oFFSHoRe oil price fuelS expanSion


Firming crude oil prices and increased capital expenditure from oil majors and national oil companies are signs for Singapore-based Ezra Holdings to realise business expansion plans this year. The offshore oil and


gas services firm is looking to compete for “larger,more complex projects across the globe”, according to Lionel Lee, group managing director at Ezra.“We have already begun expanding our operational footprint beyond theAsia-Pacific into the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea,North/South America and China,” Lee tells Seatrade. “Following the successful closure of the


AMC acquisition,we are reorganising the business segments we cover into four major arms:AMC (which will handle the subsea installation and construction segment), energy,marine and production,” he says. Ezra had on 1 March completed the acquisition ofAMC (Aker Marine


Contractors) fromAker Solutions, allowing it to form a new deepwater subsea services subsidiary EMAS AMC. EMAS, a global offshore contractor providing construction, marine, production and well services, is the operating brand of Ezra. The completion of the


acquisition immediately saw EMAS AMC clinch a $41m contract from


Norway's Statoil. The engineering, procurement,


installation and construction project with Statoil involves EMASAMC supplying and installing 55 km of power cables along with associated terminations and ancillaries for the Gudrun field in the North Sea. A multipurpose construction vesselAMC Connector will be deployed for this project when it commences in the third quarter of 2013. EMAS, on the other hand,will continue


to identify opportunities for new contracts that will allow the group to ride demand trends in the offshore support vessels (OSVs) sector, Lee adds.


Ezra is “cautiously optimistic” that


demand for its OSVs will remain strong as deepwater exploration and production activities heightened, encouraged by bullish oil prices. BothWTI and Brent crude oil prices


have traded past $100 per barrel in recent months.WTI crude was traded at an average price of $79 in 2010. Ezra is positioning itself to capture the


potential market boom as it won contracts worth up to $73m in total for three of its OSVs in January. The company will also take delivery of


two multi-functional support vessels (Lewek Falcon and Lewek Fulmar) and one DP3 subsea construction vessel (Lewek Crusader) this year. It had also in January officially launched a


$7.8m EMASAcademy built with state-of- the-art simulation and training technology. The academy is dedicated to raising


safety and operational standards in the offshore oil and gas industry,where customised training courses will equip offshore staff with the relevant skills and knowledge to face the harsh and complex operating environments of deepwater projects.


viking lookSto brazil, india


Singapore-basedViking Offshore and Marine is eyeing entry to the Brazilian and Indian offshore markets,while expanding its existing operations in China, its chief says. Brazil is a “compelling market” forViking


following the announcement of over $220bn investment to be made by state oil firm Petrobras in building rigs and offshore vessels for oil exploration and drilling activities. “Viking is prepared to provide our


technical solution and is currently looking to set up an office in Brazil,” says NgYeau Chong, coo ofViking. “We are working to enter the Brazilian


market with government assistance and through our strong partnership with Singapore yards.We are also in talks with some shipyards in Brazil,” Ng reveals. In India, the shipbuilding and repair


market looks promising and is likely to double in size over the next five to six years,


presenting business opportunities forViking. The growth potential is further


underscored by the Indian government aiming for the country's shipbuilding sector to attain a 5% share in the global market by 2017, according to Ng. Viking is looking to establish an office in


India and is now working with the shipyards on bidding for various projects. “It is known that about 40% of the India-


owned fleet is more than 20 years old, and Indian owners will need to spend about $4bn to replace these during 2010-2015,” he says.The IMO has mandated the phasing out of all single- hull vessels by 2010, and single-hull vessels constitute about 15.8% of the total vessels


owned by Indian shipping companies. Another key market forViking is China,


where it has been operating for many years. The increasing number of newbuilding projects undertaken by Chinese shipyards has encouragedViking to continue investing and expanding its production facilities in the country. Elsewhere in SoutheastAsia,Viking has


offices in Indonesia and Malaysia and provides its systems to shipyards in those markets. InVietnam, the Singapore-listed firm last year won three projects covering a wellhead platform and a self- elevating rig. Viking is a turnkey heating,


ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) solutions provider, offering design, engineering,manufacturing, project management and commissioning of HVAC&R systems for the marine and offshore industries in China and SoutheastAsia.


Seatrade Singapore Report 2011


31


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