Energy solutions firm OEG has established a new global headquarters in Aberdeen following a year of company growth.
OEG provides technical solutions for the offshore energy sector, for which Aberdeen has emerged as a key location. The company’s Aberdeen workforce has grown by 20% to about 250 employees thanks to what it calls a robust pipeline of projects in the UK and the new HQ is the fifth site that OEG operates in the city.
Aberdeen is the home of a £9.1 million government-funded facility for developing and manufacturing green energy technologies that was recently unveiled by energy minister Michael Shanks, and is expected to reach operation in autumn 2025.
As Shanks pointed out at the launch, Aberdeen will also host Great British Energy, the government’s flagship energy company. He said: “This new government-backed EnergyWorks hub will build on the city’s highly skilled engineering workforce and cement Scotland’s role as a pioneer in renewable technology.”
Contracting company Sarens PSG announced it will create a new Centre of Excellence in Aberdeen to boost the Scottish offshore wind sector, noting that Aberdeen was an attractive location due, in part, to GB Energy’s headquarters being there.
GB Energy is, according to DESNZ, in “prime position” to accelerate Scotland’s pipeline of opportunities by harnessing the nation’s existing knowledge in project development, investment and work with local communities.
It could be argued that by making Aberdeen home for its flagship Great British Energy, the Labour government is helping facilitate the energy transition in the North Sea, a region famed for offshore wind farms and oil and gas.
Critique of the government’s climate policy often centres around the potential job losses associated with closing down the oil and gas industry in the North Sea. This is partly due to its promise not to award new oil and gas licenses and raise the windfall tax on companies profiting from fossil fuels.
Following the announcement that the Grangemouth oil refinery would be decommissioned from Q2 2025, putting the vast majority of its 475-strong workforce at risk of redundancy, the Scottish and UK governments pledged to work together to secure the industrial future of the site and surrounding area.
Wind energy developer and supplier ScottishPower has urged workers facing redundancy at Grangemouth refinery and construction firm ISG to join the company as part of a massive recruitment drive ahead of its plan to support £24 billion worth of grid upgrades across the UK. Almost half of that (£11 billion) will be spent in Scotland.
