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QUEEN’S AWARDS FOR ENTERPRISE 2010: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
21st April 2010
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Staff at UK-based engineering and project management contractor Offshore Design Engineering (ODE) Limited are celebrating after winning a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise. The award, in the International Trade category, is one of a limited number given in recognition of excellence in international exports and celebrates ODE’s achievement of significant growth in its range of services to the international energy industry over recent years. In 2009, ODE achieved a turnover approaching £40m, 50% of which was attributable to overseas business.
With a team of over 300, located at engineering centres in Kingston-Upon-Thames, Great Yarmouth and Cairo, ODE’s personnel are currently working on energy projects in diverse locations such as North Africa, North America and Europe as well as the UK. The range of services offered by ODE covers all aspects of the development of oil & gas production and processing facilities as well as the design and construction of offshore wind farms. Commenting on the Award, ODE Chairman and Managing Director, Peter Godfrey, said “I am personally delighted that the hard work and dedication of our superb team has been recognised through the achievement of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise. ODE has, for some time, recognised the necessity to target the international markets in oil & gas and renewable energy in order to secure long-term growth. This Award vindicates our strategy and validates the real need for UK companies to realise their growth ambitions by directing their attentions to foreign markets”. |
| International engineering contractor Offshore Design Engineering ltd (ODE) and leading constructor Burntisland Fabrications (BiFab) have signed a collaboration agreement to jointly pursue major UK offshore turnkey design and build (EPC) contracts for the oil & gas industry. In line with their respective skills, BiFab will be the main contractor responsible for fabrication and bulk procurement while ODE will be responsible for engineering and the procurement of major items of equipment.
The two companies are already working together on a number of contracts but now want to cement their relationship with integrated teams ready to compete for a series of emerging projects in UK and European waters.
“We are a good match, and both British-based companies, so we believe we can offer the best of British in expertise, quality and commitment,” said Peter Godfrey, Managing Director of ODE which is headquartered in Kingston-Upon-Thames, London. “At ODE, we have over 30 years experience in engineering, procurement and project management. In addition, our expertise in hook-up and commissioning and in operations support can also be brought into play; these provide the Client with opportunities to reduce the risk of cost escalation by minimising interfaces and maintaining project knowledge as their facility moves into operation”. The team at BiFab has produced major fabrications for the oil and gas industry for over 20 years. BiFab currently operates three facilities in Scotland with the capacity to deliver over 60,000 tonnes of fabrications per annum. “We have been through a period of extensive change in the North Sea energy world which now encompasses wind, wave and tidal power as well as the more traditional oil & gas production.” said BiFab’s Managing Director, John Robertson. “Our aim is to be at the forefront of all of these sectors and this collaboration agreement with ODE, along with our superb fabrication yards, will take us down that road. We are seeing a considerable upturn in the oil and gas sector, and ODE and BiFab working together will be an excellent combination for the UK engineering and manufacturing industry. BiFab and ODE are currently working together on a number of different projects with a total capital expenditure approaching £100 million.” The new partners foresee several new major UK EPC projects coming up in 2010 and will be aggressively competing for a significant piece of this market. |
| ODE has been appointed ‘Owner’s Engineer’ by Texas-based Baryonyx Corporation for their onshore and offshore wind farm developments. With its extensive wind farm engineering, construction and operations experience, ODE will be providing technical and commercial support to Baryonyx through all phases of the developments.
Initial phases of each wind energy development will be associated with the development of modular design data centres of up to 100,000ft2 of ’white space’. The projects will also include other ‘low-to-no carbon’ technologies such as Compressed Air Energy Storage to ‘shape’ energy supply to the data-centres and eventually to the grid system. At Dallam Ranch, the proposed onshore wind farm comprises up to one hundred 3.3 MW turbines with annual energy production of 1,185,000 MWhrs. In addition, two proposed offshore wind farms, Mustang and Rio Grande, each comprising between 175 and 225 wind turbines with a minimum proposed capacity of 750 MW with potential to attain 1.2 GW each, with an annual production of 3 to 4 GWhrs. The proposed wind farms are located 4-10 miles offshore in water depths of 50-90 feet. As part of the Mustang and Rio Grande projects, ODE will assist with proposals to develop the Texas Offshore Pilot Project (TOPP), a pilot offshore wind farm of between three and six turbines. The primary objective of TOPP is research concerning interaction of the turbines with natural resources as part of an Environmental Impact Study for the Texas submerged lands that extend three marine leagues into the Gulf of Mexico. Ian Hatton, CEO of Baryonyx said “We have had a long-standing professional relationship with ODE in connection with offshore wind farm development. Their experience in offshore oil, gas and wind energy will be of benefit not only to Baryonyx, but also to the Texan industrial concerns who are engaged with us to develop this important natural resource and bring benefit to both the State and the Nation.” Steve Palmer, Director of Strategy & Consulting for ODE said “We are delighted to be supporting Baryonyx in such innovative projects and look forward to applying our significant experience in the development and practical implementation of offshore wind farm projects”. |
| A small section at one of the UK’s biggest windfarms went into action for the first time this week.
International engineering contractor ODE announced today that EON’s 60-turbine Robin Rigg windfarm in the Solway Firth had produced it’s first electricity and the project should be complete by the end of 2009. When up and running E.ON’s £325m project will provide enough power for more than 117,000 homes. By generating clean electricity, it will displace the emission of over 220,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, playing a significant role in helping the Government meet its renewable energy targets. ODE project manager Fred Simeons said they were delighted to reach the latest key stage after some significant challenges. “We’ve been playing catch-up and at one time there were three major construction vessels working on the foundations, cabling and turbine tower installation simultaneously. “Safety remained paramount throughout, particularly working in challenging offshore conditions, and we are pleased to report that a good safety record has been maintained on the project.” Robin Rigg is split into twin sites, each with 30 turbines linked to a substation which adjusts the voltage from 33 to 132kV and two 14km export cables to bring the power ashore at Workington, Cumbria. The final link is an onshore substation where power is fed to the grid. The 60 three-megawatt turbines will have a total generation capacity of 180MW. Each stands at 126m tall to the tip of its blades. From its Great Yarmouth Marine Base, ODE has been supporting E.ON as works management contractor for most of the key construction phases including the supply and installation of the foundations, turbines, cables and the substations. “It is the biggest job we have on the go at the moment – three times the size of the pioneering windfarm we helped E.ON create at Scroby Sands, off Great Yarmouth,” said Mr Simeons. “Up to 25 ODE personnel have been involved in the project at Great Yarmouth, offshore, at the Workington operations base – or on the road! “We’re all thrilled to see the project contributing green power into the grid.” |
| A joint venture between Offshore Design Engineering (ODE) and Paris-based DORIS Engineering has been awarded a contract by TOTAL E&P UK Ltd to carry out Basic Engineering for the Laggan-Tormore Project, west of Shetland.
Laggan-Tormore is the most significant oil & gas project currently under development in the UK. Along with other regional developments currently in the pipeline, TOTAL’s Laggan-Tormore Project will establish major infrastructure and provide access to hydrocarbon reserves estimated by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to account for about 17% of the UK’s remaining oil and gas reserves. The basic engineering project, covering the overall development facilities (subsea production facilities, flowlines, umbilicals, onshore gas treatment plant and export pipeline), will be executed from ODE’s Kingston-Upon-Thames office by a joint team of ODE and DORIS engineers, and is due for completion later this year. The Laggan and Tormore gas fields are located in 600m water-depth, 125 km west of the Shetland Islands, and will be produced through two subsea production systems approximately 16km apart. The development includes up to 8 subsea wells connected by two 125km 18inch production flowlines to a new gas processing plant where the gas will be treated along with a 125km methanol injection pipeline and control umbilical. The treated gas will be compressed and exported via a new 234km pipeline to a tie-in point close to TOTAL’s decommissioned MCP01 facility and the Frigg UK pipeline (FUKA) and from there on to St Fergus in north-east Scotland. First gas is scheduled for 2013/14. Commenting on the award, ODE Chairman and Managing Director, Peter Godfrey said “ODE and DORIS Engineering, are delighted to have been selected by TOTAL E&P UK Ltd to participate in the Laggan-Tormore Project. This is an extremely important project in a frontier region which draws on the combined strengths of ODE and DORIS Engineering in providing engineering for subsea, deepwater field developments and associated gas treatment facilities. “In conjunction with our partner and shareholder DORIS Engineering, ODE is building upon a highly successful year in 2008 and is clearly demonstrating that it has the capacity, resources and capability to participate in high-profile projects such as Laggan-Tormore. Loïc des Déserts, Chairman and Managing Director of DORIS Engineering, added “Both ODE and DORIS have a long and successful track record of working with TOTAL E&P in the UK, Europe and other overseas markets. In forming the Laggan-Tormore JV we are bringing together a strong project management team and experienced technical resource base, which is perfectly suited to undertaking the Basic Engineering for the Laggan-Tormore Project”. |
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