Monday 23 October 2000

UK Oil and Gas Operators Investment Plans for 2001

The UKs Oil and Gas Operators investment plans for 2001, released today by the Industry Leadership Team (ILT), could have a massive effect on employment in the industry next year, reversing the recent trend of decline, and creating around 25,000 new jobs.

Nearly half of next years capital expenditure has already been approved, but Industry leaders believe that over £4bn (up from around £3bn in 2000) will be invested in the UK.

The effect of this investment boost would be to protect jobs that might be at risk without it, whilst creating some 25,000 new ones than would otherwise have been the case. Current activity and investment (which includes operational and exploration investment, in addition to capital expenditure) supports a total of 270,000 jobs in 2000.

ILT member Danny Carrigan, National Officer at the AEEU, said: "It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this investment being realised, just for its effects on employment alone.

"We have been looking at a gloomy situation in this sector over the past couple of years, but now we have some real signs of an upturn and turn around in job prospects."

Mike Salter, COO, Abbot Group / KCA Drilling, who co-chairs PILOTs National Training Organisation Group, commented: "A big challenge that lies ahead of us is to retain the key skills that our industry has developed. This is crucial, both to the long-term future of the UKCS and to our ability to win export orders from oil and gas provinces.

"We must make sure that oil and gas companies see the UKCS as a profitable place to invest so that we have the opportunity to retain current jobs and the potential opportunity to create more, the majority of which are in Scotland."

Note to Editors

1. PILOT, the successor body to the Oil and Gas Industry Task Force (OGITF) was established in January this year to ensure that the OGITF deliverables and vision are achieved. PILOT is made up of twenty-three key Government representatives and recognised leaders from the industry and meets on a quarterly basis.

2. The Industry Leadership Team (ILT) was formed in 1998 to represent the oil and gas industry supply chain and unions during the deliberations of the OGITF and now continues in PILOT. It is made up of twenty-one key figures from across the industry, including operators, contractors, suppliers and unions.

3. PILOT Objectives

To make PILOTs vision a practical reality, specific deliverables were defined.

The strategy is for 10 years of Industry/ Government co-operation aimed at achieving the following outcomes in the year 2010.

* Maintenance of a production level of 3m boepd

* £3bn per annum invested

* Prolonged self sufficiency in Oil & Gas

* Up to more than 100,000 more jobs than would have existed

* 50% increase in exports (by 2005)

* £1bn per annum additional revenue from new business

For more information, please call 020 7802 2400.