ROVOP to increase Houston workforce. GoM business grows

An Aberdeen-based operator of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), ROVOP, will increase its Houston workforce after enjoying a spell of business growth including recent contract wins in the Gulf of Mexico.

The company said on Monday that the increased work comes off a successful pipeline installation campaign in Mexico with Drebbel de Mexico, which has led to more follow-up work.

The initial project with Drebbel involved ROV use for concrete mattress installation for the first time in Mexican waters. As a result, the two companies have agreed to work together again on another project with a ‘large multinational service operator’ to provide ROV services for pre-lay survey, riser inspection and crossing fabrication with concrete mattresses.

ROVOP stated that, over the last three years, it has provided inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR), decommissioning and installation projects in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, as well as West Africa and South East Asia.

Along with the projects mentioned above, ROVOP has recently signed more than $4 million in contract wins spanning the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, and Europe.

President of ROVOP’s Houston operations, Wayne Betts, said: “We are particularly pleased with our performance in the initial contract with Drebbel because with safety being of paramount importance, precisely positioning the mattresses in zero visibility meant that we eliminated the risk to divers by deploying one of our high-performance ROVs and expert operators. 

“In Houston, we have seen a steady growth curve since inception, and we expect that to continue for the rest of the year.”

In support of these project wins, ROVOP – which currently employs around 135 people globally – said that it will continue to actively recruit for its full-service Western Hemisphere base in Houston and anticipates increasing its workforce by up to 10% this year.