Taqa and Senergy

05 October 2009

Abu Dhabi’s state-run Taqa and Scottish start-up Senergy were both formed in 2005. Having worked together in Scotland, the companies are now primed for growth in each other’s home markets.

ABU DHABI NATIONAL ENERGY COMPANY (TAQA)

Date established 2005

Main business sectors Power generation, water desalination, oil and gas production

Main business regions Canada, Ghana, India, Morocco, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK, US, 

Chairman Abdulaziz Saleh al-Jarbou

CEO Peter Barker-Homek

Structure

Taqa is 75.1 per cent owned by the government of Abu Dhabi via the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea), which controls 51 per cent of Taqa’s stock, and the Farmers Fund, which controls 24.1 per cent. Private UAE shareholders hold the remainder.

Taqa is an investment vehicle for the Abu Dhabi state, although it acts more like an operating company. The company is split into upstream exploration and production, mid-stream activities – mainly gas storage in Europe – and power generation and desalination. The company runs six independent water and power plants in the UAE and handles 98 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s water and electricity.

The company has assets of more than AED86bn ($23.4bn) and produced revenues of AED16.8bn in 2008, while generating 1,069MW of power and producing 114,000 barrels a day of oil from reserves of 621 million barrels.

Operations

Taqa operates four fields off the western coast of the Netherlands and acquired six other North Sea fields in July 2008.

This year, the company has bought further acreage off the UK coast and initiated the purchase of the Netherland’s DSM Energie.

In the mid-stream sector, Taqa has three gas storage facilities: two in the Netherlands and one in Canada. On 1 August, the company took over the UK’s Brent pipeline system, which transports 8 per cent of the country’s oil.

The main platform for Taqa’s international expansion is downstream, and its power-generation activities have spread to Ghana, India, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

Ambitions

Taqa’s UK subsidiary, Taqa Bratani, intends to make further acquisitions in the country while prices are depressed. The company has already expanded its Aberdeen operations from seven people in June 2008 to 800 today.

MEED Assessment

Taqa is looking to become a key player in the international energy market.

Although operating with a smaller asset base than major international energy firms, the company is capable of raising significant credit quickly. In 2008, its profits rose 80 per cent from AED1bn to AED1.8bn, but given lower oil prices and weaker demand for energy and oil, such a steep rise is not likely to be repeated in 2009.

 

SENERGY

Date established 2005

Main business sectors Oil and gas reservoir management, well engineering and drilling, seismic mapping, project management

Main business regions UAE, UK, Asia Pacific

CEO James McCallum

Structure

Founded in 2005 through the merger of RML Reservoir Management and Xcavco, Senergy is a private company that describes itself as an integrated services provider and largely works in upstream oil drilling and reservoir management consultancy.

Four business units – survey and geo-engineering, alternative energy, oil and gas, investments – are all overseen by the holding company, Senergy Holdings. The company’s growth has largely come through acquisitions. Its chief assets are its employees rather than specific technologies.

The company does not report its annual profits, but says its revenues have increased from $25m in 2005 to $105m in 2008.

Senergy is headquartered in Aberdeen, but has offices in London, Edinburgh, Norway, Abu Dhabi, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Perth and Melbourne in Australia and Wellington in New Zealand.

Operations

In 2007, Senergy acquired the UK’s Production Geoscience, a geoscience company. In 2008, the acquisition of UK-based project management consultant Floyd & Associates was followed by geotechnology consultant Isis, drilling consultant Leading Edge Advantage, and renewable energy network consultant Econnect, all of the UK.

Senergy has worked for clients like Shell, BP, Dana Petroleum and assisted Taqa in the transfer of North Sea assets from Shell in 2008/2009. Senergy is now well operator for Taqa’s six operated North Sea oilfields, delivering well operations and subsurface support.

Ambitions

CEO James McCallum wants to double revenues by 2012, with 50 per cent of growth coming from the Middle East. He is in talks with two companies in the region while developing relationships with local clients such as Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

Senergy is also targeting the renewable energy market and is in talks with a third potential acquisition in this sector.

MEED assessment

Through targeted purchases, Senergy has grown quickly since its formation and has acquired a significant knowledge base. With a staff turn-over of less than 10 per cent a year, it has done well to hold on to its core asset: its people.

The company is privately owned and does not have a credit rating, making it difficult to assess its finances. If it can develop a presence in the Gulf, it stands to benefit from a region lacking in the experience and knowledge it can offer.

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