Ambitious oil and gas sector seeks growth in Middle East market

Scottish Enterprise is leading a delegation of 33 companies to exhibit at the world’s third largest oil and gas event, Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC).

The Middle East is a key market for Scotland’s oil and gas sector according to the latest Survey of International Activity in the Oil and Gas Sector 2012/13:

• In 2012, the Middle East was the sixth largest international market for Scottish oil and gas exports, representing £700 million worth of sales.
• In terms of revenues by market for Scottish companies: the UAE, Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia figured in the top 20 markets.
• 58% of respondents reported the Middle East as a growth region in the immediate future, and 15% of respondents saw the UAE specifically as a strong near term growth opportunity.

David Rennie, international sector head of oil & gas at Scottish Enterprise said: “Scotland’s energy industry is a force to be reckoned with, and we are excited to introduce such a strong line-up of companies to ADIPEC this year. As with our partners in the GCC, the oil, gas and renewable energy sectors make a significant contribution to Scotland’s economy and offer remarkable opportunities for investment in the country as well. Years of oil and gas production have created a strong supply chain, a skilled workforce, a renowned academic sector and a well-developed energy infrastructure. Additionally, our companies are backed by world-class research and development activity in Scottish academic and research institutes.

“Each year we see that Scotland’s sector strengths are welcomed by ADIPEC attendees, and we expect they will continue to be the major value generators for the industry at home and abroad in the future.”

As part of the trade mission, Scottish companies will enhance their ability to partner with organisations in the Gulf, not only by meeting other companies at ADIPEC but also as they will have the opportunity to engage with members of the international GlobalScot network, which offers unique insights into the operating environment of markets around the world.

Based in Dubai, Euan Lockhart, CEO Middle East and Africa at ASCO joined the GlobalScot network in September and is looking forward to meeting companies during the visit. He said: “I’m delighted to be part of the GlobalScot programme and network. As an international oilfield support services business, ASCO has global ambitions and I’m sure GlobalScot will support our desire to build networks that reflect those ambitions. In addition, being able to link our global customer base through organisations such as GlobalScot adds real value to our already wide-ranging service offering.

The clear benefits for businesses attending ADIPEC with the Scottish Enterprise trade mission has meant that many of the firms are re-visiting Abu Dhabi as part of this year’s delegation. Centrifuges Un-Limited, for example, is a specialist equipment manufacturer. It has worked with Scottish Development International (SDI), the international arm of Scotland’s economic development agencies, in a number of markets such as Egypt, Libya and Algeria and returns to the conference having joined the Scottish Pavilion at ADIPEC 2013. Its international strategy has delivered strong results for the company, which has also seen it open an office in the UAE in the past five months.

Over the past 40 years Scotland’s oil and gas engineering and contracting companies have evolved into one of the strongest supply chains in the world. The Oil and Gas sector alone contributes £15.3bn to Scottish GVA per annum and more than 224,000 jobs are supported by the sector with a supply chain of some 2,000 businesses in Scotland, ranging from multinational organisations to small and medium sized enterprises. The industry is, and will remain, strategically important to Scotland for decades to come for the energy it produces and the employment it creates but it has also enabled the sector to develop and advance the very latest technologies it offers to partners and customers around the world.

With unrivalled expertise in offshore and deepwater exploration activity, the Scottish industry is ideally positioned to help partners move their operations forward across these key disciplines.