Our History

Swift Technical Services was founded in 1984 by Pat Swift, a Commissioning Manager based in the UK who had experience working with BP in the development of their offshore oilfields in the North Sea. Pat is credited with heading up the team who performed the commissioning of the BP Magnus offshore drilling and production platform, which at the time was the world's largest hook-up and commissioning project. The next major North Sea project to be successfully commissioned by Swift was the fifth platform of the BP Forties field which came into production in 1987. Swift was soon establishing a reputation for getting the best commissioning personnel available to deliver high quality services on time and within budget – the core values and principles which hold true to this day. The success of the commissioning services team opened up new opportunities and the scope of the business expanded into providing clients with ongoing operations and maintenance technical personnel. From humble beginnings with small offices in London and Aberdeen, and a team of 5 employees, Swift  has become a global oil and gas service company with over 300 staff employees and 3000 contract consultants across 35 countries.

Expansion into Kazakhstan: 1996 – 2003

In 1996 Swift was awarded service contracts in Kazakhstan by Tengizchevroil (TCO), a Chevron led joint venture company, and Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO), a BG Group led joint venture company. Both TCO and KPO are two of the largest oil and gas operating fields in the world and at peak Swift had in excess of 400 contract consultants working on different phases of the project through to start-up. By 2003, as part of its nationalization commitments, Swift set up a local partnership and company called the Bolashak Group. In 2006 Swift sold its interest in Bolashak to KGNT, a Kazakh based engineering company, and it has gone on to become the largest oil and gas manpower services company in Kazakhstan. 

Azerbaijan: 2001 to Date

In 2001 Swift was awarded a service contract with the BP lead joint venture company of Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC). This was to develop oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) fields with the construction of four new offshore production platforms and one compression and water platform. Simultaneously, Swift provided services to support the development of the BP Shah Deniz gas field, the expansion of Sangachal oil and gas processing terminal and the construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.  Azerbaijan remains the longest running and most successful project location for Swift.

USA: 2001 to Date

Swift set up its U.S. operation in Houston in 2001 to work alongside Houston based client project management teams and central procurement groups. The USA is now one of Swift's largest and most successful regions, with operations in different oil and gas market sectors including offshore Gulf of Mexico, onshore production facilities in west Texas, arctic E&P in Alaska and refinery expansion projects in Indiana, Illinois, and Mississippi.

Global Expansion: 2006 to Date

In 2006 Gresham Private Equity acquired Swift through a MBO. Gresham's capital investment has enabled Swift to continue its impressive business growth with expansion of the hub centers in Houston and London, and expansion into new global markets in Angola, Australia, Brazil, Singapore, Korea, Canada, and Russia.