Staying power

Aberdeen has built a reputation for excellence in supporting the UK oil and gas industry. But while the North Sea offers growth opportunities for niche operators, Aberdeen must reach out to other regions and new business areas. To remain an active source of oilfield services, a focus on R&D and innovative thinking will be needed, as well as timely government help. Tom Nicholls talks to Alasdair Locke, executive chairman of Abbot Group, Jim Milne, chairman and managing director of Balmoral Group, Jim Atack, managing director of Petrofac Facilities Management Europe, and Brian Nixon, director of energy at Scottish Enterprise

IT IS generally referred to as the UK North Sea or the UK Continental Shelf. Taxes flow to the UK treasury. Policy decisions are taken hundreds of miles away in London. Yet although Scotland's contribution tends in some respects to be eclipsed by the UK label, the North Sea oil industry is a quintessentially Scottish business, with its operational hub in Aberdeen—the UK's answer to Houston. A significant producer With oil and gas production amounting to about 3.7m barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d), the country remains a significant hydrocarbons producer in world terms. And a considerable amount of hydrocarbons remains to be produced—up to 30bn boe, the UK Offshore Operators Association