Serica Energy and unions GMB and BRINDEX have created a campaign highlighting the role of North Sea oil and gas in the lives of its workers.
Their new short film, entitled A Town Called Bruce, focuses on the working people of Serica’s Bruce facility and highlights concerns about how government policies will affect their livelihoods.
Situated 340 km north-east of Aberdeen and responsible for processing nearly 5% of the UK’s gas production, the Bruce platform hosts a community of over 300 people, of whom 160 are offshore at any one time.
Serica Energy CEO Chris Cox said: “From offshore veterans to recently qualified technicians, I’ve been struck by the eagerness of our staff to talk about their work and how it relates to their families and communities at home.
“All of us at Serica want future generations to benefit from the global energy transition, but we believe that our domestic oil and gas industry should be celebrated and valued as a bridge to that future.”
The oil and gas sector contributes about £25 billion a year to the UK economy, supporting around 200,000 UK jobs, many of which are under threat from potential government policies.
BRINDEX chairman Robin Allan said: “According to independent analysis, present government policy could see 100,000 job losses in the oil and gas industry by 2030, as well as a 50% increase in the volume of imported natural gas by 2032 compared to a position of support for the sector.
“Backing British workers means backing British oil and gas production. The government is rightly concerned about retaining high-skilled British workers, however, creating a more hostile environment for oil and gas production does nothing to achieve that. Government needs to listen to the workers of the British oil and gas sector.”
Cliff edge
Jobs and skills are at the heart of the UK’s energy transition, with the current oil and gas workforce touted as the source of future renewable manpower. But managing the move between the two is vital to ensure that existing skills are not lost.
Research by Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University (RGU) found that Scotland’s offshore energy workforce could increase by an estimated 25%, from 79,000 roles to close to 100,000 in a successful transition.
However, failure could see the workforce fall by around 48% to 48,000 roles by the end of the decade.
GMB Scotland secretary Louise Gilmour added: “The UK can’t do without the oil and gas sector if it wants to make a success of the energy transition. A cliff edge for investment and production would be bad for jobs and skills, redistribution of wealth, energy security in a volatile world and, ultimately, the prospect of any credible transition for existing energy workers.”
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