The average salary for full-time UK gas and oil professionals has grown by 7.2% since 2012, according to research by Hays Oil and Gas and jobsite Oil and Gas Job Search.

The Oil and gas global salary guide 2013 found that the average salary for full-time gas and oil professionals is £57,900 per annum. Salaries for expatriate labour has also grown 15.1% to reach an average of £57,700 per annum.

It also found that bonuses continue to be the dominant mechanism by which organisations attract and retain talent, with bonuses accounting for a further 5.8% of the employees’ overall package on average. Almost two-thirds of workers received some kind of benefit or allowance on top of their basic salary.

Matt Underhill, managing director at Hays Oil and Gas, said: “The UK has shown impressive growth rates this year, but is still only ranked 11 out of 53 countries surveyed.

“Norway, Australia, New Zealand and [the] Netherlands continue to lead the way with Brazil and Canada all paying much higher salaries.

“The industry is taking positive steps in increasing pay and benefits that will make the UK more competitive on the world stage, but there is still some way to go to stop the drain of talent to overseas markets.”