Personnel Problems, Part 2

Ian Williams, Campbell Dallas LLP, UK, continues his investigation into the skills gap in the North Sea oil and gas industry and explains how other sectors, such as agriculture, can play a role in meeting the demand.

New pools

Transferable skills come in many guises. With current military cuts in the UK, companies are looking for the right people with the right skills from the armed forces. OPITO is working with the Ministry of Defence to compile data on logistics managers, technicians and engineers who will be returning to civilian life. Meanwhile, another pool of suitable candidates is knocking on the North Sea door.

Agricultural employees have had it tough. The last three years have seen chronic crop failures and shorter grazing seasons due to poor weather, including flooding. Prices for arable produce and livestock have fluctuated greatly leaving farms unable to accurately forecast their position as little as six months ahead. Farmers are struggling financially and workers are worried for their jobs. The security offered in other sectors is attractive. A lot of farm workers are desired in other industries.

Some are making a break for the bright lights of the oil and gas industry. University approved mechanical engineering courses are well attended at agricultural colleges. Graduates who have spent several years around farming machinery are used to advancing technology. They have the technical ability to make a successful career offshore. They also have an understanding of health and safety, workplace legislation and business management. Potential applicants from farming are attracted to the offshore industry’s rotas, generous salaries, training packages and career development.

Government action

Companies’ employment of personnel has been affected by government. In the 2011 UK Budget, chancellor George Osborne raised the oil and gas industry’s Supplementary Charge from 20% to 32%. It was an unexpected move and unsettled investors’ confidence of the UKCS. Some relief came from government in the form of tax breaks for decommissioning work.

It is an area where the skills of mechanically minded farm workers are expected to be useful. Decommissioning is only just beginning, but a September 2012 survey from Oil & Gas UK found operators are preparing to remove 40 platforms in 80 fields over the next five years. The work will come at a cost of £4.5 billion and includes the breaking up of 177 pipelines, well plugging and abandonment, transportation, onshore dismantling and materials recycling or disposal.

Just over half of the projected expenditure is the work on 300 wells. A total of 170 000 t of subsea infrastructure will be removed by 2017. This will create hundreds of jobs for those with transferable skills. The supply chain will need to adapt, but with an increase in heavy lift companies working in the North Sea, jobs will become available. This is economy-boosting work, which will sustain the UK’s offshore activity for decades to come.

Oil & Gas UK forecasts that total decommissioning work will be worth £28.7 billion by 2040. New facilities and investments could increase that figure to more than £33 billion. The figures come following conversations with 25 operators who will demand capable support services to be in place by at least 2015.

Click here to read Part 1 of this article.

Click here to read Part 3 of this article.

Adapted from an article by David Bizley

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/12092013/personnel_problems_part_2/