Petrofac and Rolls-Royce aid emerging markets push

By PETER RANSCOMBE
Published on 12/03/2013 00:00

BRITISH industry continued its push into emerging markets yesterday with FTSE 100 duo Petrofac and Rolls-Royce winning contracts in Mexico.

Energy services firm Petrofac has scooped a further contract with Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the state oil company, while Rolls-Royce will supply a gas turbine to CYDSA, a textile and chemicals conglomerate.

Petrofac helped to break down the trade barriers with Mexico in 2011 when it won two of the first three private oil production contracts to come out of the Central American country in more than 50 years.

Mexico nationalised its oil industry and kicked out foreign companies in 1938 when it created Pemex.

Under yesterday’s deal, Petrofac – which is based in London but has its main operations centre in Aberdeen – will help Pemex with the design of equipment for its Lakach project, the country’s first deepwater field.

About 25 engineers based in Mexico and Houston, in the United States, will be involved with the project, which is scheduled to be completed towards the end of 2015.

Craig Muir, managing director of Petrofac’s engineering and consulting services business, said: “I am delighted we have been selected to support such a significant project for Pemex with this its first major deepwater development.

“Pemex will benefit from the full breadth of Petrofac’s specialist subsea pipeline consulting and engineering services in addition to our well management capabilities. We look forward to working closely with Pemex on this significant project and further building Petrofac’s presence in Mexico.”

In another deal announced yesterday, engine maker Rolls-Royce has won a contract to send one of its Trent 60 industrial gas turbines to CYDSA for its processing plants at Coatzacoalcos in Mexico.

The turbine will provide steam and electricity for CYDSA’s processing plants, with excess electrical power sold to Mexico’s national grid.

Rolls-Royce said that the Trent 60 unit for CYDSA was manufactured and packaged at its facilities at Montreal, in Canada, and at Mount Vernon in Ohio, in the United States.

Marcelo Garza, a member of CYDSA’s procurement and logistics team, said: “The ability of Rolls-Royce to deliver the equipment in a very tight timescale is critical to helping us meet our growth objectives.”

Mexico is at the heart of the G20 group of emerging economies, highlighted by many economists as one of the key growth areas after the “Brics” nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Selling services expertise to such markets – alongside manufactured goods – has been a key plank of the economic recovery plans put in place by both the UK and Scottish governments.