Petrofac sees some upturn in North Sea activity

Oil services group Petrofac today said that it was seeing 'early signs of recovery' in the UK North Sea.

Petrofac is a key employer in Scotland. Picture: Contributed

In a trading update, the company – a major employer in Scotland – highlighted a number of successful projects and revealed a total new order intake of $1.8 billion (£1.4bn) in the year to date.

Net debt is expected to be about £900 million at 30 June – in line with expectations – it added. Within its engineering and construction business, the firm pointed to the successful installation of the jacket for the Borwin 3 offshore wind project in the North Sea.

Chief executive Ayman Asfari said: “We are trading in line with expectations, delivering best-in-class project execution, continued momentum in new orders and further progress in our strategy.”

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Nicholas Hyett said: “Activity is said to remain low, but if the early signs of a recovery are there, that bodes well for Petrofac, the sector, and the hundreds of oil services jobs in Aberdeen.”