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The successive rise in the importance of the oil and gas industry in Scotland has generated tremendous economic growth. Scotland’s dependence on oil and gas related employment has increased dramatically over the years since the first oil strike in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) in September 1969. This study is able to identify that Exploration and Appraisal (E&A) activity within the oil and gas industry in the UK is a strong determinant of the rise and fall of employment. There is a clear and strong positive correlation between these two variables.

This chapter examines the UK and the Nigerian approach to reducing emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the environment as a result of gas flaring utilising the market-based regulation. Determining how different jurisdictions fare in the quest to reduce GHG emissions associated with the oil and gas industry is essential because: policy makers have realised the advantages of market-based regulation over the command-and-control regulation; and in the light of various pledges different countries have made in different forum to reduce the emission of GHGs, particularly in the wake of the recently held Paris climate change conference.

Library-based approach is used, providing conceptual and theoretical understanding of climate change, GHG emissions and various market-based regulatory tools utilised in the United Kingdom and Nigeria in regulating emission associated with operations in the oil and gas industry.

The study reveals the significance of environmental regulations that encourage region integration and flexibility in the implementation of environmental policies. Moreover, it finds that the Paris Agreement re-affirms the utilisation of market-based regulations and indicates a future for investment in the oil and gas industry.

The study revealed that there are lacunas in regulations and strategies for the implementation of environmental regulations which need to be addressed in order to achieve zero or a significant decrease in gas flaring.

This study provided an ample opportunity to theoretically examine market-based regulatory tools utilised in the oil and gas industry in a developed country in relation to a developing country.

Several experimental and numerical studies were performed in the past to estimate buckling capacity of corroded tubular members. However, the effect of initial imperfections has not been properly considered in most of these earlier proposed formulas. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to propose an accurate analytical formula to determine the buckling capacity of patched corroded tubular members.

Tubular members with initial geometrical imperfections can be regarded as beam-columns because of the combination of axial load and bending moment. The proposed formula is derived for a rectangular corrosion patch. The proposed formula is verified with results from finite element analysis of corroded tubular members and experimental results. The formula is also applied to an existing offshore jacket structure to highlight its significance and applicability. It is found that the buckling capacity of jacket members in splash zone reduces significantly with ageing. This reduction is around 29 and 14% for the selected brace and leg member respectively, during the design life. Finally, it is concluded that corrosion reduces the buckling capacity significantly and the proposed formula can be easily applied by practicing engineers to give an accurate and slightly conservative estimate the remaining buckling capacity.

The main finding is the new formula which accurately and conservatively estimate the buckling capacity of corroded tubular members. The proposed formula considers the secondary effect of both initial geometrical imperfections and shifting of centroid because of corrosion.

The proposed new formula is unique and original in that it considers both secondary effects from geometrical imperfections, reduction of cross-section from corrosion wastage and shifting of centroid because of corrosion. Finally, it is concluded that corrosion reduces the buckling capacity significantly and the proposed formula can be easily applied by practicing engineers to conservatively estimate the remaining buckling capacity and verify if further, more advanced estimations are needed.

The purpose of this paper was to examine UK shale gas viability. The recent commitment to shale gas exploration in the UK through fracking has given rise to well-publicised economic benefits and environmental concerns. There is potential for shale gas exploration in different parts of the UK over the next couple of decades. As argued in this study, if it does, it would transform the energy market and provide long-term energy security at affordable cost.

Interviews with senior practitioners and local communities were recorded, transcribed and entered into qualitative research software Nvivo. Validity and reliability were achieved by first assessing the plausibility in terms of already existing knowledge on some of the economic and environmental issues raised by participants.

Findings from this study suggest that environmental, health and safety risks can be managed effectively provided operational best practices are implemented and monitored by the Health and Safety Executive; Department of Energy, Climate Change; and the Mineral Planning Authorities. Participants further suggested that the integration of shale gas technology will protect consumers against rising energy prices and ensure that government does not get exposed to long-term geopolitical risks.

The present study corroborates the position that environmental, health and safety risks can be managed effectively provided operational best practices are implemented and monitored by the Health and Safety Executive; Department of Energy, Climate Change; and the Mineral Planning Authorities.

The present study confirms that the government is committed to ensuring that the nation maximises the opportunity that cost-effective shale gas technology presents, not just investment, cheap energy bills and jobs but providing an energy mix that will underpin the UK long-term economic prosperity.

The present study corroborates the position that environmental, health and safety risks can be managed effectively provided operational best practices are implemented and monitored by the Health and Safety Executive; Department of Energy, Climate Change; and the Mineral Planning Authorities. As shown in this study, the UK has a very strong regulatory regime compared to USA; therefore, environmental, health and safety risks will be very well managed and unlikely to escalate into the crisis being envisioned.

Current industry practices illustrate there is no standard method to estimate the number of hours worked on maintenance activities; instead, industry experts use experience to guess maintenance work hours. There is also a gap in the research literature on maintenance work hour estimation. This paper investigates the use of machine-learning algorithms to predict maintenance work hours and proposes a method that utilizes historical preventive maintenance order data to predict maintenance work hours.

The paper uses the design research methodology utilizing a case study to validate the proposed method.

The case study analysis confirms that the proposed method is applicable and has the potential to significantly improve work hour prediction accuracy, especially for medium- and long-term work orders. Moreover, the study finds that this method is more accurate and more efficient than conducting estimations based on experience.

The study has major implications for industrial applications. Maintenance-intensive industries such as oil and gas and chemical industries spend a huge portion of their operational expenditures (OPEX) on maintenance. This research will enable them to accurately predict work hour requirements that will help them to avoid unwanted downtime and costs and improve production planning and scheduling.

The proposed method provides new insights into maintenance theory and possesses a huge potential to improve the current maintenance planning practices in the industry.

UK oil and gas producers through unilateral action and consensus have been ultimately responsible for many key safety improvements in global helicopter services. With production assets no longer concentrated in the hands of a few major operators, the question is whether this leadership role can be assured in the future. This paper aims to summarise doctoral research that examined the economics of safety in the offshore helicopter industry.

The offshore helicopter industry has particular characteristics, including: greater levels of safety training and choice is severely limited. A carefully structured questionnaire was presented to a sample of offshore helicopter passengers, and the responses analysed in depth.

Shifts in perceptions of safety risk are predictable, and potentially measurable, and translate into demands for action based on a mechanism of individual choice. It is then the cumulative effects of any shift in individual choices that determine the scale and scope of organisational response required by the employer and/or its agents.

This research data is only sufficient to predict the manner in which perceptions of safety impact on the sustainability of offshore helicopter travel.

The fundamental characteristics and dynamics of offshore helicopter travel still have the potential to result in some significant instability amongst the offshore workforce, and within the industry. There is strong evidence that oil and gas producers need to be prepared to take a leadership role. As the demands for consensus increase, this research can be developed into a useful analysis and safety management aid.

An Act to provide for the safety, health and welfare of persons on installations concerned with the underwater exploitation and exploration of mineral resources in the waters in or surrounding the United Kingdom, and generally for the safety of such installations and the prevention of accidents on or near them. [27th July 1971]

Government appointed and sponsored committees of every description—select, ad hoc, advisory, inquiry—such a prominent feature of the public scene since the last War, are understandable, even acceptable, reflect the urgency of the times in which we live. In the gathering gloom of more recent twilight years, they have flourished inordinately, especially in the socio‐political field, where most of their researches have been conducted. Usually embellished with the name of the figure‐head chairman, almost always expensively financed, they have one thing in common—an enormous output of words, telling us much of what we already know. So much of it seems dull, meaningless jargon, reflecting attitudes rather than sound, general principles.