Samsung C&T Buys UK LNG Specialist

March 19, 2013

Samsung C&T, the global engineering and construction company, has acquired the entire shareholding in the liquid natural gas (LNG) specialist Whessoe from its Saudi Arabian owners.

UK-based Whessoe will continue to be run by its existing management but will now have its ambitious growth strategy supported by Samsung C&T’s global network.

Yeon-Joo Jung, chief executive of Samsung C&T, was in the UK to participate in the deal closing ceremony. He said that his company had become aware of Whessoe’s expertise through its work on major projects in Korea and India.

He said: “We at Samsung C&T are delighted, through our partnership with Whessoe, to access this impressive talent pool. Together we are stronger, and will become the most innovative and successful company in the gas sector.”

Wilf McNaughton, Whessoe’s general manager, said: “This deal is a vote of confidence in the skills, knowledge and innovation that this historic company has delivered and continues to offer the world. For 200 years our engineers have been driving advancement for the benefit of Britain and, with the support of Samsung C&T, we now have advanced plans to grow this business globally.”

Samsung C&T Corporation was founded in 1938 and is the origin of the entire Samsung Group. It now has more than 10,400 employees in 133 offices, based in 50 countries. Samsung C&T is currently working on a US$1billion EPC contract of a LNG terminal project in Singapore.

The union of Samsung C&T and Whessoe will create enormous benefits, as it will allow the company to enter new markets and expand its strategic offers to existing ones.

With its engineering pedigree dating back to 1790, Whessoe has developed its technical excellence by working for the oil and gas industries, with specialist expertise in the storage and handling of liquid gases in both refrigerated and pressurized form. Its projects include designing and building the world’s first commercial LNG terminal at Canvey Island in England in 1962 and the UK’s latest terminal at the Isle of Grain.

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LNG World News Staff, March 19, 2013; Image: National Grid