© Petrofac 
Aberdeen-based service firm Petrofac has announced that its asset solutions division has built up $500 million in contracts in the first quarter of 2025.
However, the business which has been experiencing financial hardships of late is not out of the woods yet, according to one analyst.
Ashley Kelty, Panmure Liberum director and oil and gas research analyst, told Energy Voice: “It’s good news that the backlog is getting bigger and they’re winning new work.
“However, from an equity perspective it still looks awful as the restructuring will pretty much wipe out current equity holders.”
Petrofac said that the contracts “realise growth in asset solutions’ core markets and target growth geographies” as it secured work in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and US.
Petrofac supports more than 50 assets across the UK North Sea and works with operators such as Repsol, Neo, and Serica Energy.
A company spokesperson said that the success in Q1 of 2025 is “positive news for Petrofac and our asset solutions business”.
Kelty explained that the announcement indicates that the Aberdeen business is “moving in the right direction”.
Although he added: “I don’t think they’re out of the woods yet by any stretch as the problems over getting guarantees and LoCs [lines of credit], etc. for some work haven’t improved and this will still be an issue.”
The firm’s chief operating officer John Pearson celebrated a “great start to 2025” for the division as it expanded its work backlog.
Pearson commented: “Following a strong year for awards in 2024, our asset solutions business has had a great start to 2025 with half a billion dollars’ worth of scopes and contract expansions secured already, and a strong pipeline of opportunities across a range of geographies during the remainder of the year.
“These awards, with a range of clients, demonstrate the strength in our mature asset management and decommissioning offering, and form part of our strategy to expand our services into selected new geographies.”
The business is in the midst of a cost-cutting restructuring plan with lenders in order to bring its books back into the black.
Additionally, Petrofac is set to stop trading shares on the London Stock Exchange at the start of May as a result of its decision to defer publishing its audited annual results for 2024.
In accordance with its listing rules, share-trading will be halted until its full year 2024 results are published.
The business provided this update to shareholders following a convening hearing for Petrofac’s financial restructuring.
In December last year, the company entered into a binding agreement with key financial creditors on the terms of a comprehensive financial restructuring plan.
The restructure includes $325m in new funding and the conversion of around $772m in debt into equity.
The company has been looking to restructure to deal with its debt-load and issues caused by legacy contracts to improve liquidity and secure bank guarantees to support current and future contracts.
A sanction hearing will take place between 30 April and 2 May 2025, and the restructuring effective date is expected to occur shortly thereafter.
In February Petrofac announced that it aims to raise $355 million (£280m) from its restructuring plan.
