ECONOMIC REPORT 2013
32
recent years, most new developments have
not involved the construction of large, new
production platforms with their own pipelines
to shore. Instead, the tendency has been to use
existing infrastructure for new developments
which has two main benefits: it extends the
infrastructure’s life and allows smaller fields to
be developed economically.
Today,most newfields are small when compared
with the early giants such as Leman, Forties and
Brent. Also, remaining reserves are increasingly
difficult and costly to extract. As a result, there
has been a drive to make the industry more cost
effective, without compromising safety or the
environment, so that the UKCS can continue to
win investment for new projects.
PILOT, the government and industry task
force, was formed in early 2000 to develop an
appropriate strategy for delivering a sustainable,
long-term future for the UKCS. It was born out
of a crisis. As oil prices fell to $10 a barrel at the
end of 1998, all stakeholders in the offshore oil
and gas industry realised that powerful factors
outside their control could jeopardise the
contribution that it makes to the economy.
PILOT is a unique arrangement between the
industry and government, uniting senior
management inoperators, contractors, suppliers
and relevant government departments who
are working co-operatively to deliver quicker
and smarter solutions aimed at securing the
maximumeconomic recovery of the country’s oil
and gas resources. This was and remains PILOT’s
overall objective. It meets twice a year and is
chaired by the Secretary of State for Energy and
Climate Change and includes around 13 industry
representatives, as well as representatives
of government.
Now in its 14th year, PILOT covers matters
relating to all phases of the oil and gas life cycle,
from exploration, development and production
through to decommissioning. The task force
promotes initiatives to reduce costs, eliminate
un-necessary barriers and maximise the
effectiveness of resources. The goal is to bring
about a future that could still see the industry
meeting approximately half of the nation’s oil
and gas needs in 2020.
Through its various initiatives, PILOT has been
extremely influential in advising and supporting
both government policy and industry practices
and has had various successes as a result of its
innovative and co-operativework. These include:
•
Attracting new players and global
investment
– a diverse range of new players
has entered the province which has led to
more small fields being developed and the
introduction of new technologies.
•
Stimulating activity
– the Fallow initiative
has placed still prospective acreage into the
hands of companies that want to develop it.
•
Enabling access to infrastructure
–
companies are able to negotiate with
owners for access to production facilities
and pipelines for processing and transport of
oil and gas. This has typically enabled subsea
tie-backs of small fields to established
infrastructure hubs, although there are still
various challenges in this regard.
•
Improvingstewardship
–anabilitytoanalyse
thoroughly the potential of producing fields
has been created, through techniques such
as infill and near-field drilling, together with
a more transparent mechanism for the
sharing of infrastructure data.
•
Facilitating new technology
– the Industry
Technology Facilitator (ITF) has been
established to foster innovation and
promote the development and use of new
technologies.
•
Training and skills
– the industry
workforce has increased by 100 per cent
throughout the life of PILOT, and the oil
and gas academy, OPITO, was established.
