RMT blasts big oil and gas for benefiting from Petrofac administration

RMT blasts big oil and gas for benefiting from Petrofac administration

12 November 2025

RMT Press Office:

Offshore union, RMT has criticised North Sea operator Ithaca Energy for extracting huge profits and dividends while benefiting from job losses in the supply chain.

Ithaca contracts major offshore services to Petrofac and Compass Group’s ESS division, covering production, maintenance, and catering across assets West of Shetland, and others including Alba and Captain platforms.
 
RMT says Ithaca has a practical and moral duty to ensure work being carried out for their benefit is secure, directly employed and that offshore workers have decent wages and conditions.
 
Ithaca stands to financially benefit from contractor cost cuts driven by the crises at Petrofac and Compass, even as thousands of offshore workers face job losses and vast dividends continue to flow from North Sea oil production.
 
RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “Ithaca Energy is making huge profits and dividends from North Sea oil and gas, yet the workers who deliver those profits are being thrown on the scrap heap.
 
"It is completely unacceptable that Petrofac and other contractors are making redundancies on the same installations that are delivering millions in dividends to Ithaca’s shareholders.
 
"If Ithaca can afford to reward shareholders, it can afford to protect jobs and invest in the people who keep its platforms operating safely every day.
 
"The whole supply chain model in the North Sea needs to change where directly employed workers have collective bargaining and effective enforcement of minimum standards on wages and working conditions."
 
RMT will continue to put pressure on the industry and government for stronger protections across the offshore energy supply chain, including fair employment standards, direct accountability for operators, and just transition guarantees for all offshore workers.
 
END
 
Notes:
 
In August, North Sea oil and gas giant Ithaca Energy paid a £127 million dividend for the first quarter of 2025, with total payouts set to reach around £380 million this year as profits soar.

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Tagged with: RMT, Eddie Dempsey, Petrofac, Ithaca Energy, Offshore