Subsea 7 said yesterday it expected activity in the North Sea to continue to rise in the coming years after a successful 2011.
The seabed-to-surface oilfield engineering firm said the North Sea market had been strong last year and had helped group turnover more than double.
Subsea 7, which employs 1,500 people at Westhill near Aberdeen, said its North Sea, Mediterranean and Canada division turned over £1.3billion in the 13 months to December 31, up from £358.4million in the 12 months to November 30, 2010.
UK vice-president Steph McNeill said: “2011 saw a strong pickup in client activity in the North Sea, which translated into good order flow and increased contract awards. We continue to see significant opportunities in the North Sea. We expect tendering to remain high, order flow to remain strong with improved pricing, especially for those projects which are offshore beyond 2012.”
Group operating profits were up to £404.2million from £275.2million, with pre-tax profits of £395.7million, against £251.9million last time.