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East of England Oil and Gas Industry Breakfast Meeting to Highlight Diversification Opportunities for Supply Sector
| Date: | 18 Jun 2001 | | Details: | Offshore oil and gas supply companies in the East of England should seize the opportunity to diversify and expand by transferring their technology and expertise into emerging markets such as renewable energies and environmental services. This is the message business leaders will hear later this week (Friday, 22 June) at the first-ever breakfast meeting to be organised for companies in the region by PILOT in association with the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) and the UK Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA).
The meeting, expected to attract around 100 representatives from small and medium sized businesses across the East of England*, is being held to promote the findings of two studies commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) into diversification opportunities for companies servicing the UK's oil and gas industry. The studies are part of a strategy to help generate the £1 billion of new business set as a target for PILOT (the government/industry initiative to rejuvenate the UK offshore oil and gas industry) by 2010.
The East of England, along with Aberdeen and London, is a major hub for the offshore oil and gas industry. The sector's activities in the region support around 20,000 jobs, generate £226 million or 14 percent of capital investment in the area and account for 3.5 percent of local GDP. The southern North Sea is a key gas producing area , for which the Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft region is the primary service base. However, contractor and service companies are located throughout Bedfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
The new studies acknowledge that the prosperity of the UK oil and gas supply chain relies not just on the buoyancy of North Sea activity but also on diversification and exports, which will help to broaden the base of the industry and maintain jobs.
Mike Straughen, managing director of AMEC Services, who will be speaking at this week's breakfast meeting, says: "Renewable energy and in particular offshore wind, and wave and tidal energy hold the greatest potential for diversification, offering the closest fit with the capabilities of the oil and gas supplies industry. Other new business opportunities lie in such areas as the logistics sector, valued at £14 billion per year by 2003, and in providing services to support the planned expansion and improvement of the UK's transport and gas distribution networks."
The event will also highlight the potential for diversification in the environmental sector which has been identified as the second key area of opportunity. Waste management, for example, valued at £3 billion, is a rapidly expanding market with resource management and recycling predicted to be key areas for the future. Other opportunities lie in the area of environmental impact assessments and analysis.
The studies are published on CD-ROM, copies of which have already been distributed to 6,000 companies across the UK giving more detailed information on the various markets as well as offering general advice on diversification | | Contact: | Trisha O'Reilly, PILOT Communications
Tel: 020 7802 2422
Email: toreilly@ukooa.co.uk |
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For all press enquiries please contact:
Trisha O'Reilly at UKOOA Tel: 0207 802 2422 Email: toreilly@ukooa.co.uk
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