Oil and Gas

Intertek traces its history back nearly 130 years to a marine surveying company founded by the entrepreneur Caleb Brett in the 1890s to answer a vital need at the time - independent testing and certification of ships' cargoes. Through a long process of amalgamation and acquisition it has since grown to become the global go-to resource for almost every industry sector.

Petroplan, the global oil, gas and energy recruitment specialist, has published its annual financial report for 2013. The results reveal another successful year at Petroplan, with Profit before Tax increasing to £5.1 million, up from £2.9 million in 2012.

The former Wood Group chief executive and chairman, who is scheduled to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Oil Council World Assembly in November, believes while the oil and gas sector is going through a “difficult time”, there is still reason for great optimism as a result of the government’s about-turn.

Speaking in June Leni Gas & Oil (LGO) chairman David Lenigas said: "Our Trinidad operations will do 2,000 barrels per day (bpd). Not might, - will." The company is one of the more salient success stories in the Australian entrepreneur and former Lonrho chairman’s portfolio. And the market is backing him: LGO’s shares on London’s AIM market have risen from under a penny in November to over 4-pence at the time of writing.

As the dust settles on the Scottish referendum and the comfortable margin for the ‘no’ camp, the removal of what they saw as a major threat has resulted in a rapid return of business confidence. This was boosted by announcements by large financial institutions like RBS and Standard Life that they would remain in Edinburgh. Both companies’ shares rose following the announcement of the result.

The oil field service companies accommodate the wireline services to the exploration and production (E&P) companies of oil and natural gas. There has been a continuous increase in the exploration and production activities of oil and gas in finding new areas of unconventional resources, which has immensely bolstered the growth of the global wireline services market. These wireline services are required by the oil and gas industries for its entire lifecycle which includes exploration, drilling, completion, stimulation, and intervention.

The Cecon Pride is a multipurpose offshore construction vessel constructed for the Norwegian oilfield services company Cecon.  Davie’s Chief Executive Officer, Alan Bowen, commented, “This ship is the most complex commercial vessel to have ever been built at a North American shipyard. It’s also the largest vessel built in Canada in over 25 years, since Davie held the previous record.”

Brent crude, the benchmark for world oil prices, hit a 13 month low on August 13 before recovering to end at $104.28 a barrel. Since mid-June prices have gradually come down by more than nine percent. The most recent losses came after the International Energy Agency (IEA) earlier this week lowered its demand forecast for 2014, with weaker than expected second-quarter economic growth in developed countries and a reduction in oil stockpiling on the part of China.

Nobody’s perfect. What quality or ability do you wish you had?
I wish I was someone who could function perfectly well on 4 hours sleep a day. There is so much to experience and achieve that sleeping 8 hours a day seems a waste.

What is the best business book you have ever read, and why?
I don’t as a rule read business books, but “Who Moved My Cheese” provided some valuable insights when I first read it in the 1990’s and those lessons have stayed with me.

Last year we published an in-depth report on the Caribbean's leading O&G company, looking at Petrotrin's business models, vision, people strategy and environmental aspirations. There can be no doubt that this is a company that is pivotal to the development of the nation and indeed the region as a whole.