Scotland NEWS

Humza Yousaf will be sworn in as the sixth First Minister of Scotland at the court of session on Wednesday, the Scottish Government has announced.

Nicola Sturgeon has announced her intention to resign as the First Minister of Scotland and the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP). The MSP for the Glasgow Southside constituency, Sturgeon was elected as First Minister on November 19, 2014. Sturgeon first joined the SNP at the age of 16, the party’s website highlights.

The Scottish renewable sector supports 22,660 jobs, a new report finds. The research from the University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute shows that onshore wind is the biggest renewables employer in Scotland, recording employment of 8,780 people. That is followed by offshore wind with 4,700 jobs and hydropower with 3,290.

Continuing on its growth strategy, Scottish service provider, Motive Offshore has concluded the purchase of Norway-based Pumptech for a seven-figure sum. The acquisition will allow Motive to leverage Pumptech’s large fleet of zone-2-accredited hydraulic pump units (HPUs), apart from their expertise in flexible flowlines and umbilical testing. Richard Charles has been appointed as Flexibles Division Manager for the new division.

In an attempt to increase its share of North Sea decommissioning work, Scotland has raised funding worth £4 million. In the fourth round of Decommissioning Challenge Fund, the nation gained a higher share of the £15.3bn forecast. Energy Minister said, "Decommissioning North Sea infrastructure will help Scotland’s supply chain gain an even higher share of North Sea projects and capitalise global market opportunities by exporting knowledge and experience".

BHGE has unveiled its £31 million subsea centre of excellence in Montrose. This facility will deliver engineering, manufacturing, testing, assembly and services for deepwater technology. This project was supported by the Scottish Government who funded it with £4.9m through Scottish Enterprise. CEO of BHGE's Oilfield Equipment said, "Our industry is transforming and sites like this will enable us to continue to invent and produce these technologies at an accelerated pace".

Grey Matters’ third program will be in progress on November 15, a JV from Elevator, Scottish Enterprise and OGTC. This initiative by Grey Matters will bring experienced oil and gas industry professionals together to work for transformation of this sector. The company wants to improve the energy sector of Scotland. Under this program, up to 25 participants will take part and will work for 16-week at Elevator's Center of Entrepreneurship.

British supermajor, BP Plc is utilising a technology used by Scotland Police to construct data-rich virtual replicas of its oil and gas platforms in a bid to reduce costs. Scotland Police uses the sophisticated 360-degree imaging programme to document crime scenes, which in turn enables detectives to virtually revisit a crime scene. The oil major will roll out the programme across the majority of its platforms after the North Sea.

Weir Group yesterday completed the acquisition of mining tools firm, ESCO, in a deal amounting to $1.3 billion. The terms of the acquisition dictates that ESCO shareholders will be paid as a mix of 59% of the deal value in cash, and the remainder in shares. The Scottish company sees the move as part of shift to focus on opportunities in its core minerals and oil & gas sectors. weir-group-acquires-mining-tools-firm