Unite demands action to prevent ‘premature’ closure of oil and gas assets
Unite the union has stepped up its campaign to protect oil and gas workers by demanding urgent action from UK government energy minsters to ensure the Gryphon floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel is re-started.
The UK’s leading oil and gas trade union in a letter to energy minister Michael Shanks MP, highlights that the ‘premature’ decision taken by operator TotalEnergies to accelerate a decommissioning plan puts around 200 jobs at immediate risk.
The Gryphon FPSO is currently in legal and regulatory limbo. It is not producing but neither can TotalEnergies decommissioning plan go ahead due to ongoing legal challenges. The vessel is connected to the Gryphon, Tullich, Maclure and Ballindalloch fields.
Unite has also taken aim at the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) which it says in the case of the Gryphon has been ‘toothless’ for failing to uphold existing UK Petroleum law. NSTA is mandated to ensure and enable the maximising economic recovery (MER) of petroleum.
The union believes the Gryphon case is undermining UK energy security because the NSTA and UK government are jointly failing to prevent premature decommissioning plans by operators while economically viable licences remain in place.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'Unite has been demanding the UK government produces a concrete plan with real jobs for the transition of North Sea workers.'
'The Gryphon case just like at Grangemouth underscores what Unite has been saying about preventing viable oil and gas assets from being prematurely decommissioned or closed down years ahead of schedule without a plan in place.'
Unite’s no ban without a plan campaign is demanding that Labour reverses its decision not to grant further licenses for oil and gas in the North Sea, until new jobs in net zero are created in sufficient numbers.
The union claims that the hostile regulatory environment created by the ban on new drilling licences is leading to oil and gas operators on the UK continental shelf accelerating decisions that are destructive to job security and UK energy security.
Unite Scottish Secretary, Derek Thomson, said: 'The NSTA has shown itself to be toothless in the case of the Gryphon. It is supposed to ensure that oil and gas fields deliver maximum economic recovery in a way consistent with UK law. That is clearly not happening with the Gryphon.'
'If TotalEnergies premature decommissioning plan gets approval, it could have a devastating domino effect across the North Sea. Thousands of jobs in the oil and gas sector are under threat and that’s why re-starting the Gryphon is key to stabilising the sector.'
Source: Unite
