Montrose’s oil and gas jobs boom is set to continue after global energy and infrastructure giant GE revealed plans to create an additional 100 posts in the Angus town over the next three years.
The group said the continued expansion of drilling activity in the North Sea meant it needed to recruit more engineers for its VetcoGray servicing and fabrication plant on the town’s Charleton Road.
GE said the site had seen a 30% increase in workflows over the last four years, with particular strengths in repair and testing as operators target fresh production from brownfield sites.
News of the fresh recruitment came as the American corporation confirmed the signing of a new lease for an additional three acres of land adjoining the Forties Road Business Park site.
It said the space would enable it to make its storage operations more efficient, aiding expansion efforts.
It is expected that the site will boost its workforce to around 300 from a present total of just over 200. Recruitment for the new posts is already under way.
The jobs boost follows the official opening of a $16 million extension to its nearby Brent Avenue subsea manufacturing plant early last month, where it was announced that GE would plough a further $15m into the site over the next three years.
As The Courier revealed, headcount there is expected to rise from 90 to around 250 over the same period, as the group continues ongoing recruitment, builds a new suite of offices and invests in further precision machinery.
Combined growth across the two sites will take GE’s headcount in Montrose to approaching 550, a total increase of more than 250, by the end of 2016.
GE Oil and Gas Subsea Systems chief executive Rod Christie said the expansion was mirrored across the company’s operations in the north east thanks to continuing growth in the sector.
“GE Oil and Gas has acquired land at our service facilities at Forties Road Business Park as part of our ongoing programme of business consolidation, efficiency and expansion in Montrose,” he said.
“The land will be used initially to store equipment and materials that are currently stored off-site and subject to rental storage charges and logistics fees.
“GE Oil and Gas is expanding and increasing its workforce at both the Forties Road Business Park and Brent Avenue sites in Montrose as well as our facilities in Aberdeen.”
The Charleton Road plant, founded by Hughes Offshore in 1982 ahead of the company’s merger with Vetco four years later, changed hands several times before being snapped up by GE in February 2007.
It manufactures, fabricates and repairs a full range of subsea gear, including wellheads, drilling equipment, rental tools and production control systems.
Angus Council said the lease agreement with GE was another fillip to the area’s “international reputation as a major centre for oil and gas firms”, and demonstrated the authority’s efforts to attract jobs and investment worth millions of pounds.
“The port at Montrose has long been a favourite of the oil and gas industry with the convenient location and excellent facilities,” said economic development spokeswoman Councillor Mairi Evans.
“This new investment by GE Oil and Gas will enhance the town’s reputation within the industry and encourage more companies, from all over the world, to join us.”