The UK’s North Sea oil and gas sector faces a severe jobs crisis, with a new Robert Gordon University (RGU) report warning of up to 400 job losses every two weeks over the next five years. This alarming decline, equivalent to repeatedly losing the entire Grangemouth refinery workforce, threatens the UK’s skilled energy talent.
The report, “Striking the Balance,” highlights a critical “goldilocks zone” a narrow window between 2025 and 2030 where immediate government action could protect and even expand offshore energy jobs. Without urgent investment and clear policies, job numbers could plummet from 154,000 to 125,000 by 2030, with Scotland alone potentially losing 30,000 roles.
Professor Paul de Leeuw, director of RGU’s Energy Transition Institute, stresses the need for rapid investment in green capital projects to sustain the UK’s supply chain and optimize workforce transferability. He warns that “massive investor uncertainty” in oil and gas and a slowdown in wind power are pushing jobs overseas.
De Leeuw emphasizes that the UK’s uncoordinated approach is squandering the opportunity for a just transition, unlike countries like Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands, which successfully balance traditional energy with renewables. He urges the government to implement policies that manage the oil and gas decline while retaining the UK’s world-class offshore energy supply chain.
The stakes are particularly high for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, where a quarter of all jobs depend on the offshore energy sector. Inaction, warns De Leeuw, risks a significant job loss and makes the path to net-zero even more challenging.
