Obituary: Bruce Dingwall CBE, oil and gas industry pioneer

Bruce Alan Ian Dingwall. Born: 1 Octoberm 1959 in Trinidad. Died: 3 August 2021 in Edinburgh, aged 61

Bruce Dingwall pictured when he was chairman of Trinity Exploration

Bruce Dingwall was a remarkable family man, businessman and friend.

His passing in August leaves a giant gap not only in the lives of his family and friends but also in the lives of all those he met who experienced his complete enthusiasm for life.

Bruce was born 1 October 1959 in Point a Pierre, Trinidad. Son of the late Ian and Kathleen Dingwall, the family moved to the West Indies in 1956 when Ian became a doctor for Texaco. Bruce grew up enjoying an idyllic childhood living in bare feet with a school, golf course, pool and yacht club all within walking distance of the family home. He particularly loved the water and swimming, a love which stayed with him all of his life.

In 1973, aged 14, Bruce arrived at Fettes College in Edinburgh. Despite coming with a bleach blond, overgrown Caribbean hairstyle (which didn’t last long!) he revelled in meeting new friends and embraced every opportunity he was offered. Fettes had a profound impact on Bruce throughout his life; his three sons Jack, Hugh and Archie all attended whilst Bruce was later appointed as a Governor of the School and Chairman of the Fettes Foundation.

After leaving school in 1978, Bruce went on to study Geology at the University of Aberdeen, furthering his deep, and what would be lifelong, love of rocks sparked from living on the oil fields of Trinidad. His passion for the outdoors made for many memorable field trips throughout his time as an undergraduate. Swimming remained a large part of his life with Bruce being awarded a sporting blue and competing for Scotland. It was also at Aberdeen he met Philippa.

After completing a Masters Degree in Petroleum Exploration, Bruce worked for Exxon for two years before joining an independent British oil company, LASMO. There followed a brief stint in London and in 1988 Bruce was posted abroad, initially to Pakistan. He thrived overseas and loved the challenges that both work and living abroad presented. He and Philippa were married in 1992 and made their first home in Karachi before moving to Jakarta. It was no surprise that when Bruce returned to Scotland in 1997 to start his new business, Venture, many former colleagues and friends joined him. He remained, however, always immensely proud of his time with LASMO.

Venture had its roots in Trinidad but the main focus was in the UK North Sea. Bruce shook up an industry which had previously been dominated by major oil companies and took Venture from a fledgling idea to a publicly listed oil and gas heavyweight, investing over £1m per day in the UK and producing 45,000 barrels of oil per day. Whilst CEO of Venture, Bruce was also President of UKOOA (United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association). He was awarded a CBE in the 2004 New Year’s Honours List for services to the oil and gas industry and was recently described as “one of the North Sea’s leading lights”. Venture was ultimately acquired by Centrica in 2009 for £1.3bn.

Trinidad was always in Bruce’s heart so in 2004 he acquired Venture’s Trinidadian assets and left to create Trinity, a business that he led until his death in August. Bruce combined his love for his birthplace with an overarching passion for oil and gas to create what is now a well-run and successful business based in San Fernando, Trinidad, just three miles from his birthplace.

Despite the numerous career successes, Bruce continued to have a wide array of friends across the globe as well as passions such as golf, fly fishing, and walking in the countryside of Scotland, especially if this was in the company of good friends.

In 2005 he introduced his family to sailing and they spent many wonderful holidays on the water in remote areas of the world. He crossed the Atlantic three times and competed in the Atlantic Race for Cruisers, winning line honours in 2007, he was also a member of the Royal Thames Yacht Club from 2006. Bruce had recently returned to the pool competing in several Masters events around Europe – even managing to bring home some medals!

What really set Bruce apart was his ability to make “his friends believe they could achieve more” and his total enthusiasm and commitment to anything he set his mind to. His passion, fun and positivity rubbed off on everyone he met.

Bruce is survived by his wife Philippa, sons Jack, Hugh and Archie, siblings Louise and Hamish and mother Kathleen.

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