Two firms pool resources to secure top spot in rig inspection market

ABL’s Rig Inspection division, part of the Oslo-listed energy and marine consultancy ABL Group, and Integrity HSE, an Aberdeen-based health and safety consultancy, have forged a strategic alliance in a bid to expand their suite of offerings and propel it to the forefront of the global rig inspection market.

With a workforce of over 1,500 personnel based in 300 locations along with 62 offices in 39 countries, ABL has already made a name for itself in the industry. However, this partnership is anticipated to further enhance the firm’s capabilities by adding health, safety, and environment (HSE) professionals to the existing offering.

Martin Clark, ABL’s Rig Inspection Manager Europe & West Africa, commented: “Our clients demand the best, and that’s what we provide. They choose ABL because of their absolute trust that we provide the very best inspection services available anywhere in the market. This alliance with Integrity HSE reflects our commitment to continually build on our offering to best serve our clients’ needs.”

After ABL embarked on a market search in 2023 to spruce up its offering by finding another player with the ability to match its delivery standards within the HSE space, Integrity HSE emerged as the best choice. The UK player will provide tailored onshore and offshore inspection and rig intake solutions for ABL’s clients on drilling and production units, covering a wide range of assets from legacy manual operated units to the seventh-generation cyber integrated control systems.

Darrell Lines, Integrity HSE’s Director of Safety & Risk, remarked: “We are very protective of our brand and wouldn’t normally consider an alliance of this type. But, when we began exploring the potential alignment with ABL, the fit was impossible to ignore. This partnership successfully establishes a new standard of HSE excellence within rig inspection, and we are excited to bring it to the market.”

Integrity HSE’s services will primarily focus on a range of topics covering general HSE aspects to ensure client requirements, legislative requirements, and best practices are all in place; training and competence (T&C); dropped object prevention (DROPS); and environmental compliance.

Steven Harris, Integrity HSE’s Managing Director, outlined: “I have worked for drilling contractors, rig inspection firms and operators all over the world from Africa to the South Atlantic Ocean. My experience has given me an appreciation of the inspection process from the perspective of the sponsor, auditor, and auditee and I know that we offer something very special.”

This comes after maintenance managers in the oil and gas industry voiced concerns over growth in the number of processes and procedures and the lack of equipment reliability in a recent study, conducted by Add Energy, which is part of ABL.

Several months ago, ABL helped India’s government-owned company, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), to complete 36 rig moves in preparation for the monsoon season. The company also got its hands on a contract with Velesto Drilling in November 2023 to provide marine warranty survey (MWS) services related to the drilling player’s rig moves offshore Malaysia.