There is no doubt that the UK-based offshore oil & gas supply chain is making heavy weather of the current downturn; not just in its domestic market but overseas too.
The North Sea has been hit hard and, one year in, there are no signs of pressure easing; rather it has intensified in recent weeks.
There is a consensus developing that points towards a prolonged slump and that, to stay in business, the supply chain in Britain will have to go back to basics, get fit and learn to succeed in a very different oil price environment of little over a year ago.
Diversification has to become core business . . . not just as a diversion to get out of a tight corner as has so often been the case over the 40 years since first UKCS commercial oil production started; a bit earlier in the case of gas.
This has to be among the most challenging, nay, difficult core themes ever tackled in the 42 years history of Offshore Europe.
But when the decision was taken some 15 months ago to headline 2015’s Offshore Europe with How to Inspire the Next Generation, oil was trading north of $100 per barrel.
As I pen this a barrel of Brent is trading below $50.
The crash in the price of crude will deliver a"shock treatment" that will eventually lead to a stronger North Sea industry, according to an Aberdeen executive search director.
Michael Diamond said that there is long-term potential for many new jobs being created in areas such as decommissioning, but there is no benefit in looking at the current health of the sector through rose-tinted glasses.
As the low price of oil rocks confidence in the North Sea, the importance of Aberdeen’s biennial offshore trade show has taken central stage.
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) flagship conference, Offshore Europe, kicks off tomorrowtues.
The four day event has been a north-east fixture, starting in 1973 with the advent of oil coming ashore to the event in 2013 which attracted a record-breaking 63,000 attendees.
Hari Vamadevan, the regional manager, UK & Southern Africa for risk management firm DNV GL said companies and individuals attending this year’s show faced adjusting to what he called the “new normal” of lower oil and gas prices.
The threat carried by difficult to detect chemicals that affect asset integrity will be the topic of discussion when corrosion specialist Lux Assure addresses delegates at Offshore Europe next week.
Equalizer International, designer and developer of flange maintenance tools for the energy sector, will launch its new NutSplitter range at next week’s Offshore Europe.
OPITO, the oil and gas industry skills organisation, is looking to make contact with people now working in the sector who have attended its schools engagement programme Energise Your Future.
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.
With this year marking the 50th anniversary since oil and gas was first discovered in the North Sea, the subject of ageing assets and asset maintenance is a hot topic of conversation across the industry. There is a misconception that mature assets are unreliable, unsafe and inefficient, but with a robust and proactive asset integrity management strategy in place, this is simply not the case.
The industry is well aware that corrosion poses one of the biggest threats to assets, not just offshore, but onshore too. It is also notoriously expensive and difficult to treat, and therefore understanding the corrosion prevention methods and technologies available to the industry is essential. Considering the current industry climate, and that pipelines can cost up to $3million per km to replace, putting the solutions in place which prolong the lifetime of infrastructure and avoid preventable damage is extremely valuable to operators.
Scottish back-deck equipment specialist Maritime Developments will be using Offshore Europe as a platform to highlight a key innovation on a groundbreaking North Sea development.
New technologies to scan deeper waters for undiscovered oil are poised to bring all the excitement of space exploration to the global offshore energy industry.
The Energy Industries Council (EIC), the trade association for UK companies that supply goods and services to the energy industries, will be the largest single exhibitor at Offshore Europe in Aberdeen next month.
Visitors to the Energy Voice and Press and Journal stand at last year's Offshore Europe event in Aberdeen will have noticed the chance to win a Breitling watch, courtesy of Finnies the Jewellers.
Council chiefs yesterday chose a preferred development partner for a new £185million exhibition and conference centre at a site near the city’s international airport.
While three out of four oil and gas firms are planning to grow their business by 2015, the skills pipeline remains a major concern for over 60% of energy CEOs, according to human resources specialists, PwC.
The chairman of Offshore Europe has hailed this year's event as the most successful ever - but says thinks moving the event to an annual schedule would be a step too far.
