Policymakers responsible for oil and gas industry taxation and regulation should be relocated from London to Aberdeen, a think-tank has said. Business organisation N-56 has set out a five-point action plan for the North Sea oil and gas industry in a letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and UK Chancellor George Osborne.
The drop in crude prices has bumped Scotland's employment outlook down to its lowest level in two years, according to a new survey from recruitment agency Manpower. At minus 1%, Scotland is the only part of the UK with a negative outlook going into the second quarter.
Service companies have experienced a marked fall in new business as a result of uncertainly in the oil and gas industry, according to new research. The latest Bank of Scotland PMI (purchasing managers index) report found that levels of incoming business in the sector declined for the first time in two-and-a-half years in February, with manufacturing also experiencing a fall in new orders for a second successive month.
A low oil price of $50 a barrel could create 90,000 UK jobs by 2020, a new report has predicted, but government would need to act to support the North Sea. Big four accountancy firm PWC said the sharp fall in oil prices since mid-2014 should boost output and employment in most sectors of the UK economy compared to when Brent crude was riding high at $108 per barrel.
The most read story this week on the Energy Voice website was on a call made by the boss of one of the world's largest energy services firms for the oil and gas sector to "reinvent" itself.
A US oil and gas company has pulled out of a farm-out and exploration deal with another firm, citing the falling price of oil as a factor in the decision. Texas-based companies Caza Oil and Gas and Clayton Williams Energy Inc (CWEI) have mutually agreed to terminate their deal to develop the latter's 14,738-acres site in Reeves County, Texas.
A date has been set for the North Sea oil summit. Politicians will meet with industry leaders in Aberdeen on February 2.
BP workers will tomorrow find out if cuts are to affect their jobs. The energy giant is soon expected to share findings of an exercise aimed at saving money.
A new taskforce will be created to support Scotland's oil and gas sector.