Wood adds contract extensions amid takeover talks – Daily Business

Wood, the energy consultancy and engineering company, has secured three contract extensions worth $118 million in the North Sea that will bolster ongoing talks with its Middle East suitor.

The Aberdeen-based firm will continue to deliver operations and maintenance solutions for Shell UK, Dana Petroleum and CNOOC International’s UK business.

The extensions apply to Shell UK’s Shearwater, Gannet, Nelson and Penguins assets; Golden Eagle, Buzzard and Scott for CNOOC and the Triton and Western Isles FPSOs for Dana Petroleum.

Wood is currently in talks with Dubai-based Sidara over a potential offer amid expectations that a deal will be struck significantly below the price offered by Sidara and an earlier bidder last year.

Shares in Wood have plummeted following a series of setbacks, including a review of corporate governance that has forced it to delay its full-year accounts and suspend trading in its shares.

However, the company has continued to win business, including a contract in Belgium to design the first chemicals plant capable of manufacturing fossil-free plastics on an industrial scale. It also won won a three-year contract to provide specialist technical support to Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) – the country’s primary oil producer.

Commenting on the latest contract extensions, Steve Nicol, Wood’s president of operations, said: “We have an unmatched legacy in operating and maintaining North Sea energy infrastructure.

“Our long-standing clients continue to partner with us to enhance operations and improve production efficiency to ensure a reliable, safe and sustainable energy supply.

“In 2024 we secured 100% of our contract renewal and extension options across our UK North Sea portfolio and continuing this success in 2025 reinforces our position as a trusted long-term partner for operations solutions in the region.”

The contracts will continue to be supported by around 500 Wood employees in Aberdeen.

Shell ponders BP bid

Shell is pondering a potential takeover of rival BP, Bloomberg reported at the weekend, as BP’s share price has fallen following dissatisfaction over its green policy.

BP’s shares rose 1.4% yesterday while Shell was 2.1% lower.

Wael Sawan, Shell’s chief executive, said last week that the company would rather buy back its own shares than acquire BP, saying that “the bar is high”.

A spokesman for Shell insisted that it remained “sharply focused on capturing the value in Shell through continuing to focus on performance, discipline and simplification”.