FEATURE: ABERDEEN
Words: Penny Hitchin T
he discovery of North Sea oil turned Aberdeen into the oil capital of Europe, creating as many as half a million jobs. The area is the base for hundreds of companies which form the backbone of an adaptable and flourishing supply chain, serving the oil and gas industry at home and abroad.
Aberdeen skills, products and expertise are in demand throughout the globe. Dave Shanks, Development Manager for Aberdeen based Zenith Oilfield Technology told Oil&GasCONNECT, “A large percentage of the revenue that comes into Aberdeen in the oil business is from areas outside of the North Sea. This is a centre with technically very high grade companies. Aberdeen companies compete in countries where there isn’t the local expertise to produce some of the advanced electronic equipment used in the industry.” He added, “It does put the onus on us to always be more technologically advanced as a business model, but it does work. As an international centre of excellence there are a lot of businesses in Aberdeen which could remain buoyant even if the North Sea dried up tomorrow.”
Zenith Oilfield Technology employs around 90 people developing new products for the oil industry, of which 95 per cent are exported to the Middle East, the Far East and South America. The innovative company develops and manufactures new technology to fill gaps in the market, resulting in a healthy revenue. It was recently acquired by a US company for $126m, but Dave says “The energy we are creating is fantastic, generating a lot of international business,” and the Zenith team continue to work in Aberdeen developing new products for the industry.
Aberdeen software goes global
In 2010 a fire on Chevron Upstream Europe (CUE)’s unmanned Erskine platform necessitated an eight month renovation project. CUE teamed up with Aberdeen design and communications company Return to Scene (R2S) to employ a visual asset management tool that has proved so effective that Chevron is implementing it across all its assets.
Bob Donnelly, Business Development Manager at R2S, says, “Chevron see it as a safety product as it reduces the number of journeys ashore.” Non-core staff trips are reduced by up to two thirds, saving time, money and cutting risk.
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Digital media experts R2S’s innovative software uses spherical photographs and virtual three-dimensional models to give a ‘walk-through’ environment via a computer screen. The software started commercial life as a forensic tool used to help crime scene investigations. It is now used by major oil and gas companies to provide real time asset management information from offshore installations. Maintenance and performance data can be embedded, allowing critical data to be managed remotely. Benefits include improve work planning, ability for staff or visitors to explore work areas before going offshore and strengthening defect identification, work order and work pack pre- population.
In the last three years R2S has transformed its customer base and now supplies major companies in the UK sector of the North Sea. The company employs around 30 people and the product has been so successful that R2S has now opened a US office.
Aberdeen serves the subsea sector
Energy analysts predict that demand for ROVs will boom over the next decade.
ROVOP is a new Aberdeen company which supplies state-of-the-art unmanned underwater vehicles to the offshore industries. Within a year of set up, ROVOP’s portfolio included work projects including wind farm construction in the North and Irish seas and survey support in Denmark. Steven Gray, ROVOP’s Managing Director, explains the company’s niche, “The ROVOP management team identified a need for a top quality
Sophisticated and modern ROVs are expensive pieces of kit and launching a high tech company requires fi nancial backing. Aberdeen’s banking, fi nance and legal sectors are geared up to work with the oil industry.
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