This thesis analyses the reasons why the system of industrial relations on the United Kingdom continental shelf is very different from that which prevails both onshore and on the Norwegian continental shelf, where the same technology is used to produce an identical product. The scopeo f the researche ncompassesth e relationships of the trade unions and the offshore companies, both Norwegian and British, where they concern employment and related matters such as accident prevention and those interventions which govermnents have made in response to particular events. In addition research papers and other reports which have a close bearing on the human resource management of offshore employees have received attention. British trade unions have failed to win full recognition offshore after "first oil" because the oil companies have been determined to exclude them and have exhibited a cohesivenesso f purposei n this respectt hrough their formidable employers' association, UKOOA. By comparison trade union efforts have lacked cohesion on account of internal disputes and the indeterminate position of the IUOOC within the trade union structure. Even the assistance of a friendly disposed government which persuaded the employers to permit recruitment visits offshore has had no effect on membership which remains derisory. Although the Norwegian LO recognised as early as 1975 that a new union for all offshore workers was necessary, the TUC has never shown the same realism. OILC seeks to cater for all UK offshore workers, but survives only as a small independent union outside the STUC. It arose spontaneously in 1989 as a crossunion group of workers who wanted a national offshore agreement but after initial support from the official trade unions was later abandoned by them. There have been some dramatic accidents offshore, none worse than Piper Alpha in 1988 with its 167 fatalities. This has concentrated attention on the maintenance of safe working environments and trade unions hav.

Written by the leading expert in the history of UK energy, this study provides new, in-depth analysis of the development of UK petroleum policies towards the North Sea oil and gas industry from the early 1960s to the early 1980s. Following on from volume I (The Growing Dominance of the State) to discuss the more recent history of the North Sea oil and gas industry, here Alex Kemp offers new insights into developments in the industry. The controversial decisions to raise gas prices to consumers and to introduce the Gas Levy are discussed, while the thinking behind the gradual reduction in taxation - including the abolition of SPD (Supplementary Petroleum Duty) and the removal of royalties on new developments - is fully explained. The various options considered to reduce the powers of BNOC (British National Oil Corporation), then privatise its upstream assets, and finally to abolish the state company altogether are fully discussed, as is the thinking leading up to the privatisation of the British Gas Corporation in 1986. This volume also sheds light on the development of policies onshore, particularly the role of the OSO (Offshore Supplies Office), and the response of British industry to the North Sea opportunity. Finally, the evolution of policies relating to health, safety, decommissioning, and the environment over the whole period of the study are examined. The Official History of North Sea Oil and Gas will be of interest to students of North Sea oil and gas, energy economics, business history, and British politics, as well as to petroleum professionals and policymakers.

Theses on any subject submitted by the academic libraries in the UK and Ireland.