ASCO’s Marine Supply Base in Darwin becomes operational

International oilfield support services company ASCO yesterday, August 19, opened its new Marine Supply Base in Darwin, Australia.

The official opening was attended by the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, the Hon. Adam Giles at a ceremony on site yesterday.

The $110m purpose-built supply base will support Northern Australia’s growth as an international hub for the oil and gas industry. Funded by the Northern Territory government, ASCO has managed both the design and construction of the base, and has a 20 year contract with the Territory Government to manage its operations.

ASCO made its first entry into the Australian market in 2010 with the purchase of Darwin company Shorebase, which had an established logistics centre at East Arm close to the new supply base. In 2012, ASCO acquired Brisbane-based inventory and asset management specialists Oniqua, and in May this year took a majority stake in Bonnie Rock Transport – one of Australia’s leading providers of remote area transport and logistics to the oil and gas industry.

ASCO Group CEO Derek Smith said, “Australia is an important building block for us as we build our global operations through our four key regions – Europe, Americas, Middle East and Africa and Australasia.

“In Australia, ASCO can now support its customers through the entire supply chain cycle, and we are well placed to service the future expansion of this industry over the coming years”.

According to the Australian Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE), investment in LNG gas and oil projects continues to be the main driver of resources and energy investment in Australia. BREE states that 14 LNG, gas and oil projects at the committed stage have a combined value of $197bn, or 86% of committed investment in the Australian resources sector. Publicly announced petroleum projects have a combined CAPEX of $28bn-$30bn.

ASCO CEO in Australia Matt Thomas said, “This is a tremendously exciting time for us. Already a number of international oil and gas companies including ConocoPhillips, Eni, INPEX and Shell will be supporting their operations from Darwin and the supply base will be a critical link in their supply chain operations.”