Amec, the international engineering services company, has been awarded The Queen's Award for International Trade in recognition of its outstanding performance - principally in the oil, gas and processing industries - over the last three years.

Amec's expansion in support of long-term clients in Saudi Arabia and other areas such as Azerbaijan, China, Eastern Russia, the Gulf of Mexico, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and West Africa, has resulted in a four-fold increase in export earnings for the company's UK-based operating subsidiary and strong prospects for further international growth.

An important factor in the judges' decision was Amec's focus on customer and supplier relationships and its ability to deliver complex projects and services in challenging areas of the world, all underpinned by a positive company culture of safety, sustainable development and protection of the environment.

The judges also looked at Amec's asset management services and world-class projects, including the 'Bonga' floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for offshore Nigeria, the Secco ethylene plant in Shanghai, the Sakhalin II oil and gas platform in the Russian Far East, the Malampaya gas field in the Philippines, and the Berri ethane recovery plant in Saudi Arabia. Amec provides specialised services and engineering solutions for clients in the oil and gas, transport, infrastructure and industrial sectors.

It generates revenues of some £5.5 billion, approximately 19 per cent of which is related to oil and gas activities. The company works at the local, national and international levels, employing 50,000 people throughout the UK, continental Europe, North America and some 40 countries worldwide. To further support its international oil and gas clients, the company has a growing presence in Houston, and in Canada for oil sands work and offshore projects and services on the East Coast.