UK's Wood Group seeks larger Middle East footprint amid takeover talks with Dubai’s Sidara

Flare stacks burning off excess gas at the Nahr Bin Omar oilfield in Iraq's southern province of Basra. AFP

British oilfield services and engineering firm John Wood Group, currently being pursued by Dubai’s Sidara in a takeover deal, is seeking a larger footprint in the Middle East.

The company plans to set up an energy transition hub in Abu Dhabi in August as interest soars for its carbon capture, renewable energy and hydrogen solutions in the broader region, Gerry Traynor, the company's senior vice president, projects, Middle East, told The National.

More customers in the Middle East, not limited to the UAE, are focusing on decarbonising operations, including those in Iraq and Oman, which is looking to become a hydrogen hub, Mr Traynor said.

“We're seeing big plans in Saudi Arabia coming through to decarbonise and as the energy demand changes, it's important that we have a Middle East stamp to this,” he said.

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John Wood Group – also known as Wood – is headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland. It provides services across the energy and materials markets, including consulting, engineering, project management, technical studies, and operations support.

Wood, which operates in more than 60 countries, is one of many oilfield services companies looking to capitalise on increasing investments in clean energy to enhance their revenue during the energy transition and prepare for the projected peak in oil demand.

This month, the company completed the front-end engineering and design scope for the first phase of Saudi Aramco’s Accelerated Carbon Capture and Sequestration project in Saudi Arabia, which is expected to capture up to 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, starting in 2027.

Gerry Traynor, senior vice president, projects, Middle East, Wood Group. Photo: Wood Group

“All of the customers right now [are looking] to meet their 2030 objectives in decarbonisation. There's a significant spend coming, but I don't think they're all off the blocks yet in terms of what that spend looks like,” Mr Traynor said.

“Even in traditional oil and gas, there's been significant spends in Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” he added.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, plans to increase crude production capacity to 12.3 million barrels per day by 2028.

Earlier this year, the kingdom abandoned its plan to boost capacity to 13 million bpd by 2027, a decision later attributed to the continuing energy transition by Saudi Arabia’s energy minister.

Shares of several oilfield services companies fell following the announcement, as investors worried about a decline in future oil demand.

“I don't see those production demands having a significant local impact. What we are still seeing is a heavy investment in existing assets [in Saudi Arabia],” Mr Traynor said.

Acquisition talks

Wood began discussions earlier this month with Sidara on an improved takeover offer, following the rejection of three prior acquisition proposals from the Dubai-based engineering and consulting firm.

In its latest proposal, Sidara raised the offer price to 230 pence per share, representing a premium of 52 per cent over Wood’s pre-bid share price.

Wood’s stock was trading at 199.90 pence at 4.47pm UAE time on Thursday after gaining nearly 19 per cent since the start of the year.

In April, activist shareholder Sparta Capital Management urged Wood to explore options including selling itself or reassessing its UK listing.

“We believe that the board must be realistic on how it can best achieve fair value for shareholders; if the UK public markets are unwilling or unable to engage in Wood's story, we believe you should undertake a strategic review and actively seek alternative solutions,” Sparta Capital said in the letter.

Private investment firm Apollo Global Management offered up to 240 pence per share for Wood early last year, but their bids were rejected and they ended their pursuit in April 2023.