Scotland oil industry is preparing to reverse years of regression, according to the Scottish newspaper Daily Record.
The paper quotes port bosses, in the form of the Cromarty Firth Port Authority (CFPA), as observing tentative signs of recovery in the industry.
The Scottish oil industry, like that of much of the North Sea, was particularly badly hit by the oil price crash that began in 2014, not least because North Sea oil is relatively expensive to produce. While the bigger oil companies like ExxonMobil, the oil giant behind Mobil distributors, have retained interests in the North Sea, many mature fields have been taken over by independent companies that believe there are still hydrocarbon resources there to be had. The recent recovery in oil prices, along with efficiency improvements made in the wake of the oil price crash, now seem to be bearing fruit.
A CFPA spokeswoman said:
“We have more rigs in for repair, inspection and maintenance, and we see this as a positive sign. It’s the first green shoots, tentative steps, but it’s positive against some negative stories around the North Sea.”
In addition, the number of jobs around the port has almost doubled, compared to last year, to just under 1,400. This is the biggest increase since 2010 according to the CFPA. The Maersk Innovator is also back in action and set to drill three new wells for Nexen Petroleum’s Buzzard platform, which at 190,000 bpd of oil equivalent is the UK’s most prolific field.
