When Centrica Energy Upstream was established two years ago, under the leadership of Jonathan Roger, there was no question of the headquarters being anywhere but Aberdeen. Since then the company has moved into new offices in the centre of the city to accommodate its growing workforce. And it’s certainly been a busy couple of years for the business, as Mr Roger explains.
“We have seen another excellent year, with our operating profit up over a third for the second year running at £769million.
“We remain one of the top three gas producers on the UK Continental Shelf with a successful track record in drilling and exploration. We are also looking to grow the business by 50% within the next five years, so I’ve been delighted that we have been able to announce strategic partnerships with leading players in the industry including, most recently, Statoil in Norway.
“We have always believed that the North Sea is far from drilled dry and that we could find innovative new ways to unlock more hard-to-reach oil and gas. We have already brought pioneering new projects on stream, such as our F3-FA platform, the largest self-installing platform in the North Sea, which celebrated a successful first year of production last month.
“Health, safety and the environment, as ever, remain our top priorities. Over the last two years we have worked hard to create a high-performance culture which has been fundamental in securing our financial and operational successes. We will now look to drive further improvement year on year, as we build our business from our base in Aberdeen.
“We currently have around 1,000 people working for Centrica Energy Upstream, over a third of which are based in our Aberdeen headquarters. Last year we moved into the new iQ offices in the centre of the city, which has helped create the right environment for our team here. As we look to grow, people remain our most important assets. Last year in Aberdeen alone we recruited over 50 people and expect to do around the same again this year.”
And Centrica certainly has ambitious plans to grow its upstream business, which now represents the fastest-growing part of the company. In December last year it set out a new strategy to increase production by 50% in the next three to five years and, with three acquisitions announced in as many months, is already a long way towards meeting that target.
Mr Roger added: “We have spent £1.4billion in the last few months acquiring new producing and development fields, in both the UK and Norway. Our main focus in the coming months will be on integrating these acquisitions into our current portfolio and driving value from them. We will also be investing a further £750million in 2012 to bring our new projects on stream, plus we have some exciting decisions to make about future deals and developments.
“From an Aberdeen perspective, one of our focuses this year is on building a strong engineering division in house. And, as we look to up-skill all parts of our business, including in our regional offices and offshore locations, we will always look to the Aberdeen market, which continues to have the largest pool of skill sets.”
Although Centrica is looking to build the geographic diversity of its operations, growing in Norway while also potentially looking to enter new parts of the Atlantic basin, Mr Roger continues to see Aberdeen as home for the business. “It wouldn’t make sense for us to be anywhere other than Aberdeen, which remains the oil and gas capital not just of the UK but Europe.”
The city regularly hosts key events, such as Offshore Europe which Centrica Energy Upstream exhibited at for the first time last year, and attracts leading oil and gas companies from across the globe.
“Our Aberdeen HQ is very much the heart of our upstream business, acting as the hub connecting and co-ordinating all of our regional offices both in the North Sea and internationally. Whether ensuring the safety of operations, discovering new gas and oil or agreeing an acquisition, our teams in Aberdeen always play a crucial role.”
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