Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd, the second-largest producer in the UK North Sea, achieved a significant milestone earlier this year when its UK production surpassed 1billion barrels of oil (gross).
Acquired by Nexen in 2004 and located 60 miles north-east of Aberdeen, Buzzard is the biggest UK North Sea discovery in the last two decades and, as the UK’s highest-producing field, made a significant contribution to this production achievement.
Ray Riddoch, UK operations director, said: “To put it in context, Buzzard, which began production just over six years ago in early 2007, produced approximately 160,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day over the course of 2012.
“Our people play a vital role in getting the oil out of the ground. We have in the region of 560 personnel working aboard the Buzzard platform and every single one of them contributed to this landmark result.
“We recognise the importance of having the right people in the right positions and understand that only by investing in our personnel and our infrastructure can we continue to deliver both in terms of growth for the company and for our people. We are committed to the Nexen generation, as such career development is one of our key deliverables for the coming years.
“We are part of an industry which is constantly challenged, not only by the environments it operates in, but also by the well-documented skills gap. We are in the midst of an extensive recruitment drive for a breadth of positions ranging from supervisors and technicians through to senior-level roles including an OIM. However, it isn’t enough to merely find people to fill these roles; as far as possible, we need to be sure that we can retain them within the organisation.
“As an employer, we believe we have a responsibility not only to support our personnel in their development, but also to provide a supportive culture that helps them to fulfil their potential and thereby contribute fully to taking the business to the next level.
“This may sound like ‘corporate speak’, but at Nexen this is the reality. Our teams benefit from competitive total reward packages, and training and development ensures people develop lasting careers with Nexen, leading to a long-lasting employer-employee relationship.”
Nexen’s investment in its infrastructure has seen it contribute to the continued development of Aberdeen, a city that is recognised as a global centre of expertise and excellence in terms of offshore exploration and production. The company’s new 100,000sq ft office building at the Prime Four site at Kingswells, on the outskirts of Aberdeen, will open in the New Year.
Ray concluded: “We are committed to excellence in everything we do. Investing in our people, resources and infrastructure enables us to continue to deliver the best results, internally and externally.”