Grim news opens opportunity for new thinking to help UK North Sea sector

摘要

IT was another grim week for the UK North Sea oil and gas industry as the scale of the crisis facing the sector as a result of Covid-19 and the collapse in oil prices becomes ever clearer. Trade body Oil & Gas UK (OGUK) warned up to 30,000 jobs dependent on North Sea oil and gas could be lost as it emerged capital investment could fall this year to around £3.5 billion to £4 billion ($4.37 billion to $4.97 billion), the lowest levels of investment on the UK continental shelf since 2000 and among the lowest levels seen since the early 1970s. Operators are battening down the hatches, cutting activity and preserving cash while attempting to keep production going and limiting the spread of Covid-19 offshore.