Are tightly-controlled immigration policies holding back global oil and gas projects?

Global energy demand is increasing due to a plethora of reasons, from the power needs of households and businesses through to emerging economies such as China and India. Indeed, as emerging nation’s ramp up their manufacturing sectors, more oil and natural gas is required to power these developing economies.

Britain appears to be well-placed to help contribute to increased production levels. A recent report from Oil and Gas UK noted that over the past two years, capital investment in the country's exploration and production sector has rallied by 60 per cent.

There is also the potential for the development of 67 new fields holding recoverable reserves of around 3.1 billion barrels of oil, the offshore representative body stated. Such figures could be said to be significantly important to the UK's economy and as such, the smooth operation of North Sea projects may be seen as vital in maintaining the prestige of Britain's oil and gas sector.

Production level increases are also being experienced in other countries. Royal Dutch Shell - which operates in locations across the globe - recently announced that for its next wave of development to 2020, it has more than 30 new projects in its sights.

The expected surge in demand for energy has not gone unnoticed. In the 2010 ExxonMobil The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2030, the petroleum giant noted that residential demand alone is expected to soar by more than 20 per cent between 2005 and 2030. Increasing numbers of appliances rely on electricity and this power is mainly derived from oil and gas.

However, with more advanced technology and larger global energy projects comes the need for highly-skilled and talented individuals, who may need to travel between countries to support different projects.

The UK government has revealed that new immigration laws are set to come into force on April 1st of this year. Under the previous arrangement, a personal visa could be obtained by individuals who were classed as highly skilled. This was replaced by the Tier 1 (General) Visa and the points-based system.

Under Tier 1, individuals did not need to already have been offered a job before applying, unlike Tier 2. Points were awarded for a number of categories including UK experience and previous earnings. However, Tier 1 was closed to people from abroad on December 23rd 2010.

Instead, a new Tier 1 category was set to come into force on April 1st 2011 for 'persons of exceptional talent', but it will only allow for 1,000 people a year, who must have been recognised on an international basis.

"This regime has already had a major impact in the oil sector, with a hard line being taken by the authorities. It is cautionary to consider that only two visas were allocated to oil and gas major Total, despite the £2 billion gas development project in Shetland where nearly 20 per cent of the UK's remaining reserves are thought to lie," employment solicitor at Maclay Murray & Spens Claire Scott told OilVoice.

However, immigration policies do not just affect those who want to come to the UK. British talent will also be required to work and live in other countries, with many energy firms operating on a global scale. Such flexible movement of staff is needed to allow companies to push forward with projects, bringing economic and business benefits to both the host country and to where oil and gas firms originate.

Australia is also suffering from a talent gap, with highly-skilled oil and gas engineers in huge demand. Many of the biggest petroleum companies have projects in the country, such as Shell, which has set its sights on taking advantage of the opportunities Australia's liquefied natural gas reserves present. External help could be required to attract overseas workers and Mentor International can help source such skilled consultants for a variety of niche oil and gas positions.

John Richards, chief executive officer of Mentor International, said: "Identifying talent with experience in working on major, international oil and gas projects is a speciality of Mentor IMC Group. We frequently relocate energy sector professionals encompassing a wide range of nationalities, across different geographical territories, to support our oil major clients' world-class energy projects.

This is a sophisticated process to ensure that all the requirements for fiscal and immigration compliance are met. This is not a competency that companies can develop overnight, but we now have 25 years of experience in providing this support to oil companies and major EPC contractors."

Canada, meanwhile, appears to be encouraging immigration to keep its oil and gas sector alive. Funding has been put in place to attract talented engineers to move to the country, who will receive financial report whilst they settle in their new job, the Edmonton Journal recently reported. Since 2005, Alberta - which is heavily reliant on the oil and gas industry - has seen immigration increase by approximately 60 per cent to 32,640 last year, the newspaper said.

According to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, "Canadian employers hire thousands of foreign workers to fill immediate skills and labour shortages" every year. Perhaps the UK should look toward the approach of this country to see if it can take on board any changes to immigration rules that can facilitate the hiring of overseas talent in order to enjoy faster completion rates of projects.

Indeed, being able to bring experienced western oil and gas consultants into global projects on continents including Australasia, Asia, North America and Europe is important to make sure that initiatives are completed on time and to the highest standards. Helping to ensure talent movement is as smooth as possible can deliver flexibility to the oil and gas sector and result in the right people working on the right projects.