Scottish firm buys Dubai oil and gas consultancy

Reuters/Agustin Marcarian

A Scottish company that trains drilling personnel for the energy sector has bought a Dubai oil and gas consultancy in an effort to double its customer base in the Middle East and North Africa.

Aberdeen Drilling School said it will add services including new hire assessments, role-specific progression programmes and rig reactivation support following the acquisition of IAS International.

“With rig counts on the rise across the Middle East, the demand for highly trained, competent personnel at all levels is growing in tandem,” said Graeme Eglintine, ADS’s newly appointed Mena regional director.

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The company has developed well control training in over 50 countries since its inception in 1982.

IAS has previously worked with Saudi Aramco, Arabian Drilling Company and Gulf Drilling International, among others.

Non-oil trade between Scotland and the UAE increased 70 percent in 2022 to reach $870 million.

Scotland accounted for 9 percent of the UK’s total exports to the UAE and 5 percent of the UK’s total imports from the Emirates.

High growth sectors such as clean energy, food production and advanced technology are driving increased trade between the countries.

The UAE is Scotland’s 12th biggest export market, not including oil and gas, centred predominantly on tourism, food and drink, engineering and manufacturing.