Climate activists have protested outside Wood Group’s offices in Surrey and Aberdeen over its ties to the oil and gas sector.
The demonstration is part of the Cut The Ties campaign, launched in November 2022, which is targeting various organisations propping up the fossil fuel economy and has so far carried out 28 actions at 22 sites.
Activists gathered outside the engineering consultancy's Aberdeen headquarters, with a campaigner dressed as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps pouring fake oil over other protestors.
Two Extinction Rebellion activists were arrested for alleged criminal damage as other members of the global climate movement protested outside Wood’s office in Staines, setting off flares and using fire extinguishers to spray fake black oil across the entrance of the building.
This latest Cut The Ties action follows reports in The Guardian with the investigative journalism organisation Point Source suggesting that Wood has expanded its oil and gas business and significantly shrunk its renewables operations, after receiving a £430m government-backed green transition loan in 2021.
A spokesperson for Wood told Insider that the group remains committed to playing a critical role in the energy transition, arguing that since the loan was given, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed priorities to energy security, while a 'strategy refresh' in November 2022 meant “lower carbon solutions for energy and materials are at the forefront of this three-year strategic cycle“.
However, Extinction Rebellion is calling for a review of the way the loan is authorised, which it stated was open to abuse by greenwashing companies.
Pete Green, 42, a health professional from Aberdeen, said: “As heat records are broken in Spain, China and North Africa, and as Canada burns, the world is waking up to the scale and speed at which climate change is destabilising life on earth.
“Yet it seems nothing will stop the greed of the oil and gas industry, which wants to burn every last drop of oil.
“We know the majority of fossil fuels must be left in the ground if we are to have a survivable future - so we demand the Wood Group Cuts The Ties to the fossil fuel industry, and uses its talents to speed up the transition to clean energy.”
A spokesperson for Wood responded: “Wood is working with relevant authorities to ensure the safety of our employees as our first priority and can confirm that protesters have left both premises.
“Wood respects the right to demonstrate and supports open and constructive engagement with all of our stakeholders.
“We remain committed to playing a critical role in the energy transition, supporting our clients to deliver energy security and decarbonise their operations while applying our expertise to provide clean energy solutions.”
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