Fresh subsea gig offers ‘large’ operator option to keep DeepOcean busy in UK for up to a decade

Norway-based ocean services provider DeepOcean has won a new multi-year subsea assignment off the coast of the UK with an undisclosed operator on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

A long-term frame agreement with an unnamed operator in the UK, which DeepOcean has described as a “large” one, will enable the Norwegian firm to provide driverless subsea inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) services on the UKCS, with two call-offs executed for offshore work in 2024. The firm will manage deliveries under the frame agreement from its office in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Øyvind Mikaelsen, CEO of DeepOcean, commented: “Subsea IMR represents the core of DeepOcean’s competence, technology and tool pool, which is tailored to help operators conduct subsea operations as safely and cost-efficiently as possible. We look forward to developing a strong relationship with the client, that has a broad UKCS portfolio, over the coming years.”

The five-year frame agreement comes with five optional one-year periods, thus, the British operator has at its disposal the means to prolong the Norwegian firm’s assignment for five more years, retaining its services in UK waters for up to ten years in total. DeepOcean will also provide project management and engineering support for the subsea IMR work.

Robin Mawhinney, Managing Director of DeepOcean UK, underlined: “We are delighted to have been selected as a long-term partner for the provision of diverless IMR services on the UKCS. This contract was a key target for DeepOcean and we believe the award acknowledges our team’s expertise, our diverless technology and tooling, and the innovative solutions we can offer into the IMR market.”

The new UK subsea job comes a week after DeepOcean hired CRP Subsea to supply cable protection systems for RWE’s Nordseecluster A offshore wind project in the German part of the North Sea.

DeepOcean removed a subsea isolation valve, described as the largest one in the North Sea, two months ago, as part of the decommissioning campaign for underwater infrastructure that made up the facilities at a field that used to produce hydrocarbons for BP.