Bibby Offshore Proposes New Work Model for Subsea Industry

Subsea services player, Bibby Offshore, said it has developed an innovative vessel share option for clients.

According to the company, it has the potential to provide the subsea industry with significant savings through encouraging collaboration, cost-efficiencies, as well as providing increased productivity.

Unlocking Subsea Productivity (USP) re-evaluates the traditional subsea campaign model, proposing a new alternative structure for how Bibby Offshore delivers services to clients. The concept focuses on a vessel share agreement, with collaboration from several clients, to deliver a single linked campaign workscope that addresses each client’s individual demands.

The USP

To demonstrate the real savings available to clients, a simulation campaign was generated using eight previous campaigns completed by Bibby Offshore which were reconstructed and analysed in order to quantitatively demonstrate the potential savings arising from USP. The findings were presented to 18 client representatives from six separate operators at a recent USP event held in Aberdeen.

Reportedly, the simulation model calculated an average saving of £235,000 per client, based on an overall project duration of 54 days reducing to 41 days. According to Bibby, this resulted in an overall cost saving of over £1.8million to be shared amongst the example clients.

Vikki Thom, subsea business manager at Bibby Offshore said: “USP was developed with our client’s needs and the future of the industry in mind. The model is aimed at reducing the costs associated with mobilisation periods whilst also distributing further cost savings for individual clients, helping to ensure a reduction in non-productive time and an increase in overall work time.

“With the industry currently facing unprecedented challenges due to the continued low commodity price, the future of the North Sea is more testing than ever. The USP proposal provides an efficient model for a cohesive approach to project delivery and provides a viable alternative to deferring work schedules. This demonstrates that we, as an organisation, are doing everything we can to support a more sustainable future for the UKCS Subsea Industry.”