| Details: | Date: 13 November 2001
Venue: Marriott Hotel, Farburn, Dyce, Aberdeen AB21 7AZ
A major conference takes place next month in Aberdeen to highlight new business opportunities opening up in the rapidly expanding environmental market in the oil and gas sector.
The overall UK market for environmental products and services is currently valued at £8 billion, and is expected to rise to an estimated £11 - £12 billion by 2010. New legislation coupled with heightened environmental awareness amongst North Sea companies means that there are significant openings for businesses looking to capture a greater share of this growing market by targeting the environment sector of the offshore oil and gas industry.
Brian Wilson, Energy Minister and chairman of PILOT, said:
"Promoting new environmental business opportunities in the oil and gas sector makes sense from every perspective; improving the quality of the environment and helping UK businesses get to the future first. There are significant opportunities both on the UKCS and worldwide and I hope the UK oil and gas supply chain grasps these quickly to turn them into prosperity and jobs."
The one day conference has the backing of PILOT, the joint government industry initiative to maintain UK oil and gas competitiveness, and follows the publication this summer of two Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) studies into business diversification opportunities for the sector's service companies.
Speakers will include senior DTI officials as well as top industry environmentalists. The programme will provide:
1. An overview of the legal and ethical framework for environmental compliance in the North Sea;
2. A view of the UK service sector and the opportunities for new solutions and services;
3. The oil and gas industry's view of the importance of environmental compliance and how the sector manages and delivers its environmental programmes.
Roundtable sessions in the afternoon will discuss the industry's current and future environmental service needs in areas such as drilling and production, decommissioning, environmental management and best practice. Key activities are likely to be in waste management and recycling, environmental impact assessment and analysis, as well as monitoring and compliance surveys.
Simon Harbord, chairman of the UK Offshore Operators Association's environment committee and a speaker at the conference, said: "The offshore oil and gas industry's demand for environmental services will continue to grow. The conference and workshops will help to identify gaps in current provision and indicate where new products and services will be required in the future." |
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