Craig International Supplies launches West African alliance

Craig Group seeks Ghana bases

Craig International Supplies (CIS), a division of global shipping and energy services firm Craig Group, has announced at the 4th Ghana Summit, Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition, a strategic partnership to establish Craig International (West Africa) Ltd in Ghana, in two locations – Accra and Takoradi.

The partnership sees CIS join forces with Research Development and Financial Consultants (RDFC) Ltd, a business development, research and market entry support services consultancy which has a strong focus on the Oil and Gas sector spanning three decades.

CIS is recognised as the largest privately owned European procurement and supply house operating in the oil and gas industry. Targeting the oil, gas and mining industries the Ghana operations will further bolster their offering with the offices targeting the West African sub-region as a whole.

Launched at the 4th Ghana Summit, Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition, 23-25 April 2013, where CIS is exhibiting, the alliance marks a significant milestone achievement by the Craig Group who also opened a base in Poland earlier this year.

Attending the Ghana Summit to launch the West Africa partnership with the CIS Directors, Craig Group chairman and managing director, Douglas Craig, said: “Ghana has become an emerging economy after successful oilfield exploration of 2010 and we are looking forward to a prosperous future in the area. The decision to establish a presence in West Africa is in line with our global strategic expansion and growth plan. This partnership offers enormous market potential for procurement services in the face of a rapidly expanding energy market.”

Steve McHardy, joint managing director of CIS, said: “CIS has built a reputation in the industry for our customer service - leading the market in procurement and supply chain solutions. We’re confident of a bright future in Ghana and are looking forward to securing additional business in the area throughout 2013.”

CIS now employs more than 60 staff four strategic locations around the globe – Aberdeen, Houston, Krakow and Cape Town.

CIS has a £40 million turnover and provides an extensive range of products and services to the global energy industry and has a buying power approaching £4 million per month – an increase of 25% since 2011. As a result it passes on significant savings to its services and products customers, creating competitive advantage.