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(Adds outlook, details, U.S. acquisition, share movement)
Dec 11 (Reuters) - John Wood Group Plc, a Britishenergy services company, said it expected relative resilience in2015 helped by its largely reimbursable order book and range oflonger-term contracts.
The company, which provides engineering, production supportand turbine services to the oil and gas, and power sectors, saidit anticipated full-year 2014 performance to be higher than lastyear's and in line with expectations.
Shares in Wood Group rose as much as 4.5 percent in earlytrading and were among the top percentage gainers on the FTSE250 index.
The steep fall in oil prices is leading operators tore-consider their spending plans for 2015, hurting energyservice providers. However, reimbursable order book will helpWood Group in getting full payment for any cost overruns.
Brent crude edged up on Thursday after hitting itsweakest since July 2009 of $63.56 in the previous session.
Wood Group said it expected 2014 earnings before interest,tax and amortisation (EBITA) from its engineering division - itssecond largest unit - to be less than the 15 percent fallindicated in December 2013.
It warned last year that the division, which carries outearly-stage design work mainly on offshore oil rigs and accountsfor around half its total profit, would see significant fallthis year due to weakness in Canada.
"Wood Group is our only 'outperform' rated stock in a sectorfaced with an uncertain outlook, as we favour its defensiveattributes of being asset light, with long-termcost-reimbursable contracts, and robust balance sheet," CreditSuisse analysts said in a note.
The company also said it had secured a $750 million,five-year contract from BP for engineering, procurementand construction services in Grangemouth, Scotland.
The company, which earlier won a subsea contract from BP forthe Shah Deniz II gas project in Azerbaijan in June, said thelatest contract was its largest in 2014 and included an optionfor two, one-year extensions.
Wood Group also said it had acquired Swaggart Brothers, anOregon-based provider of civil construction and fabricationservices for $36.3 million with a further payment in 2017 basedon future performance. (Reporting by Aashika Jain in Bengaluru; Additional Reportingby Karolin Schaps; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
