UK oil and gas jobs set to increase, says new forecast

14th Jan 2013 11:35

Offshore jobs in the UK's oil and gas industry will grow this year on the back increased investments in the North Sea, according to a review.Oilandgaspeople.com, a recruitment firm specialising in the energy sector, has forecast the creation of between 40,000 and 50,000 new jobs in its annual review of the oil and gas industry.The company also said onset of shale gas exploration would enhance prospects, the BBC reported. However, it said there was a shortage of qualified and experienced staff in the industry to meet the demand. Kevin Forbes, from Oilandgaspeople.com, said: "Our forecast shows that with increased investment in North Sea Oil, demand for qualified staff is set to reach an all time high, which will exacerbate an already serious skills shortage, a problem that is being further exacerbated as UK candidates head abroad to earn even higher wages with a huge demand for qualified expats globally."In the last few months alone in the UK Stat Oil announced a £4.3bn investment into North Sea Oil creating over 700 jobs, a £1bn project to develop the Harris and Barra oilfields was announced, as well as another £1bn investment by joint venture Canadian-based Talisman Energy and Chinese company Sinopec."Large projects backed by BP West of Shetland are already under way and Total's new terminal project in Shetland is in full swing."He added there were many new projects in the pipeline for the year. There were 167 new licences on more than 300 North Sea blocks in October 2012 granted by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Among the companies benefiting from strong production in the North Sea is Antrim Energy which announced the first oil from its Cormorant East Field. The company advanced 6.94% to 38.50 following the news. RD