Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Unclear’ Brexit could lead to increased costs for oil and gas industry

Post Thumbnail

The oil and gas industry was last night warned it will feel the hit of increased costs in retaining skilled workers as a result of Theresa May’s “unclear” draft Brexit deal.

Analysts said a lack of clarity in the 585-page document was “disturbing for the sector” which, despite being global, is “not immune” to the effects of Brexit.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


Oil and Gas UK meanwhile said it welcomed the publication of the long-awaited withdrawal agreement and will reassert its priorities to the UK Government in the coming days.

The trade body said it remains focussed on protecting workers’ rights, minimal friction with Europe, energy trading and maintaining a strong voice on the continent.

David Gibbons Wood, a business and economics lecturer at Robert Gordon University, described the uncertainty as “damaging”.

He said: “The reaction of the industry is similar to that of the average person in that they will be asking themselves when do we get to know where we stand?

“It’s bringing even less certainty than we had before. We don’t know if we will be leaving the customs union and it’s asking more questions than are being answered which I think will be disturbing for the oil and gas industry.

“I think businesses will react quickly once they understand the trading environment but uncertainty is very damaging.

“The agreement should bring clarity but Theresa May’s deal hasn’t done that.

“I think the oil and gas industry can take some comfort in the fact that it is a global industry and not just an EU one. Oil and gas will not be as affected in the same way as the fishing industry from EU regulations.”

Fiona Cincotta, a senior analyst at City Index said nothing will stop the sector from being impacted by leaving the EU.

She said: “The oil and gas industry requires highly skilled and mobile workforce. Given that Brexit, with or without Theresa May’s deal, looks to restrict movement of people between UK and EU and vice versa the impact on the sector could be large, especially in an industry where competition for talent is fierce.

“Skilled European workers won’t be lost but the increased cost of keeping them, hiring them and the administration involved will be felt.”

Oil and Gas UK said it will be taking time to properly assess the implications of the draft deal.

Chief executive Deirdre Michie said: “We welcome the further detail provided to industry through the draft withdrawal agreement. This is an extensive legal document which we will now analyse and review in full with our membership.

“Our focus remains on securing the best outcome for the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry. That is, protecting the offshore industry from future EU regulatory changes, minimal friction between the UK and EU, maintaining a strong voice in Europe, protecting energy trading and the internal energy market and protecting our licence to operate.

“We will continue to put forward these priorities in our discussions with the Government in the coming days.”