SAND Monitoring Services (SMS) has relocated across Europe’s Energy Capital to the new Energy Development Centre at Aberdeen Science & Technology Park. The move paves the way to planned significant growth for the SME, with the current head count of 16 expected to reach 20 or so by the end of this year. The company also has an option to lease further space at the EDC, namely the unit next door to its new home.
The likelihood is that further engineers will be required during 2010, which is when two of the company’s founders, Andrew Kinsler and Alistair Moncur, expect turnover to roughly double to £3million, versus £1.5million for the current year – which, in turn, is twice the figure achieved in 2008.
Their objective is to both broaden and deepen the business – deepen by evolving SMS’s core skill analysing sand-related data from wells increasingly towards actual sand management; broaden by, for example, strengthening the project engineering offering, including becoming involved with ensuring effective sand control at the outset with new field developments. SMS will also consider building a relationship with a flow metering specialist.
The greatest attribute in SMS’s favour is its independence. Most well completion systems manufacturers will tend to push their own products with client oil companies and not necessarily be as objective as they might claim. However, SMS is not a manufacturer and does not cultivate relationships that might compromise impartiality. Indeed, four SMS staff are directly embedded within operators to help such clients achieve optimal output of hydrocarbons while minimising sand throughput.