Wood secures contract for Saudi Arabian ‘mega-project’

● Multi-million dollar deal struck with Saudi Aramco

Energy services group Wood has won a five-year multi-million dollar contract to work on a big oil field development project in Saudi Arabia.

The agreement will see the Aberdeen-headquartered company support stateowned oil giant Saudi Aramco on its project to develop the Marjan oil field in the state’s eastern province.

Wood said yesterday that it will provide engineering and project management services at the field which is one of Saudi Aramco’s so-called “megaprojects” designed to enhance Saudi Arabia’s energy sustainability, diversify the economy, expand gas production, and increase domestic content.

Robin Watson, Wood’s chief executive, said: “We look forward to working in close partnership with Saudi Aramco to bring our broad and enduring expertise in engineering and project management to this project, which is significant for both our client and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“Our focus will be applying our ingenuity, range of capabilities and in-country knowledge to ensure its safe and successful delivery.

“We have been operating in the Middle East for around 75 years and continue to ambitiously pursue opportunities to leverage our global expertise and grow our presence in the region.

“Our commitment to growing capability and capacity in the Kingdom will be demonstrated further on this contract, where we will focus on nurturing talent, providing employment opportunities and partnering with the supply chain.”

Wood has worked with Saudi Aramco for more than 30 years, and in November the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding reinforcing the Scottish company’s commitment to creating opportunities for local employees in the kingdom.

Earlier this month, Wood said it expected a financial boost from the major US tax reforms introduced at the beginning of the year.

President Trump’s reforms, aimed at boosting economic growth, saw rates of corporate and personal tax cut on 1 January, and the group said following an initial assessment it expects a one-off credit to its accounts for 2017 as a result of the revaluation of deferred tax liabilities.

Wood also said that net debt at the end of 2017 was stood at $1.65 billion (£1.19bn) compared to previous estimates of $1.8bn. Paragon ID, a trading name of Bemrosebooth Paragon, which specialises in smart ticketing and print services for mass transit, has landed a “multi-six-figure deal” to provide warehousing and distribution for all Scotrail timetables. Paragon ID’S key account director Sarah Mclaughlin said the firm was a longstanding Scotrail supplier, and was pleased to show it has “the capacity and infrastructure in place to manage a critical service” while trying to improve efficiencies”.