FRENCH testing and inspection giant Bureau Veritas has underlined its desire to expand in the North Sea after buying an Aberdeen company to help it win more work on facilities like oil and gas platforms.

Bureau Veritas has acquired Maritime Assurance & Consulting (MAC) for an undisclosed sum from a team that includes founders Graeme and Lynne Reid.

The head of Bureau Veritas’s North Sea offshore business, Paul Shrieve, said the company planned to buy more firms in what it has identified as an attractive market.

It expects to be able to use skills developed in the North Sea to win work elsewhere.

“With the company’s primary focus on offshore oil and gas, we are hoping to make more acquisitions like this one to strengthen our offering in this area,” said Mr Shrieve.

He added: “As the North Sea is an area we can learn a lot from, we are aiming to significantly grow the size of MAC’s business here over the next five years.”

Bureau Veritas said MAC’s capabilities would be a great enabler to further develop its maritime assurance services for clients worldwide, particularly in the offshore sector.

Founded in 2011, MAC has developed a £5 million turnover business helping firms manage the risks involved in developing and operating offshore assets.

The acquisition comes amid a wave of consolidation in the North Sea. Some firms are bulking up to help them adapt to the slump in activity triggered by the crude price plunge that started in 2014.

Following a partial recovery in recent months, Brent crude fell below $50 per barrel briefly yesterday afternoon on news that stocks had reached record levels in the US. It was last below $50/bbl in November.

Takeovers could help firms to win more clients and to increase their bargaining power with existing customers.

The fall in the pound since the Brexit vote in June has increased the appeal of UK acquisitions for some overseas firms.

Mr Reid said joining Bureau Veritas would help MAC accelerate its growth by tapping in to the new owner’s global networks.

He expects the takeover to provide development opportunities for MAC’s 30 employees.

Bureau Veritas employs around 66,500 people globally. The company’s North Sea marine and offshore business had 75 employees before the takeover of MAC.

An electrical engineer by training Mr Reid moved into the oil services industry after an apprenticeship at Stoneywood Paper Mill.

Two organisations that aim to help the industry maximise the potential of new technology have launched a £1 million scheme to encourage firms to work with Scotland’s universities on innovations that could cut costs and increase efficiency.

The Industry Technology Facilitator and the Oil & Gas Innovation Centre said the programme will support all types of innovation that will benefit the oil and gas industry.

Projects must involve research and/or development work in a Scottish university.

Ian Phillips, Chief Executive of OGIC, said: “Successful applicants will benefit hugely from the top quality research and development expertise on offer from Scottish universities.”

He added: “This initiative should not only be seen as a call for proposals to the developer community but a call to action to the industry as a whole to embrace smart solutions and alleviate barriers to implementation.”

The programme will be funded from the existing budgets of the two bodies.