The UK arm of global firm Mermaid Subsea Services (MSS) plans to significantly grow its headcount in the north-east following a move to new premises in Westhill.
Its relocation from serviced office accommodation in the Neospace building on Riverside Drive coincides with a recruitment drive.
The business is predicted to mushroom to 50 people by the end of 2022, compared with just a small team at the moment.
And a bullish outlook on prospects is driving expectations of further growth in the headcount in years to come.
MSS (UK) is part of an international company, owned in turn by Thai group Mermaid Maritime, providing a wide range of subsea services to the oil and gas industry globally.
According to its website, the UK business has access to “a team of over 1,000 people worldwide”. These include specialists in subsea engineering, inspection, repair and maintenance, project management, vessel chartering and operations, surveys, remotely operated vehicles and diving operations.
MSS (UK)’s Aberdeen-based management team decided to move the business into Pavilion 11 at Knight Property Group’s (KPG) Kingshill Park development in Westhill to accommodate further expansion.
A five-year lease has been agreed for Suite D of the building – giving the tenant 2,500sq ft of fully fitted out “plug and play” space, with electric charging points in the car park.
MSS regional director, Fraser Moonie, who was chief executive of Decom North Sea for a spell, said: “We are thrilled with our new office base at Kingshill, which will be the hub for our UK subsea operations and accommodate our rapidly growing team.
© Supplied by Decom North Sea“It offers excellent quality space in a great location, as well as giving us room to grow and expand in the future.” Current projects of MMS (UK) include a “landmark” multi-operator, vessel-based well plugging and abandonment (P&A) campaign in the North Sea.
Part of a collaborative partnership, the P&A work is thought to be one of the largest of its type to be undertaken in the region for at least a decade.
Mr Moonie added: “Whilst our recent contract awards were focused on well P&A within the decommissioning sector, we anticipate demand for our full range of services, including subsea engineering, construction, project management and diving to increase exponentially over the remainder of 2022 and into 2023, with a particular focus on enabling the ‘energy transition’.”
Hailing the success of Kingshill Park, KPG chairman James Barrack said: “This development has generated significant interest over the years and gives us confidence to continue our programme across Scotland.
“Occupiers like Mermaid are seeking high- specification space.”
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