Wireline Magazine Issue 51 - Summer 2021

As the UK’s oil and gas supply chain works toward recovery, many companies are developing strategies for sustainability in the longer term. Investing in the energy transition

L ike the rest of the sector, the UK’s oil and gas supply chain is changing. In the wake of COVID-19, and with the UK and others now en route to net zero by 2050, companies are developing new strategies to ensure their sustainability. For some, this is about diversification, offering their existing services to a broader range of industries; for others it may be adapting their existing business to meet the changing needs of offshore energy. In many cases, it is both. Market conditions remain tough. In OGUK’s most recent Business Outlook , survey respondents in the supply chain reported lower sentiment than for the same period in 2020. While most expected revenues to hold steady or grow in 2021, they also expected margins would be squeezed, with more than a quarter anticipating margins would decline. Amidst this however, there are encouraging signs. While consolidation amongst the sector is to be expected, new investors are forthcoming and recent

deals suggest new interest in private equity investment in UK-headquartered businesses. Wireline spoke with two OGUK members, each at different phases of growth, to gauge what this means for the long-term health of the supply chain. International, interconnected Vysus Group was created in October 2020, following the carve-out of Lloyd’s Register’s (LR) Energy division. Although a new business entity, it brings with it 650 staff, operations in 20-plus countries and the full extent of LR Energy’s expertise and pedigree, stretching back to the 1930s. As an engineering and technical consultancy, its operations are structured around global delivery of a broad range of capabilities, spanning the upstream, power, renewables, energy transition, and complex infrastructure sectors. Vysus Group CEO David Clark joined the business in 2019, with the task of reshaping the LR Energy division and bringing together the expertise from its various

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