TECHNIP officially named its new pipelay vessel the Apache II at a ceremony yesterday at Invergordon close to its Evanton spoolbase, where the ship will mobilise for future projects.
The naming was carried out by her “godmother”, Margaret Forrest, the wife of Talisman Energy UK vice-president John Forrest.
Mrs Forrest was invited to take the role because Apache II’s first operational project was for Talisman in the UK.
Completion of the Apache II involved the rejuvenation of Technip’s old Apache.
The pipelaying equipment from the vessel was transferred on to a new hull, the North Ocean 103, with construction work carried out at Technip’s fabrication yard in Pori, Finland.
Technip UK managing director Ron Cookson said: “We’ve had a great reaction to Apache II, which has successfully completed four projects since she joined the fleet in May. I’m delighted that she is already committed for much of the 2011 season.
“Apache II offers clients a faster, more modern version of the original Apache, a true stalwart of the industry.
“The combination of the pipelay platform of the original Apache and the donor hull of the North Ocean 103 results in one of the newest and most advanced pipelay vessels operating in the industry and further strengthens Technip’s reputation as a market leader.”
Technip also said it was making good progress on key subsea projects despite a fall in second-quarter earnings and revenue.
Lower activity in the North Sea and Asia affected the group-wide performance.
The Paris-based energy service firm, which has its UK headquarters at Westhill, near Aberdeen, and is making the north-east a hub for its windfarm and renewables business, said net income during the second quarter of 2010 totalled £89.7million.
This compares with £98.2million in the same three months of last year.
Revenue for the latest period came in at £1.26billion, against £1.46billion previously.
Chief executive Thierry Pilenko said: “At the half of year, Technip remains on track to deliver its 2010 objectives, following two quarters of good project execution and delivery across all segments. Our expectations for an improvement in the North Sea have been confirmed by a pick-up in awards in the second quarter, notably on the Norwegian side.
“We expect this to continue in the second half.”
Subsea order intake of £654million, out of a group total of £1.3billion, was boosted by a “wide variety” of projects in the North sea.