A north-east oilfield service company has revealed plans to invest £5.5million on expanding its footprint and creating new jobs in the region.
Storage and inspection firm Independent Oilfield Services (IOS) has bought a 32-acre site at Longside near Peterhead for £2.5million.
IOS had leased the land at the former airfield since it was established in 2014.
The company retains a 15-year option to lease additional sites at Longside, with potential to extend the facility to 100 acres.
And IOS will invest a further £3million on expansion plans which include a new machine shop – and the creation of 20 jobs.
IOS has already agreed to lease the machine shop and the three-acre plot it sits on to Aberdeen-based NXG Oilfield Services.
The machine shop is expected to be up and running in January.
IOS managing director Glynn Geddie said the investment demonstrated the company’s commitment to the region.
Mr Geddie said IOS has taken on an additional 25 employees in the past year alone, doubling its headcount.
He said: “We opened the Longside facility in direct response to the shortage of industrial storage space in the north-east and since then we have seen rapid growth in our customer base. Until we opened most equipment and tubulars had to be transported considerable distances by road to reach suitable storage and inspection facilities.
“Our location, just a short distance from Peterhead port, and our range of facilities and services makes us ideally placed to provide a cost-effective alternative.”
The £5.5million investment is on top of the £4million-plus IOS put towards setting up its storage and inspection facility at Longside.
The base is located just four miles from Peterhead port, which has its own £49million development plans.
IOS recently said it had formed an alliance with NorSea Group (UK) to provide a complete logistics, storage and inspection package in the north-east.
The pact involves combining quayside services at NorSea’s Smith Quay at Peterhead port with IOS’s offering at Longside.
The partnership gives companies the option of landing equipment at Peterhead for the brief trip to the storage base, cutting down on the level of transportation required and reducing associated costs.