It takes time to settle into a new environment and adapt to new people, new surroundings.
When I made the move to Wood, and to Aberdeen in October, I knew it would take me a while to adjust and get to know the city and its hidden treasures.
I must admit, moving my family from Surrey to Aberdeen was a daunting thought, however I needn’t have worried. Not only is Aberdeen’s city and shire home to some of Scotland’s most picturesque scenery and architecture, but the people are what make it already feel like home.
It is abundantly clear that Wood thinks, acts and works differently.
Winning new work, securing contract extensions and delivering our contractual obligations remain priorities, that goes without saying, but our continued success is down to a secret ingredient – our remarkable people.
Our people focus on building true partnerships with our clients, breaking traditional client-contractor models to instead work strategically as partners from the get-go, to deliver safe, reliable and sustainable operations.
Going above and beyond is very much the norm and by strengthening our relationships we are given new opportunities to further support clients as they continue to navigate the journey to net-zero.
Our expertise at Wood spans the length and breadth of the energy industry, and here in the UK we support an array of projects that secure domestic energy supply whilst working to decarbonise existing infrastructure. In my short period at Wood, I have seen that first-hand by working closely, both internally with our teams across the business and with our stakeholders, we add transformational value.
Earlier this year, we entered into a new strategic partnership for North Sea operations with Harbour Energy, agreeing a master services agreement and associated contracts valued at around $330 million. Over the next five years, our team will work alongside Harbour Energy to deliver operations and maintenance, engineering, procurement and construction services, including decarbonisation and digital solutions, across a number of their offshore assets. We are at the very start of this trusted partnership but are already making great strides and progress.
We continue to nourish and support existing partnerships, having worked alongside several of our major energy clients for decades.
Over the past 30 years, Wood has continued to support BP to produce safe, reliable energy through the provision of modifications and enhancements.
We have proved that when we work in partnership, we can deliver transformational outcomes that support our clients’ ambition to drive higher efficiency and productivity across their assets.
We are also assuring production reliability through new digital solutions, in tandem with wider programmes of activity such as planned shutdowns. We combine decades of knowledge of client assets with data and AI to optimise maintenance backlog and reduce operating costs by up to 20%. Our maintAI solution has removed 67,000 hours of backlog for one major operator, as well as a £270m inventory saving. We’re also supporting another global operator to deliver improvement plans, optimising 500,000 hours of maintenance across three offshore assets, and an onshore gas terminal.
My role as SVP for UK Operations is simple. Strengthen our business, provide a streamlined approach for customers, and deliver performance excellence across our portfolio. I have no doubt that with the team around me, we will achieve this and more
and continue to diversify and grow the business, further enhancing those partnerships.
I am thrilled to have joined such a talented team, and to lead our drive for sustainable growth in the UK, building on our established track record and unrivalled expertise.
I look forward to the Christmas break, but more so, the year ahead – 2024 is already shaping up to be a great one for team Wood!
Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New Year.
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