The newly crowned 2011 oil baron speaks to Glenn Freeman about his international career and launching a successful well consultancy in the UAE
UPON learning he had been named this year’s oil baron by dmg Energy Group, Alistair Davidson, managing director of SPD says his initial reaction was shock. “I couldn’t believe it really. It’s nice to be recognised for your efforts though,” he says.
When asked why he believes he received the prestigious title for 2011, joining the list of eight other leading industry figures who have borne the title, Davidson attributes it largely to the inclusive, community approach of his company, SPD.
“At SPD, we try to interact quite a bit socially, in trying to pull the oil community of the region together, so I can only imagine the title may be some recognition of actively encouraging the social networking of the oil industry here in Dubai.
“That’s the only way I can figure out that people might have known to vote for me,” adds Davidson with a laugh.
The value of global experience His extensive international experience has also played a part in his crowning success.
Over the course of his career, Davidson has lived and worked in most regions internationally, having experienced well engineering and operations in the UK, Ireland, Thailand, Peru, Brazil, Russia and Georgia, along with Yemen, Iran and Turkmenistan.
“I think this has given me the ability to understand and deal with very different cultures. By the time I left Hamilton Brothers, when I was still 28 or 29, I’d already worked in Thailand, Russia and Algeria – all with vastly different cultures and ways of doing business.
“Being exposed to that early on just makes you much more pragmatic and diplomatic in dealing with people in day-to-day business… that no doubt set me up for working here in the Middle East.”
He also points out the long involvement SPD has had with the Oil Baron’s Charity Ball and the charity it supports, Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP), in explaining why he was nominated: “We at SPD have also been very supportive of FOCP through the years.”
In addition, Davidson points to the long involvement SPD has had with the Oil Baron’s Charity Ball and the charity it supports, Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP), in explaining why he was nominated.
Indeed, community involvement and using one’s success to help others is inextricably linked with the title of oil baron. As part of these activities, a number of former oil barons recently took part in a dmg Energy initiative that brought together 10 children who were either suffering from cancer or survivors of the disease.
“It’s a proud achievement and it’s quite humbling, that people would be bothered to vote for the likes of me. The Oil Baron’s Charity Ball has grown into a prestigious and recognisable event within the region’s energy industry, and learning I had been named an oil baron was a very proud moment.”
Having established a profile in the oil and gas industry through hard work and dedication is also an important criteria in the selection of the Oil Baron, with candidates judged by their industry peers.
Votes are lodged via email and through pipelinecommunity.com, the website of Pipeline Magazine, official publication of dmg Energy Group and the Oil Baron’s Charity Ball.
Underpinning Davidson’s successful nomination was his central role in establishing SPD, a specialist Dubai-based consultancy providing well construction design and management services across all stages of drilling projects, from initiation through to field development and management.
From a start-up company of three people comprising Davidson and SPD’s co-founders, Colin Finnegan and Clive Smith, in 10 years SPD has grown into a company with almost 200 personnel, turnover of more than US$60 million and a presence in five countries.
Finding his niche
Tracing the path of his and SPD’s success, Davidson looks to his early days in the industry, in his native Scotland, where he studied engineering at the University of Aberdeen.
It was quite early in his industry training and career, while in his early 20s, that Davidson knew drilling and well operations were his preferred area of practice.
Though he concedes there was an element of luck to this, “I could easily have ended up in the upstream side of the industry or in reservoir engineering,” he also says he had an affinity with the type of people and processes it involved.
Settling in Dubai
Having worked in so many different places, Alistair attributes his decision to finally settle down in the UAE, where he has lived now for 11 years, to a number of factors. “This is in the heart of the oil industry, and I had never really worked in the real Middle East. In 2001-2002, Dubai was starting to establish its reputation for the visionary thinking that we see now, and it was quite exciting to be part of that, there was so much going on.”
“And of course, having spent most of my early years in the north-east of Scotland, it was also nice to move somewhere that was sunny most of the time,” he laughs.
Though he didn’t know it at the time, Davidson also later found the UAE to be an ideal environment in which he and his wife could raise their five children . “As it’s turned out, as a family with young children, I can’t think of anywhere easier and better to bring up young children than Dubai.”
Away from the oilfield, much of his time is dedicated in some way to his family, with his children ranging from four, six, eight, 10 and 18 years of age. “Most of my spare time is devoted to spending time with them, or in helping in their sporting activities, predominantly football and rugby clubs affiliated with their school, Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS) in Dubai.
Going it alone
In terms of the business, he says they initially had only one contracted client, Margham Dubai, located in the UAE, near Hatta. “We didn’t have anything else on the horizon, and we hadn’t picked up work from Iran initially anyway as we were too small,” he says, explaining that the opportunities presented by Iran were an early reason for setting up the business, though 10 years on they’ve had little work from there.
However, business quickly picked up, and in the first year SPD generated more than US$1 million in revenue, well beyond their expectations.
“Our business plan early on was simply to work really hard, and fundamentally that was what we did. We were really going after any business we could – we were all based in Dubai at the time, so we did focus on the UAE, Qatar, and Oman back then,” says Davidson. In addition to those countries, SPD’s area of operation now includes Northern Iraq, Yemen and to some extent the Caspian Sea.
Looking ahead, Davidson sees a bright future for SPD and other niche players within the industry, particularly given the growing trend toward smaller oil companies in the North Sea and Europe, requiring greater support from specialist providers such as SPD. This is something he also expects to see in the UAE and Gulf region.
Between winning new contracts for SPD and juggling his commitments as both Oil baron and family man, the year ahead is set to be a busy one for Davidson.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
