In 1989 total investment in the UK oil industry was over £2.5 billion which was over 10% of total UK investment in all its industries. By 1992 that investment had doubled and although it is less now, it continues to rise in the 21st century and it remains to have one of the highest levels of investment in UK industry.

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Some analysts predict a downturn in the industry sometime in the 2020's. However continuing technological advances will allow oil companies to viably extract from hundreds of smaller finds which are, as yet, uneconomical. By linking them to established North Sea platforms and pipelines, a good production flow will be sustained. This will greatly extend the life of the unit and to a certain extent this has already begun.

Oil will be in demand for a long time to come, even if inventors come up with electric cars with better performance than combustion engines, or airplanes that don't use jet engines. If pollution levels mean the end of combustion engines and oil powered heating systems (exhaust filtration systems aside) there will still be a market for oil. Our demand for power is ever increasing and showing no signs of slowing down, as more and more electrical products become available to the ever-increasing world population.

Computers are finding their way into every home. Computers were once only owned by companies or enthusiasts. However, now almost everyone has access to a computer even if they don't actually own one. Oil is a major generator of the electricity that is the blood of computers and the Internet. Pollution controls are easier to make on oil power stations than on millions of cars.

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An idea, first explored by German scientists in the 1970's, was to convert the platforms into electricity power stations. They would burn the oil and/or gas they produced to generate electricity brought to land by undersea cables. This may never happen. However, it is just one of a few encouraging ideas about securing the long-term future of the North Sea oil industry.

This industry is still a long-term career option for workers in the North Sea. With new discoveries of the west of the Shetland islands and other areas being investigated west of Scotland, the future looks very bright for the oil industry in UK waters. Working your way up to the level of Driller, Electrician or similar would give you the opportunity to be paid to travel and work anywhere in the world. In this book I have concentrated on the North Sea UK sector oil industry. This area of the industry is renowned for high standards of training and safety. After a few years experience, you could venture out to every corner of the globe where oil exploration is taking place. Azerbijan, Gulf of Mexico, Falkland Islands, Asia to name but a few places where many British workers are working at present. Most are on very high wages and many are enjoying those high wages free of tax deductions.

In the North Sea UK sector most people work two weeks on two weeks off ("fortnight on fortnight off, or two and two"). Some work "three on, three off". If you were working abroad, in such places as the Mediterranean or off the coast of Africa, for example, you would likely be "month on, month off."

For more on this subject see our web-site dedicated to the future of the oil industry.