Subsea boss praises North’s fast progress
Feb 6 2008 by Graeme King, The Journal
A PROMINENT figure in the subsea oil and gas industry has praised the North-East for having an “entrepreneurial spirit” that is absent in the UK offshore capital of Aberdeen.
David Pridden, chief executive of industry body Subsea UK, which is based in Aberdeen, was impressed with the rapid progress being made in the Newcastle area, and predicted it would “reap the rewards” of its attitude.
He said it was good for the subsea sector that the private sector, government agencies and academia were all pursuing the same agenda.
With conventional oil and gas reserves declining, demand for fossil fuels beneath the world’s oceans is rising, as the cost of extraction is offset by ever rising global prices.
Companies such as pipeline manufacturers Wellstream and Duco in Walker are benefiting from that boom and are helping the sector around them to expand.
And while Aberdeen has only a limited labour pool to draw from, such is the high level of employment in the city, the North-East is still able to provide skilled workers.
In an interview with a Scottish publication examining the state of the subsea sector, Mr Pridden said: “You can see what Newcastle is doing. And it’s growing all the time in the North-East.
“I think you have a larger workforce there to tap into opportunities. I’m being controversial but I think there’s also an entrepreneurial spirit there that is absent in Aberdeen.”
Yesterday, Mr Pridden added: “I think what is in favour of the North-East is it’s a small community, and I would like to think that through NOF Energy and Subsea North-East, we have managed to get the community to talk to each other and get to know one another.
“It’s also very positive that business, academia and the public sector are all pushing in the same direction.” Mr Pridden also said there was some potential for the North-East to be recognised as a centre of excellence for the subsea sector in the UK.
Alasdair MacDonald, managing director of Duco and a member of the executive board of Subsea North-East, said: “Newcastle is very focused on engineering and the subsea sector in general, and there is an ideal workforce from the fabrication and shipbuilding heritage, which is ideally suited to the subsea sector.
“We need the RDA to support us in pursuing expansion opportunities – making sure politics and red tape are taken care of. We can’t afford to spend time deliberating.”
Ray Thompson, energy and environment manager at One NorthEast, said: “One NorthEast is working with a number of potential inward investors from this important sector to set up regional operations and plug into the North-East skills base.
“We have a proven track record in bringing firms to the region and also supporting regional companies already operating in subsea activities.”
Comment: Page 22
