International oilfield service firm Expro said yesterday it had invested about £5million on a new base in Aberdeen for its growing well-intervention business.
The Granite City-based group also revealed plans to recruit at least 40 people across its UK subsea, wireline and well-test product operations over the next few months.
It comes just three months after nearly 40 jobs were axed at standalone business Expro AX-S Technology after it slid into administration.
Expro said its new site in Howe Moss Avenue, Dyce, housed wireline, well-intervention, well service, integrity and cased-hole logging operations.
The leased premises in Kirkhill Industrial Estate comprise two buildings, each with office space, workshops and yards, covering 66,600 square feet.
Named after Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and James Young, who invented the process of extracting oil from coal in the early 1800s, the buildings will eventually house Expro’s 200-strong well-intervention service team.
Keith Palmer, Expro’s director for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, said: “Our considerable investment in additional facilities in Aberdeen will allow us to consolidate our well-intervention capabilities.
“Strong client demand and increased revenue and investment in new markets has allowed us to hire more than 1,000 people globally in the past year, and we’re continuously increasing both onshore and offshore work.
“With a five-year plan to double our workforce, investment in new premises and growth opportunities is critical.”
Expro employs 5,000 people across 50 countries, helping the company TO turn over £630million annually.
Expro AX-S Technology, which went into administration in September, developed a system used by oil and gas companies to access and work on their subsea wells.
Field tests took place in Norway earlier this year and the first commercial assignment, after a £126million investment in the technology by the Expro group, was due to start in September.