This week’s top story on Energy Voice was an opinion piece by Jeremy Cresswell regarding a potential strike by North Sea oil workers over shift patterns.
In his article, he says workers unhappy with changes that may result following the recent oil price decline, may be lost from the industry altogether.
He writes: “They deserve far better treatment. If at the end of this crisis there are once again skills shortages because the rank and file have been badly handled by bosses who should know better, then it is only what the operators deserve.”
As companies move to make further changes to shift patterns, EnQuest has revealed up to 146 jobs could be lost as a move to a three on, three off rotation will mean less staff from operators including Petrofac and Sodexo are needed.
The move could affect those working across the Thistle, Heather, Northern Producer and Kittiwake platforms.
Wood Group chief executive Bob Keiller spoke about why people working in the oil industry should still be valued, despite the current challenges the industry is facing.
He said redundancy should be the last option companies should go for, and that messaging is key within companies, presenting a more upbeat message.
Earlier this week, the Foreign Office dismissed an alleged threat to prosecute oil firms drilling near the Falklands.
The comments were made after Premier Oil said it had made an oil discovery at the Zebedee well in the region.
Drilling for oil and gas in the resource-rich Falklands area by London-listed companies remains controversial as a decades-long row between the UK and Argentina over the sovereignty of the islands has not been resolved.
A quote by Daniel Filmus, Buenos Aires’ minister for the Malvinas, reported him as saying: “The new exploration efforts to try to find hydrocarbons in the area carry a huge environmental risk.
“We want the owners of the companies to be tried according to Argentine laws and international statutes.”
Dick Winchester’s opinion piece this week assessed the extent of the recent changes made by the UK Government in the budget to help the oil and gas industry.
He said he had been left “underwhelmed” by the chancellor’s tax plans, and that the supplementary charge should be scrapped completely.
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