Petrofac in alliance with Schlumberger

OIL services firm Petrofac, which is seeking to double profits by 2015, is linking up with global heavyweight Schlumberger in a move that will allow it to bid for much larger contracts.

The FTSE 100 company, which services one-quarter of the UK’s oil production from its base in Aberdeen, has signed a co-operation agreement with Schlumberger, the world’s largest oil services company, giving it access to projects that it would not have been able to deliver independently.

News of the link-up sent Petrofac’s shares up 2 per cent. The company has enjoyed a run of good news lately, and it told investors before Christmas that 2011 profits were likely to be up 20 per cent while it expects to double 2010’s haul by 2015.

Chief executive Andy Inglis said: “The creation of this framework will enable us to bid jointly for projects of a scale that we would not pursue independently, and to develop them at a much faster pace.”

The companies believe there is an opportunity to win significant business from major resource holders – such as national oil companies – which want to exploit low-risk reserves but don’t have the expertise themselves to ramp up production.