Aberdeen, Scotland UK
Lord Provost Peter Stephen
Located on the North East coast of Scotland, Aberdeen is a thriving city of some 211,000 people. Over the last 30 years, the city has reinvented itself from a provincial regional centre dependent upon fishing, farming and tourism to become the centre of the UK's national oil and gas exploration and production activity and one of Europe's most enterprising oil capitals.
The combined population of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire is 440,000 people with a density of 1,145 inhabitants per sq. km. The area of the City is 184 square km and the unemployment rate is the lowest in Scotland at only 2,565 (1.8%). In addition to the oil and gas industry, which accounts for 41,000 jobs, the other main employment sectors in North East Scotland are Services, Tourism and Distribution (56,000), Public Administration, Education & Health (48,000), Banking, Finance & Insurance (38,000), Agriculture, Food and Fish Processing 8,500), ICT (5,000) and Paper Making (3,000).
There are currently over 100 oil fields in production, 9 fields are under development in northern and central North Sea waters. In the next 15 years, it is forecast that a further 100 fields will be developed. This forecast has considerably increased from earlier projections, due to the implementation of new technology and extraction techniques, which are designed to enhance recovery and extend the life of oilfields. BP has recently estimated that there is about 8 million barrels of oil in its fields which were once considered uneconomic. Oil and gas activity will continue to be a driving factor for Aberdeen's economy well into the next century and with long term confidence in the future of offshore operations, the city continues to be acknowledged as International Energy Hub.