Scotland's Economy

Scotland showcases offshore expertise

May 1, 2012 by Lena Wilson No Comments | Category Energy

Lena Wilson, Scottish Enterprise Chief Executive at OTC with Robert O’Neil of Aberdeen-based company TWMA

This week I’m in the USA along with a delegation of nearly 50 Scottish companies at the annual Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Texas.

Attended by 70,000 delegates and 2000 exhibiting companies from over 110 countries, OTC represents a huge opportunity for Scottish businesses to develop new global trading opportunities.

Scotland is well recognised on the international stage for its offshore industry. In fact our continued success in this area is highlighted by figures released this week that show that Scotland’s oil and gas supply chain exports increased by 4.5% in 2010-11.

The figures are from a survey by Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Council for Development and Industry. The survey also found that international sales for the year were £7.6bn, which is a record 46 per cent of total supply chain sales.

We need to capitalise further on these strengths and build Scotland’s international capabilities – both in the oil and gas industry itself and in the application of our expertise in this area in the fast-growing renewables sector.

That’s why OTC is such a fantastic opportunity for our companies, because it enables them to make new contacts and develop new business opportunities with partners from across the globe.

The new figures also showed that North America remains the top for Scotland’s supply chain exports, with £2.6 billion of sales targeted into this region.

In fact overall, the USA is Scotland’s largest export market. There were £3.5 billion of Scottish exports to the US in 2010, an increase of £365 million since 2009.

It’s clear that there are massive opportunities for Scottish companies here across a range of key sectors for Scottish businesses. Look at food and drink for example, fresh Scottish Atlantic salmon exports experienced a 36 per cent increase to the United States in 2011, representing the largest ever year-on-year rise and further securing the U.S. as Scotland’s number one export market.

On top of this, there are currently 500 US inward investors in Scotland employing over 100,000 people. It’s clear that our relationship with the USA is hugely important.

I’ll be reinforcing this relationship with the US during my visit, ensuring that investors know that we are open for business and making sure that Scottish companies can take full advantage of the opportunities in this increasingly important market.

Tags: international, offshore industry, Offshore Technology Conference, Scottish Enterprise, USA

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