North Sea reserves could be goldmine

Sep 23 2008 by jez Davison, Evening Gazette

DON’T tell Dave Armstrong that the North Sea holds little opportunity for the region’s thriving sub-sea sector.

The executive director of Stokesley-based Armstrong Davis Associates (ADA) believes oil fields off the coast of Teesside and across the world represent potential gold mines for the region’s skilled engineers.

Dave started the commercial consultancy firm with Bob Davis in 1999, and says: “25 years ago people told me the North Sea’s oil reserves would run out in 25 years and they are still saying the same today. Sub-sea companies have barely scratched the surface in terms of exploration.”

But he says huge oil fields in Africa and Brazil offer quicker returns on investment than the North Sea and so are financially more attractive to oil companies.

“Companies focus on the ‘low-hanging fruit’ in bigger fields and where there is less taxation. There are massive challenges facing the industry. In some fields, heavy oil can be located several thousand feet underground.”

ADA have extensive experience of the sub-sea sector, having worked with engineering and construction giant Aker Solutions for five years.

This year the company was appointed to provide expertise on behalf of Aker Floating Production (AFP), which was contracted to undertake the supply, operation and maintenance of a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel and sub-sea production system.

These are to be deployed on the Reliance MA oil and gas field in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of India.