Aker Solutions to Open Engineering Office in Tromsø,Norway

As the chase for oil and gas moves further north, the oil services industry follows. Today Aker Solutions announces plans to establish a large engineering office in Tromsø as part of the company’s northern Norway strategy.

The new office will gather knowledge and expertise related to the northern region. It will become involved in engineering and maintenance and modification projects on the entire Norwegian continental shelf and abroad, and be an integral part of Aker Solutions’ international competence network.

“We believe in the reserves potential on the Norwegian continental shelf and in the Arctic. If the marked continues to develop positively and we are successful in our efforts to win work with customers in the region, we believe that we will have a substantial engineering hub in the North with 2-300 employees in three to five years,” says executive chairman of Aker Solutions, Øyvind Eriksen.

The establishment of the Tromsø office is part of Aker Solutions’ overall strategy to increase the company’s footprint in the northern regions of Norway, driven by an increasing number of interesting field development opportunities offshore northern Norway and in the Barents Sea.

Aker Solutions have worked closely with suppliers in northern Norway for many years. The Tromsø office will now develop a sourcing strategy for Aker Solutions in northern Norway and further strengthen our relationships with suppliers in the north.

Tromsø is the largest city in this part of Norway and a regional centre with good connections to other key locations in the north and to other Aker Solutions offices in Norway. The university in Tromsø is becoming increasingly involved in oil and gas related research and education programmes, which is expected to fit well with Aker Solutions’ future competence requirements.

Elsewhere in northern Norway, Aker Solutions is in the process of building up a subsea service base – housing engineers, technical staff and field operators – in Hammerfest to support the Goliat subsea field development. Aker Solutions has also recently acquired the Narvik-based well technology business X3M Invent. Aker Solutions is also considering establishing an engineering office in Sandnessjøen to support the company’s modifications and operations services business.

“In June the Norwegian government announced a petroleum policy that clearly spelt out an expectation to the oil industry that activity at sea should have ripple effects on land through job and value creation. We support this drive because it makes business sense to both us and our customers,” adds Øyvind Eriksen.

Aker Solutions is currently looking for suitable permanent office premises in the city. Recruitment for engineers for the Tromsø office will also start this winter.

Aker Solutions today has offices and operations in the following Norwegian locations: Arendal, Asker, Bergen, Egersund, Fornebu, Hammerfest, Horten, Kristiansand, Kristiansund, Lier, Midsund, Moss, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Trondheim and Ågotnes.

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Offshore Nieuws Staff, December 1, 2011; Image: mpckr