Scottish O&G Supply Chain Exports Jump 8.4%

Exports by Scottish oil and gas supply chain companies jumped 8.4 percent between 2011 and 2012 to $12.7 billion, according to figures released Monday by Scottish Development International.

Exports from Scotland's oil and gas supply chain now account for a record 47.6 percent of the supply chain’s total sales, which at $26.7 billion grew by 5.8 percent last year.

"The domestic market is still growing, but the international market is really growing," said David Rennie, international sector head for oil and gas at Scottish Enterprise, who was speaking to Rigzone at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston Monday afternoon.

Rennie, who along with Scotland Minister of Energy Fergus Ewing is accompanying a delegation of 50 Scottish companies to the show, pointed out that North America still represents the largest export region for Scottish suppliers to the oil and gas industry, accounting for around $4 billion of sales (an increase of 2.8 percent over 2011).

However, Rennie also noted that Africa could see significant growth for Scottish exports. Already, the continent accounts for around 15 percent of exports from Scotland’s supply chain firms, making it the second-largest export region after North America.

"I would say that Africa is potentially a big market for us," Rennie said. "We've just taken a trade mission to Ghana and we've got an office opening there later this year."

Rennie pointed out that Scotland is close to Africa in terms of time zone, so "there's no reason why we can't service a lot of activity in Africa from the UK".

Currently around 70 percent of Scotland's oil and gas supply chain is about services – reflecting a significant level of expertise, particularly around the Aberdeen area.

"It's a hub. It's about supply chain, it's about the cluster, it's about quality, it's about access to engineering and it's about access to academia," Rennie said.

"Subsea services, well management, drilling … There’s a whole range of things that can be serviced form Scotland. And we now export to about 100 countries … If you go anywhere in the world to look for oil you will find a Scots person."

A former engineer, Jon is an award-winning editor who has covered the technology, engineering and energy sectors since the mid-1990s. Email Jon at jmainwaring@rigzone.com.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

View the original article here