City and Shire, had tremendous potential for growth for decades yet to come.
He said: “We have only produced 60% of our oil and gas; the remaining 40%, worth several trillion dollars to the UK economy, still remains to be extracted. Our supply chain, including its vital subsea element, is a global centre of excellence with a fast-growing export trade in oilfield goods and services.”
But the chief executive said Britain’s oil and gas industry faced some particularly difficult challenges.
He said a fundamental mismatch of the tax rate and business environment rendered UK investment opportunities less valuable and less competitive, adding: “On top of this, the banking crisis is strangling the flow of capital and equity to many companies in our industry.
“If the appropriate action is not taken we run the risk of an irretrievable loss of productive capacity, in particular our highly-skilled workforce, thus reducing our ability to emerge from the recession in good health.”
Mr Webb said urgent action was needed by both the industry and the UK Government. He said: “All sides of the industry must act in a determined and sensible way to reduce costs and improve efficiency.”
The chief executive said urgent and decisive government action was needed.
“Steps must be taken to unfreeze the flow of debt and credit facilities from the banks, and the government also needs to make three changes to the tax regime; none of which should result in any cost to the taxpayer but all of which are needed to help sustain investment – and hence jobs.
“First, the government needs to release the pools of accrued exploration tax relief to the small exploration companies on condition that they spend it this year or next on UK operations. Second, the Treasury must take its 20% supplementary corporation tax off all new projects approved after this year’s Budget.
“Third, the government needs to relieve companies from the wholly unfair obligation it currently imposes on them to provide financial security for not only their share but also the government’s liability in respect of decommissioning costs.
“These measures together will stimulate activity, send a clear and unambiguous message that the UK offshore oil province is a competitive place in which to invest and also help relieve the strain on the UK banking system.
“The industry appreciates the government currently needs all its tax revenue and so we make no call for cash subsidies or any reduction in current tax rates, but we do demand the government takes action now to help this industry to avoid an unnecessarily severe downturn and the large number of job losses which would necessarily accompany that.”
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