Petrotechnics
Petrotechnics provided operational risk management software for hazardous industries including Oil & Gas, Chemical, and Rail. Its platform delivered Safe System to Work and Electronic Permit to Work functionality with configurable workflows and real-time analytics. Founded in 1989; acquired by Sphera in January 2019.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1989
- HeadquartersAberdeen, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Petrotechnics does
Petrotechnics was a UK-based software provider specializing in operational risk management for hazardous industries. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, the company served the Oil & Gas, Chemical, and Rail sectors, with a workforce of 101–250 employees. Its core offering was a frontline risk mitigation platform providing Safe System to Work and Electronic Permit to Work functionality, helping operators visualize and connect operations, maintenance, and planning processes. The platform was distinguished by configurable workflows, real-time analysis and insights, and data visualization capabilities, and was complemented by expert professional services from domain consultants.
The underlying technology combined configurable workflow engines with a permit-to-work management system and real-time data ingestion — including, post-acquisition, Industrial Internet of Things data — to surface operational risk at the frontline. This positioned Petrotechnics as a vertical-specialist in process safety rather than a horizontal EHS vendor, with deployment tied to regulated, mission-critical hazardous-industry workflows.
On the commercial side, Petrotechnics operated as a B2B vertical SaaS vendor with enterprise sales into hazardous-industry operators; pricing was not publicly disclosed. The company received growth capital from the Business Growth Fund in 2013 (~$9.1M, round 4) and was acquired by Sphera — the largest global provider of Integrated Risk Management software — on January 8, 2019. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, and Phil Murray, then CEO, led the company into the Sphera portfolio, where its platform extended Sphera's Integrated Risk Management solution from risk identification to risk mitigation. Following the transaction, Petrotechnics ceased to operate as an independent entity.
Petrotechnics firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Petrotechnics
- Legal name
- Petrotechnics
- Website
- https://petrotechnics.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1989
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Petrotechnics provided operational risk management software for hazardous industries including Oil & Gas, Chemical, and Rail. Its platform delivered Safe System to Work and Electronic Permit to Work functionality with configurable workflows and real-time analytics. Founded in 1989; acquired by Sphera in January 2019.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Petrotechnics industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Operational Risk Management Software
- NAICS
- Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Process Safety & Major Hazard Risk Management (PSM) (BPAHAJAE)
Keywords
Where Petrotechnics is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Aberdeen
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Petrotechnics business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Petrotechnics product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Petrotechnics provides operational risk management software for hazardous industries, including Oil & Gas, Chemical, and Rail. Its platform delivers Safe System to Work and Electronic Permit to Work functionality, connecting operations, maintenance, and planning processes with frontline risk mitigation through data visualization, configurable workflows, and real-time analysis. The company also offered expert consultancy services from industry thought leaders to support customer operational excellence.
Product overview
Petrotechnics was a standalone operational risk software provider offering a unified platform for hazardous industries (Oil & Gas, Chemical, Rail). The company provided software with Safe System to Work and Electronic Permit to Work functionality as its core offering, featuring data visualization, configurable workflows, real-time analysis and insights. Following its acquisition by Sphera in January 2019, Petrotechnics became part of Sphera's Operational Risk Management portfolio, extending Sphera's Integrated Risk Management solution from risk identification to risk mitigation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Petrotechnics Operational Risk Software
Companies that use Petrotechnics
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Petrotechnics technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Petrotechnics partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- SpheracoreSphera, the largest global provider of Integrated Risk Management software and information services, acquired Petrotechnics on January 8, 2019. The acquisition expanded Sphera's Operational Risk management Software through applications digitizing and visualizing risks at the operational level. Petrotechnics became part of the Sphera suite of products and services, combining their software with Sphera's solutions to help customers enhance their ability to mitigate risks across global operations.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Petrotechnics competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Intelex Technologies: Intelex is a direct EHS and quality management software peer serving hazardous industries, with modules covering operational risk, permits, and safety workflows comparable to Petrotechnics' Safe System to Work.
- Cority: Cority is an EHS software platform serving industrial customers including chemicals and oil & gas, with adjacent operational risk and compliance workflows. It is a comparable competitor for Petrotechnics' target verticals.
- ProcessMAP: ProcessMAP is an EHS and operational risk management platform with strong presence in Oil & Gas, Chemical, and manufacturing, offering permit-to-work and frontline safety applications that overlap with Petrotechnics' core product.
- VelocityEHS: VelocityEHS (formerly Velocity EHS) provides EHS and risk management software used across manufacturing and heavy industry, with overlapping capability in operational risk and safety management workflows relevant to Petrotechnics.
- Ideagen: Ideagen provides EHS, operational risk, and quality management software, including permit-to-work and safe systems of work used in hazardous industries such as energy and rail. It competes directly with Petrotechnics' core operational risk application.
Emerging players
- Quentic: Quentic is a European EHS/CSR software SaaS provider offering modules for operational risk, permits, and safety management. Comparable as a regional/emerging player addressing the same operational risk management use cases in European heavy industry.
Broad incumbents
- Verisk EHS (formerly 3E): Verisk EHS provides chemical compliance, regulatory, and risk management content and software for hazardous industries. It is an adjacent incumbent competing for spend that could otherwise go to Petrotechnics' operational risk suite.
- Aveva (Operational Risk / EHS via PI System heritage): Aveva is a large industrial software provider whose plant operations and asset integrity portfolio overlaps with Petrotechnics' operational risk and permit-to-work use cases in process plants and hazardous facilities.
- Wolters Kluwer (Enablon): Enablon, part of Wolters Kluwer, is a major EHS and operational risk management platform serving hazardous industries including Oil & Gas, Chemical, and Rail. It addresses the same operational risk, permit-to-work, and process safety use cases as Petrotechnics.
- Sphera: Sphera is the parent of Petrotechnics and the largest global provider of Integrated Risk Management software focused on Operational Risk, EHS, and Product Stewardship. It is highly comparable because Petrotechnics' frontline risk software now extends Sphera's platform from risk identification to risk mitigation.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Petrotechnics social profiles
Digital presencePetrotechnics financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Petrotechnics leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Petrotechnics funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Petrotechnics M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Petrotechnics
What does Petrotechnics do?
Petrotechnics provides operational risk management software for hazardous industries, including Oil & Gas, Chemical, and Rail. Its platform delivers Safe System to Work and Electronic Permit to Work functionality, connecting operations, maintenance, and planning processes with frontline risk mitigation through data visualization, configurable workflows, and real-time analysis. The company also offered expert consultancy services from industry thought leaders to support customer operational excellence.
Is Petrotechnics a public or private company?
Petrotechnics is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Petrotechnics founded?
Petrotechnics was founded in 1989. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Petrotechnics based?
Petrotechnics is headquartered in Aberdeen, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
Who are Petrotechnics's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Intelex Technologies, Cority, ProcessMAP, VelocityEHS and Ideagen. Quentic is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Verisk EHS (formerly 3E), Aveva (Operational Risk / EHS via PI System heritage), Wolters Kluwer (Enablon) and Sphera.
Does Petrotechnics have an API?
No public API is recorded for Petrotechnics.
What industry is Petrotechnics in?
Petrotechnics's product category is Operational Risk Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAJAE, Process Safety & Major Hazard Risk Management (PSM). Its NAICS code is 541620.