Seil Chat

I was in Aberdeen last week and cant believe the amount of development thats going on from new roads to business parks that seem to have appeared almost overnight.the property market in Aberdeenshire is extremely upbeat with tales of people having to put in offers just to rent!I cant see any slowdown in fact the opposite-huge amounts of investment.

Hi Jack. Just wait for Innes to refute everything you've seen in Aberdeen. He'll tell you it's a complex hoax by Alex Salmond and not to be taken in by it!!

Yup, Jack, I would not be surprised if it's claimed Aberdeen is a carbon copy of Rock Rridge in the Blazibng Saddles movie - at the 'tollbooth!'

"Now what'll that asshole think of next? Does anybody got a dime? Somebody has to go back and get a shitload of dimes!"

It's a quote from the film Jim - before you ask!

No one is saying the oil is running out. We're not running out of coal either. There are at least an estimated 40 million tonnes left. But no one wants it at the price it costs to extract it. It's cheaper to buy it elsewhere. North Sea oil has always been relatively expensive and the reserves now left are more difficult and costly to extract. At the same time Iraq and Libya free of conflict are exporting again and fracking and shale are creating new cheaper sources of oil and gas. Economics will determine if North Sea oil has a future, not how much is left. Already production and revenue are falling. Times are not as certain as they were.

Then why are the oil companies, who are cynical at the best of times, investing in the infrastructure to extract Scottish Oil? They must be able to see it has a bright future, at least in the medium term.

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Aye, Jack's right. You have to see Aberdeen to understand it. The place is going like a fair.

New industrial parks and huge suites of office buildings are opening up everywhere. Aberdeen's oil hinterland now stretches out way past Kirkton of Skene to the West of the city. Unemployment is below the structurally necessary 2%, wealth is everywhere, wages are astronomical.

Hardly the signs of an industry in decline. All the scare stories about Scotland's oil are just that - utter bolleaux. Ask anyone who knows the industry well .

(Which I do, having many friends, clients and business contacts in the industry that I am in regular contact with).

Poor wee Scotland - the only country to be cursed with oil ! Hilarious !

The world is littered with abandoned gold rush towns and cities. Look at what's in Aberdeen. All the gear that makes money, gets the oil out can be moved and quickly. The offices, the warehouses, get emptied and left to gather dust rot. They cost very little to put up, are probably only leased, and oil companies can walk away from them with hardly any loss at all. And you are left with ghost-towns. All it takes is for them to find cheaper, easier to extract oil or gas, as in shale and fracking, and all of the gear can go. The whole Yes Campaign just doesn't get ECONOMICS. There may be plenty oil but it is worth NOTHING if no one wants to buy it at the price it has to be sold at to cover costs. Exactly the same was true with British coal. Millions of tonnes remain under the UK. No one wants it. Oil is no different.

Innes Newton wrote:The world is littered with abandoned gold rush towns and cities. Look at what's in Aberdeen. All the gear that makes money, gets the oil out can be moved and quickly. The offices, the warehouses, get emptied and left to gather dust rot. They cost very little to put up, are probably only leased, and oil companies can walk away from them with hardly any loss at all. And you are left with ghost-towns.

You are posting utter rubbish as usual and have obviously not been to Aberdeen at any time in the last two years. Property prices in Aberdeen are through the roof and oil companies are building flash new offices and yards like there is no tomorrow.

New EnQuest HQ Taking Shape in Aberdeen - new landmark building in the harbour area, 120,000 sq ft over eight storeys.


Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen is establishing an International Institute for Oil and Gas


Aberdeen Oil Jobs - OilCareers : Your search has returned 500 live Jobs.

Aberdeen, 10 April 2014: Statoil has chosen Prime Four Business Park in Kingswells, Aberdeen as the location for its new operations centre and head office for development and production activities on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS).

Aberdeen, the city outpacing even London’s property boom

Construction gets underway for new GDF SUEZ E&P UK Aberdeen premises



New Aberdeen – Kristiansund route takes off

Technip unveil £15m Aberdeen HQ



Premier Oil will take residence in their bespoke offices by mid-2014, and will join other oil majors Apache, Nexen and Transocean at Prime Four, enhancing the park’s growing reputation as the business destination of choice for the energy industry.



Scottish Energy Minister opens ABB’s new £3m Aberdeen centre as oil and gas services set to recruit throughout 2014

List of Oil and Gas Companies in Aberdeen

BP - a leading provider of oil and natural gas exploration and production
Contact: , Phone: (+4412) 24 83 20 00, Fax:
Aberdeen, SCOTLAND, Europe(North)
http://www.bp.com


Hydrasun - suppliers of lines, fittings, fasteners and hoses
Contact: , Phone: +44 1224 618618, Fax: +44 1224 618701
Aberdeen, SCOTLAND, Europe(North)
http://www.hydrasun.com


KCA DEUTAG - is a leading international drilling and engineering company working onshore and offshore with a focus on safety, quality and operational performance.
Contact: , Phone: 01224 299600, Fax:
Aberdeen, SCOTLAND, Europe(North)
http://www.kcadeutag.com


Subsea7 - ROV operators, installation, survey and positioning
Contact: , Phone: (+4412) 24 77 70 00, Fax: (+4412) 24 77 79 44
Aberdeen, SCOTLAND, Europe(North)
http://www.subsea7.com


Balmoral Offshore Engineering - include rigid and dynamic riser buoyancy, ROV/AUV and subsurface buoyancy, elastomer cable protectors, bend restrictors
Sonavision Limited - world leaders in the fields of seabed mapping, imaging sonar and acoustic communications
Wood Group ODL - the development, management and delivery of technical information and procedural documentation
Aquatic - independent operator of powered reels for the global oil and gas industry
Balmoral Group - manufacturers of marine equipment, bouys, moorings and composites
C-Tecnics Ltd - manufacturers of harsh environment apparatus but with an emphasis on equipment containing electronics for use underwater
DPS Offshore - is the global leader in the rental of marine electronic equipment covering, offshore survey and construction, inspection ROV systems, ROV and diver tooling packages, geophysical and environmental sensors
Maris Subsea - supplying high quality specialist personnel to the subsea and marine markets.
Prospect - Engineering and project services from concept to operation and beyond
Tritech International Ltd - provision of sensors and tools for ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicles) and AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles)
CSL - delivers subsea developments from concept to completion for oil and gas companies worldwide
Expro - Expro’s business is well flow management. Expro is a leading provider of services and products that measure, improve, control and process flow from high-value oil and gas wells.
Stena Drilling - independent well drilling services contractors
i-Tech - A Division of Subsea 7 - Leading remotely operated vehicle (ROV) service provider
Marinetronix Limited - specialise in the service, repair, calibration, sales and hire of dynamic positioning (DP) sensors
Scan Tech UK - rental of oilfield/subsea equipment and hydraulics engineering services
Abalt Solutions Limited - provides innovative engineering solutions and training services
Abbot Group plc - offshore drilling and well services contractor
Aberdeen Drilling - is a training company with facilities in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK, and Houston, Texas, USA
Aberdeen Drilling Consultants Ltd - provide quality drilling and well engineering consultancy services to the Oil and Gas Industry,
Absoft Ltd - Provision of SAP solutions to the oil and gas industry
ACE Alfred Cheyne Engineering Ltd - design, manufacture and hire of hydraulic winches and marine deck machinery for the Offshore Oil and Gas, Marine and Renewable Energy markets
AEC Technology - is an independent engineering consultancy specialising in provision of high quality project management and engineering services
Aiken Group - consultancy, project management, drilling engineering, underwater construction
Airpac Bukom Oilfield Services - are a market leading air compression rental company
AJT Engineering - extensive conventional and CNC machining capability, welding, including specialised automated cladding, fabrication, mechanical fitting
All Oceans Engineering Ltd - deliver flexible, cost effective solutions to underwater mechanical handling issues
Andergauge Ltd - Provides innovative, cost-effective and reliable drilling and intervention tools to the worldwide oil and gas industry.
Andrew Palmer & Associates - continues to provide the specialist consultancy services to our clients
Andrews Survey - a leading provider of survey and positioning services to the international offshore industry
Apex Tubulars Ltd - supplier of Downhole Casing and Tubing (OCTG)
Ashtead Technology Rentals - instruments are utilized in a wide range of diverse markets, from construction and utilities through to refineries and manufacturing
Atkins Boreas Consultants Limited - independent firm of consulting engineers providing solutions to the oil and gas industries
B & A Hydraulics Ltd - products available for hire, including Hydraulic Pump Units, Cylinders, Spreaders, Nut Splitters, Torque Equipment and Bolt Tensioning Equipment.
Baricon Systems - Carousels, Tensioners, Reel Drives, Under-Rollers and associated power and control systems
BMT Cordah - international multi-disciplinary environmental consultancy and information systems company
Bradechem - cleans, abrades, bonds, seals, tapes or lubricates
Brinker Technology Ltd - pipeline and riser applications
Buchan Technical Services - supply rental equipment and day rate personnel to support the oil and gas industry
C&M Group - Advanced Technology Electrical Contracting Engineering Marine Offshore Electrical & Instrumentation
Caledus - downhole drilling- and completion-related products, design of close-clearance, flush-jointed liners to slim down the well profile
Caledyne Ltd - is a mechanical engineering company based in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Canyon Offshore - underwater remote intervention, ROV and suction anchors
Caprock Communications - World-class satellite communications to the world's harshest and most remote locations
Carrack Ltd - holding stocks of Casing & Tubing, Drill Pipe & Drilling Equipment
CDL td - ROV tooling systems, sensors, cameras, tilt units
Champion Environmental Technologies - Aquasign - specialise in supply of environmentally friendly anti-fouling products like Aquasign
Chevron Upstream Europe - one of the world's leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide
ClerkMaxwell Limited - an independent engineering consultancy providing Engineering and Management services
Consafe Engineering Ltd - design and construction of Living Quarters for the offshore Oil and Gas Industry
Craig Group IMS Ltd, - a complete range of mooring services from its international bases including rental, sale and management of mooring equipment and consultancy in mooring design
Craig Group Ltd - emergency response and standby vessels in the North Sea to chain inspection and certification in the Gulf of Mexico
Craig International Supplies - oilfield supply houses for the North Sea Oil & Gas sector
Cromar Limited - produce Well Service Equipment to stringent British Standards, SI-913, appropriate International standards (API-6A, NPD, DNV) and NACE specifications
CTES - modelling software and advanced measuring devices/data acquisition systems to the wireline, slickline, pumping services, drilling
Dana Petroleum - ten North Sea fields in production
DES Operations - are subsea processing and production optimisation specialists
Digilog Services Ltd - remote intervention ROV control, tooling and survey systems
Divex Ltd - is recognised as the global industry leader in the design, supply, manufacture, research and development of diving and subsea equipment
Drilltech Group - a leading specialist drilling rental tool company whose primary focus is supporting complex drilling campaigns
Duffy & McGovern Accomodation Services - engineering, sleeping and general purpose units. From laundries to locker rooms, laboratories to logging.
EMM Corporation - Lifting and Rigging Products
Energy Cranes - is the world’s leading offshore crane and mechanical handling contractor supporting the oil and gas industry
Enermech - provides a range of Mechanical Engineering Products and Services to the Energy Industry
Ferguson Modular Limited - manufacture, deliver and install modules to onshore and offshore locations
Fisher Offshore - specialising in subsea tooling and lifting solutions
Flexitallic Ltd - manufactures gaskets and seals materials for the world's process industries
Flexlife Ltd - delivery of flexible pipe projects
FUGRO Survey Ltd - Operates a fleet of six vessels permanently equipped with survey spreads, including geophysical/hydrographic vessels
Fugro-Rovtech Limited - provide vessels, ROVs and specialist support in Construction, Drill Support, IRM and Intervention Tooling
Helix RDS - integrated subsurface and wells consultancy operating in all hydrocarbon provinces in the world
HOSE International Ltd - specialise in BOPs and Well Control Equipment
HPHT Solutions Ltd - Facilities engineering solutions from conceptual through to commsioning.
Hunting Cromar Ltd - Develops well service equipment for completion, well intervention, slickline, production logging, coil tubing and fishing operations.
iicorr Ltd - specialist technology company in integrity, inspection and corrosion
Imes Group - provides testing, monitoring and measurement, in-service support and specialist engineering services
impROV Ltd - engineering and manufacturing across, drilling, production and workover equipment, both surface and subsea
International Cable Management - specialising in supporting major operators, engineering companies, original equipment manufacturers and service companies
ITS Drilling Services - providing global environmental solutions for the global drilling industry.
iXBlue Limited - subsea marine equipment and oilfield repair and rental
J + S Ltd - primarily in the area of deepwater, high-reliability subsea communication signal and power networks.
JPNM Surveys - a leading provider of high quality photographic survey reports to the oil and gas industry
KD Marine - Commercial Diving Contractors providing underwater intervention services to the offshore oil and gas industry
Kongsberg Maritime Ltd - specialises in the supply of innovative and reliable marine electronics and instrumentation
Kongsberg Simrad - providing underwater imaging, cameras and video technology
KPI Consultants Ltd - quality assurance consulting group, specialising in quality management and assurance auditing and qualification, including change control and validation
Larsen Oil and Gas - international drilling and production contractor
LEWIS Ltd - Riserless Well Intervention Techniques
LHR Marine Ltd - products from the full, Mustang Survival range, Safeguard Technology products, Feuerstein Mooring Equipment accessories
Mackay Marine Services Limited - expert marine and boat technicians
Measurement Devices Ltd - innovative laser measurement technology and positioning and navigation systems.
Mooring Systems Ltd - company providing mooring services to the offshore industry
Nautronix plc - services the needs of the oil and gas customers for Acoustic Positioning and Communication, whether by sale or rental.
NCS Survey - providing survey services to the offshore construction and positioning markets on a worldwide basis
NETmc Marine Ltd - leading supplier of digital video recorders (DVR) to the ROV, diving and structural inspection market.
Oceanteam - is a offshore service company able to work for any client in any geographic location.
OHM LTD - leading provider of Controlled Source Electromagnetic Imaging (CSEMI) services, including surveying, data processing
Operations and Maintenance Management - expertise in Operations, Maintenance, Subsea, Marine Engineering, Inspection,
Petrofac Facilities Management - Engineering & Construction, Engineering & Construction Ventures, Engineering Services, Offshore Engineering & Operations, Training, Production Solutions and Energy Developments
Pisys Limited - specialising in the creation and delivery of specialist software products and consultancy services
Plexus Ocean Systems Ltd - has developed and patented a method of engineering for oil and gas field wellheads and connectors, named POS GRIP
Premier Oilfield Rentals Ltd - downhole, drilling, handling equipment, rig floor, pipe inspection and applications engineering.
Ramco Energy plc - has exploration assets in Ireland and Montenegro and is currently evaluating other frontier exploration and oil services deals
READ Well Services - well services and production equipment
Reflex Marine - provides innovative and risk focused solutions for offshore operators
Resmod ltd - specializes in most aspects of petroleum engineering and reservoir simulation
Roemex ltd - design, manufacture and supply, Completion, Remedial and Production chemicals to the global market of the oil and gas industry
Rotech Subsea Ltd - mass flow excavation tools in the world applications include pipeline, umbilical and cable trenching, pipeline de-burial, rock dump removal
RRC Controls Services Ltd - procurement, installation, commissioning and life of field support for Subsea Control Systems
Rubberatkins Ltd - offers responsive technical advice from concept to completion
Sea (Group) Ltd - design of acoustic solutions for today’s subsea challenges. Pioneer in cutting-edge subsea services, systems engineering
Senergy Ltd - Provides oil and gas field development and management services, including all subsurface and well project management skills
Smart Light Devices - remote intervention cameras and video ROV lights
SMD Hydrovision - design and manufacture of ROV thrusters tooling Systems.
Sparrows Offshore Services Ltd - crane and lifting services contractor in the offshore oil and gas industry.
SPD Well Project Management - drilling and project management consultancy
Step Change in Safety - is the UK based partnership with the remit to make the UK the safest Oil and Gas Exploration and Production province
Sub-Atlantic Ltd - leading manufacturer of Comanche, Mohican, Super Mohawk, Mohawk and Navajo Electric ROV Systems
Sub-Drill - Sub-X Wellhead & BOP Gaskets, MS-V Mud Saver Range, DSV Test Stand and Side Entry Sub
Subsea UK - Industry body for the subsea sector
Swire Oilfield Services - offshore transportation containers, chemical transportation tanks, chemical storage, handling and blending facilities
The Ex Zone - supplies a wide range of advanced explosion protected equipment
TIS Manufacturing - design, manufacture and service, Oilfield Well Service Equipment
Trident Offshore LTD - specialist marine contractors and consultants to the offshore oil and gas industry.
Venture Production plc - oil and gas company focused on recapturing the potential of stranded reserves
Well Ops UK - provides a wide range of well operation and decommissioning services with specialist vessels and innovative equipment.
Whittaker Engineering - design and manufacture a range of specialist solutions for the offshore oil and gas industry
Xodus Group Limited - is an international independent specialist consultancy
Zenocean Ltd - independent subsea engineering companies servicing the offshore oil and gas industry
CETCO Oilfield Services - Specialises in the removal of hydrocarbons and other contaminants from offshore and land-based wastewater streams
Cutting Underwater Technologies UK - key technologies within the Offshore Structure Management & Abandonment applications
DOF Subsea UK - subsea services contractor, providing survey, IRM, construction support and subsea engineering
Downhole Products plc - specialises in the design and manufacture of specialist quality oilfield equipment
Energen Personnel Limited - an oil and gas recruitment consultancy
Global Energy Group - a contracting and service-based company supporting the International Energy Industry
RBG Ltd - UK & International provider of Construction Support, Fabric Maintenance and Related Services
Subocean Limited - provide marine installation contractor services to market-leading customers
Total Waste Management Alliance PLC - specialises in offshore and onshore cuttings handling, cuttings processing, oily water treatment, pit cleaning, drill cuttings containment
Vertec Engineering Limited - delivering specialist manufacturing services to the oil and gas, petrochemical, transport and utility industries
Bowtech Products Limited - is one of the World's leading suppliers of components for the ROV and Remote Underwater Intervention Industry
Inspectahire Inst.Co. Ltd - leading supplier of progressive inspection solutions.

You are posting utter rubbish as usual and have obviously not been to Aberdeen at any time in the last two years. Property prices in Aberdeen are through the roof and oil companies are building flash new offices and yards like there is no tomorrow

You really haven't a clue about business, or economics. You're acting like a country yokel wide eyed when he sees the bright lights of a city. These buildings can be vacated in a moment. They are shells thrown up quickly and relatively cheaply. All the oil equipment can be transported elsewhere. The offshore industry is completely mobile. And the jobs are mobile too. You haven't a clue. You are simply dazzled by it all. You probably think £ 5 is still a lot of money.

Innes Newton wrote: You really haven't a clue about business, or economics. You're acting like a country yokel wide eyed when he sees the bright lights of a city. These buildings can be vacated in a moment. They are shells thrown up quickly and relatively cheaply. All the oil equipment can be transported elsewhere. The offshore industry is completely mobile. And the jobs are mobile too. You haven't a clue. You are simply dazzled by it all. You probably think £ 5 is still a lot of money.

Innes, I worked in the oil industry for ten years. I have a lot of friends still in the industry. One of them keeps trying to retire but is constantly headhunted and offered £850 a day for a couple of days a week in an Aberdeen office. My son works for an oil service company.

Let me assure you that these new £15 million headquarters and fancy landscaped business parks are not 'cheap shells' quickly thrown up. The oil industry in Aberdeen - a city I still visit regularly on pleasure and business - is booming.

'Wide-eyed yokel' indeed. What is it you operate Innes, 4 lorries and a wee warehouse on a shabby industrial estate at Manchester Airport ? No doubt your operation could be folded up and disappear overnight. BP, Enquist, Statoil, Maersk and the others are major multinational players who have invested and are still investing heavily in fixed infrastructure in Aberdeen.

Don't you think it is time you stopped making a complete fool of yourself ?

So who actually pays for these flashy HQ's? The city of Aberdeen or are they leased?

Innes Newton wrote:So who actually pays for these flashy HQ's? The city of Aberdeen or are they leased?

The oil companies pay for them.

They are owned, not leased.

You know this for a fact do you?

Innes Newton wrote:You know this for a fact do you?

Yes.

NickB wrote:

Innes Newton wrote:You know this for a fact do you?

Yes.

And where did you find this 'fact'?

The truth is that all of those companies you name moving to Prime Four are tenants with lease agreements. Read it for yourself so you are better informed in future and don't mis-lead people with your 'facts'....which are here http://primefour.co.uk/life-at-prime-four/tenants

I can't be bothered to check the rest because you clearly haven't done your research and have gone all gaga when you saw those big new offices being thrown up.

The reality is that these 'big' companies have only leased the properties so that they do not have to pay for permanent facilities. The whole industry is mobile, and they can move all the gear and all the jobs in relatively little time, and Aberdeen gets left with the empty warehouses and offices. It's just economics, and the economics for oil can be fickle. There may be plenty oil left in the North Sea. But whether anyone wants it in the future, when other cheaper sources are coming online fast, is another matter.

Elaine Rodger wrote:Nick, why are you 'debating' with a wee random mannie who, by his own admission, couldn't find a job in the whole of Scotland?

Perhaps because he is typical of a whole tribe of Telegraph-worshipping Mail reading mindless BritNats whose nonsense needs to be exposed.

Remember, There are a lot of lurkers reading this site, many of whom will be marvelling at the narrow-minded, petty and vindictive brand of British Nationalism peddled by Mr. Newton.

Innes is, in his own small way, doing something here to help the YES campaign.

Of course you skip over the fact that so many of the companies you said are investing in Aberdeen and buying new HQ's, not leasing them, was NOT correct. You were wrong. Admit it. Or do I have to call you a liar for getting something wrong? (Like you did with me)

Innes Newton wrote:Of course you skip over the fact that so many of the companies you said are investing in Aberdeen and buying new HQ's, not leasing them, was NOT correct. You were wrong. Admit it. Or do I have to call you a liar for getting something wrong? (Like you did with me)

OK, I admit many of the buildkings are leased. Not sure I see the relevance though. The office blocks are all purpose built to the specification of the individual companies and let on very long leases at the highest rates outside London and the SE. I think you will find the new occupiers will not be leaving in the near future. These are not 6 month leases on portacabins in some run down industrial park round the back of Manchester Airport. BP, for example, took out a 15 year lease on its new building in 2007.

Anyway, you say the oil is running out and the OBR are predicting dismal revenues for 2016. Let's see what the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce 18th Oil and Gas Survey has to say about the immediate future of the North Sea:

Oil and gas production has declined considerably over the past two years, due in part to adverse tax changes in the 2011 budget (and also 2005). As Oil & Gas UK note, it would be wrong to expect any immediate upturn in production, but by 2017, production is expected to rise to approximately two million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).

That last figure is 0.7bn barrels per year according to my maths . . . at a conservative estimate of $100 per barrel that is £7 billion - which is somewhat at odds with the OBR estimate that oil revenues will be around £3.2 billion in 2016.

Now let's see, who to believe . . . an office set up by George Osbourne in 2016 with a dismal record of accuracy that is blatantly being used to prop up Project Fear, or Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce.

Seems like a no brainer to me.

The only portacabins are for the builders constructing the new £800 million development at Manchester airport which we will be part of when it is finished. Like the stuff in Aberdeen it is being thrown up, with pre-fabricated steel girders, glass and cladding panels. You can see the difference every day, it is being put up so fast. No doubt all of it will be leased, like in Aberdeen. But your comment regarding new builds in Aberdeen, "These are not 6 month leases on portacabins in some run down industrial park round the back of Manchester Airport" just shows total ignorance. Check it out here http://www.airportcity.co.uk/

And you say

Anyway, you say the oil is running out

....tell me where?

I didn't say that. I said that North Sea Oil is relatively expensive and difficult to extract and that with Iraq and Libya free to export again, and cheaper oil and gas from shale and fracking coming into the market, North Sea Oil is likely to find itself too expensive to be viable and uneconomic to extract. It matters not one little bit how many trillions of barrels might still be in the North Sea, if it is cheaper to get elsewhere, it is worth nothing to anyone. Like the millions of tonnes of coal that lie under Britain now. You don't seem to understand this simple economics concept. Please tell me you do.

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You don't see to grasp the simple fact that oil companies invested £14.4 billion in the North Sea last year.

Seems a strange thing to do if it's all about to become worthless.