science

Wood Mackenzie

Wood Mackenzie is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wood Mackenzie rather than just read about it. In short: Wood Mackenzie, also known as WoodMac, is a global research and consultancy group supplying data, written analysis, and consultancy advice to the energy, chemicals, renewables, metals, and mining industries. In 2015, the company was acquired by Verisk Analytics, an American data analytics and risk assessment firm, in a deal valued at $2.8 billion.[5] The company was taken private by private-equity firm Veritas Capit…

Key takeaways

Wood Mackenzie belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wood Mackenzie to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wood Mackenzie from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Wood Mackenzie, also known as WoodMac, is a global research and consultancy group supplying data, written analysis, and consultancy advice to the energy, chemicals, renewables, metals, and mining industries. In 2015, the company was acquired by Verisk Analytics, an American data analytics and risk assessment firm, in a deal valued at $2.8 billion.[5] The company was taken private by private-equity firm Veritas Capital in 2023, in a deal valued at $3.1 billion.[6][7]

History Originally founded in Edinburgh and also headquartered in Edinburgh, it has over 30 offices worldwide. Originally established as stockbroker in 1923, the company's energy business was launched in 1973, when it started reviewing the North Sea oilfields.[8] Between 2007 and 2014, Wood Mackenzie acquired coal specialists Hill & Associates in the US, Barlow Jonker in Australia, and Brook Hunt, the UK-based metals analysts.[9][10][11] Since 2015 a host of companies have become part of Wood Mackenzie including PSG, a petroleum database service; PCI, the specialist chemicals analysis group; Greentech Media, providing analysis of the solar market; [12] MAKE, providing analysis of global wind power; Roskill a global metals and mining research firm that focused on the materials crucial for the energy transition; Infield Systems And PowerAdvocate with its unique cost and supply chain analytics.

Detailed history 1973: North Sea Service, Wood Mackenzie's first industry research offering, was launched 1986: Wood Mackenzie purchased by Hill Samuel, the UK merchant bank 1987: Hill Samuel was acquired by TSB and sold Wood Mackenzie to County NatWest 1997: NatWest sold its European equities business, including Wood Mackenzie, to Bankers Trust 1999: Bankers Trust (including Wood Mackenzie) purchased by Deutsche Bank 2001: Management and employee buy-out from Deutsche Bank backed by the Bank of Scotland 2005: Refinancing deal, involving Candover Partners acquiring equity through the exit of Bank of Scotland 2007: Creation of coal team via acquisitions of Hill & Associates and Barlow Jonker. Divestment of Life Sciences division 2008: Creation of metals team via acquisition of Brook Hunt 2009: Refinancing deal, involving Charterhouse Capital Partners acquiring the majority equity stake in the business through the exit of Candover 2010: Acquisition of PetroPlan Refinery Model 2012: Refinancing deal, involving Hellman & Friedman acquiring majority shareholding whilst Charterhouse Capital Partners retained a minority stake. 2015: Acquisition of Deloitte's Petroleum Services Group (PSG), a specialised oil and gas information business including a database of Exploration & Production (E&P) information 2015: Acquisition of Wood Mackenzie by Verisk Analytics 2015: Acquisition of Infield Systems, an independent provider of business intelligence, analysis, and research to the oil, gas, and associated marine industries 2015: Acquisition of PCI Chemicals, a chemicals business that offers integrated data and subscriptions research in the chemicals, fibers, films, and plastics sectors 2016: Acquisition of Greentech Media, an information services provider for the electricity and renewables sector 2017: Acquisition of MAKE providing knowledge of the global onshore and offshore wind power market 2019: Acquisition of Genscape, a global provider of real-time data and intelligence for commodity and energy markets, by Verisk becoming part of Wood Mackenzie to enhance its leading research and consultancy across the natural resources sectors 2022: Acquisition of Wood Mackenzie by Veritas Capital 2026: Acquisition of LandGate by Wood Mackenzie and Veritas Capital

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wood Mackenzie

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wood Mackenzie claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wood Mackenzie before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wood Mackenzie ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wood Mackenzie

In research: Wood Mackenzie appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wood Mackenzie in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wood Mackenzie is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2015 mergers and acquisitions, 2023 mergers and acquisitions, British companies established in 1973, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wood Mackenzie outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wood Mackenzie in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wood Mackenzie means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wood Mackenzie out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wood Mackenzie in simple terms?

Why does Wood Mackenzie matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wood Mackenzie?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wood Mackenzie.