Petro 2011: Aibel Deputy CEO Talking About Maintenance and Modification Contracts (Norway)

The future in Northern Norway is the theme of Petro 2011 in Harstad. Deputy CEO Erling Matland represents Aibel at the conference.

“I am going to talk about how Aibel succeeds with new maintenance and modification contracts,” says Matland.

How does the company succeed?

“By having prioritized early and by having good execution of such contracts, and through a strategy of being established at all locations where oil companies are operational. Cooperation with local suppliers has also been important,” he says.

Long-term framework agreements

Aibel is present on 30 out of 70 platforms on the Norwegian continental shelf, and on four out of six onshore plants. This is equivalent to a market share of nearly 50 percent.

“We are the largest supplier of maintenance and modification work. We have long-term framework agreements for both Statoil and ConocoPhillips,” says Matland. He adds that framework agreements last year accounted for half of the company’s income.

What is the most demanding of framework agreements?

“We are working on facilities in production, which is challenging. There is a big security risk, and our employees have to be careful with HMS. Our engineers must also find the right technical solutions,” he says.

Investing heavily in the north

In December last year, Aibel opened an office in Harstad. The reason was the framework agreement with Statoil for maintenance and modifications at the Norne field in the Norwegian Sea.

“The office in Harstad has grown to 50 employees. Almost all are local people, and from 1 September, so is the management.”

Aibel is present in Hammerfest, and during normal operations 150 employees are working in the Snøhvit contract.

“The development of the North is very exciting, with new discoveries and new areas to be opened. The activity in the north will increase and Aibel is in a very good position to be a leading supplier in the North,” says Matland.

About the Petro conference

Petro is held every other year in Harstad. It started yesterday and finishes today.

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Director General of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate Bente Nyland, and Chief Executive Officer Helge Lund in Statoil ASA is some of the other names on the speaker list.

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Source:Aibel ,September 1, 2011;