Wings Travel Management is forecasting 40 per cent growth in the energy sector after winning more than US$50 million in new business around the globe over the last six months.
New client wins include a contract in the Middle East and North America for one of the world’s largest providers of drilling, pipeline and construction products and services worth around US$35 million.
In addition, Wings has been appointed to provide travel and logistics services in the US, Canada, Mexico and South America to one of the largest oil and gas drilling contractors. The deal will expand to include the Middle East in the coming months, according to the TMC, meaning the total value of the agreement will reach in excess of US$30 million.
The TMC says it has also seen positive growth in Scotland, winning new Aberdeen-based clients with a total annual business travel spend in the region of £500,000. This includes Subsea Engineering & Technical Services, iOcean Solutions and PTC.
Oil and gas business is also on the up for Wings’ operation at Stavanger, with new business totalling NOK2 million.
Wings has also expanded its global presence with the opening of wholly owned and managed operations in Egypt and Cyprus to serve clients expanding into these markets. The launches mean Wings now has 20 regional operations in key oil and gas markets around the globe, including Angola, Brazil, Middle East, Mozambique, Nigeria, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, UK and US.
CEO Tony Sofianos said: “This year has already been one of exciting growth and development for our business globally in the oil and gas sector now that recovery in the industry is well underway. As a result, we are forecasting up to 40 per cent growth in energy sector sales from a combination of new business and existing clients, meaning our oil and gas TTV will be up by over US$100 million by the end of our 2019/20 financial year.”
Commenting on the new operations, Sofianos added: “The fact that we own and manage all our operations makes us unique in the market and we are excited to announce our expansion into Egypt and Cyprus with the launch of regional servicing hubs in Cairo and Limassol. There has been significant investment in the oil and gas sector in Egypt and there is great potential for onshore and offshore exploration from our clients, so it makes sense to establish a presence in this market. Additionally, our Cairo operation will also support Wings’ expansion in North Africa in general.
“Cyprus is well-positioned geographically to provide us with a shared service centre for our European and Middle East operations. It is also strategically well-placed to support our objectives of enhancing and innovating Wings’ digital capabilities following our recent acquisition of Cyprus-based Alchimea, a specialist software developer of workflow integration, process automation, application design and management in the areas of global mobility, business travel and related support services.”
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