Bob Ruddiman, head of energy at law firm McGrigors LLP, who has been closely involved in the Riding the Rapids project, told Energy: “Over the years, we have coped with volatility of the oil price, but never before has it been linked so strongly to a credit crunch and squeeze on capital markets. It’s suggested in the survey that oil&gas sector companies have not learned the lessons of past recessions, but I think, this time, it could be different and new business models will emerge.”
Duncan Skinner, PSN’s chief financial officer, agreed with Energy that a slump had the potential to purge an industry such as oil&gas, enabling it to take stock and emerge leaner, fitter and better able to take on the future.
And he had good news for Europe’s Oil Capital just in time for Offshore Europe: “We, in Aberdeen, because of the oil industry, were probably last into this recession; and, by the looks of things, we’ll probably be first out.”
He added that, about a year ago, it looked as if the city might even escape the global slump.
“There was a feeling that we might get away scot-free. There was still a lot of optimism in the industry. It shows just how complacent we can get … many people forgot that this is a cyclical industry.”