One of the North Sea’s largest energy companies was plunged into crisis on Thursday after a shock accounting investigation by audit giant Deloitte triggered a 60pc fall in its share price.

Aberdeen-based Wood Group, which employs 35,000 people across 60 countries, saw a record fall in shares after a string of write-offs on several large contracts prompted it to launch an urgent review of other contracts on its books.

It warned that the review, led by Deloitte, would assess whether “any prior year restatement may be required” for other large contracts – prompting fears from investors that Wood may have to book further write-offs.

The company has been listed on the London Stock Exchange for decades – having debuted in 2002 – but saw the most brutal stock market sell-off in its history on Thursday, with shares falling from 125p to as low as 49p, a 60pc decline.

It means the company is now worth ￡430m – down from ￡860m on Wednesday evening.

The review, effectively an audit, follows the announcement of a massive ￡761m loss in the half year results, published in August.

Deloitte’s investigation will focus on “reported positions on contracts in projects, accounting, governance and controls” related to a series of “exceptional contract write-offs”.

‘Disappointing quarter’

One of Deloitte’s tasks will be to assess if any restatement of prior-year profits or losses is required.

Ken Gilmartin, Wood Group’s chief executive, described the group’s performance as “mixed”, adding: “Our projects business delivered a disappointing quarter, impacted by delayed awards in our chemicals business and our continued weakness in minerals and life sciences.

“As such, we continue to take actions to redress this underperformance.”

The firm is halfway through a three-year restructuring aimed at turning the business around but it has been in trouble ever since it rebuffed a series of takeover bids.

Apollo Global Management walked away from a possible takeover last year and Sidara ended several months of negotiations in early August, citing “rising geopolitical risks and financial market uncertainty”.

Wood Group added in a statement: “Following the exceptional contract write-offs relating to the exit from lump sum turnkey and large-scale engineering, procurement and construction reported at the half-year 2024 results, and in conjunction with the auditor’s ongoing work, the board, in response to dialogue with its auditor, has agreed to commission an independent review to be performed by Deloitte.”

Wood Group plays a key role in some of the UK’s key energy transition projects.