Lewis link to £300 million Adersier yard investment

One of the key instigators behind a massive £300 million investment by a US equity firm in the Ardersier yard, near Inverness, was born and raised on Lewis – and he firmly believes the venture will have knock-on benefits, both directly and indirectly, for the economy of his native island.
By Murray MacLeod
Published 5th May 2023, 08:47 BST
Updated 5th May 2023, 08:47 BST
Ardersier will witness a £300 million investment to establish it as a base for the offshore wind industry.Ardersier will witness a £300 million investment to establish it as a base for the offshore wind industry.
Ardersier will witness a £300 million investment to establish it as a base for the offshore wind industry.

Described as the region’s “biggest private investment ever”, the deal will see the former oil fabrication yard being transformed into a hub to serve the offshore wind boom, with 11 licences granted around the Highlands and Islands coast – including three near Lewis – through the Scotwind programme.

The investment is by Houston-based Quantum Energy Partners who have appointed former BP executive Lewis Gillies as CEO of the 450-acre port’s new parent company, Haventus.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Gillies was born and raised in Shawbost and after graduating from Aberdeen University embarked on a career in the oil industry, spending 20 years at BP, latterly as CEO of the former BP/Rio Tinto joint venture Hydrogen Energy International, including work on the proposed Peterhead carbon capture project.

Most Popular

Speaking to the Gazette, Mr Gillies, whose mother still lives in Stornoway, said: “When we looked around the Highlands and Islands we realised there was really nowhere to support the offshore windfarm industry, so there was clearly an opportunity there.”

He said the development would support “thousands of jobs” in the construction phase and hundreds in the long-term.

“The investment will bring jobs and growth to the Highlands economy,” said Mr Gillies.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Ardersier will be a vital facility for the deployment of offshore wind and the scale of the site will also allow decommissioning of ageing oil and gas assets.”

The island connection to the Adersier redevelopment does not stop there as Mr Gillies’s colleague, Michael MacDougall, a partner at Quantum Energy, is a second generation islander, his grand-parents coming from the southern isles.

In a statement announcing the investment, Mr MacDougall said: “The site’s scale and geographical location means it is ideally positioned to become a leading European hub for offshore renewable energy.”

Ardersier, once a mainstay of offshore construction, has been lying dormant for some time following the downturn in the oil industry and has been subject, like Arnish, to several attempts at redevelopment. Dredging work is already under way for the creation of a quay to facilitate decommissioning of rigs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“You have highly-skilled islanders working all over the world in energy and hopefully this development at Ardersier will enable them to work that bit closer to home,” said Mr Gillies.

However, he also revealed he is looking “to find mutually beneficial opportunities for cooperation” with Stornoway and Arnish.

“Alex MacLeod, the chief executive at the Stornoway Port Authority, is an old school friend and we are in constant dialogue,” he said.

A £50 million project to establish a new port terminal at Arnish, to facilitate large cruise liners, but also to serve as an energy hub, including for the offshore wind projects near Lewis, is expected to be complete later this year.