Boskalis Subsea Services (BSS) has reinforced its position in the North Sea and affirmed its commitment to the Aberdeen area with £100 million-plus-worth of new contracts, more people and bigger premises.
The Dutch-owned business, based in Westhill, said the new contract wins over the past six months included work on Total’s Tyra redevelopment project, an inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) campaign for Repsol Sinopec, decommissioning services for Spirit Energy and a “scale squeeze scope” – the removal of built-up scale in oil and gas infrastructure – on Premier Oil’s Huntington field.
BSS has also secured master service agreements with most of the operators in the North Sea.
The firm – part of Boskalis’ offshore energy arm – serves UK, Norwegian and Canadian markets, with contracts elsewhere managed from the wider group’s Papendrecht headquarters.
As a result of the recent contract wins, BSS has created about 30 new jobs since February – bringing the total workforce in Westhill up to more than 80.
The subsea services firm said it had 750 vessel days booked this year for its dive support vessels, the BOKA Atlantis, BOKA DaVinci and BOKA Constructor. A further 1,000 days are booked for 2020 and beyond, with more than 600 coming from an IRM project in the Middle East.
BSS said it had also signed a 10-year lease for 8,565sq ft, over two floors, at purpose-built offices in Westhill. Its new home at Kingshill Park has capacity to accommodate future growth, it added.
Having established a sales office in the north-east four years ago, BSS set up an operations centre in the area during the third quarter of 2018. The company said it aimed to fill a gap in the market for a smaller, nimbler subsea construction company focused on construction and IRM projects.
Managing director Stuart Cameron added: “As predicted in a recovering market, the major players are going after the larger contracts.
“There is a natural space for a more agile, responsive service that is committed to the highest standards in health, safety, quality and environmental performance, along with first-class project execution. Last year, Boskalis decided to give the UK more focus which has driven the growth in Aberdeen.”
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