UK Oil, Gas Job Losses to Be Worse Without Gov’t Intervention: Official

EDINBURGH, December 10 (Sputnik), Mark Hirst – The UK North Sea oil and gas industry would face even more job losses than predicted in the recent industry body report if the British government fails to properly support the sector, a member of Scottish Government's Independent Expert Commission told Sputnik Wednesday.

Up to 35,000 jobs in the UK oil and gas sector could go by 2019 as a result of declining capital expenditure on the UK continental shelf, according to a study commissioned by industry body Oil & Gas UK and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, published on Tuesday.

“I do think [the Oil & Gas UK report] is a reasonable reflection of where the sector is headed but if the Treasury don't react sensibly then soon it could be a lot worse and that's irrespective of what happens to the oil price,” Dick Winchester, a member of the Scotland's Independent Expert Commission on Oil and Gas, who is also serving as Managing Director of oil consultants Pipistrelle Ltd, told Sputnik.

Asked by Sputnik whether the report will be seen as an attempt to exert influence on government policy to avoid tougher regulatory and taxation regimes, Winchester concurred.

“I would think it inevitable that O&G [Oil & Gas] UK will be waving this report in front of Danny Alexander [Chief Secretary to the Treasury] and the rest of the Government. Any evidence that can be used to demonstrate the fragility of the industry will come in useful,” Winchester told Sputnik.

On Tuesday, the Scottish Government's Energy Minister Fergus Ewing told Sputnik that the report highlighted the need for British minister to “sustain long term investment” in the industry.