Subsea Engineers on Expansion Trail

01 June 2009

Aberdeen engineering company Ecosse Subsea Systems is gearing for growth with trials now in place for an innovative new product aimed at saving costs for the oil and gas as well as renewables markets.

“Our experience over the 14 years we have been in business has enabled us to gauge the market's real requirements and then design products from scratch that provide real solutions,” explains Ecosse Subsea Systems MD Mike Wilson. “Whilst we have successfully done that for specifically commissioned projects for 10 years, and will continue to do so, we have also invested in the R&D resources to look at innovative products that we can design and produce in a higher volume.

“This is a deliberate strategic development policy which we hope will ultimately elevate Ecosse to become one of the key suppliers in the subsea sector.”

The company's newest product, an innovative spool base, comprises onshore pipeline fabrication technology, which can bring multi million pound savings per project, reduce project risk and increase efficiency. The product will be brought to the market with international partner CRC-Evans, headquartered in Houston, and Scotland based Global Pipelines.

Mike Wilson explains: “Each reel lay vessel spends around 50% of its time sailing or reeling pipe in a year. The new spoolbase can save half of that time (90 days) so a cost saving per vessel of £200k x 90 = £18m.

“In the 90 days saved, approximately three more projects can be performed. With the additional tie in and project work, this typically produces revenues of £40m per project, so an extra £120m of revenue can be generated per vessel.

“We are at a very exciting and positive stage in the development of Ecosse Subsea Systems,” continues Mike Wilson. “It is highly satisfying to see many years of research and specialised engineering technology come together in a way that suits the current market trends of high quality yet with cost effective solutions.”