Project Cost Control Jobs | Rigzone

In a statement sent to Rigzone this week, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) noted that, according to its 2025 Workforce Insight report, the UK “could add thousands of jobs, retain economic value, and lead the world in energy with the right policies, collaborative action, and a focus on an integrated energy workforce”.

OEUK outlined in its statement that its new report provides “a blueprint for decision-makers and those navigating the expansion to a broader energy mix” and “details steps to equip the workforce for its essential role in supporting a low-carbon economy across oil and gas, offshore wind, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and hydrogen”.

“Highlighting the potential to grow jobs, ensure good jobs and guard existing jobs, OEUK calls for timely intervention to support a robust domestic energy sector, warning that inaction will lead to an unprecedented exodus of supply chain capability, continued job losses, further loss of critical expertise, and hinder progress toward the UK’s net zero targets,” OEUK said in the statement.

OEUK noted in the statement that, in the past year, more than 55 percent of the UK’s offshore energy firms have reduced their staff headcount, according to a Pulse survey OEUK conducted in October 2025. Looking ahead, nearly 45 percent of surveyed companies are expecting to cut jobs further over the next 12 months if the current policy environment continues, OEUK warned.

OEUK’s Workforce Insight report highlights that the UK’s integrated energy workforce totals 154,000 people. According to the report, there were a total of 40,023 offshore oil and gas workers in 2024, with the bulk of those, 17,957, based in Scotland. The report stated that the integrated energy workforce is highly skilled and adaptable, with around 90 percent of oil and gas competencies transferable to emerging energy fields.

“Ahead of the [UK] budget, OEUK has urged the government to reform the fiscal regime to secure investment, safeguard jobs, and strengthen the UK’s homegrown energy future, arguing that the choice is not between economic growth and climate ambition but how to deliver both,” OEUK said in the statement.

The budget, or financial statement, is a statement made to the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the nation’s finances and the government’s proposals for changes to taxation, the UK parliament website states, adding that the government has announced that the next budget will take place on Wednesday, November 26.

Katy Heidenreich, OEUK’s supply chain and people director, noted in the statement, “the government’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan presents an ambitious goal as the country works towards net zero emissions, energy security, and a strong economy”.

“It’s vital that we ground ambition in reality. The windfall tax is costing jobs and investment and reducing tax revenues that support families, communities, and vital services across the UK,” Heidenreich added. 

“Nine out of ten supply chain companies believe growing their business is only possible by finding new markets outside the UK. Many of the renewable energy sector jobs will not materialize before 2030 and we must act now to avoid losing the skilled people who are essential to achieving the UK’s climate ambition,” Heidenreich said.

“We have an incredible opportunity, as we expand and diversify our energy mix across oil and gas, wind, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage. We should build the energy jobs of the future on the shoulders of energy workers today,” the OEUK representative continued.

“With the right policies and investment, the UK can achieve a net addition of jobs, growing the offshore energy workforce from 154,000 today to over 212,000 by 2030, with continued growth in oil and gas playing a central role. OEUK and its members are ready to lead but success depends on decisive action from government, industry, and academia,” Heidenreich went on to state.

Rigzone has contacted the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and HM Treasury (HMT) for comment on OEUK’s statement and Workforce Insight report. At the time of writing, neither have responded to Rigzone.

In a statement made on March 5, which was posted on the UK parliament website, James Murray, now Chief Secretary to the Treasury, noted that the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced in 2022 “in response to extraordinary profits made by oil and gas companies driven by global events, including resurgent demand for energy post-Covid 19 and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia”.

“The EPL will end in 2030, or earlier if the EPL’s price floor, the Energy Security Investment Mechanism, is triggered,” the statement added.

In that statement, Murray highlighted that HMT and HM Revenue and Customs had published a consultation on how the oil and gas fiscal regime “will respond to future oil and gas price shocks once the EPL ends”. The consultation closed on May 28.

OEUK describes itself on its website as the leading trade association for the UK offshore energy industry and a not for profit membership organization with a history stretching back five decades.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com