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Oil, gas industry to capitalise on economic recovery

The global oil and gas industry has experienced both threats and opportunities as a result of the global financial crisis, according to a report from PSN (Production Services Network).

The results of a PSN study into business responses to the financial crisis in the oil and gas sector say that those companies who manage the current period successfully will be particularly well-placed to capitalise on the economic recovery.

Some of the research findings include:

• 81 per cent of the companies surveyed had been affected by the global recession, with half either seriously (27 per cent) or badly affected (22 per cent);

• 69 per cent of companies surveyed had decreased their employee headcount globally in the past two years;

• 78 per cent had been hit by the volatility in the oil market;

• 47 per cent of interviewees were optimistic about an imminent recovery in the global economy, while 53 per cent did not see a significant improvement in the economy occurring until 2010 and beyond;

• Access to capital and funding, in terms of securing finance for new developments and for cash flow, remains a challenge across the sector; and

• Companies with a diversified global business had received some protection due to their exposure to economies and industries which had not been heavily impacted by the recession.

The study was commissioned by PSN and the law firm McGrigors and involved several universities in the United Kingdom and North America led by the Aberdeen Business School.

The study included in-depth interviews with 31 senior executives, mostly CEOs and managing directors, from the major oil and gas companies as well as service providers and financial institutions involved in the sector.

The companies involved employ more than 740,000 people in over 130 countries, including Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region.

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