Scotland's oil and gas sector supply chain continues to be in strong international demand as new figures reveal the industry made £11.4 billion in sales during 2015/16.

With global activity accounting for 50.9% of all sales, £4.1bn was made up of direct exports while £7.3bn of sales were made through international subsidiaries.

Scottish Enterprise's annual Survey of International Activity in the Oil and Gas Sector revealed the top five countries for international activity during 2015 were the United States, Norway, Netherlands, Australia and Canada. Looking ahead, and similar to last year, the United States, Norway and the United Arab Emirates remain the top three countries for growth opportunities in the immediate future and over the next five years.

In addition, the number of countries trading with Scotland rose from 115 to 130, while sales to non oil and gas markets increased to £0.8bn, over four times the figure in 2012 and indicating an increase in diversification focus from the sector.

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Head of oil and gas at Scottish Enterprise, David Rennie, said continued support from international markets "remains a key focus for us".

"Despite seeing a seven per cent decline in our overall international activity, a casualty of the global downturn, international activity still accounts for more than half of total supply chain sales.

"We're also seeing increased interest in a number of overseas markets in recent years such as the Middle East."

"Through the Energy Jobs Taskforce, we have delivered a significant amount of support to companies around key areas such as innovation, diversification, leadership and internationalisation.  An example of this was a series of new market guides published late last year to help companies understand more about potential new markets.

"Helping companies to grow their international activity saw 59 companies join us in May on the Scotland pavilion at OTC in Houston, one of the world's largest oil and gas shows. Events like these make a huge difference to companies looking to grow their international presence, helping them showcase their world-renowned skills and experience and build important new contacts."

Energy Minister Wheelhouse added the survey shows despite on-going challenges in the sector, the Scottish supply chain is "maintaining its strength with around half of the supply chain sales based internationally".

"This report, and recent industry announcements around domestic production, such as Centrica's announcement to invest £35 million at the Chestnut field, extending the life of the field and trebling production, and the starting of production from BP's Quad 204 field present welcome evidence of returning confidence and optimism to the sector, albeit we remain vigilant given this is still at an early stage," he said.

"With up to 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent estimated to remain in the North Sea basin, Scotland's oil and gas industry has a bright future for decades to come."

(LM/MH)