Rystad sees more jobs shifting offshore

Oslo-based analyst and consultant Rystad Energy has revealed that offshore activity, rather than onshore shale business, is now generating more jobs following a period in which the shale sector was the key driver.
The news comes as a result of analysis of the top 50 oilfield service companies between 2017 and 2018. Matthew Fitzsimmons, the firm’s vice president, Oilfield Services, said that this was a result of an increase in offshore sanctioning. “We expect offshore commitments to nearly double from 2018 to 2020,” he said, “and to sustain high levels of spending over the next five years.” The company expects demand for offshore services in 2025 ro reach USD 442 billion, a 45% increase from 2018. Rystad gave two examples to illustrate the trend. Norwegian offshore support vessel operator, Solstad, for example, nearly doubled its workforce between 2017 and 2018 – “a significant staff ramp-up which bet on the long-term improvement of market conditions”, the analyst said.
Meanwhile, drilling contractor Seadrill has boosted its employment by 15% following the award of several contracts with Equinor and Saudi Aramco. However, this figure should be seen in context: Rystad points out that the 2018 year-end headcount is only 100 people more than the number following wide-ranging lay-offs in 2016 and remains little more than half of what is was in 2014.