GE company Baker Hughes (BHGE), a provider of integrated oilfield products, services and digital solutions, is to build a sub-sea manufacturing campus in north-east Scotland to support the global oil and gas industry.
Helped by a £4.9 million grant from Scottish Enterprise, the company has committed £31 million to a manufacturing centre of excellence alongside its existing site in Montrose. The 35-acre site will include test and assembly, research and development, and workforce training facilities.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the funding when she addressed the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service’s annual conference in Cumbernauld last week.
She said: “Manufacturing is crucial to the success of our economy. Therefore, I welcome the ambitious plans by BHGE to create a world-leading sub-sea centre of excellence in Montrose, supported by Scottish Government funding.
“This facility will bring new jobs and investment to Scotland.”
Graham Gillies, vice-president (sub-sea production systems and services) at BHGE, said: “This is very welcome news for the oil and gas industry, and for the UK manufacturing sector in particular.
"We are investing in our facilities globally, and our collaborative approach with Scottish Enterprise is a strong example of how we are supporting a more sustainable future for this industry.
“Sub-sea technology is undoubtedly one of the UK’s greatest export success stories, with industry-leading technology and solutions being designed and manufactured here — and installed in basins world-wide.”