Two-thirds of contractors have axed N. Sea jobs in crude oil price slump – with more redundancies feared for 2016

The confidence of North Sea oil and gas contractors is at an all-time low, according to a new industry report published today (26 Nov 2015)

Four in five contractors (79%) surveyed say they are less confident in their prospects than a year ago, compared to just 1% who are more confident.

Just 16% of contractors report working at or above optimum levels – down from 21% last year.

Confidence has not been helped by a high level of recent redundancies in the industry. Some 64% of firms have reduced their workforce in 2015 compared to just 14% who increased numbers.

And – worryingly – 85% of respondents think the job losses will continue over the next year.

These are the main findings from the latest industry survey carried out by Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Fraser of Allander Institute.

The survey also found that nearly half (47%) of contractors do not think that the role of the new Oil & Gas Authority has been explained well enough to them, a lack of clarity felt particularly amongst contractors – a clear signal that OGA is not communicating effectively with the industry / its key ‘stakeholder’.

A senior manager at a major contractor commented: “The OGA’s main task is to get MER (‘maximise economic recovery) from the North Sea. If only half the industry knows what OGA is supposed to do, it’ll only half-succeed…”

See also: MER Collaboration Conference, Aberdeen 2016

http://www.scottishenergynews.com/the-2016-oil-gas-collaboration-conference-aberdeen-getting-mer-from-the-uk-north-sea-2/

“There is currently no end in sight for cheap oil.” –

http://www.scottishenergynews.com/osborne-abandons-n-sea-oil-and-gas-industry-to-premature-end-to-exploration/