A major Scottish energy firm has announced its expansion with a new £750,000 engineering hub in India.

Wood Group is hoping the completion of the hub will create up to 100 jobs in India, where the company has operated since 2000. It currently employs 130 people in the country.

The expansion is expected to open up the firm’s access to the Indian domestic market as well as international projects in the Middle East, Asia, Australia and Europe.

External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop welcomed the news.

She said: "[The] expansion demonstrates a continued strengthening of business ties between our two countries, and highlights the appetite of Scottish companies to develop into Indian markets.


"There is enormous demand for energy across India, which coupled with its government’s ambition to reduce its reliance on oil and gas imports, presents significant opportunity for Scotland to export our knowledge and expertise.

David Clark, a Regional Director of Wood Group, said: "Wood Group is in a strong position globally and we are seeing a huge demand for highly skilled and experienced engineers. Operating in a highly competitive industry, we need to think innovatively about how we can move skills around, transfer expertise and develop global hubs of engineering excellence to service our global business.

"We have been looking at where some of the world’s best engineering talent is based and the pedigree of engineering skills in India is especially high. This development provides a gateway for Wood Group to bring new skilled and talented engineers into our global organisation and deliver enhanced engineering, operations and maintenance services to oil and gas production and pipeline assets."

Anne MacColl, Chief Executive, Scottish Development International said: "The export of our vast expertise in this field forms a key component of the recently launched oil and gas strategy for Scotland. With some 40% of offshore wells in Asia, Scottish companies are actively seeking to expand overseas in the years ahead, in order to leverage opportunities in key markets like India."

(IT)