PIPELINE engineering specialist, STATS Group (STATS), will celebrate 25 years in business with an expected 20% rise in revenue and an increase in its headcount to 400 staff.
Established in February 1998 close to Aberdeen Airport, STATS is now a leading global supplier of pipeline intervention solutions to the energy industry.
The company is headquartered near Aberdeen and has operations in Canada, USA, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Australia.
Its core business remains in the operational maintenance of oil and gas pipeline and piping infrastructure, but STATS is also attracting new clients engaged in energy transition because of its emission-reducing technologies and associated ESG benefits.
In 2021 STATS posted annual revenues of just under £50 million and expects to improve on that performance when reporting its 2022 figures, laying the foundation for further growth in its 25th anniversary year and beyond.
STATS Group Chief Executive Officer, Leigh Howarth, said: “We’re experiencing substantial growth, particularly in North America and the Middle East, and are expecting that revenues will grow by some 20% in 2023, adding to what has already been a successful 2021/22.
“There’s a growing market awareness of the integrity of our patented equipment and the sustainability features offered by our technologies, particularly in helping reduce carbon emissions for our clients.
“The decommissioning of oil and gas assets and repurposing of infrastructure for use in generating and storing renewable energy is another important area where STATS will play a key role as operators continue their energy transition journey.”
New markets will also play a role in future growth, with STATS increasingly being called upon to support major gas transmission networks in the UK.
This echoes the success of its North American business in supporting land-based strategic gas infrastructure operators.
Howarth said: “We’ve already had some initial success with our BISEP technology and hot tapping capability being used on a major UK gas transmission line project, which mirrors a longer and successful track record of gas transmission related work in North America.
“As our technology becomes better understood and accepted in this sector, we believe that over the next 10 years we can secure a substantial market share of work on the UK and European gas transmission networks.”
Buoyed by a strong pipeline of project work in the year ahead, STATS is expecting to hire an additional 60 staff of which around 20% will be graduate trainees, and steps are being taken to expand the company’s global footprint with the opening of another strategic base.
“Investment in training and the development of our staff has been a central tenet throughout STATS’ 25 years in business, ensuring we have highly competent teams who really understand our technology and its application to clients’ needs,” added Howarth.
“As part of our localisation strategy, we’ll be recruiting up to 60 new staff across our operating regions to support and enhance our reach into the global pipeline market.
“In our first 25 years we’ve passed many important operational and commercial milestones and we’re excited about the opportunities which lie ahead in the next quarter of a century, both in traditional oil and gas sectors and the lower-carbon economy.”
