Ecosse Subsea Systems Sets Its Sights On Brazil

An Aberdeen-based subsea firm is making waves as an industry leader in the global supply of expert personnel – and has identified Brazil as its next target market.

Following two trips to the South American country in recent months, Turriff-born Mike Wilson and his team at Ecosse Subsea Systems are preparing to head for the biennial Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference from September 13th to 18th, where they hope to open up employment opportunities for their experienced oil and gas industry experts.

Ecosse Subsea Systems will exhibit at the Rio event in association with the company’s Brazilian partners, automation contractor Altus.

Set up in 1996, Ecosse Subsea Systems provides subsea technology, engineering consultancy and specialist expert personnel to subsea oil and gas markets across the globe. The company recently announced that annual turnover had doubled to £1.8 million.

Mike Wilson explained: “Our research in Brazil has found that there is a dearth of subsea expertise in what is still an emerging marketplace. Whilst it may be a tough market to break into, we believe there is great potential for our top people in Brazil and, as well as employment opportunities for ex-pats, there is also the challenge of training up local content. We are passionate about helping to ensure the transfer of knowledge from our industry experts to enthusiastic personnel.”

Established in 2005, Ecosse Subsea Systems’ personnel division specialises in placing client representatives for long and short-term offshore and onshore assignments. The varied pool of expertise available includes specialists in trenching and burial, survey, diving, pipe lay, ROV, deepwater lifting and all aspects of subsea construction.

Ecosse Subsea Systems now counts many of the major operators and suppliers in the oil, gas and renewables markets as its clients.

The personnel arm of the business is headed up by Maureen Petrie (née Watson), whose previous experience in oil and gas recruitment has been instrumental in the growth of this side of the business.

Maureen explained: “We offer objective experts who are at the top of their game, to clients who need to get the job right first time without a hitch. Combined, our people offer an astonishing 500 years of experience – a real cadre d’excellence.

“Because subsea is one of the fastest growing niche markets in the oil and gas industry, it is crucial to keep up with knowledge and technology in that evolving marketplace so our people can play a key role in completing projects on time and on budget as well as advising on issues from health and safety, to equipment and vessel systems.”

“Typically the people we bring on board have more than 15 years’ experience in a specialised area and can work in intense environments with other industry experts to solve complex subsea engineering issues.”

Mike added: “We have a very unique situation of Maureen’s experience in recruitment alongside my 25 years of hands-on experience of subsea engineering and project execution, and that means we have a great understanding of how projects work and the need to have the right people in the right place at the right time.”

Ecosse Subsea Systems was established in 1996 to provide subsea technology, engineering consultancy and specialist expert personnel for the subsea oil and gas and offshore renewables markets around the world. The FPAL-registered company moved to its current base at Poynernook Road earlier this year and key markets include North Sea, West Africa, Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico.

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Source: Ecosse Subsea Systems,September 7, 2010,