Private-equity backed 3t Energy Group has inked a deal to buy Petrofac’s training centres in Aberdeen and Montrose.
The purchase includes Petrofac’s survival and marine, health and safety, fire and major emergency management capability and facilities.
A total of 104 Petrofac employees will transfer to 3t, which is funded by Blue Water Energy.
The acquisition, which should go through in the next two months, is not expected to result in any redundancies.
On completion, 3t will provide Petrofac with in-person training.
3t would not disclose the transaction value, but said the services it is acquiring can generate revenues of around £10 million per year.
Other 3t companies include Aberdeen-based energy sector survival training centre Survivex, acquired in 2018, AIS Training in Newcastle and Drilling Systems, in Bournemouth.
Petrofac’s Granite City training facilities are located in Altens and at the harbour, while the Montrose base is on Forties Road.
3t chief executive Kevin Franklin said it was too early to draw conclusions on whether the facilities it is acquiring would all remain open, or whether consolidation would be required.
He said: “What we would need to do once we get into the Petrofac training business, which is still some weeks away, is evaluate how we get our companies to work together in an optimum way, so it’s a working process.
But Mr Franklin said 3t had consistently grown in recent years and had succeeded in securing new contracts based on the quality of its offering.
He said: “We are focused on what’s right for the customer and what’s right for the marketplace.”
Mr Franklin said the acquisition bolstered 3t’s position in the wider energy training market and that he was “excited for the future”.
“We’ve got some new customers here that we’re going to be working with for the first time,” he said. “We’re excited to bring our technology-enabled solutions to them.
“We’re also excited to bring to our existing customers the pedigree of the Petrofac training business, which is well-respected and has fantastically experienced people.”
He added: “Buying Petrofac’s UK in-person training presence was an excellent opportunity that we had to explore.
“It allows us to extend our customer offering and demonstrates our commitment to providing the very best training to the energy industry.
“We’re proud that our state-of-the-art training makes our clients’ businesses safer, more efficient and more profitable.
“With Petrofac’s strong training pedigree and world-class staff, the acquisition both broadens and strengthens our market leading offer.”
Following the sale, Petrofac will continue to offer digital content development, learning and competency management software and emergency response and crisis management services.
Patty Eid, global head of Petrofac Training Services, said: “We are refocusing our North Sea offering with an emphasis on digital competency management, online learning and emergency response.
“Further afield, these skills continue to bolster our international training proposition and pursuit of in-country value, by providing our global client-base and their workforce development and nationalisation programmes, with access to the latest digital tools.
“Our UK training instructors have been bringing people home safely for four decades, setting many firsts along the way.
“We’re exceptionally proud of that heritage, and the contribution of the team over that time.
“We thank them for their service and look forward to their continued success under the stewardship of 3t Energy Group.”
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