Q. What exactly is the oil and gas industry?

A. The UK offshore industry employs 380,000 people with a further 100,000 employed in export sales. Careers are varied and range from chemical, process and drilling engineers and drilling, reservoir and project specialists to geologists, geoscientists, riggers, scaffolders and maintenance technicians.

Q. Do I need to live in Aberdeen to work offshore?

A. Not really. The UK industry is located mainly off the east coast of Scotland and England but fields have also been developed in the Irish Sea, west of the Shetland Islands, and in the English Channel. Some jobs with irregular rotas might require you to live closer to Aberdeen (or other normal embarkation points), but usually you just need to be at the heliport on your day of departure.

Q. What are offshore installations?

A. Platforms which carry all the personnel and equipment needed to access oil and gas reservoirs deep below the seabed. The most important functions are drilling, preparing water or gas for injection into the reservoir, processing the oil and gas before sending it offshore and cleaning the produced water for disposal into the sea.

Q. What are onshore installations?

A. Platforms which receive liquid products from offshore via a pipeline or tanker and prepare it for further processing. They also take natural gas and make it suitable for piping into the National Grid.

Q. Who employs people onshore/offshore?

A. There are hundreds of different companies involved in all aspects of the industry. These range from operating and drilling companies to major construction and maintenance contractors, floating production storage and offloading operators and service firms.

Q. What sort of on-the-job training might I get?

A. Depends on the job but as an industry the spending on training is considerable.

Q. Isn’t offshore work a dirty, dangerous environment?

A. Certain jobs are quite physical and will require you to get your hands dirty but advances in technology and a heightened awareness of health and safety have seen the industry shed its outdated image.

Q. Must I be able to swim to work offshore?

A. No. Although your offshore survival training includes going in the water you would always do this wearing appropriate equipment – such as a flotation vest and/or survival suit.

Q. What are the shifts like?

A. Working hours are usually 12 hours on and 12 hours off continuously for two weeks either on day or night shift, followed by a two or three week break onshore.

Q. Doesn’t it get boring being offshore for long periods of time?

A. Depending on the size of the installation, offshore platforms typically house a core crew of 50-100 men and women and come complete with internet access computers, a gym and entertainment facilities such as cinemas and snooker tables. Most accommodation cabins have televisions and are also en-suite.

Q. How quickly will I be promoted?

A. Promotion offshore tends to be quicker than in other jobs. In the drilling sector it isn't unknown for someone to start as a roustabout and to have reached toolpusher level in a little over five years. It all comes down to the attitude of the individual and the desire to work hard and develop.

Q. What is the salary like?

A. Depends on the company, your position and your experience, but generally pay is good. 

Q. Is it a long-term industry for me to pursue a career in?

A. Oil and gas is one of the world's largest and most important industries. The North Sea will be around for a long time yet (30 years plus) and offers an exciting career and rewarding lifestyle. Forecasts show world offshore oil production will rise by more than a third and world gas production by two thirds by 2010. More and more exploration is taking place offshore and in increasingly deeper waters. A large number of offshore fields are currently being developed in areas such as West Africa and Asia-Pacific. There should be a very high rate of growth in offshore gas production as new markets for electricity generation and liquefied natural gas (LNG) are developed.

With overseas companies increasingly recognising British expertise in oilfield goods and services, the future of the energy sector is burning bright.