Pablo Escobars Columbia

Extracted from the Book- Aberdeens Billionaire - Sir Ian Wood

Sir Ian Wood was far more hands on than we might realise. He personally put himself on the line by making those secret trips to Columbia to set up what would become the biggest Oil & Gas Deals in his companies history, weve extracted a small part from the book and published below.

Extracted from the Book- Aberdeen's Billionaire - Sir Ian Wood Aberdeen's Billionaire

47.  Escobar’s Columbia

For an ambitious oil service firm in the 90s, South America represented a seemingly unattainable promised land of riches and untapped opportunity. The world's largest oil discoveries had been made off the coast of Venezuela, and Brazil ranked as the 9th largest oil producer in the world, with still yet vast undeveloped Oil reserves. South America was essentially a new frontier for Oil & Gas. Much of the interior of South America remained unexplored, with difficult access. The political structures and corruption made land development and Oil exploration harder. At the time, Colombia was fraught with terrorist groups, fighting factions, drug production and distribution gangs, and had the highest death rates per capita in the world. In the early '90s, Wood Group had a limited basic presence in South America, and Colombia seemed unlikely as a business prospect. Sir Ian saw the region opening up slowly to western companies and he sought opportunities to develop partnerships that could help Wood Group access the market. Some large operators were attempting deals with South American governments for exploration licences, but the challenges were numerous, including unreasonable government demands, and hostility from indigenous tribes and gangs. For the small Oil industry that did exist in Colombia, much of the Oil & Gas maintenance work was awarded to local companies or the large American contractors like Halliburton, Weatherford, and Schlumberger. However costs were high, and efficiency low. Although Wood Group had some work in Brazil in the southern Atlantic, they didn't have much significant activity outside of Brazil. In 1993 the Colombian government, through their media, announced partnerships with several American Oil & Gas companies to explore for oil in large areas of unexplored Colombian rainforest. Around mid-January 1994, Sir Ian read in the Petroleum Journal that a large oil company delegation, representing over eight of the world's largest oil companies, had headed to Colombia to discuss Oil & Gas exploration rights with the government. Notably, BP was part of this delegation, and as Wood Group was one of BP’s major contractors worldwide, success in BP gaining licences and finding oil, could potentially serve as the entry point for Wood Group into that market. However, Colombia, despite its oil potential, was more famous for Pablo Escobar, cocaine, and violence than it was for successful Oil & Gas exploration. The legacy of Escobar persisted into 1996, marked by daily kidnappings, and the country remaining under the influence and grip of paramilitary groups. Recognizing the reluctance of others to do business in Colombia Sir Ian perceived a greater opportunity. If no other companies were willing to venture into Colombia, then he would. It wasn't about making reckless decisions but effectively managing risk. 

Having previously encountered Colombian oil executives at the OTC Houston Oil show back in 1992, he had maintained intermittent contact over the years, Sir Ian reached out to see if he could arrange a visit to Colombia for preliminary inquiries and meetings with the country's industry and political leaders. The necessary visas were obtained, and Sir Ian's small delegation of five flew over. Personal security had been assigned for the flight, and additional security measures were in place upon arrival. To maintain a low profile, Sir Ian ensured that their arrival had not been announced and the group underdressed to ensure they did not appear looking like wealthy businessmen. The group successfully passed through immigration unscathed. They were collected by drivers appointed by Empresa Colombiana de Petróleos, The Petroleum Institute of Columbia. Sir Ian had arranged separate transportation and security measures outside the ones offered by the Colombian government. The instructions were not to employ Columbian locals as security. There were rumours of potential links to drug cartels and information on visiting British businessmen being passed onto potential kidnap gangs for a price. Columbia with its history posed a high risk, even with government's protection. Given the lack of internet accessibility at that time, it was also more challenging for those gangs to gather information on visitors in advance. The Wood Group delegation was safely delivered to the Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina Bogotá, one of the city's more mediocre hotels. Those staying in the 5 star luxury hotels of Bogota, had a much higher risk of being kidnapped.

Alistair Taylor, a local resident of Inverurie in northeast Scotland, working for the U.S.-based company Weatherford, fell victim to a kidnapping gang in Colombia. The incident occurred when he was forcibly taken at gunpoint while en route to work. This method of abduction was a common tactic employed by militias in Colombia. To avoid predictability and prevent the identification of movement patterns, drivers were instructed never to take the same route to work twice. Alistair Taylor endured a harrowing two years in captivity before finally being released by his captors. The British Ambassador to Colombia declined to discuss whether a ransom had been paid for his release, but it was highly probable, with contributions likely coming from both his employer and the British Government. Weatherford was keen on avoiding any perception in the Colombian media that a ransom had been paid for his release, this could potentially lead to an increase in kidnappings targeting employees of the company. Sir Ian and his team, aware of similar stories before their arrival, had taken security precautions aligned with the level of danger in the region.

At that time, the predominant non-Colombian oil operator in the country was BP. Despite Sir Ian's extensive contact book, which included the direct numbers of every Oil & Gas CEO in the western hemisphere, he lacked the telephone numbers of the CEOs of the Colombian Oil & Gas Industry. A pre-arranged meeting was scheduled for him to meet with BP's head of country. At the meeting BP made it clear they were seeking a reliable contractor as things weren't working out for them. The existing services in place were hugely substandard, intermittent and plainly unsustainable. With many global contractors unwilling to locate due to the dangers, the contract incumbents were virtually untouchable and didn't need to provide a good level of service to BP or anyone else, and they didn’t. Sir Ian's team returned to the UK, relieved that no safety incidents had been recorded but somewhat disappointed they couldn't explore more of the beauty of Colombia. A few weeks after he arrived home, a package arrived from BP Colombia, containing a substantial tender document soliciting a detailed proposal for the provision of maintenance services for an entire oil & gas production facility deep in the heart of Colombia.

EXTRACTED FROM THE BIOGRAPHY - SIR IAN WOOD ABERDEENS BILLIONAIRE

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Billionaire industrialist Sir Ian Wood stands as the wealthiest homegrown founder of a company in Scotland. When he stepped down from the helm in 2013, his creation—Wood Group plc—had grown into a global powerhouse valued at $12 billion, operating in more than 60 countries, employing 60,000 people, and elevating his personal fortune to over £2 billion.

A figure both formidable and fiercely debated, Sir Ian Wood’s life unfolds as an extraordinary saga—one marked by relentless effort, unwavering determination, profound personal sacrifice, moments of tragedy, brushes with disaster, and the darker currents of betrayal, greed, immense wealth, and influence.

Beginning with his family’s modest fishing-boat repair business in 1967, he boldly steered the company into the emerging world of oil and gas just as the industry reached Britain’s shores in the 1970s. From there, he built a sprawling empire that touched shipping, energy, fishing, technology, travel, electronics, power generation, offshore drilling, and property development. His leadership oversaw the most dramatic industrial transformation Aberdeen had ever seen.

Now, for the first time, the story long hidden behind closed doors is revealed. This is an explosive, deeply revealing journey into the sometimes shadowy, often ruthless, yet undeniably electrifying world of the Aberdeen oil and gas sector—its power brokers, its high-stakes decisions, and the man whose influence shaped an era.

Sir Ian’s real-life ascent makes HBO’s Succession seem like little more than a gentle bedtime tale.

His achievements stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the greatest entrepreneurs in any industry, at any point in history.

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