Scottish O&G firms head to East Africa to unlock training potential

Scottish Development International (SDI) is leading the delegation, which will take in Kampala and Dar es Salaam, providing the companies with the opportunity to visit and gain first-hand experience of these dynamic, but challenging, markets.

The size of the market potential is huge; both Uganda and Tanzania have announced plans for significant new infrastructure (see notes to editor) to enable them to monitise the region’s oil & gas resources and 200,000 locals are set to be trained to support the oil and gas and construction industries in Uganda and Tanzania alone.

The economic benefit potential to Scotland in terms of increased staff and revenues is significant. Locals need to be upskilled with technical skills courses to deliver pipelines, refineries, LNG plants, airports and roads and to achieve this, the World Bank has allocated training grants of $258m to Uganda and $100m to Tanzania, SOGA has allocated $50m and in Kenya the government has contributed $13m.

All of this funding will be matched by the International Oil Companies to enable them to meet their Local Content obligations. A feasibility study sponsored by SDI indicates that Scottish O&G education providers are well placed to receive a share of this training funding, thanks to their experience in this field and the fact that their courses are accreditated; a key requirement set out by the international oil operators in the region.

 Calls for supply chain expressions of interest have already been made by East African operators, presenting significant opportunity for Scottish supply chain companies to partner with local businesses to help deliver the projects to high quality standards.

The 12 companies taking part in the mission will gain market awareness and meet potential customers, agents and joint venture partners, thanks to a programme of one-to-one meetings, market briefings, company showcases, networking receptions and dinners organised by SDI and DIT.

Commenting on the opportunity, Ewen Cameron, Head of Trade and Investment for Energy at Scottish Development International said:

“The harsh and unpredictable conditions of the North Sea, where our oil and gas skills have been honed, have led Scots to value safety extremely highly. As a result, Scottish oil and gas companies have become some of the world’s safest operators, and our institutions are now taking this training out to international markets, helping to train local workers and build a legacy of safety and professionalism.

“This mission comes at a crucial time in the development of the East African oil & gas industry; if ambitious Scottish companies can get in a foot in this market now and forge partnerships with African operators, the potential pay off for these companies and the Scottish economy is huge.

“I would encourage any company considering trading internationally to get in touch with us to find out about the support available, and how we can help make those all important connections in overseas markets”.

ENDS

Notes to editor

Uganda has announced plans to drill 400 wells, build a $3.55B 1700km heated pipeline that will run to the coast in Tanzania, a refinery and airport, and establish an industrial zone in Kampala. In Tanzania, offshore drilling will commence as soon as the LNG plants and associated infrastructure are complete, with the heated pipeline ending in Tanga Port where a $2B port development will take place.

Companies taking part in the mission are:

• EOS Europe is looking to looking to promote its managed Electrical Service project teams and establish a presence in East Africa and to identify potential in country partners.
• Chubby Bags, an Aberdeen-based company focusing on innovative environmental solutions for the disposal of drilling waste for oil & gas industry, will soon launch a new bagging, washing, bulking, bricking end to end solution.
• Norwell Engingeering hopes to undertake final testing of its new online training platform prior to launch in December.
• Scottish Training for Energy Partnership (STEP) Ltd, a consortium of two colleges and three private education providers will be promoting its technical, vocational and skills training in the construction and process operations elements of the oil & gas energy sector.
• Forth Valley College, which is keen to explore opportunities to provide advisory and CPD services to Ugandan Ministries, petroleum commissions, oil & gas operators, service providers and education providers.
• ASET International Oil & Gas Training Academy will launch its new train the trainer programme
• Edinburgh College will offer OPITO electrical and instrumentation courses
• Dundee and Angus College will look to increase the number of train the trainer welding programmes in the region
• Sibbald Training will use its experience in delivering training for the Forth Road Crossing to upskill construction workers
• University of the West of Scotland will offer both tertairy and technical skills courses
• COREX (UK) Ltd are looking to help the governments set up a drill core repository so that in the future the government will know how much oil and gas is still recoverable.
• TEMS International Ltd will deliver environmental solutions in well sites that are close to the environmental sensitive areas of natural beauty.