Fast-growing subsea construction firm Ocean Installer hopes a deal with a major US group will strengthen its position in the North Sea.
Ocean Installer, which aims to increase staffing from 30 to 80 in Aberdeen by the end of this year, said its “exclusive alliance” with engineering and construction company McDermott International would make it a “tier one” contractor.
The partnership will see the firms work together on projects in the UK, Norwegian and Dutch sectors of the North Sea and potentially further afield.
Norway-based Ocean Installer, set up in 2011, grew its annual revenue to £43million from £620,000 over the past year.
The tie-up with McDermott is expected to increase capacity and competition for North Sea projects currently dominated by Technip and Subsea 7.
It also means a re-entry to the North Sea for Houston-based McDermott, which owns a growing fleet of pipelay vessels and whose 2011 turnover was more than £2.1billion.
Ocean Installer chief executive Steiner Riise said: “This is a stepping stone for McDermott . . . and for us it’s the opportunity to really begin to do engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning projects with pipelay capability and everything.
“This is important for competition and to increase capacity in the North Sea. The market is going to be growing fast over the next few years.
“We will bring another pipelay vessel into the North Sea and this will help more projects get executed.”
Growth at Ocean Installer is expected to see overall staffing numbers rise to 180-200 by the end of 2013, from a total of 150.
Mr Riise said the company had an order book amounting to £105million
Ocean Installer, founded in Stavanger, and with offices in Aberdeen since last May, is also looking to set up in Houston.