UK Oil and Gas Industry Association : Share Fair Provides Platform to Highlight UKCS Opportunities and Industry Efficiency Tools

November 3, 2016

Oil & Gas UK's Share Fair, which aims to shine a brighter light on the business opportunities available on the UK Continental Shelf, attracted almost 700 people from across the industry's world class supply chain including operators, contractors and SMEs yesterday ( November 3).

In welcoming delegates to the event, Oil & Gas UK's chief executive, Deirdre Michie, recognised how severely the supply chain has been impacted by the current downturn but added: 'Industry is moving in the right direction and becoming more competitive thanks to the efforts of companies across the whole sector.'

Dominic Macklon, President UK for ConocoPhillips, said: 'We know this has been a really tough downturn but governments have listened and brought in a competitive and stable tax regime in accordance with their 'Driving Investment' roadmap and this wouldn't have happened without operators and the supply chain working together to reduce costs.'

As Co Chair for Contractors on Oil & Gas UK's board, Terry Savage, Corporate Relationship Director, Global Energy Group, said: 'Ultimately we need to all play our part in creating a new, collaborative and cost challenging environment, that helps to stimulate the activity which the supply chain desperately needs. Not easy to do, but nevertheless vital for success. The Efficiency Task Force is a key driver in promoting a culture of trust where operators and suppliers apply shared knowledge and expertise to unlock projects that are uneconomic in the current climate.'

Members of the Efficiency Task Force demonstrated its new interactive toolkit steering delegates to resources including guidelines to help optimise maintenance and the Tender Efficiency Framework aimed at providing guiding principles to help eliminate duplication and reduce wastage in procurement processes.

The toolkit includes information to help companies rationalise inventories to reduce storage and maintenance costs plus interactive mechanisms like the Rapid Efficiency Exchange which showcases how companies are working smarter, innovatively and co-operatively to tackle the sector's most pressing challenges.

Among the most progressive of the Efficiency Task Force projects, is the Subsea Standardisation Group's work to drive greater simplification in the execution of subsea development projects. In Share Fair's new Innovation Hub, delegates heard about the progress achieved by the work group which has led more than 70 people from 30 companies to pool their expertise to deliver a framework that, if adopted widely by the industry, could potentially deliver savings off up to 30 per cent.

The Innovation Hub also provided an arena for suppliers and operators to engage in intensive discussion and knowledge exchange as part of the interactive 'sandpit' sessions co-ordinated by the Oil and Gas Technology Centre, and designed to generate innovative solutions in the areas of corrosion under insulation and vessel inspection.

Share Fair's classic attractions such as the forward plan presentations delivered by major purchaser companies drew high levels of interest as did the one-to-one business discussions both of which helped to pinpoint the range of business opportunities available on the UK Continental Shelf over the next 18 months. Delegates heard presentations from Aker Solutions Ltd, Amec Foster Wheeler, BP, Chevron North Sea Ltd, Nexen Petroleum Ltd, and Total E&P Ltd while around 950 one to one sessions were conducted by 19 major purchaser companies.

Stephen Marcos Jones, Business Excellence Director with Oil & Gas UK, added: 'Everyone is aware of the difficult times our industry is experiencing, however Share Fair plays a key role in making the opportunities more visible. There has been a real buzz at our event with great dialogue between operators and suppliers. It is exactly these kind of exchanges that will unlock efficiency, build business and help deliver a sustainable future for the North Sea where many billion barrels of oil and gas remain to be recovered.'

ENDS

For further information, please contact Lucy Gordon on 01224 577331 or [e-mail].

1. Oil & Gas UK is the leading representative organisation for the UK offshore oil and gas industry. Its membership comprises oil and gas producers and contractor companies.
2. The link to the Efficiency Task Force toolkit is at http://oilandgasuk.co.uk/etf-toolkit.cfm
3. Access to all presentations delivered at Share are available here http://oilandgasuksharefair.co.uk/presentations/