Southampton based Oil SpillResponse needs more hands

Southampton based Oil SpillResponse has played a key role in handling the aftermath of the leak on oil giant BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Now, in the wake of the disaster, oil companies across the world are revisiting their spill response, triggering a spike in demand.

While still involved in the massive clean-up operation and two other incidents in Nigeria and India, the firm has hired six new spill response specialists in November and announced an ‘immediate need’ to hire ten more.

It’s a major expansion for the industry funded, not-for-profit co-operative, which, before the expansion, had 34 spill response specialists based in Southampton out of 140 worldwide.

Veteran oil industry figure and Southampton man Nick Hazlett-Beard has also been hired as new Global Head of Operations.

He said: “As a result of Deepwater Horizon, oil companies in general are asking if for their people to look again at their emergency plan and ask ‘is it up to date?’ “It is expanding and people want more and more from us and they want it now. It has been a wake-up call to the industry.

Before a disaster, nobody thinks it will happen to them.”

He said candidates for the new jobs would need ‘the ability to problem-solve, excellent communication skills, the willingness to travel globally and foreign language skills’.

“Successful applicants will be asked to respond to oil spill incidents anywhere in the world at short notice to assist with the clean-up of oil pollution,” he said. “We seek applications from locals in the area to fill the immediate need.”

Applicants for one of the ten new roles will need to be have a degree in Engineering or Earth or Marine Sciences, or equivalent practical experience and live within an hour’s travel from Southampton.