Oil & gas recruiters welcome North Sea regulator proposal
26 February 2014
Oil & gas recruiters say that Sir Ian Wood’s proposal this week to establish a new regulator to co-ordinate a fragmented industry of 300 North Sea fields can “only be a good thing” and could create “a welcome boost for the economy”.
Wed, 26 Feb 2014 | By Colin Cottell
Oil & gas recruiters say that Sir Ian Wood’s proposal this week to establish a new regulator to co-ordinate a fragmented industry of 300 North Sea fields can “only be a good thing” and could create “a welcome boost for the economy”.
That proposal was one of a number of recommendations contained in the Wood review to revitalise exploration in the North Sea, in facing up to the challenge of maximising the extraction of the North Sea’s remaining resources. Exploration fell fell by 38% between 2010 and 2013 – although the sector still supports 450,000 jobs.
Wood claims that if implemented his report would add “at least” £200bn to the economy over the next 20 years, with the potential recovery of a further 24bn barrels of oil.
Craig Paterson, associate director at NES Global Talent, welcomes the review. He tells Recruiter: “Creating a stronger regulator to oversee the industry and implementing measures to improve collaboration between the government and the energy industry to ensure that recoverable oil and gas resources in the UK are fully explored and exploited, can only be a good thing and would create a welcome boost for the economy. We look forward to seeing how the recommendations included in the report are progressed by everyone involved in the process.”
Wood accepts that to be effective the regulator will need to attract people with industry experience. Stiff international competition for such individuals means this won’t be a straightforward matter, warns John Richards, chief executive officer of global oil & gas industry project resource specialists, Mentor IMC Group.
However, Richards says he foresees “quite a lot of interest” from those working in the industry for these new roles. And provided the government is mindful of the competition from the rest of the world, he is optimistic that it will be able to attract the staff it needs to do its job.
This week’s publication of the Wood review [on Monday, 24 February] threw new fuel on the Scottish devolution debate. On Monday the oil & gas fields of the North Sea became the latest battleground for the debate between politicians arguing for Scottish independence and those in favour of retaining the union.
The Scottish Nationalist Party has long held the view that the natural resources under the North Sea belong to Scotland, while David Cameron argues that as the remaining oil & gas reserves become ever harder and more expensive to recover, this can be best achieved if the industry “has the backing of the whole of the United Kingdom”.
Staffing companies serving the North Sea are reluctant to say where they stand on the devolution debate. One exception is Mentor IMC’s Richards.
Richards tells Recruiter: “The value of the North Sea asset is far greater if it remains as part of the UK as a whole than if it is broken up.” He argues that maintaining the status quo makes the North Sea attractive to overseas investors who value “the fantastic expertise that has been developed in the UK”.
“We say British engineering expertise, we don’t say English or Scottish,” Richards adds.
Helen Smith, CEO at global oil & gas recruiter Oil Consultants, tells Recruiter: “Regardless of the outcome of the devolution debate, there will still be a skills shortage. Whoever is successful needs to make the commitment to support the development of a skilled workforce to ensure continued productivity and the long-term health of the sector.”
A spokesperson for international oil & gas recruiters Browning and Henderson, tells Recruiter that the issue of who owns the resources in the North Sea is a red herring. “There will always be jobs and we will always need qualified candidates. It is not going to have much of an impact who owns the resources.”
The spokesperson is equivocal about whether sufficient people with the right skills will be available as the North Sea enters the next stage of its development. “The truly top people tend to be in the latter stages of their careers,” he says.
On the other hand, after a period when few people chose the oil & gas sector after graduating, the increasing use of technology in everything for computers to the rigs themselves has become a major pull factor for talent, says the spokesperson.
Market forces will also play a role, adds the spokesperson. “The fewer the people available, the higher the rates and the more attractive it becomes,” he says.
That proposal was one of a number of recommendations contained in the Wood review to revitalise exploration in the North Sea, in facing up to the challenge of maximising the extraction of the North Sea’s remaining resources. Exploration fell fell by 38% between 2010 and 2013 – although the sector still supports 450,000 jobs.
Wood claims that if implemented his report would add “at least” £200bn to the economy over the next 20 years, with the potential recovery of a further 24bn barrels of oil.
Craig Paterson, associate director at NES Global Talent, welcomes the review. He tells Recruiter: “Creating a stronger regulator to oversee the industry and implementing measures to improve collaboration between the government and the energy industry to ensure that recoverable oil and gas resources in the UK are fully explored and exploited, can only be a good thing and would create a welcome boost for the economy. We look forward to seeing how the recommendations included in the report are progressed by everyone involved in the process.”
Wood accepts that to be effective the regulator will need to attract people with industry experience. Stiff international competition for such individuals means this won’t be a straightforward matter, warns John Richards, chief executive officer of global oil & gas industry project resource specialists, Mentor IMC Group.
However, Richards says he foresees “quite a lot of interest” from those working in the industry for these new roles. And provided the government is mindful of the competition from the rest of the world, he is optimistic that it will be able to attract the staff it needs to do its job.
This week’s publication of the Wood review [on Monday, 24 February] threw new fuel on the Scottish devolution debate. On Monday the oil & gas fields of the North Sea became the latest battleground for the debate between politicians arguing for Scottish independence and those in favour of retaining the union.
The Scottish Nationalist Party has long held the view that the natural resources under the North Sea belong to Scotland, while David Cameron argues that as the remaining oil & gas reserves become ever harder and more expensive to recover, this can be best achieved if the industry “has the backing of the whole of the United Kingdom”.
Staffing companies serving the North Sea are reluctant to say where they stand on the devolution debate. One exception is Mentor IMC’s Richards.
Richards tells Recruiter: “The value of the North Sea asset is far greater if it remains as part of the UK as a whole than if it is broken up.” He argues that maintaining the status quo makes the North Sea attractive to overseas investors who value “the fantastic expertise that has been developed in the UK”.
“We say British engineering expertise, we don’t say English or Scottish,” Richards adds.
Helen Smith, CEO at global oil & gas recruiter Oil Consultants, tells Recruiter: “Regardless of the outcome of the devolution debate, there will still be a skills shortage. Whoever is successful needs to make the commitment to support the development of a skilled workforce to ensure continued productivity and the long-term health of the sector.”
A spokesperson for international oil & gas recruiters Browning and Henderson, tells Recruiter that the issue of who owns the resources in the North Sea is a red herring. “There will always be jobs and we will always need qualified candidates. It is not going to have much of an impact who owns the resources.”
The spokesperson is equivocal about whether sufficient people with the right skills will be available as the North Sea enters the next stage of its development. “The truly top people tend to be in the latter stages of their careers,” he says.
On the other hand, after a period when few people chose the oil & gas sector after graduating, the increasing use of technology in everything for computers to the rigs themselves has become a major pull factor for talent, says the spokesperson.
Market forces will also play a role, adds the spokesperson. “The fewer the people available, the higher the rates and the more attractive it becomes,” he says.
- How would Scottish devolution affect your recruitment sector? The Comment box is at the bottom of the page. Sorry for the glitch but just scroll right down and share your opinions!
