Energy services firm Proserv was crowned company of the year at an awards ceremony celebrating outstanding achievements in the UK subsea industry last night.
The gala Subsea UK Business Awards was attended by over 850 people at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) following the first day of the industry body's annual conference.
Judges for the awards scheme hailed "key milestones" for Proserv in the last 12 months, including a series of high-profile contract awards across the globe, expanding its manufacturing facilities and launching a "game-changing" subsea technology.
KCA Deutag has announced plans to cut up to 230 jobs in Aberdeen as it grapples with a slowdown in North Sea drilling.
Overall the drilling contractor said 500 jobs across its business spanning 20 countries were “at risk”, while it would also cut staff wages by 5% across the board. The company employs 10,000 worldwide and 1,200 in its North Sea offshore business.
Revealing the plans to staff at its Altens base this afternoon, the firm said it would launch a consultation on its plan to cut 30 office jobs and 200 offshore roles after two of its North Sea clients “pause drilling operations”.
Babcock International’s David Goodfellow is leading the defence giant’s move into North Sea oil and gas at what could be considered an interesting time for the sector.
At Rosyth Dockyard, Babcock International is almost three-quarters of the way through building 74 subsea structures that will extend the life of BP’s Schiehallion and Loyal fields West of Shetland.
The £30million contract on BP’s “Quad204” project was one of the largest of its kind, and it is a deliberate move by Babcocks into diversifying its order books.
A subsea business controlled by a Norwegian venture capital firm has been put into liquidation just months after changing hands in a £17million deal.
Reef Subsea AS, along with its subsidiary Technocean Subsea, has filed for bankruptcy in what is considered to be one of the first major casualties in the North Sea due to new low oil prices.
The firm’s sister company, Reef Subsea UK, is not in administration it has been confirmed. The UK division, which is owned by the same venture capital firm, Hitechvision, is based in Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees and has an Aberdeen-based operation at Altens.
Oil giant Shell is set to launch a consultation on one of the most significant and complex decommissioning projects in the North Sea yet - and which is sure to stir controversy as the ten year, multi-billion pound plan progresses.
Later this month the firm will take the first step towards decommissioning the Brent Delta, one of four oil rigs on the field 115milles north-east of Shetland that has producing since 1976.
Royal Dutch Shell boss Ben van Beurden issued a plea to UK policy makers to “get on” with plans to maximise economic recovery in the North Sea yesterday.
He also called on the UK government to review its supplementary tax charge on North Sea oil producers as it has made the operation of some fields unrealistic.
Mr van Beurden said at a conference in London: “It needs to be looked at as the tax position is hindering viability.”
A taskforce formed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to deal with job losses in the North Sea will meet every month, it was announced yesterday.
Industry and public sector leaders met with taskforce chairwoman Lena Wilson in a secret meeting at Aberdeen’s Ardoe House hotel yesterday to discuss job cuts which could affect thousands of North Sea workers.
The location of the meeting was kept quiet in an effort to ensure the proceedings remained private. The Scottish Government has not revealed who the members of the task force panel are, although a list of companies including BP, Aker, Petrofac and Wood Group are said to have provided representatives.
Scotland’s Energy Minister Fergus Ewing hopes four major wind arrays in the firths of Forth and Tay will be built despite a major legal challenge to their development.
Bird protection charity RSPB Scotland sent shockwaves through the sector in Scotland earlier this month after a last-minute move to seek judicial review of Mr Ewing’s decision to grant consents for the Neart na Gaoithe, Inch Cape and Seagreen Alpha and Bravo arrays.
It is understood the RSPB’s application will come before the courts for the first time in late May and there are concerns within the industry the legal process will prove both costly and lengthy.
Companies with technologies that can cut the cost of oil and gas production will be highlighted in a new showcase at the subsea industry’s leading event this year.
In an effort to demonstrate how recent innovations can help operators and oil services firms reduce costs, Subsea Expo will provide a platform for organisations to introduce, discuss and demonstrate their latest innovations.
Chaired by Dr Gordon Drummond, project director for the National Subsea Research Initiative (NSRI), the session will give a dozen companies ten minutes in the spotlight to outline their innovation and potential applications.
A conference has been called in Aberdeen to offer advice to oil and gas contractors as North Sea firms begin cutting thousands of jobs and rates are also reduced.
Hundreds of people are already out of work as major energy firms react to the Brent crude slump.
Last week, Talisman Sinopec said 300 jobs from its North Sea operations are to go, including 200 contractors. Schlumberger and BP have also revealed plans to axe hundreds of north-east jobs.
Battle lines have been drawn between North Sea firms and thousands of workers over plans to shake-up shift patterns.
American firms Apache and Marathon have both unveiled proposals to replace “two weeks on, two/three weeks off” rotations with “three weeks on, three weeks off” (3:3).
The move was revealed after operators and contractors including BP and Talisman Sinopec announced plans to make hundreds of redundancies in recent weeks.
BG Group has become the latest firm to cut its contractor rates in the wake of the fall off in oil prices.
A staff meeting was held Friday in Aberdeen where people were informed of the priorities for the year, the need to improve efficiency and the decision to reduce contractor rates by an average of 10%.
BG employs 230 contractors in Aberdeen.
Fire protection company Blaze Manufacturing Solutions is poised to increase both revenues and staff by more than 20% this year 2015 after securing a string of deals worth a total of £2million.
Contracts won by the Laurencekirk-based firm, which supplies fire protection systems to oil and gas operators, include a chemical cleaning services deal worth around £1million.
Blaze – which lists Amec, Petrofac, Taqa and Wood Group among its clients – secured a pair of multi-million pound contracts last year, [2013-14] which boosted turnover to £18.25million.
Global Energy Group is preparing to unveil over 2,000 feet of fresh quay at its base in Nigg Bay as ports all along the east coast get ready for a step-change in the offshore wind sector.
Steve Thompson, business development director at Global, will tell Scotland’s largest offshore wind conference in Aberdeen on Tuesday [27 JANUARY] that the extra quayside space will provide services for the renewables industry.
Global bought the former oil rig yard at Nigg Bay on the Cromarty Firth in 2011 and has signed a memorandum of understanding with Moray Offshore Renewables, which plans to erect wind turbines in the firth.
Faroe Petroleum said it was “well placed” to consider attractive acquisitions this year as the falling oil and gas price sees rivals selling off assets.
The company said its strong cash position and undrawn debt facilities mean it expected 2015 to be “another year of growth”.
The firm, which has the largest stake in Norwegian oil fields for a UK-based company, said post-tax exploration and appraisal costs were expected to run to £25million while production capex was expected to be £16million this year.
Marine Platforms has taken delivery of a new subsea support vessel, the African Inspiration, from Norwegian shipbuilder Havyard.
The firm, based in Aberdeen and Nigeria, said the vessel will service deepwater market locations offshore Nigeria.
The African Inspiration is currently berthed in Aberdeen to have two ROV systems installed as well as other project equipment before she leaves for the Gulf of Guinea.
A selection of the country’s most successful subsea businesses have made it on to the shortlist for the industry’s annual awards gala.
Fisher Offshore, Proserv and ROVOP are all in contention for the annual Subsea UK Awards event’s top honour, the subsea company of the year award.
Express Engineering Oil & Gas, Flowline Specialists and Tekmar Energy have been short-listed in the Global Exports Award category, while ToolTec, Ocean Installer and Cambla are vying for the New Enterprise award.
An offshore oil consultancy with an operation in Aberdeen has bought a controlling stake in a Norwegian IT firm.
Stavanger-based Ross Offshore took a 60% stake in Network Scenario for an undisclosed sum after working closely with the company for a number of years.
More than 60,000 offshore workers are to have the span of their shoulders measured ahead of new regulations on body size coming into force in April.
Industry group Step Change in Safety has revealed its measurement strategy for helicopter passengers travelling to and from offshore installations that will ensure all can escape from windows in the case of accidents.
Workers whose shoulders measure greater than 22in will be classified as “extra broad” (XBR) and will be required to sit in a helicopter seat that’s closest window is compatible with their shoulder size.
Centrica is celebrating a ground-breaking date in the history of UK gas exploration and production today.
Gas from the Irish Sea was extracted, processed and piped into the National Grid for the first time on January 9th 1985, marking 30 years of production from Morecambe Bay, one of the country’s biggest gas reservoirs.
At peak, the region produced enough gas to meet 20% of the UK’s domestic demand.
A well-known petroleum economist has warned that a spat over the creation of a new port in the Cromarty Firth risks giving the region a “bad image”.
Tony Mackay, head of Mackay Consultants in Inverness, also criticised the Cromarty Firth Port Authority’s (CFPA) expansion plans, claiming that its estimates in terms of job creation and economic impact were “silly”.
The steep decline in oil price paused yesterday for the first time in five days, after benchmark Brent caused consternation as it fell to below $50 a barrel.
Crude prices at last turned positive as Brent hovered near $51 a barrel last night, after recovering from a session low of $49.66 earlier. US crude was also up 70 cents at $48.63, after rallying earlier to $49.31.
Energy services firm Hunting yesterday unveiled plans to sell its ship-broking division to an employee benefit trust (EBT), with a deal expected to be signed in the coming weeks.
City analysts had previously identified EA Gibson Shipbrokers as a “non-core asset” for the FTSE 250 firm, although the timing of the potential sale is understood to be unrelated to the recent plunge in the price of oil.
The company said: “The transaction is expected to complete by the 31 March and is conditional on a number of matters including the management of Gibson finalising structure and funding.
Engineering IT specialist Aveva has snapped up an oil and gas software firm for £26.9million as it places a bet that its customers will be seeking to cut costs.
The Cambridge-based company acquired 8over8 from management and private investors.
Subsea pipe specialist Flexlife returned to profit last year despite a small decline in annual sales.
Its parent company, Flexlife Group, also narrowed losses, according to accounts filed at Companies House.
Flexlife Limited saw turnover fall around £1million to £13.3million in the year to the end of March 2014. But the firm recorded a pre-tax profit of £452,461 compared to a £514,678 loss in the prior year.
