Aberdeen has long been recognised as the oil capital of Europe with one of the most robust and resilient economies in the continent. Decades of experience in oil and gas operations have built up its reputation as one of the most influential, innovative and proactive energy regions in the world.
It is home to the largest concentration of upstream offshore experience in the world outside Houston with around 1,000 energy-related businesses, agencies, government bodies and research institutes.
In January this year, Aberdeen was named as one of the cities best placed to aid the UK’s economic recovery. The Cities Outlook 2012 survey highlighted it as one of the places showing the strongest signs of economic growth.
Large numbers of business start-ups and a wide pool of highly-skilled residents will help Aberdeen to drive the economic recovery, the study found.
As well as being one of the five cities best placed to aid economic recovery, Aberdeen has been rated one of the world’s top cities to live in for the second year in a row by Mercer. Quality of life in the Granite City is ranked above that of Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Houston and Dubai in the study, which is used by governments and multinational firms to help decide where to send staff.
London and Birmingham are the only British cities to top Aberdeen in the Mercer index, which grades places on factors including crime, hospital and school services, transport, leisure and climate.
The city benefits from a strong retail sector, good public and private schooling, a healthy leisure industry and a large number of restaurants and bars.
Aberdeen has recently moved up to 14th of the UK’s top retail destinations.
The city also boasts one of the highest numbers of residents educated to degree level with 43.5% of the working-age population having obtained some form of degree qualification.
Unemployment rates are very low, currently around 1.5%. The average wage in the city, £40,000, is considerably higher than the UK’s average.
Prime Minister David Cameron recently spoke out about the city. He said: “Aberdeen has been a destination for global investment for many years and I want to see that continue for decades to come. There is still massive opportunity in the North Sea.”
Oil and Gas UK’s 2012 Activity Survey revealed wells holding between 200million and 300million barrels of oil and gas equivalent were discovered offshore during 2011. Sixteen new fields and major field redevelopments gained approval during the year.
The sustained high oil prices throughout 2011 gave companies the confidence to progress projects, leading to record levels of capital investment. Figures produced by Wood Mackenzie show £7.5billion was invested in the oil and gas industry during 2011. New areas for exploration and consistently high oil prices mean investment should remain at similar levels until at least 2014.
Aberdeen City and Shire is home to 38% of the UK’s subsea industry which is now worth £5.9billion. With 40% growth between 2007 and 2010, subsea is one of the UK’s highest-performing sectors and accounts for a third of the £18.9billion global market.
According to Subsea UK’s business activity report 2010, around 290 subsea companies are located in Aberdeen City and Shire, with a major cluster at Westhill, which is now recognised as a global centre of subsea excellence.
A report on the energy business from Lloyds Banking Group revealed that thousands of new jobs are expected to be created in the UK oil and gas industry in the years ahead. Three-quarters of firms surveyed hope to take on new workers in the next two years, with 28% aiming for a major employment push by recruiting more than 500 staff.
In Aberdeen, 1.3% of businesses employ more than 250 people, close to double the rates in Scotland and the UK. Moreover, 3.0% of businesses in Aberdeen turn over more than £10million a year, compared with just 1.7% in the UK and 1.4% in Scotland.
Recommended for you
