Private: Publications

PESGB August/September 2009

Sat 01 August 2009

Category: Magazines

  • SCID
  • London Building Stones Field Trip Review
  • East Africa
  • UKOGL

Plus much more inside

Oliver Quinn – Chair of the 2010 Petex Technical Committee writes…..

Like many of us in the Society I avidly watched the recent BBC documentary series “Crude Britannia”, which covered the fascinating history of North Sea exploration and development. As a ‘post-Millenium’ practitioner of Petroleum Geoscience in the North Sea it was fascinating to see video footage and first-hand accounts of many of the major events in the basin’s history – from the early Southern Gas Basin wells of BP’s SeaGem, to the fabrication and installation of the huge 1970s jackets, through to the relatively recent Clair platform west of Shetland. And not least the high human cost from the tragedies of the SeaGem, Piper Alpha, and the many helicopter accidents.
What the documentary served to emphasise is something that those of us in the industry, past and present, know all too well – that the discovery and production of North Sea oil and gas has been an immense and costly scientific and industrial achievement, as well as a saviour of the cash-starved UK economy of the 1970s. Whilst we in industry are very aware of this achievement, the public perception of our industry (especially amongst the under 40s) remains, for the most part, negative – Brent Spar, CO2, high fuel prices and excessive profit are the things that are raised by most of my generation if asked about the oil and gas industry. Amongst other things, this poor perception of oil and gas impacts on one of our own big issues – how to deal with the impending great ‘crew change’ as many experienced hands retire. To help solve this we know we need to be able to recruit and retain the next generation of geoscientists against this negative background. On top of this we need to show that, despite the maturity of the North Sea, significant potential remains – a career’s worth of work at least.
Perhaps the current economic chaos yields an opportune time for us to seize the moment and change some of the views of our industry, especially amongst the younger generation. The revelation that the ‘glamorous’ world of finance has been creating huge profits through excessive risk and reckless lending gives us space to show that we also take huge risks – but with the
goal of producing a tangible product which brings huge benefit in energy security and revenue to the UK. The tough issues around oil and gas are also ones we should not be afraid to tackle.
The CO2 issue is one we do not deny, and – as Jon Gluyas discussed in July’s Presidents Page – is something we could play a key role in abating through carbon sequestration. What was, hitherto, the ‘excessive profit’ issue, should now be seen as the source of significant tax revenue to the Treasury, and a key support to the UK’s current financial situation. We also have the chance to become world leaders in environmentally efficient decommissioning.
There is no doubting the great work done by organisations like the PESGB in promoting the image of oil and gas, but perhaps this is the perfect moment for those of us in the younger generation
to get out there and demonstrate the many positive aspects of our industry. And also for those more experienced hands to show that the opportunity exists for a next chapter of “Crude Britannia” – and a fast-paced and interesting career with it.