OIL services heavyweight Centurion, which employs 270 people in the North Sea, has highlighted stable market conditions in the area after doubling annual profits.
Aberdeen-based Centurion made $71 million (£56m) trading profit last year compared with $34m in the preceding year.
The private equity-backed firm said it is well placed to make progress in the current global energy market conditions.
While the crude price has been volatile, Centurion has increased its exposure to the exploration and production business through the acquisition of a US shale specialist, TotalFrac.
Texas-based Totalfrac provides specialised valves for the hydraulic fracturing process, which involves involves pumping sand, water and chemicals into rocks under pressure to release oil and gas.
Booming production in US shale areas has weighed on crude prices in recent months.
Brent crude has fallen from $76 per barrel in April to around $62/bbl with concerns about the outlook for global growth impacting on sentiment.
However, Centurion said it would continue to use the strength of its balance sheet to make further acquisitions and had a strong pipeline of potential deals.
Centurion noted yesterday it achieved a strong performance in the USA in 2018 while other markets including the UK North Sea remained stable.
The group’s comments signal that conditions have improved in the North Sea in recent months.
Oil services firms were hit hard by cuts in spending made by companies that control fields in the area in response to the sharp fall in the crude price from 2014 to early 2016.
The partial recovery in the crude price from late 2016 amid moves by major exporters to cut production has encouraged firms that operate fields to increase activity.
Even after the recent price falls Brent crude is selling for more than twice what it fetched early in 2016.
Earlier this month Centurion said it had secured $60m additional funding from banks to support expansion. A group of lenders which includes RBS agreed to provide credit facilities totalling $250m.
The price of the TotalFrac deal was not disclosed.
Centurion was created last year by US private equity business SCF, which merged rental specialist ATR with firms working in the oil services, mining and infrastructure sectors to form a global business run from Aberdeen.
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