OGN: British O&G Manufacturers Lose Contracts to Foreign Companies

In spite of tax concessions being offered to North Sea oil and gas producers, it is estimated that in the last two years British oil and gas manufacturers have lost out on £10 billion worth of contracts, representing 10,000 jobs, which have been placed with foreign companies, including those in Dubai, Korea, Holland and Italy.

Dennis Clark, Chairman of OGN Group, a leading UK oil and gas construction contractor based in Wallsend, Tyne & Wear, has written a letter to the 12 North-East regional MPs seeking their support for the British fabrication industry and urging the government to promote UK content.

“There is no policy requiring tax benefits to be reinvested in this country. The UK is the only oil and gas province without a positive policy favouring local content. “

OGN, one of only four oil platform manufacturers left in Britain, lost out to a Korean rival in a North Sea contract in December last year.

While the Department of Energy and Climate Change say to place rules to force operators to source UK content would be incompatible with EU laws, Clark argues that the fabrication industry, already in decline since the 1990s, will further diminish unless Ministers ensure government policy for local content.

[mappress]

Press Release, January 23, 2013