Collaboration On The UKCS: What's In A Word?

Collaboration is a buzzword in the North Sea these days. At a time when the industry is striving to restore competitiveness, improve efficiency and bring down costs it has seldom been more important. Oil and Gas UK's most recent Activity Survey found that operating costs have dropped from around $30 per boe to $17 since 2014, but measures still need to go further.

Scratch the surface though, and you quickly realise that there's little clarity over what collaboration actually means. That lack of understanding was one of the main drivers behind our report: Making the most of the UKCS: Collaborating for success. Surveying the UK Continental Shelf's (UKCS) operators and supply chain companies, respondents told us that they collaborate to a high degree with their suppliers and customers in initiatives mainly aimed at cutting costs.