The Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has officially opened international oilfield services company, Expro’s new well intervention facility in Aberdeen.
The Carnegie and Young facilities, located in Dyce, Aberdeen, will enhance the company’s growing well intervention business, housing a team of approximately 200 employees. Combined with the forthcoming renovation of the Bruce building, which will house the subsea qualification facilities, this represents nearly £5million investment over the next 12 months.
Expro’s offices in Aberdeen house a number of products/business, including; well intervention, well integrity, well testing and well services; subsea safety systems; drill stem testing and tubing conveyed perforating. To meet increasing business demand, the company has employed more than 150 new employees in the UK over the past year, bringing the total headcount to over 1100 people locally. Expro continues to support employees through a range of specialised development programmes, aimed at technician, graduate, ex-armed forces and management.
The investment in people and infrastructure builds on Expro’s announcement today, that the company is also investing £13million ($20million) in new build well testing equipment, bolstering its fleet within Europe / CIS Region to support business and market growth across the region.
As part of the investment, driven by prolific discoveries in 2011/12 and the forecast increase in rig activity over the next three to five years, Expro will be adding to its existing fleet in UK and Norway to meet the demand from its customers.
Keith Palmer, Expro’s Europe CIS region director , said: “As we celebrate our 40th anniversary this year, we continue to see a strong period of growth in the region. The considerable investment in Expro’s facilities, equipment and people will enable us to enhance our services and meet the demands for our global client base.
“Norway and the UK’s oil and gas sectors are heading in to a challenging but exciting period of expansion. As a leading service provider in this sector, we are delighted to continue in our commitment to provide optimal, innovative long-term solutions to enhance our well intervention, well testing, subsea and associated activities.”
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “We want to work with companies like Expro to maintain investment and production in the North Sea for many decades to come. That’s why I’m pleased to open this new facility at Expro on the same day as we launch our oil and gas industrial strategy.
“Today’s strategy will help us increase stability, encourage growth and create more jobs and apprentices in a very important UK industry.”
[mappress] Press Release, March 29, 2013