PTC’s UK office boosts turnover as it marks five years

Oilfield technology specialist Petroleum Technology Company has expanded its UK North Sea operations team to more than 30 and boosted turnover to more than £8m ($13.4 mln), as it marks five years in the region, based in Aberdeen.

PTC moved into Aberdeen in 2009 with a team of 10 in offices at Great Western Road. Initial turnover of £1 million has now doubled year-on-year.

It has significantly expanded its operational HQ in Aberdeen, trebling its office and engineering design spaces, and doubling its industrial workshop base at South Wellheads, Dyce with the acquisition of a new warehouse.

PTC has also brought manufacturing of its products to the UK, with specialist services to build and commission its technology taking place in central Scotland and England.

Norway’s leading private equity fund, Herkules, acquired a majority share of PTC in 2013, providing a strengthened capital base to significantly grow the company internationally.

The company is a leading developer and supplier of gas lift and wellhead integrity products, working with global supermajors and niche operating companies across the UKCS and Norwegian North Sea sectors.

Tom Norland, managing director of PTC UK, says: “We continue to invest in Aberdeen on the back of significant North Sea basin activity – operators of all scales are investing in technology to secure asset integrity and maximise recovery offshore.

“Trebling our staff, investing in expanded and additional premises, and significantly increasing our product stock in the city has been crucial to our ongoing success.

“Product research and development is a focus of our operations in Aberdeen, we’ve become known as problem-solvers to the industry in gas lift, chemical injection and well integrity assurance, which comes down to the capabilities of our engineering team.

“Manufacturing in the UK is an important element of the business now and we carry out a significant amount of our precision machining, product coatings and general product manufacturing work both in the north-east and also Lothians.”

Norland, who relocated permanently to Aberdeen when founding PTC’s UKCS base, says ambitious turnover targets in the new financial year will be fuelled by further international expansion.

Herkules’s 2013 share acquisition saw almost £14 million injected into the business as growth capital, ahead of expected total global revenues of approximately £20million, which have now been achieved.

“We forecast significant growth when we opened in Aberdeen and that has been a consistent trend for us – we are now targeting new work in the international energy marketplace, specifically in North America and the Middle East,” says Norland.

“The capital investment made by Herkules has strengthened our position and we expect to see revenue rise as we bring in new contracts from overseas, where technologies developed in the North Sea offer major benefits to operators.”

PTC is currently recruiting in operations and sales functions for the Aberdeen base. The company is headquartered in Stavanger with offices in Bergen, Houston and Rio de Janeiro.