Blunt visits Shearwater platform
Expro News - 3rd March 2003
Recently the Shadow Energy Minister, Crispin Blunt, visited the Shearwater platform. Here are his impressions of the experience and of the lessons he learned from the visit.
Appointed at the end of July 2002 as Shadow Energy Minister, less than a year after becoming Shadow Northern Ireland Minister, I could again enjoy one of the privileges of a career in politics, the need to be an instant expert on a completely new subject.
At an early point on the energy learning curve I concluded that while the issues of renewables and nuclear were interesting, gas was important. The policy to be adopted towards all the other fuels that power our economy depended on the availability of natural gas, which would almost certainly be dominant over the next two decades.
Therefore I set out to find the answer to the most basic question: How much gas is out there? The first thing that surprised me was that every oil and gas executive did not appear to have the answer on the tip of his tongue. Even Shell had to refer me to one of their brilliant economists to help paint the global picture for me. However the answer I came away with was simple: lots, though not enough of it under the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). 100 years supply around the world with a variety of different sources did mean that one could accept a situation where gas could grow its share of energy provision without the government having to intervene to prevent it for security of supply reasons.
The next stage of my oil and gas education was to go and see this vital industry in operation. Shell were kind enough to facilitate my first visit to the North Sea. As a 42-year-old I have grown up with the North Sea industry. In my adult lifetime its economic contribution has been enormous. Without it the change made to the British economy between 1979 and 1997 would not have been possible. Not only did it underwrite that change, but the existence of leading edge technology delivering vital fuel to the UK from our own inhospitable waters was an example of much that is best about the British national character. The stoicism, inventiveness and determination of those who worked in the industry combined to help rescue Britain from relative economic decline.
This was to be my chance to see this for myself. I was to be accompanied by Mark Carne, and the Shearwater platform had been chosen for me to visit. I was conscious that this modern gas and condensate platform represented the most modern of the industry and the crew's living and working conditions were markedly better than those to be found elsewhere in the North Sea.
Two things impressed themselves upon me. In this industry, with the grittiest of reputations, to be invited to hold the handrail on the stairs at the hotel for the pre-visit briefings seemed somewhat bizarre. But the issue of safety was relentless. Even down to the little invention to enable one to breathe for an extra minute underwater after a helicopter ditching, Shell's determination to mark themselves out on this issue was impressive. As a former soldier, who has seen the Army overtaken by the Health and Safety culture, I was somewhat sceptical to begin with, but by the end of my visit convinced. What became clear is how vital is the team and how reliant everyone was on each individual. A failure by one individual could be catastrophic and the strong corporate safety culture helped produce a sense of responsibility to one's colleagues.
The other surprise I had was the age of the workforce. Plainly many of the young men who had pioneered the development of the North Sea in the 1970s had simply stayed put. Most of my experience of climbing in and out of helicopters was with the army, where to find someone at the operational end the far side of thirty was unusual. Climbing on and off our helicopter flying out to Shearwater via three stop off points on the way the average age was closer to fifty.
On arrival the scale of the rig and the industrial infrastructure it carries in such an inhospitable environment was immediately impressive. The contrast between the ordered calm of that atmosphere inside and the potential of the elements outside was marked. My visit to the rig at three hours was too short to get to know the crew properly. They were however kind enough to present me with a singing Christmas Tree, suitably decorated. Having been briefed by Peter Reilly, the Offshore Installation Manager, and the safety representatives the tour of the facility left me with one firm conclusion: Britain's debt to this industry goes on.
Having now intensively studied energy policy for seven months I know that the contribution the workers on Shearwater and the rest of the oil and gas industry goes largely unremarked. Even as I write this, as the Government prepares to publish its Energy White Paper (now in the public domain), the headlines are about nuclear and renewables. Their contribution will continue to be dwarfed by natural gas whether from our own waters or elsewhere for the foreseeable future. My visit to the North Sea helped impress upon me the unsung but critical and central importance of this industry to all of us. Any energy policy that doesn't recognise this has missed the most important issue.
