Amec’s £2billion takeover of rival Foster Wheeler will see North Sea skills exported to a wider global market, its chief executive has claimed.
Samir Brikho, the chief executive of the oil services giant, said selling the capabilities of its north-east workforce to build, maintain and refurbish oil and gas platforms and infrastructure – which the firm refers to as “brownfield” work – will enhance Foster Wheeler’s specialisms in shale gas and LNG, which is based mostly in North America.
Speaking to the Press & Journal from the firm’s newest Aberdeen office, Mr Brikho said the Foster Wheeler deal, which is set to complete in the autumn subject to shareholder approval, “ticked all the boxes” for Amec.
He said: “Amec will be able to sell services to Foster Wheeler customers, and Foster Wheeler will be able to sell services to Amec customers.
“Here there is an enormous possibility to utilise the Amec brownfield capability, which is based in Aberdeen, and roll it not only on a global basis but also to Foster Wheeler customers.”
He added: “The excitement here is the revenue synergies.
“For us it is about how we take the business of Amec and Foster Wheeler and how we create more value, so the whole is much bigger than the sum of the two.
“We say internally what we are trying to do is add two plus two equals five, six, seven.”
Mr Brikho admitted that the firm, which works with most of the operators in the North Sea including BP, Shell, Talisman and Enquest, is adapting to “new models” as its clients attempt to cut costs.
“There’s no question the industry is going through a number of challenges,” he said.
“Many people say about the oil price that the new $100 is the old $20, which means that many of the operators are making in the range of about 10% profit, which was not so much different when the oil price was at $20.
“Even though oil prices are five times higher, the returns for the operators are not much bigger,” he added.
He said that despite facing falling North Sea revenues – Amec, along with Wood Group and Petrofac, has slashed pay to its contractors in an effort to stem spiralling costs – he is bullish about the firm’s North Sea prospects.
“In the last year it has been such a great story,” he said.
“We have been acquiring quite a lot of new clients that we’ve not had before, whether it is Nexen, Taqa, Enquest, GDF Suez. You name it, we have the full bouquet.”
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