First picture of oil worker murder suspect accused of battering colleague to death in Qatar
Jessica Young
Published Jan 20, 2026
THE oil worker murder suspect accused of battering his colleague to death on a Qatar oil rig has been pictured for the first time.
Scott Forrest, 43, is alleged to have snapped and attacked his room-mate with a breathing apparatus tank in a horror attack.
He’s now being held by the authorities in the Middle East and it’s feared he could face the death penalty.
Tonight at the family home in Maud, Aberdeenshire, a sombre relative said: “We’re shocked. “We’ve not had any contact with Scott at all since it happened.”
Scott worked all over the world in the oil industry as he carried out underwater inspections of equipment.
His Linkedin page reveals he went to Aberdeen and Banff and Buchan colleges.
He served long stints in the North Sea before he became a freelancer going wherever the contracts and money were.
He clocked up a year working for a firm based in Thailand before he headed to Qatar and the Seafox Burj rig.
Former co-workers couldn’t believe it when they heard what had happened.
One said: “Shocked is an understatement. He was my supervisor and he was a lovely guy.
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“Never in a million years did I think he would be involved in something like this.
“He was decent and funny. What on earth was going on over there?”
Scott is accused of bludgeoning his co-worker and then attempting to hide the body.
It’s believed he demanded to be evacuated because of a family emergency and was allegedly going to hurl the remains over the side.
It’s claimed he whacked Chris Begley over the head with a pipe when he stumbled into the bloodbath.
A massive probe has been launched to try and piece together exactly what happened.
One worker said living standards on oil rigs in the Middle East are far lower than crews would find closer to home.
He revealed: “In the North Sea your roommate is at work when you’re sleeping and vice versa.
“That doesn’t happen in Qatar. Those guys are all chucked in the same cabin at the same time.
“It can be a pressure cooker if there’s a little disagreement and you’re stuck out there for weeks at a time. And then there’s the bed bugs and the terrible food.”
It’s claimed that in the aftermath of Covid companies are struggling to recruit staff.
Workers are dispatched all over the globe, sometimes at short notice, to fill the gaps.
The source added: “It’s fantastic money but in some cases you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.
“I’ve heard of guys being stuck in the Middle East for six months. Working all that time.
“There is no excuse for what happened but I’m not surprised. It can be a hard, lonely life on the rigs.”
All three men involved in the horror incident were all contractors for Film-Ocean, based in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.
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A spokesman said they no longer had any staff on the Seafox Burj rig after Monday’s attack.
He added: “Conditions offshore vary across different regions, but Film-Ocean has received no complaints from anyone representing the company regarding this rig.”
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