MORE than 7500 jobs have been lost in the UK oil and gas industry since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, MPs have been told.
Deirdre Michie, chief executive of Oil and Gas UK, told the Scottish Affairs Committee about the impact the crisis has already had on the industry, with a previous report from the body projecting up to 30,000 job losses.
Michie said the sector has been hit by a “triple whammy” of Covid-19, and a drop in the price of oil and gas.
She told MPs yesterday: “As a result, we saw industry have to respond in reducing activity levels by about 40% and also – in terms of the economics – we saw projects being pushed back and jobs being lost as a result of that. It happened pretty quickly and it happened overnight.”
Michie said the supply chain for the industry has been under “particular pressure” as a result of the pandemic, as it was just recovering from the last oil downturn in the middle of the last decade, with revenue dropping by around 33%.
She said: “Jobs are under pressure. We put out a report about two to three weeks ago that put out an estimate that, if current conditions continue to prevail, up to 30,000 jobs could be lost across the industry.
“That is a very challenging situation to find ourselves in.”
Once the Job Retention Scheme is ended, Michie said, more positions are expected to be lost due to a lack of cash flow and the stripping of that government support.
Responding to a question from Tory MP Andrew Bowie, Michie said the “tripartite working” between the government, the industry itself and the Oil and Gas Authority set up during the last downturn in 2015 had helped it prepare for the pandemic.
She said: “The setting up of all of those and the working together as we came out of the last downturn was testament to those elements of the tripartite approach that we all talk about.
“As we have gone through this next downturn, it was very much that we’ve worked very well with both governments and the regulator – who we have found very open, accessible and supportive – so now as we go through the recovery phase we have to work together, because we know that’s the only way to support jobs in the short to medium term and also to accelerate towards net-zero (emissions).”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel