‘Only way is up for oil and gas’

The downturn in the oil and gas sector on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) has bottomed out and will now improve. That’s the suggestion from the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber […]

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The downturn in the oil and gas sector on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) has bottomed out and will now improve.

That’s the suggestion from the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, the Fraser of Allander Institute and KPMG, which conducted a survey of 95 businesses across the sector to see what they expected to happen going forwards.

Almost half of all contractors on the UKCS said they are now confident about their prospects for the first time since 2013, up 38% from spring this year.

Around 28% forecasted an increase in the value of production-related work in the coming year and 83% reported potential involvement in decommissioning activity within the next three to five years.

The number of firms expecting to become more involved in renewables has remained unchanged at just above half.

When asked what position businesses expect to be in on the first day of 2019, 54% expect their business to be growing while none expect to be declining.

James Bream, Research and Policy Director at Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “It does look like the worst is likely to be over, at an aggregate level, with 60% of firms believing that the industry has already reached the bottom of its current cycle and a further 24% predicting this will happen within the next 12 months.”

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