Expro has announced a $40million investment into a new Norwegian base.
The firm plans to open a major new hub in Tanager in summer 2015. The announcement came at this year’s ONS.
Europe CIS director Keith Palmer said the move will unify operations which are currently run across three different outlets.
The 19,000sqm facility will be equipped for 100 staff, a 5,000sqm yard and a 10,600sqm workshop, which will be capable of rigging-up four well test packages and service a further six simultaneously.
The new base follows a $10million investment for new equipment in Norway to service well test projects over the past two years.
Keith added the move will fuel the company’s growth including plans to build the workforce.
He said: “It’s a huge investment for us. But we see opportunity for growth in Norway. The new base has been a long time coming operations wise. Expro operates on a global a basis but a lot of our technical work is based in Norway.
“The base is a sign of our commitment in Norway, but specifically our testing capabilities in Tanager.”
He added: “In the last year we’ve grown 15% year-on-year for personnel in Norway. We would expect to see the same out of growth fuelled by work with both Statoil and Lundin.”
Keith added Norway’s strong appetite for new discoveries and continued exploration helped fuel the overall marketplace.
“Whenever you see a headline in Norway about Statoil or Lundin making a new discovery it’s pretty much a given that we were there a week before doing the work to prove that discovery,” he said.
“The second chapter begins for us a few years down the line when we go back and really ensure that company gets the all the return that they expected to.”
The company currently has over 250 staff based in Norway and operating offshore. The new facility will complement its other Norwegian offices in Bergen and Haugesund.
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