PERTH is emerging as the gateway for international service and maintenance firms in the oil and gas sector, with many strategically positioning themselves here for the expected boom in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region.
PERTH is emerging as the gateway for international service and maintenance firms in the oil and gas sector, with many strategically positioning themselves here for the expected boom in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region.
More than a dozen global companies have set up regional offices in Perth in the past year, or have signed large contracts with major oil and gas companies operating in Western Australia.
In June this year, global provider of engineering and construction services, technology and integrated solutions, Aker Solutions, ramped up its Australian subsea operations and now has a base in Perth.
The Norway-based company's managing director, Greg Ross, said while the firm had been operating in Perth for 10 years, opening the new facility in WA represented a step-change in market presence and would provide a long-term commitment to the Australian oil and gas industry.
"We chose Perth for a number of reasons. Firstly, our facility brings the operational support closer to our customers, which means we will be able to serve them and their needs more effectively," Mr Ross said.
"Secondly, the location right next to the airport and coastline provides clear logistical advantages.
"Thirdly, almost all the large future subsea field developments in Australia will take place off the coast of north-west Australia, making the base ideally located from a service and maintenance perspective."
Houston-based FMC Technologies earlier this year signed a five-year extension to its frame agreement with Woodside Energy, under which FMC will provide subsea tree systems until 2013.
Senior vice-president of global subsea production systems at FMC, Tore Halvorsen, said Woodside, the largest liquefied natural gas operator in Australia, had been a major customer of FMC for 15 years.
"Woodside plans to be a leading, global supplier of LNG by 2015," he said.
"This agreement, which is expected to position FMC to supply more than 80 subsea tree systems, will support their efforts while enhancing FMC's local capabilities in Australia."
Woodside has an expanding portfolio of potential offshore projects, including expansion of its $12 billion Pluto LNG project, as well as its Browse and Sunrise developments.
VetcoGray, a unit of GE Oil & Gas based in Houston, has signed a frame agreement for five years to supply subsea equipment and support services for the Gorgon gas project.
The company's chief operating officer, Dave Tucker, said the scope of the WA contract included the supply of manifolds, pipeline termination structures trees with subsea control modules, wellheads and system integration testing.
"The Gorgon project offers a tremendous opportunity to expand our capabilities to support commercialisation of the significant gas resources located offshore north Western Australia," he said.
The VetcoGray project team will be based in Perth, while engineering of the highly specialised subsea systems will be carried out at VetcoGray's centres of excellence in Aberdeen and Nasilsea in the UK, Houston in the US, Billingstad in Norway, and Singapore.
Another global company with a presence in Perth is Houston-based Cameron, formerly Cooper Cameron, which was last year awarded a $110 million contract to provide 13 subsea trees, manifolds and related equipment for BHP Billiton's Pyrenees project located offshore in the southern Carnarvon Basin.
Under the contract, Cameron will provide engineering and project management services, wellhead and subsea tree systems, a flow-line connection system and subsea manifolds.
Then there is Optimus Safety Management, based in Aberdeen, which branched out into Perth in February.
The company has undertaken behavioural safety awareness training for clients in Perth and Kalgoorlie and is looking for staff to fill its Perth regional office, expected to open up later this year.
MCS Ltd, based in Galway, Ireland, provides engineering solutions for floating production and subsea field developments and is expanding is expanding its Perth office.
After doubling its turnover in the past year, the company is carrying out work on five major floating production projects in South-East Asia and Australia.
Other international firms with a presence in Perth include Aberdeen-based subsea services and manufacturing company Hallin Marine, Netherlands-based spatial solutions provider Fugro - which bought Welshpool-based asset and inspection management firm SureSpek ISS - and Aberdeen-based Wood Group, which has bought WA companies Marine & Offshore Group and Netlink Inspection.
