BP is doing okay in terms of recruitment for its North Sea oil operations, according to a spokesperson for the oil giant.

Yesterday The Sunday Telegraph reported that BP was encountering problems finding the right people with the right skills to fill vacant positions in the North Sea.

A BP spokesperson told Recruiter: “BP’s North Sea business, including Norway and the UK, is recruiting 300 people a year. We are actively recruiting for engineers. We have offered over 140 roles this year — those roles have been accepted.

“For many years the oil industry has suffered from a shortage of skills. There is a perception that it is difficult to build a career in the North Sea; the reality is there are still some very big projects being developed. There is opportunity here for engineers who may be overseas or elsewhere in the UK from a base in Aberdeen to work here for a long time in a challenging and varied role.

“In general we will be recruiting up to 300 early to mid-career professionals across a whole range of engineering disciplines. Our graduate intake in the North Sea business is around 50 a year. It is true that production peaked over 10 years ago but it can still offer a challenging career. We have been recruiting this year and we’re doing okay. This won’t be a one-year wonder — we need to recruit on a sustained business.

“We have got a lot of work on. We are investing a lot in the North Sea over the next five years or so in multi-billion dollar project development. We lose a lot of people in the North Sea business to other parts of the BP world. There are parts of the workforce where the age profile is increasing. If you started in the 1970s when the oil boom began, you have done your career. There is an issue with some people retiring and natural wastage.”