STATS Group has established a new Australian entity and will invest up to $AUD 2 million (£1 million) in workshop facilities and intervention equipment to support its drive in the country’s pipeline integrity market.
The pipeline technology specialist has been successful in the last five years in securing a range of strategic contracts in the oil and gas and LNG sectors and is now consolidating its presence in-country.
As part of the group’s broader localisation strategy, a workshop and storage facility close to Perth, Western Australia, has been secured and the Aberdeenshire-headquartered business is recruiting local field and workshop technicians and a lead project engineer to support an increase in demand for the group’s services.
Already in 2021, on behalf of major Operators, STATS has completed two 12” BISEP (double block & bleed isolation) intervention projects in Darwin, Northern Territory; four 14” BISEP workscopes in Perth; and in Victoria’s Bass Strait provided an 18” Subsea Hot Tap Clamp with 12” branch and subsea hot tapping services, and a 20” Remote Tecno Plug isolation on an offshore platform.
The new Perth base will act as STATS’ intervention hub for Asia Pacific (APAC) clients, making it easier to ship equipment between key markets, minimising freight costs and importantly reducing the company’s carbon footprint.
STATS Group’s regional manager for APAC, Gareth Campbell, said Australia was a commercially attractive market which offered regular year-on-year opportunities with clients who were receptive to new and innovative technology, which is at the core of STATS’ offering.
He said: “Our BISEP double block and bleed isolation technology is a strong differentiator for Australian clients who are looking for solutions, particularly for high pressure systems.
“In addition to day-to-day business with the leading gas operators working in the gas distribution and transmission space, there is also continued large scale investment by the Majors in new fields, tie backs and other projects, offering us the opportunity to get involved in large isolation projects and subsequent growth potential.
“We are well established in the Australian energy sector and have an extensive track record of completed projects, so the next natural step was to strengthen our physical presence, and establishing a formal entity along with this significant investment is being widely welcomed by our customers and suppliers.
“Our well established policy is to invest in local infrastructure – both human and equipment and facilities – and if Covid-19 taught us anything, it was the value of being in-country and to be able to respond quickly to the crisis. This is what clients are looking for and expect, and this new facility and local expertise can only improve further our response times.”
