SPE Offshore Europe 2017 – UKCS Oil & Gas Hiring Update – Positive Signs

SPE Offshore Europe 2017 (OE 2017), a key event in the global oil & gas calendar, is just around the corner with more than 50,000+ attendees forecast to attend the 4-day event 5-8 September 2017 in Aberdeen.

The industry has recently undergone one of the worst downturns since the 1980s, with some 440,000 jobs cut globally at energy companies in the last two years across all technical and operational skills levels.

During the downturn 2014-2016 nearly 8,000 jobs were lost from the North Sea oil and gas industry, according to industry body Oil and Gas UK, while 120,000 roles went across the wider economy, down from an estimated 41,700 in 2014 to 34,000 in June 2016. In addition, the number of jobs that rely on the industry indirectly (hotel, catering staff…) fell from 453,800 to 330,400 (with a further 40,000 supported jobs expected to fall by the end of 2016).

In 2016 therefore, just over 330,000 jobs in the UK were delivered through or supported by oil and gas production, nearly 60% in England and around 40% in Scotland, largely in and around Aberdeen.

UKCS New Hiring

However, there are signs across the UKCS that confidence levels have been rising as hiring has started to pick up again in recent months;

• In July 2017 the Wood Group announced it is to create up to 200 new North Sea jobs delivering mechanical and management services to hook up infrastructure on a new contract for Maersk on the Culzean gas field development
• At the end of June 2017 Aberdeen oil and gas services firm Bilfinger Salamis UK announced it would add up to 300 new North Sea jobs on a short-term basis after securing the fabric maintenance contract during the preparation and installation of the Culzean platform.
• In July 2017 Statoil announced around 1,500 jobs related to connection and commissioning activity which will run until the start of production at the Mariner field in the second half of 2018. In the long term when production starts, Statoil, which has a base in Aberdeen, says 700 permanent jobs will be supported both onshore and offshore.
• At the end of August 2017 Offshore drilling contractor COSL Drilling Europe said it will need 250 rig workers (of which 70 – 80 will be in the UK sector) to staff two of its semi-submersible drilling rigs ahead of new contracts. Short-term roles on the development are predominantly in offshore construction and commissioning personnel and cover a variety of disciplines including engineering, electrical, rigging and pipe-fitting.

UKCS – Decommissioning Hiring

A constant rise in offshore oil and gas decommissioning in the UKCS is forecast over the next 10 years and future spend will be close to US$20 billion over the next 5 years creating new job opportunities;

• Shetland – At the end of August 2017 Lerwick Port Authority’s expanded deep-water base at Dales Voe officially opened. The first largest major decommissioning floating production unit arrived, the Buchan Alpha arrived in Lerwick Harbour in August 2017 to be dismantled., creating around 30 jobs over the 17-month decommissioning perio.
• Dundee – Forth Ports has signed a collaboration agreement with AF Offshore Decom UK – a “strategic step” towards creating a North Sea oil and gas decommissioning hub in Dundee. Forth Ports is currently installing a £10 million quay extension at the Port of Dundee, designed to handle large-scale loads from decommissioning operations with the work expected to complete later 2017. With Dundee port currently playing home to four oil rigs, some of which are ready for decommission, the new industry could provide up to 7,500 jobs for locals.
• In August 2017 a new start company, Well-Safe Solutions, was set up by a group of oil experienced industry professionals aiming to attract £200million in investment and create 400 new jobs, will offer a specialist well abandonment service that allows operators to meet the challenges and regulatory imperatives around decommissioning, while significantly reducing costs.’

UKCS Hiring Challenges

The recent hiring announcements in UKCS are encouraging, however the UK oil and gas industry continues to face a number of challenges to recruiting and retaining talent to fill any newly created positions.

Restructuring, downsizing and redundancies have all meant a loss of experienced personnel and skills sets as redundant employees have looked to gain work in other sectors and also made the industry less attractive to new and younger recruits. Companies may have to compete heavily and offer lucrative packages to win talent.

The nature of the industry itself is also changing. As an industry traditionally heavy on manual labour, the sector is slowly becoming more technology driven with increased automation, with a large number of the jobs that are currently performed by humans gradually being shifted to robots, drones and software packages. To keep up with the changes, companies in the industry will have to train up and attract staff with these new skills.

Skills shortages also persist and the UKCS will have to continue to compete with other sectors for top talent – in engineering for example, the UK currently faces a shortage of an estimated 20,000 skilled engineers annually. The UKCS will also be competing with newer industries – for example with the UK committed to producing 15% of its total energy from renewables by 2020 companies in the wind-farm sector are recruiting heavily – for example, Scottish Power Renewables is developing its East Anglia One offshore wind farm, a £2.5bn investment requiring an estimated 3,000 skilled employees.

Companies operating in the UKCS in 2017 and beyond will have to develop innovative approaches to attracting and retaining their top talent to ensure long terms success for their businesses.

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