A RECORD-BREAKING 750 delegates from home and abroad attended an annual oil and gas industry event held at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre yesterday.
The 11th Pilot Share Fair saw 11 companies – including AMEC, BG Group, BP, Nexen, Petro-Canada, Petrofac, PSN, Shell, TAQA, Total and Wood Group – give their strategies for the North Sea.
Their presentations included information on upcoming drilling programmes, technology requirements, environment and integrity projects, plans for operations and maintenance, decommissioning and developments.
These planned activities, all due to take place over the next 18 months, are estimated to represent potential new business worth several billion pounds.
The sellout event, which featured more than 100 presentations and 800-plus one-to-one sessions, was organised by industry body Oil and Gas UK.
OGUK chief executive Malcolm Webb said: “We believe that this year’s Pilot Share Fair has been the most important yet. The current economic climate is undoubtedly difficult, which makes it even more important to identify and understand forthcoming industry opportunities to ensure that companies are best positioned to maximise growth.
“The high turnout today emphasises that our industry is still open for business.
“It also reflects the continued significance of our industry’s supply chain, which has an annual turnover of £16billion and pays £5billion-£6billion in corporation tax, payroll tax and national insurance contributions each year.
“I know of no other industry that stages an event quite like Share Fair; it provides an excellent opportunity for suppliers in the UK to keep abreast of business developments and for industry to gauge suppliers’ appetite for staying committed to and focused on investing and developing the UK continental shelf.”