Oil & Gas UK supply chain manager Ken Cruickshank said across the operator community, confidence increased slightly from 46 to 48 points but this score still represents a negative outlook.
"Contractors are slightly more confident, with their outlook rising from 54 in the first quarter to 56 in the second," Cruickshank said.
While still in negative territory overall, the operators’ two point increase in confidence was driven by the majors whose index rose by 13 points from a negative 39 to a positive 52.
In contrast, the independent operators registered a one point decline dropping further into negative territory from 48 to 47.
The contractors’ confidence recovered somewhat from its seven point decline in the first quarter of 2011 with a two point increase in the second quarter, attributed to a rise among drilling and well services contractors and facilities providers.
However, the marine and subsea and support services registered a drop in confidence, Oil & Gas UK said.
The published index gauges overall industry confidence on a 100 point scale, with a higher rating (above 50) indicating a more positive outlook and a lower rating (below 50) representing a more negative viewpoint.
Oil & Gas UK is a representative organisation for the UK offshore oil and gas industry.
