The chairman of the Energy Institute said those facing potential redundancy should remain positive about finding alternative work.
Nigel Bradburn had just begun forging his own career in oil and gas after working in the military when he found himself looking for work in 1997.
The former commissioned officer in the Royal Air Force sat down with Energy Voice after the Energy Institute was invited to take part in the recently held PACE (Partnership Action for Continuing Employment) event.
Hydrasun has confirmed plans to reduce its headcount by up to 97 employees.
The move comes in the same week as both Technip and Dolphin Drilling revealed they were also in consultation over jobs.
Hydrasun, which employs 338 people in the city, said it had entered into talks with staff.
The firm has also proposed a potential pay reduction of 12% to some staff across all of its UK operations.
ROVOP has won more than £2.5million worth of new contract wins in the last month across the oil, gas and offshore wind markets.
The Aberdeen company said the contracts had been netted from both its office in the city as well as its Houston base.
The work scopes for the projects, which extend into the third quarter of next year, include inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) on several major North Sea operators' platforms.
Bond Offshore Helicopters said yesterday it had completed the construction of a new aircraft hangar at Aberdeen International Airport.
Located between Bond’s two passenger terminals on the east side of the airport, the 21,000sq ft hangar will be used as both a maintenance and storage facility.
The company said it would help to keep its mixed fleet of 25 helicopters in top condition for safe crew-change and search and rescue operations.
Sir Ian Wood is to lead a major new taskforce being set up to safeguard the future of the north-east economy and land a multibillion-pound City Deal for the region. The offshore industry doyen has accepted an invitation to head up the area’s new “Economic Leadership Board”.
It will drive forward the north-east’s bid to secure a £2.9billion City Deal package from the UK and Scottish governments – and lead efforts to anchor oil and gas sector skills in the region for decades to come.
The new board will succeed Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (Acsef), and will also feature other leading figures from the oil and gas, food and drink, life sciences and tourism industries, as well as representatives from the local authorities and the universities.
Balmoral Group yesterday released a third book about the oil industry written by Jeremy Cresswell, editor of the Press and Journal’s Energy supplement.
Lloyd’s Register (LR) group, the global provider of independent assurance and expert advice, has started work on its new energy division headquarters in Aberdeen.
Located at the Prime Four business park in Kingswells, the 100,000sq ft office complex is being built to LR’s specifications by park developer Drum Property Group.
It is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2017 and will have room for up to 900 staff.
Robert Gordon University (RGU) and the Mexican Government said yesterday they had agreed to an oil and gas industry knowledge swap.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was announced at Offshore Europe in Aberdeen and follows Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s visit to the Granite City in March.
Under the pact, the Mexican energy ministry and RGU will share information and seek opportunities to support the training of Mexicans for the oil and gas industry. RGU will be included on the list of preferred universities for Mexican scholarships.
Escape Business Technologies is under new ownership today after a Norwegian takeover of the Aberdeen-based information technology company.
It is the second multimillion-pound acquisition of a business in or near the Granite City in as many days, following Proserv’s move to buy Nautronix on Monday.
Cegal, headquartered in Stavanger, will announce its swoop on Escape to the Norwegian stock exchange this morning.
The firm behind Aberdeen’s controversial Marischal Square scheme has revealed it hopes to attract a “big name” oil company to move into the offices.
Bosses at the developer Muse discussed the plans as they unveiled updated designs for the £107million complex at the former St Nicholas House complex on Broad Street
Final specifications for the scheme show about two-thirds of the outside of the building will be glass, with the rest made of granite.
There will be two office buildings, a 126-room Marriott hotel, and seven restaurants and bars – including All Bar One and Burger and Lobster.
Enquest, the largest UK independent producer of oil in the UK sector, has agreed the sale of its new North Sea headquarters in Aberdeen for £45.1million.
It’s 42 years since the first Offshore Europe conference was held in Aberdeen and 30 years since it first occupied its current home at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
Statoil chief executive Eldar Saetre made his first trip to the firm's Aberdeen base today.
The company leader visited the Norwegian operator’s new premise in Kingswells before sitting down to talk with Energy Voice.
The industry leader had one clear message – there’s still plenty left to find in the UK North Sea.
“We believe even in mature provinces the industry can still make the mistake of leaving too early,” he said.
“We have the capability to take a second look and see if there’s anything we haven’t seen before.”
ConocoPhillips could be set to make headcount reductions to its North Sea operations.
The company announced last month that it had already reduced staffing numbers by 1,000 positions since the decline in oil price.
The amount equates 5% of its global workforce across its operations.
Plans to expand a major oil and gas office complex in Aberdeen have been hailed as evidence that the city is “here to stay” as a global centre of expertise.
A planning application has been lodged to create a 20,000sq ft extension at Chevron House, part of the Hill of Rubislaw business park that is the UK home to oil giants Chevron, Marathon Oil and Conocophillips. The development has emerged at a time when thousands of North Sea jobs have been lost or thrown into doubt as a result of the global oil industry downturn.
Maeve Callery, vice-president of commercial development at the site’s owners, the Talisker Corporation, said: “We have been active in the Aberdeen market for nearly 30 years, including the development of Chevron House and the proposed R7 development across the road.
The North Sea is still a good return on investment, according to an industry boss.
Enquest’s president for the North Sea, Neil McCulloch, said the sector was still very much open for business.
The company leader spoke to Energy Voice as it confirmed a 20% slide in earnings.
Despite the dip, Enquest’s North Sea assets posted a strong return with its Kittiwake Area (GKW) increasing production efficiency by 87% in the first half of the year.
TCO said it has expanded its workforce by a third after strong sales results for the company.
The well completion technologies provider has employed eight new members of staff within the past six months for its UK base, including a new managing director.
Paul Betteridge was appointed in March in response to company growth and to focus on TCO’s international expansion.
British war-time comedian Tommy Trinder is widely credited with coining the phrase – “over-fed, over-paid, over-sexed and over here” when referring to American GIs during World War Two.
Low oil and gas prices steered Aberdeen hotels to double-digit percentage falls in both occupancy and revenue for the second month on the trot, a new report says.
And there is uncertainty as to whether hotel prices will be ratcheted up for next month’s Offshore Europe conference, a common practice in the Granite City.
Aberdeen hotel rooms generated £52.45 a night on average in May, down an alarming 30% year-on-year, according to accountancy network BDO’s survey of three and four star establishments.
Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness all experienced strong increases in revenue, though the Scottish capital was the only location to enjoy a rise in occupancy.
Petrotechnics has opened a new competency and training centre in Aberdeen.
The company said the new facility will offer increased capacity to meet the growing demand for a range of courses.
