Peterhead-based firm to invest over $7 million in supply base

Peterhead-based storage and inspection firm Independent Oilfield Services (IOS) has decided to invest £5.5 million ($7.35 M) in the northeast of Scotland.

The company has already invested more than £4 million in its storage and inspection facility at the Longside supply base near Peterhead.

IOS said on Monday that, in this first phase of the additional investment, the company bought its current 32-acre site on the former airfield for £2.5 million.

The deal will be followed by a further investment of around £3 million with plans for major expansion at the Longside facility.

The company has leased the Longside site since it started up in 2014 and was three years into a ten-year lease before deciding to buy the land to support its future growth plans.

IOS retains a 15-year option to lease additional sites at Longside with the potential to extend the facility to 100 acres.

Located just four miles from the quayside of Peterhead’s deepwater port, the supply base has both hard-standing outdoor storage and internal warehouse storage. Current services include OCTG, drillpipe and offshore inspection, equipment rental, transportation, and tubular management.

Glynn Geddie, managing director at IOS, said: “The decision to buy the site confirms our long-term commitment to the area and our plans for on-going investment in the region.

“We opened the Longside facility in direct response to the shortage of industrial storage space in the northeast, and since then we have seen rapid growth in our customer base. The £49 million Peterhead Port development has increased its capability to service oil & gas clients operating in the UKCS and through the investment in our company we are committed to supporting that by providing the facilities that operators and service companies sailing into Peterhead will need.

“As part of this, we have formed an alliance with NorSea Group (UK), operators of Peterhead’s Smith and Merchant quays. The agreement combines their full range of quayside services and logistics expertise with the benefits of conveniently located storage and inspection facilities to provide a full one-stop-shop service for the customer.”

In the past year, IOS has taken on an additional 25 employees, doubling its workforce with plans to create an additional 20 jobs within the coming months.

Included in the expansion plans is a new machine shop which will be operational in January. The three-acre site will be owned by IOS, but the company agreed a lease deal with Aberdeen-headquartered NXG Oilfield Services Ltd for its use. The machine shop will provide machinery, manufacturing, hard banding and a make-and-break facility.