The managing director of Craig Group has called for more investment in North Sea drilling as the Chancellor George Osborne prepares to deliver the first Conservative budget in 18 years.
Douglas Craig was speaking at North Star Shipping’s unveiling of the vessel Grampian Devotion.
Earlier this week, the Chancellor was urged to use the budget to tackle a “recession in confidence” in the North Sea sector, which has affected the north-east economy.
Industry leaders had previously said they were confident the UK Government would deliver following a meeting at HM Treasury last month to discuss support for the sector.
He said: “I’m hoping that he can stimulate drilling in particular and I think even cash incentives because a lot of oil companies already have allowances, or they can’t use the allowances – the tax breaks – so the cash would be good.
“We definitely need to push drilling in the North Sea.
“I think they’ve come a long way. I think Sir Ian Wood’s collaboration report, the time they’ve spent on that, is part of the solution. The budget will help and as I say cash incentives for drilling.
“We need money where the talk is to make things happen. We cannot walk away from the amount of investment that’s been poured in over the years.”
As well as talking about his hopes for the budget this year, the managing director said the recent oil price decline was different than previous cycles as there were “more variables” making it more difficult to predict when the industry would rebound.
He said the company had the Emergency Response and Rescue (ERRV) vessel built as part of a £110million investment programme to help stimulate growth.
Since 2011, North Star Shipping has added seven other D-class IMT-950 ERRVs to its fleet.
The company, which is operated by Craig Group, plans to have completed its investment over the next year with the launch of two F-class IMT-958 ERRVs, the Grampian Fortress and Grampian Freedom.
The company’s fleet, which now stands at 38 vessels, includes a mix of platform supply, tanker assist, ROV support and ERRVs. The company supports more than 50 installations in the UKCS and has also rescued 73 people in the North Sea.
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