A piece published this week by The Chemical Engineer caught my attention. Industry leaders, including National Gas and Offshore Energies UK, have called for the government to prioritise domestic gas production — pushing for reform of the Energy Profits Levy and a significant expansion of gas storage capacity in the North Sea.
Jon Butterworth, CEO of National Gas, put it plainly: gas will continue to play a vital role in maintaining Britain’s energy security, particularly during cold weather and periods of low renewable output.
Whatever the policy outcome, one thing is clear: the UK’s oil and gas infrastructure is not going away any time soon, and it needs to be properly maintained.
The inspection challenge is not going away
The UK Continental Shelf is a maturing basin. Many of the assets operating today were designed and built decades ago, and in a period of tighter budgets, there is often pressure to do more with less on maintenance and inspection.
That pressure is understandable. But it makes the case for smarter inspection stronger, not weaker. The operators who get the best value from their programmes are generally those who have moved away from single-method approaches — combining UAV surveys, rope access, and advanced NDT as a single coordinated programme rather than commissioning each separately.
What integrated oil and gas inspection looks like in practice
For most assets, a well-planned programme will bring together UAV surveys to rapidly assess external structures, stacks, and vessels — identifying where hands-on inspection is actually needed rather than inspecting everything manually as a default. Rope access teams are then deployed precisely to the areas flagged, with advanced NDT carried out at the same time: phased array ultrasonic testing, corrosion mapping, and ACFM to detect subsurface defects and wall thickness loss without taking assets offline. Where personnel entry is restricted, robotic inspection covers internal vessel and confined space assessment.
The practical outcome is fewer mobilisations, less downtime, and a more complete picture of asset condition — at lower overall cost than managing separate contractors for each discipline.
The infrastructure needs to work, regardless of what happens next
Whether the windfall tax gets reformed, whether domestic production is prioritised or not — the pipelines, vessels, and infrastructure that underpin the UK’s energy supply still need to be in good condition.
At Sutro Group, we provide oil and gas inspection services across the UK and Europe, working with operators to build programmes that are thorough, efficient, and proportionate to the risks involved. If you are thinking about how to approach your inspection requirements, I am happy to have that conversation.
Contact Sutro Group
0800 069 9395
info@sutrogroup.co.uk