Our region has repeatedly remade its economy around the industries of the age. Fishing, granite and oil and gas each brought investment, skills and global reach, reinforcing the region’s ability to adapt.
Yet recent conversation about Aberdeen has often been framed through decline, overlooking the capability here and the scale of markets opening up around it.
Another period of change is under way, with substantial opportunities ahead.
Around £44 billion remains to be spent decommissioning UK offshore infrastructure. ScotWind developers forecast £25.5 billion of expenditure in Scotland across 16 offshore wind projects. The Scottish Cluster, centred on Acorn carbon capture and storage at St Fergus, could generate £17.7 billion in UK economic value by 2050, while continued investment in the UK Continental Shelf could add up to £165 billion under a more supportive policy environment.
North East Scotland’s industrial base is broad and evolving. Balmoral Group and Global Energy Group bring subsea, manufacturing and fabrication expertise, while Port of Aberdeen’s expanded South Harbour can serve oil and gas, decommissioning and offshore wind. Boskalis, Ventex and Flylogix show how established offshore capabilities are being applied to remote operations, defence and critical infrastructure.
They are part of a wider network designing, building, operating and maintaining complex offshore infrastructure across several sectors and international markets.
Robert Gordon University found that more than 90% of the skills held by the region’s offshore energy workforce are directly transferable to renewables and adjacent industries. Those skills span offshore wind, decommissioning, carbon storage, hydrogen, electricity networks, defence and autonomous systems. Continued oil and gas activity helps retain the people, businesses and infrastructure these markets will need.
Sir Ian Wood understood the strength of this industrial base and the importance of looking ahead. His question, “what next for energy?”, helped shape ETZ Ltd.
His legacy lies in the global company he built, the supply chain he championed and his determination to turn ambition into action.
In our first five years, we have helped unlock around £80 million of public and private investment, engaged more than 700 energy supply chain companies and, through our Challenge Fund, supported the creation or safeguarding of 267 green jobs, with more than 500 further jobs forecast. New facilities for skills, innovation, entrepreneurship and business growth are now operational.
"No other place in Europe matches Aberdeen and North East Scotland’s depth of offshore expertise, world-class supply chain and 50 years of solving complex energy challenges. It is why Aberdeen can credibly call itself Europe’s Capital of Energy Excellence."
- Maggie McGinlay, Chief Executive, ETZ Ltd
True North's European Capital of Energy Excellence supplement shows the capability across our region and the work already being won around the world from this hub of energy excellence. Offshore wind needs grid capacity, timely consenting and viable routes to market. Acorn needs sustained momentum. Businesses need certainty to invest in people, equipment, facilities and innovation.
Aberdeen’s next industrial era will draw on established strengths and new markets. The region has the expertise and ambition to compete. The task now is to turn that advantage into another generation of industrial opportunity.
Read the supplement here or view the digital version here.
