THE owner of a North-East industrial coatings firm says offshore energy projects have consolidated its strong financial position.

The John Wood Group, which last year took over Gateshead-based Pyeroy, has hailed its work on oil and gas and subsea developments.

The company operates Wood Group Engineering, Wood Group PSN and Wood Group GTS, which provide engineering and construction management for oil, gas and renewable energy projects.

It said: “In engineering, we are active on a number of offshore projects, including Hess Stampede and Anadarko Heidelberg, in the Gulf of Mexico and Ivar Aasen in the North Sea.

“Our subsea business is also seeing good activity, with the best markets in Europe, the Middle-East, Africa.

“In the Caspian, we have been awarded the contract for subsea and pipeline engineering and project management for BP's Shah Deniz.

“The PSN division is also performing well and in the North Sea demand remains strong, with significant contract renewals.”

Last year, bosses agreed a deal to work with Siemens to support the power generation, oil and gas and industrial sectors.

The agreement combines Wood Group's GTS maintenance and power solutions division and Siemens' turbo care unit, which provides after-market gas turbine, steam turbine and generator design, repair and manufacturing services.

Pyeroy was previously awarded a contract to paint the first of the Royal Navy's new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

It applied protective paint to the forward navigation bridge for the HMS Queen Elizabeth.