Oil was discovered in the North Sea in the 1960’s but it took two decades before a chaplain was appointed to serve the spiritual and personal needs of those who worked offshore. This was in marked contrast to the Norwegian sector which is presently served by six chaplains and has had men in place since the earliest days of North Sea oil extraction.

There are some 50 platforms in the UK sector and by regular visits the chaplain hopes to be known and recognised as a resource person should the need arise. When Andrew Wylie retired in 1991, he was succeeded by Angus Smith who served for fourteen years, traveling thousands of miles in the service of his fellow men.

The platforms (not rigs which are mobile exploration vessels) stretch from north of the Shetland Isles to east of Dundee, running roughly parallel with the east coast of Scotland up to 150 miles offshore. Around 10,000 men and women are working in the North Sea at any one time. They alternate with their ‘back to backs’ every two weeks.

The black gold of the North Sea has stabilised the British economy over many years. As the industry moves on to secondary and tertiary production, the household names of the petrol station forecourts are now transferring their interests to less familiar contracting companies. Considerable discussion is presently taking place on the sensitive issue of decommissioning platforms, with all the political fall-out that that entails.