Oil well venture aiming to create 400 jobs

A well decommissioning venture set up by a group of oil industry stalwarts is targeting £200 million of investment and aims to create hundreds of jobs.

Well-safe Solutions, whose founders include Alasdair Locke, who co-founded Abbot Group in 1992, is looking to tap into a “massive market opportunity” decommissioning subsea wells in a safe and cost-efficient manner.

The start-up, which aims to create as many as 400 jobs, has secured funding from Scottish Enterprise, including money from the Scottish Investment Bank and a regional selective assistance grant, in addition to initial private funding from the major shareholders.

Executive director and cofounder Mark Patterson said: “The market dynamics in oil and gas have changed significantly. Before the collapse in oil price, operators were focused on maximising production, costs were very high and assets scarce and, with no real regulatory imperative, decommissioning was pushed back.

“Cost and safety are still paramount but operators are now having to face up to the well abandonment challenge.

“They need to prioritise decommissioning activity and, with an increasing stock of ‘shut-in’ wells, more incentives, low asset utilisation and therefore lower rates, the economics for P&A [plug and abandonment] have become more compelling.”

Locke, who was Abbot Group’s chief executive, is a major investor in the new venture and will become non-executive chairman of Well-safe. 0 ‘Market dynamics have changed’ – Mark Patterson