Two stalwarts of the north-east oil and gas industry have pocketed an undisclosed sum through the sale of Aberdeenshire firm Norwell Engineering.
Norwell, which has its head office in Westhill, is now owned by fledgling Aberdeen company Elemental Energies.
It is the end of one era and the start of a new one for Norwell, which was founded by Newcastle-born chairman Ken Fraser, with three engineers, in 1989.
Managing director Iain Adams joined forces with him shortly afterwards, becoming joint owner about 24 years ago.
Mr Fraser, now 75, and Mr Adams, 63, have decided the time is right to let others take control.
Mr Adams said: “I’m extremely proud of our team at Norwell.
“Over the last three decades we have delivered many industry firsts and been behind multiple flagship projects, from drilling wells in world record water depths to delivering more than 500 project managed wells globally since 1989.
“As we look to the future and how our world-leading expertise can support the transition of the energy sector through decommissioning and to low carbon, joining Elemental Energies is a natural fit.
We have delivered many industry firsts and been behind multiple flagship projects.”
Iain Adams, managing director, Norwell Engineering
“We look forward to integrating our teams to provide best-in-class, independent engineering and project management across oil & gas, decommissioning, CCUS (carbon capture utilisation and storage) and geothermal projects.”
Norwell is currently turning over about £10 million a year.
New firm aiming for maiden turnover of more than £27m
Elemental is owned by former London-based financier Michael Dafforn.
The firm was incorporated last November and entered the market with a bang a month later with the takeover of Senergy Wells, which was previously part of Aberdeen-based Vysus Group.
Elemental’s revenue is expected to exceed £27 million in its first year.
The latest deal means a core international team of 15 staff and a wider group of long-term contractors will transfer from Norwell, taking Elemental’s total workforce to 105.
No redundancies are expected.
A spokeswoman for Elemental said Norwell would be fully integrated into the wider group and brand over the coming months.
Mr Fraser and Mr Adams will be retained in an advisory capacity, with the latter staying on in a management role to “ensure future success and smooth transition of the business”.
‘Enviable reputation’
Mr Daffron said: “The Norwell team has earned an enviable reputation for successfully managing the largest and most challenging wells projects for clients around the world over the past 34 years.
“We are delighted to welcome their wealth of expertise, team and clients to the company.”
Norwell previously had its head office on Queens Road, Aberdeen.
The company’s list of past and present clients reads like a who’s who of the oil and gas industry.
And it has worked on projects in virtually every oil and gas province in the world.
EXCLUSIVE: Newcomer Elemental Energies has continued its run of acquisitions with the buy-out of fellow Aberdeen firm Norwell Engineering.https://t.co/KA71Lboqm1
— Energy Voice (@EnergyVoiceNews) May 16, 2023
According to its website, Norwell is “one of the longest established and most trusted drilling project management and well engineering firms in the world”.
It has twice broken the global record for the deepest water depth wells and set the performance benchmark for a remote exploration well onshore Kenya, improving on the previous record by 50%.
The firm also bagged the first offshore well drilled out under the North Sea from onshore.
The well was drilled by a land rig from a clifftop near Lybster, Caithness, saving the costs and carbon emissions associated with an offshore drilling rig and support vessels.
Norwell’s chairman and MD have nearly 90 years of oil and gas experience between them.
Mr Fraser is widely recognised as a leading technical expert in the industry.
He started his career with Shell in 1972, working his way up to superintendent before leaving to join Holder as drilling manager in 1984.
He went on to found Eco-Drill, in 1986, followed by Norwell three years later.
Mr Adams launched his career with Chevron in 1979, working his way to up to drilling manager before joining Norwell as project manager in 1995. Demand for his technical expertise has included him testifying at high profile court cases including the BP Deepwater Horizon proceedings in 2013-14.
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