Last checked at 
ABERDEEN, Scotland, Sept 11 (Reuters) - A slump in oilprices is forcing the oil and gas services industry for thefirst time in 15 years to trim costs in a way that executivessay will create a lasting change away from their usual lavishway of doing business.
Navigating a new environment in which oil prices have halvedin a year and their customers are slashing investments, oilservice firms face a rough ride.
"The industry has been quite lazy in changing because oilprices have been helping us a lot," Samir Brikho, chiefexecutive of oil service engineering company Amec Foster Wheeler, told Reuters.
"At a time like this, you need to take a look at how you cantake out the fat. Once we have done this we will never go back,this will become the new norm."
The previous oil price plunge in 2008-2009, driven by theglobal financial crisis, ended too soon to force oil servicefirms seriously to reassess their cost structures.
Now, as oil prices have failed to rebound in over a year,oil service companies are depending on running their businessesmore efficiently to survive.
This week's biennial gathering of the offshore oil servicessector in Britain's oil capital, Aberdeen, highlighted theextent of cost savings being made.
British oil service heavyweights including Wood Group and Petrofac, as well as London-headquartered Seadrill, had no presence among the 1,500 exhibitors at theconference.
"It shows how seriously they take the cost-cutting," saidone conference attendee who works in the industry but declinedto be identified.
Britain's oil and gas industry lobby group estimates thesector will reduce costs by 2.1 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) bythe end of next year.
A large part of these savings is related to job cuts. Oil &Gas UK estimates the industry has already shed 65,000 jobs sincepeak employment at the start of last year. The group expectsemployment in the sector to drop further in coming months.
Companies say they are making changes in working practicesthat mean the sector is less wasteful, such as cooperatingbetter on projects and standardising equipment.
"It's this transformation that needs to be sustained," saidAndy Samuel, chief executive of Britain's newly created oil andgas regulator. ($1 = 0.6480 pounds) (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Dale Hudson)
