INDUSTRY FOCUS: ENGINEERING

Continued from page 8 these pilots in a bid to support the ScotWind and INTOG projects. There is also the potential to electrify oil and gas utilising offshore wind, and we are in conversation with several parties about developing hydrogen infrastructure.”

These are part of Ponticelli Freres Group’s global strategy to ensure the relevance of the business in emerging industry sectors, adapting as the company has done, through its more than one century of successful operation.

“Our strategy will continue to shift in line with changing environmental priorities,” confirms Renaud. “We are already preparing for these developments, putting our people first by ensuring they are Connected Competence compliant. Connected Competence commands a base level of technical competence assurance and aims to recognise skills transfer which will support a resilient, transferable workforce and aid the energy transition.”

LONG-TERM VISION

According to some reports, North Sea oil and gas production might only have 10-15 years left before pressure from climate targets and environmental activism becomes too much. But even after this point, engineering and maintenance will be ongoing, and subsequent decommissioning will open up a new market for Ponticelli UK (with experts suggesting 600 installations will be decommissioned in the North Sea over the next four decades). There is also the reengineering process – turning platforms into carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) stations – where the company’s vast skillset will prove invaluable.

“Repurposing assets is a new concept within the industry. We are seeing this in the Netherlands and Denmark, using old platforms to inject carbon into disused wells and we expect to see more of this in the UK.

“We remain positive and expect growth in both oil and gas and renewables within the UK market,” states Renaud.

The family ownership of the business allows for longer-term thinking and means the business can look beyond profits for the next quarter.

Ponticelli Freres Group is an evolving brand and continuing their move into the renewable energy space is only logical over the coming decades.

“Our vision is much more longterm,” Renaud highlights. “In 2021, we celebrated our 100-year anniversary. The family of the founders that sit on the Board today talk about wanting their grandchildren to be involved in the company in the future, not about wanting a certain profit forecast for the end of Q1. Of course, we have financial targets to be sustainable, but we hold a longer-view on strategy compared to a shareholder-driven organisation.

“We are committed to being around 100 years from now,” he reinforces. “The long-term strategy - already underway - will see continued global investments to support change in the world.”

STRONG, SAFE FOUNDATIONS

Like most organisations active on the UKCS, and in the industries served by Ponticelli UK, sustainability is only outweighed as a long-term goal by safety. At Group level, Ponticelli is proud of its safety record and has created a culture where safe operations are non-negotiable and ‘zero harm’ is the focus of all daily operations.

“Safety, People, Wisdom, Performance, and Integrity are long-standing principles of the company, still held today. These are the foundations upon which our success is built,” says Renaud.

“Safety is good business,” he emphasises. “Safety is an integral part of the Group’s DNA and Ponticelli UK is committed in the pursuit of a zero-accident working environment to ensure that our workforce thinks safe, works safe, and stays safe. Our dynamic safety culture lends itself to operational excellence and the retention of our talented workforce.”

Their focus on safe working conditions was swiftly and dramatically tested following the onset of Covid-19, just three months after the company was established in Aberdeen. Renaud was forced to adjust quickly and manage his new team in a completely new way. Digital meetings and communication, and effective protection of people on and offshore was quickly delivered thanks to the company’s already robust safety policies.

“We support energy transition and also recognise the prevailing need for oil and gas for years to come. We still need gas to heat homes and fuel to drive cars until there is a complete change, and we’re not there yet. We will not stop working in oil and gas and focus only on renewables. Of course, we want to be efficient and sustainable, but for as long as there is production on the UKCS we are here to support our customers,” says Renaud. Even with the long-term changing nature of the UKCS and the constant review of North Sea strategy, there will be construction, engineering, and maintenance projects, and the UK’s onshore facilities will require overhaul, renovation, and preservation. Here, Ponticelli has always been one of the best. Renaud is confident that Ponticelli’s plans will safeguard a sustainable long-term future for its employees, clients and partners.

“There are of course difficulties, but we are looking forward with positivity. We are investing in business development, and we believe in the market,” he concludes.

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PRODUCTION: Tommy Atkinson

A new strategy has been carefully implemented at international metallurgy business Ferroglobe as it aims to increase profit and ESG goals while becoming the reference for safe, secure, and efficient operations across the industry. CEO Marco Levi talks to Energy Focus about the company’s significant progress in recent years.