
These dramatic images show more than a dozen retired oil rigs parked off the coast of Scotland - hauled into the harbour as stock markets across the world crash and barrel prices tumble, forcing firms to cancel off-shore explorations

The Cromarty Firth, north of Inverness, is currently packed with more unused rigs than it has been at any point in the last decade.

Crude oil prices have collapsed of late - falling from more than $115 a barrel in summer 2014 to less than $28 now - which has had a crippling effect on jobs, housing and revenue in Aberdeen and wider Aberdeenshire.

Because of this - and a number of other worrying factors - more than £50billion was wiped off the value of Britain’s leading companies yesterday as fresh worries about the global economy set off panic on financial markets around the world.

The FTSE, which lost £52.4billion of its value yesterday, is down 9.1 per cent, or £146.7billion, so far this year. It has lost £369billion since its peak of 7104 in April 2015.

The losses in London were mirrored across Asia, Europe and the US, and came as oil prices crashed to a 12-year low.

William White, chairman of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s review committee, warned the state of the global financial system is ‘worse than it was in 2007’, before the last crash.

Graveyard: These dramatic images show more than a dozen retired oil rigs parked off the coast of Scotland - hauled into the harbour as the continuing drop in barrel prices forces firms to cancel off-shore explorations

Massive effect: Crude oil prices have collapsed of late - falling from more than $115 a barrel in summer 2014 to less than $30 now

Out of service: The Cromarty Firth, north of Inverness, is currently packed with more unused rigs than it has been at any point in the last decade

Money gone: That huge drop has seen most of the world's biggest production and exploration companies make swingeing cuts to their budgets, releasing thousands of staff and vastly reducing their off-shore efforts

Nearing their end: From the Cromarty Firth - which acts as a gateway to the North Sea - two rigs have already been towed to be dismantled and scrapped in Turkey

Lights out: Despite being one of the busiest oil hubs in Europe a mere year ago, the change on the Firth has been huge as oil prices have fallen

Michael Spencer, the former Tory party treasurer and founder of the City firm Icap, said: ‘This is the worst start to a year I’ve seen in my entire career.

‘I don’t think this will be over in a month, or even two or three months. We’ve got more pain to come.’

The meltdown has cast a shadow over the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where national leaders, businessmen and bankers are discussing the state of the world.

Sir Roger Carr, chairman of defence giant BAE Systems, said confidence has been hit by everything from the fall in the oil price and the slowdown in China to worries about terrorism. ‘We’re witnessing a collision of events which has provoked an immediate sense of crisis,’ he said, but added: ‘While things are far from perfect, we are not at the point of absolute crisis.’

Gavin Patterson, chief executive of BT, said businesses are operating in ‘an unstable environment’ and added China is a big concern.

‘If there is contagion in financial markets into the business markets, that is going to affect confidence and that’s when we could see a slowdown,’ he said.

Philip Jennings, general secretary of the Swiss-based UNI Global Union, said: ‘We are heading for a crash. Cataclysm could be the right word to use.’

The huge drop in oil has seen most of the world's biggest production and exploration companies make huge cuts to their budgets, releasing thousands of staff and vastly reducing their off-shore efforts.

From the Cromarty Firth - which acts as a gateway to the North Sea - two rigs have already been towed to be scrapped in Turkey.

More are expected to arrive in the coming weeks and months as the falling demand for drill work continues to lay up dozens of the thousand-tonne structures.

Bob Buskie, chief executive of the Cromarty Firth Port Authority, said: 'If you'd been here a year ago, you wouldn't have been able to move.

Incoming: An helicopter approaches an oil rig supply vessel off the coast of Aberdeen. The city and surrounding region has been greatly affected by both the oil boom and bust

Time is running out: A remote harbour near Inverness might seem an unlikely gauge for the oil price crash but the freezing waters of the Cromarty Firth have become a worrying barometer for energy veterans

Queen of the sea: An oil rig supply vessel dwarves a smaller boat whilst docked in Aberdeen harbour, a gateway for offshore workers

Wealthy waters: Aberdeen is the oil capital of the UK and is home to the majority of the oil companies in the UK. However, a collapse in prices has had a catastrophic effect

Left behind: Rig operators park their structures off the coast when drilling contracts end and are either hot-stacked or cold-stacked

Transport: Hot-stacked rigs keep a skeleton crew on board and cost a customer half the daily rate. There are six cold-stacked rigs in the firth, which have had the workforce removed and the power turned off

Lying empty: Two oil rig supply vessels are seen docked in the harbour. The port itself, normally filled with cruise ships from spring to autumn, is considering a move into oil and gas decommissioning

'You wouldn't have got your car parked, there was so much activity. It has changed that quickly. It has pretty much fallen off a cliff.'

'In previous oil crashes there has been a sense that it will come good again - maybe in 18 months the price will bounce back.

'But people have lost sight of the dynamic between Saudi [Arabia] not adjusting output and America still throwing money at the fracking game. We have ended up awash with oil.'

Rig operators park the structures when drilling contracts end and are either hot-stacked or cold-stacked.

Hot-stacked rigs keep a skeleton crew on board and cost a customer half the daily rate.

There are six cold-stacked rigs in the firth, which have had the workforce removed and the power turned off.

The Cromarty Firth has been used for the parking up of rigs since the start of the North Sea oil and gas industry.

Some have been towed in for the winter while others are being refurbished.

According to trade body Oil and Gas UK, industry contraction resulted in 65,000 job losses for offshore workers throughout Britain across 2014 and 2015.

The slashing of jobs has had catastrophic effects for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, known for decades as Europe's oil capital.

Heading in: A Bond offshore helicopter arrives at the Aberdeen Heliport, carrying a crew of oil workers coming back to dry land

Strapped in: Oil workers peer out the windowns after touching down in Aberdeen after being flown in from a CHC rig in the Forth

Returning home: According to trade body Oil and Gas UK, industry contraction resulted in 65,000 job losses for offshore workers throughout Britain across 2014 and 2015

Still at large: Despite many lying empty and without any jobs to do, oil supply vessels remain in the city's harbour, towering over passing cars

Left behind: The Cromarty Firth has been used for the parking up of rigs since the start of the North Sea oil and gas industry. Some have been towed in for the winter while others are being refurbished

Close to home: Old tiled roofs on the coast look out onto the firth from Aberdeen harbour, where many vessels are currently housed

The two regions were the only two in Scotland to experience a rise in the number of people claiming Job Seeker's Allowance in 2014/15 - a year-on-year increase of 1,000.

House prices have also plummeted. The period July to September was down 13.5 per cent on the year, with the value of properties dropping by 16.6 per cent.

Experts blamed the oil and gas downturn, but insisted the market was not as 'gloomy' as people may fear.

But Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned this week that ‘the world is weaker and UK growth has slowed’, but he also insisted that ‘now is not yet the time’ to raise interest rates. His comments came after figures showed China’s economy grew by 6.9 per cent in 2015 – its worst performance for a quarter of a century.

The International Monetary Fund says an even sharper slowdown could ‘derail’ the global economy.

Modernising: Oil reserves are still flowing in the North Sea, but it has been estimated it is nearing or has even surpassed its peak production rate. As a result, Aberdeen is expected to have to redevelop itself as a research and development hub, rather than a base for offshore drilling

Slowing down: The slashing of jobs has had catastrophic effects for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, known for decades as the British oil capital

Dole: The northern regions were the only two in Scotland to experience a rise in the number of people claiming Job Seeker's Allowance in 2014/15 - a year-on-year increase of 1,000

Collapse: House prices have also plummeted. The period July to September was down 13.5 per cent on the year, with the value of properties dropping by 16.6 per cent