Singaporean based Marine Contracting has announced it has set up shop in Western Australia, citing growing demand driven by the construction of large liquefied natural gas projects.
Singaporean based Marine Contracting has announced it has set up shop in Western Australia, citing growing demand driven by the construction of large liquefied natural gas projects.
Marine Contracting will offer services primarily in permanent mooring and riser installations, preparing sites before drilling rigs arrives (pre-lay mooring), and drill rig moving services for bottom supported, non-floating offshore drilling units (jack-ups).
In a statement the company, which is a subsidiary of Norwegian based Global Maritime Group, said it planned to open a new yard in Karratha to house its offshore equipment and it is believed to be finalising office space within the Perth CBD.
Marine Contracting does not own any offshore vessels and its services will be more complementary than directly competitive to major offshore marine logistics services provider Mermaid Marine Australia, which is planning a rebrand to MMA Offshore to avoid confusion with Singaporean-listed Thai company Mermaid Maritime following its acquisition of Singapore-listed Jaya Holdings in June.
Marine Contracting business development director Petter Nilsen will lead the company’s expanded focus in Australia.
Marine Contracting said Mr Nilsen was previously chief executive of Viking Moorings, now known as Viking SeaTech, where he helped popularise pre-lay mooring in Australia.
Viking SeaTech, which is a direct competitor to Marine Contracting, announced in June it had secured $US60 million worth of contracts in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia.
“We … understand the significant operational and uptime benefits of pre-lay mooring solutions and are committed to providing these to Australian operators. It’s great to be back and we look forward to growing our market share in Australia over the coming months,” Mr Nilsen said.
Marine Contracting chief executive Wolfgang Wandl said the company would seek to grow its operations in Australia quickly.
“Marine Contracting’s technical expertise and breadth of services make us ideally suited to the Australian market. With Petter at the helm and his track-record of past Australian success, we are confident of fast becoming the regional leader in offshore engineering, transportation and installation,” Mr Wandl said.