Oil industry workers look abroad as job prospects fall

ALMOST three quarters of oil and gas workers are considering looking for work outside the UK as the North Sea industry continues to suffer from plunging oil prices.

Research found 71 per cent of respondents across the UK are thinking about a move overseas, with lack of job security cited as the main reason by those working in Scotland and the North Sea.

More than half (52 per cent) of Scotland-based respondents to the survey by industry website Rigzone reported a lack of confidence in their prospects over the next five years.

Mark Guest, international managing director of Rigzone, said: ‘Oil and gas professionals are highly mobile. If assurances cannot be given by the industry about the mid to long-term career opportunities in the UK’s offshore market, our survey indicates that many professionals may simply look for work elsewhere.

‘This could exacerbate recruitment issues in the sector at a time when the industry has already highlighted a shortage of engineering students graduating from British universities.’

The survey also found that 45 per cent of people working in Scotland, and 44 per cent of those working elsewhere in the UK, have little confidence that tax cuts announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the Budget last month will stimulate investment in the North Sea.

The UK Government’s £1.3billion package of support includes a cut to taxes on oil companies’ profits from 30 per cent to 20 per cent and a reduction in petroleum revenue tax from 50 per cent to 35 per cent next year.

The poll of 963 oil and gas professionals found only 17 per cent believe the initiatives will be enough to stimulate meaningful investment in North Sea exploration. A majority of Scotland-based respondents (67 per cent) said a return to stable oil prices was more important than government policy to boost UK offshore reserves.

A Scottish Government spokesman said it was committed to retaining j obs, skills and talent and had responded quickly to the job losses, through the Energy Jobs Taskforce, to provide support and information to those currently facing uncertainty.

‘Many may look for work elsewhere’