The Australasian Oil and Gas Show gets under way today with one Aberdeen-based oil service group announcing the launch of a subsidiary in Perth and another revealing a contract win.
OEG Offshore said it had invested £570,000 in a fleet of containers and cabins for its new Western Australian business.
Commercial director Craig Russell said the setting up of the Perth operation was part of OEG’s plans to provide customers with a global service network. The group has appointed Perth-based Intercon Millar as its operations and marketing partner and it will be from its sites at Canning Vale and Jandakot that its fleet will be based.
The firm has also appointed Graham O’Brien as regional marketing director for Australia and New Zealand. He previously spent 25 years with container-leasing firm Textainer Equipment Management, latterly as south Pacific marketing director.
Meanwhile, Sigma Offshore, an engineering, project-management and moorings provider, has won an £800,000 order from Nido Petroleum, also based in Perth and whose activities are focused on the Palawan Basin in the Philippines.
The contract includes the delivery of a floating hose that is almost one-third of a mile long that will be a key part of the marine export system on the Tinaldo field that Nido is about to start early well testing on.
Sigma chief executive Alistair Dornan said: “This is phase one of a planned extended well test. Should the well test prove successful and the field reserves be sufficient for a phase two, then we are hoping that Sigma Offshore will be well placed to assist Nido for the full field development.”
Sigma, which has recently expanded into Oslo and Houston, is using the Perth show to highlight its “smart” mooring system. It hopes to create 140 jobs if business targets can be achieved.
Industry body Subsea UK is also at the show, where it is with the Society for Underwater Technology and Subsea Australia Energy hosting a conference that aims to promote collaboration between firms in both countries.
Subsea UK chief executive Alistair Birnie said the speed of growth in the Australian market had led to problems with the availability of vessels and skills.
He added: “While local capability is growing, there are now real issues around capacity which can be filled through collaboration of local expertise with overseas experience and resources.
“There are therefore significant opportunities for UK companies in this region and the potential for local companies to reap greater rewards by combining forces.”