The Scottish oil and gas sector is looking to boost its international opportunities by attending the Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference (OEEC) in Amsterdam this week.

A Scotland pavilion will be created by Scottish Development International at the event, which will target new business in the Netherlands and Northern Europe.

The Netherlands has been identified as a 'key market opportunity' for the energy sector, which currently delivers £0.56 billion of total international sales in the country.

Elsewhere for renewables firms, the offshore wind sector is expected to increase by another 7,000 offshore turbines by 2025. Northern Europe is one of the biggest producers in this sector and the forecast provides a potential £200bn opportunity for offshore energy and engineering companies. The Dutch offshore wind industry alone will see around 3.5GW of projects delivered during 2016-2020, presenting 'significant' opportunities for Scotland's energy sector.


Director of energy at Scottish Enterprise, Maggie McGinlay, said: "Supporting companies to find new international opportunities is a priority for us. So too is helping oil and gas companies to look at additional opportunities in other growing sectors where their skills can be transferred, such as offshore wind.

"This conference can help us to achieve both of these ambitions which is why, for the first time, we are hosting a Scotland pavilion at Offshore Energy. Scotland's energy sector is world-renowned for its innovative and experienced supply chain and this event offers a platform to capitalise on these strengths to find new international growth opportunities."

(LM/MH)