News

Aquaterra flying high!

Aquaterra Energy, whose core business activities include Platform and pipeline engineering, drilling templates, tieback engineering, conductor centralisers and riser analysis; take to the skies in June with a full page advertorial in Eastern Airways inflight Magazine "e-magazine". Aquaterra will also be running a televised advert at Norwich International Airport.

Aquaterra :
three years old and growing fast...

When you land at Norwich International Airport, having flown in with Eastern Airways, there, right on the airport's doorstep lie the new offices of Aquaterra Energy Ltd. Its business has developed and expanded so quickly that its first offices in Norwich city centre were outgrown within 18 months. When the company's first purpose built two-storey office at the airport was officially opened by Norwich North MP Ian Gibson in August 2007, work was already underway on a second building next door.

As the offshore engineering company approaches its third birthday in July, it boasts a current turnover of over $20m with projects across the world including the Far East, West Africa and Middle East. The company, which started off with just two members of staff, now boasts over 50 – again demonstrating the pace of change. Aquaterra Energy is committed to providing top quality services to the International Offshore Oil and Gas Industry as well as ensuring it plays a significant and responsible role in the local economy. To this end it achieved ISO 9001 accreditation within months of start up and is currently developing a sustainable environmental policy.

In addition to the supply of rig installed offshore structures, Aquaterra Energy's other business activities include riser analysis, tieback engineering and the supply of drilling templates, conductor centralisers, specialist rental tools, including tension rings and systems, slot recovery systems, cement top-up and subsea camera systems. Its special projects division complements and expands upon these core business areas to provide cutting edge solutions to a range of drilling, rig or platform related issues.

Recent major projects that Aquaterra Energy's portfolio boasts included the design, manufacture, supply and installation of two platforms for an oilfield in Angola. Featuring in the April edition of World Oil magazine, the company has devised the Sea Swift conductor supported platform solution which is a more cost effective design for marginal field developments than existing solutions, and the company believes offers great potential for the future of the oil and gas industry. Using fieldproven technology Sea Swift can significantly reduce costs in shallow water field developments. To add, Aquaterra Energy supports the local community by subcontracting construction of the structures to local fabrication and support companies.

The company has also recognised the desperate shortage of engineering skills in the industry and hopes that the University of East Anglia, which currently does not have an Engineering Faculty, will wake up to the reality of the needs of such businesses. However, Aquaterra Energy has itself taken action to help tackle the skills shortage in the oil and gas industry. In summer 2007 the company took on two mechanical engineering students from Nottingham University to work alongside their own team for 12 weeks during the summer. The aim was for students to gain an insight into all aspects of the offshore engineering world and to woo them into the industry – an initiative welcomed by the Skills for Energy group. Aquaterra Energy's idea bore fruit last year when a student on the summer placement scheme returned to the company as a graduate trainee project engineer after completing his degree. The company are currently recruiting for more engineering graduates this year.

To find out more about Aquaterra Energy we will be at the EEEGR 2008 Annual Summer Event at The NatWest Rowley Mile Conference Centre in Newmarket, Aquaterra Energy is one of the main sponsors and will be exhibiting. Even easier, when you land at Norwich International Airport, why not pop across and visit the company in its new offices, pick up a brochure and find out what it can do for you.