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LONDON (Alliance News) - Oil & Gas UK has shuffled its board after appointing a new team of officers to lead the management of the organisation and by appointing new individuals to co-chair the board.
Oil & Gas UK is the trade body of the oil and gas industry offshore the UK since and was established back in April 2007, representing companies that work on the UK Continental Shelf, with the majority of companies mainly operating in the UK North Sea.
The board of the organisation is comprised of 12 members that are from a cross-section of the industry to ensure that different sectors and company sizes are represented on the board, which is ultimately led by the Chief Executive of Oil & Gas UK, Deirdre Michie.
There are also two Oil & Gas UK Councils, one focusing on operating companies and the other on contractors and companies working within the supply chain, which both act as advisory bodies which review and advise ongoing matters affecting the industry and the trade body.
Members of the Oil & Gas UK board that are representing a member company can enjoy their seat on the board for a two-year period before either standing down or offering themselves up for re-election, with the ability to serve up to five years in total.
On Tuesday, Oil & Gas UK said the existing co-chairmen of the board have now served their maximum length of time on the board, prompting a change.
Following their five-year stints as chairmen of the board, BP PLC's Regional North Sea President Trevor Garlick and Amec Foster Wheeler President of Northern Europe John Pearson have now both stepped down with immediate effect.
They have been replaced by Neil McCulloch from EnQuest PLC and by Terry Savage from Global Energy Group with immediate effect. McCulloch, who is the London-listed firm's president of North Sea operations, will be the representative from the operating member companies whilst Savage will represent the community of contractors that the trade body represents.
"The most important role for my tenure as co-chairman is to help drive investment in the UK Continental Shelf, most easily measured by the number of wells being drilled ? which is at an all-time low," said EnQuest's McCulloch.
"We have to make the UKCS more competitive for investment by streamlining operations and achieving average unit operating costs of USD15 per barrel. We will have to deliver drilling costs of less than half their peak level, and deliver better on our project promises; all the while maintaining our basin?s exemplary safety record," McCulloch added.
EnQuest is a big player in the UK North Sea, producing 27,505 barrels a day during 2015 from the region with ambitions to push this up further in 2016. To put McCulloch's aim to get operating costs down to USD15 a barrel in context, EnQuest's operating costs in 2015 were in the region of USD25 to USD27 per barrel - but that includes its production outside of the UK.
The introduction of McCulloch to the board also comes before EnQuest is expected to launch its huge Kraken development offshore the UK in the first half of 2017, which is expected to drive EnQuest's operating costs down to around USD20 per barrel during that year.
Global Energy Group, a private company, is an energy sector service group that repairs drilling rigs, builds processing plants, fabricates subsea manifolds and offers a host of other services to the oil, gas and renewable energy sectors.
Following his appointment, Savage said: "The industry is rightly proud of its world-class supply chain, and I look forward to representing companies of all sizes and throughout the UK."
The two new co-chairmen join two existing members of the board which have now been promoted to take on the role of Vice-Chairmen, Ray Riddoch from Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd and Neil Sims, who comes from Expro North Sea.
Chevron's Craig May retains his role as the honorary treasurer of Oil & Gas UK.
The other appointments to the board of Oil & Gas UK earlier this week include representatives from BP, Petrofac Ltd and Maersk Oil. BP's Regional President of the North Sea Mark Thomas joins the board, as does Petrofac's Walter Thain.
"Oil & Gas UK is very fortunate to have the guidance of a talented board and I would like to take this opportunity to thank those leaving the Board for their commitment and service to the industry," said Oil & Gas UK's CEO Michie.
"I look forward to drawing on the experience and guidance of the new board directors and officers to strengthen the prospects for firms in this sector. We are starting to show that by working together, this industry can become more efficient, safer and sustainable in a world of lower oil prices," she added.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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