Aberdeen-based John Wood Group plc said it has secured a record $920 million of contract wins across the Middle East in 2024.
Wood said the contract wins are across the region – in Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where Wood recently opened its third office in Sharjah.
The firm said: “Work in the region includes pre-FEED on Aramco’s Southern and Northern Areas project in the KSA; integrated front-end engineering design (FEED), detailed design, procurement support, and construction and commissioning assistance for TotalEnergies in Iraq; as well as a flare gas reduction programme which has reduced more than 10 million tonnes of CO2 per year, demonstrating Wood’s expertise in brownfield modifications and maintenance.
“Wood also provides carbon advisory and digital solutions, consulting on hydrogen and carbon capture projects.”
Wood CEO Ken Gilmartin said: “As we underlined in our strategy, we believe the Middle East will be a huge driving force in the world’s energy transition and Wood is helping accelerate the journey to net zero in the region as a trusted partner to companies like Saudi Aramco, ADNOC, Shell and TotalEnergies.
“Our record year is testament to the hard work and dedication of our 3,500 strong team, and we know that when clients engage us right at the start of a project, we save them time and money and deliver quality assurance throughout the life of an asset.
“Our growing portfolio is also creating opportunities for Wood to offer unmatched career and development experiences, and we’re continuing to attract the best and brightest talent to join our teams across the Middle East.”
Wood has expanded its Middle East workforce by 500 employees in less than a year, with a 25% headcount increase in UAE. To support continued growth, the company is also currently recruiting for another 130 roles across the region.
Wood has been working to improve skills and training locally, and in early 2025 will be opening a vocational training centre in Basra, Iraq, with joint venture partner, Al Majal.
This will support continued development of early career talent in the region, while in the UAE, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Wood has created structured, multidiscipline graduate engineering programmes to provide both on-the-job and classroom-based training for local people, with 87 new graduates having joined the company in 2024.
In recognition of this ongoing commitment, Wood was awarded a Nafis Award earlier in 2024, for attracting and developing Emirati talent in the UAE.