EPC Offshore has announced plans to expand its services significantly in 2012 with a move into the contracts and procurement sector for the North Sea oil and gas industry.
The Aberdeen-based project management company currently works with exploration and production companies to progress projects to sanction and final delivery.
The latest move, which was announced at Subsea 2012 – Europe’s largest conference and exhibition for the subsea industry – comes following the company’s rapid growth in the last two years and builds on a recent restructure which saw the creation of three new project units focused on the Subsea, Brownfield and Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) markets.
Chief executive Keith Wallace said: “ As a project management contractor we have the ability to technically scope and develop the optimum solutions to get projects through to the delivery stage. The logical next step as we move forward is to broaden our capabilities so we can go on to deliver not only the project management of these solutions on behalf of operators, but also the contracting and procurement ensuring a robust and viable project from start to finish.
“While we have executed elements of contract and procurement work for clients this has been limited to smaller contracts with turnover of around £2.5 million annually. We see vast potential for growth in this area and our eventual aim is to become a centre for excellence capable of turning over projects in excess of £50million within the next two or three years.”
EPC Offshore will look to appoint a chief commercial officer to lead the new initiative which will be launched across all three existing business streams. This will incorporate the development and execution of contracting strategies and supply agreements for a wide range of materials and products.
The fast-growing company, which has seen employee numbers double to 60 in the last 12 months, anticipates similar growth rates throughout 2012.
“We have experienced rapid and sustained growth since the business launched in July 2009. While our focus to date has been on building a core hub of clients, it is essential we now take a long-term view on how we can continue to grow whilst retaining the fundamental elements which have contributed to our success so far,” added Wallace.
“Adding depth to our service provision is not only important in terms of growing the successful relationships we have with our existing client base by underpinning the ability of our project teams to better deliver on projects, but also to ensure we continue to attract new business and increase our market share going forward.”
Since its inception in 2009, EPC Offshore has executed in excess of £15million worth of project management work. It uses a comprehensive and structured set of principles to achieve maximum project value, optimum resource utilization and quality assurance.
[mappress] Offshore Energy Today Staff, February 14, 2012; Image: EPC Offshore Services