UK firms eye oil and gas deals

Caroline Lofthouse, business development manager of NOF Energy, a prestigious business development organization representing over 420 UK companies within the oil, gas, nuclear and offshore renewables sectors, said that Vietnam’s growing demand for oil and gas equipment as well as its political stability and attractive investment climate had prompted NOF to bring eight oil and gas companies to Vietnam last week in search of business opportunities.

“Many more of our 420 companies will come to Vietnam with the same purpose in the coming months,” Lofthouse said.

These eight companies held discussions with Vietnam’s state-owned giant PetroVietnam and other private partners like Premier Oil and Perenco about potential projects and business plans in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

Stuart Lawrence, managing director of Booth Industries Limited, said his company had recently received two big orders from Vietnamese partners.

“We want more orders from Vietnam-based partners. That’s why I have physically come here to meet them regarding more projects. We wish to establish a network with future clients in Vietnam,” Lawrence said.

Booth Industries, established in 1873, is world-famous in the design and manufacture of protective equipment for hazardous environments. Currently it commands a unique market position as the only provider of a complete portfolio of steel doors, from high integrity, purpose designed fabrications to commercial grade personnel doors.

Matt Smith, business development manager of Beck Prosper Ltd Asia Pacific region, said his company, manufacturing and distributing high integrity bolting products for the oil and gas industry, already has a large factory in Thailand and plans to build another in Vietnam.

“After Vietnam, we will build another two factories in Cambodia and Myanmar. These four factories will be our production bases for making export-oriented and locally-consumed products,” Smith said.

“I have met with some potential partners in Ho Chi Minh City and the discussions were fruitful. We also want to obtain general information on the oil and gas market in Vietnam, and to establish contact with more local companies,” he added.

“We highly value the lucrative Vietnamese oil and gas market and want to establish local contacts for future growth,” said Ron James, who is the regional sales manager of BEL Valves, one of the world’s leaders in designing and making high integrity valves for critical oil and gas applications.

Echoing his optimistic views, Bernard Whicher, managing director of Northey Technologies Ltd – designing and making dry and oil-free rotary compressors, vacuum pumps and systems, also said “Vietnam is currently covered by our Singapore agent, but we are looking for local representation in the country. We want to gain market knowledge, make contacts and look for potential new business.”

Other companies also came to Vietnam with the same purpose, saying that the Vietnamese government’s restructuring of state-owned enterprises would provide opportunities to engage in the country’s oil and gas industry.

“We want to explore business opportunities in the engineering, construction, operation and maintenance of Vietnam’s oil and gas market and develop business relationships with Vietnam’s oil and gas companies. Hopefully we will have some projects with local partners soon,” said Roy Armishaw, vice president of the Offshore Production and Operation Division of Petrofac, the UK’s leading provider of oilfield services to the international oil and gas industry.