Bosses at ADC Energy, of Aberdeen, say the energy services firm’s diversification strategy has “come to fruition” with its latest contract.
The six-figure deal is with a US-based client – thought to be New Fortress Energy (NFE) – in the liquified natural gas (LNG) sector.
ADC will evaluate a number of oil and gas drilling rigs to determine energy efficiency and suitability for being repurposed for LNG deployment.
The company has already conducted initial assessments of the Maersk Gallant and Maersk Guardian jack-up units, which were acquired by NFE earlier this year, prior to their departure from North Sea locations to South America.
£8.5m revenue target
This contract and £5 million-worth of new business secured during the first six months of the year have put the business – based on Queens Road – on track for revenue of £8.5 million for the whole of 2021.
ADC – formerly Aberdeen Drilling Consultants – is a specialist provider of integrated rig inspections and audits.
The family-owned company currently employs 76 globally, including 55 in Europe, with the rest working out of bases in the US, Malaysia, Indonesia, Libya and the Middle East.
Work secured since the start of the year has already created openings for two new data scientists in Aberdeen and further recruitment to the Granite City team is expected.
ADC – founded by Douglas Hay in 1985 – said it was seeing growing demand for its services in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.
It added it had also helped oil and gas industry efforts to decarbonise assets in recent months by providing inspections to evaluate environmental, social and governance ratings, reducing non-productive time, and highlighting how operators can gain greater efficiencies from their installations.
Director Austin Hay, Douglas’ son, said: “While the oil and gas industry remains a key focus for ADC Energy, it’s exciting to see our diversification strategy come to fruition with our latest contract in the LNG sector.
“With the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, the last 18 months have been exceptionally difficult for the energy industry and I am proud of the work our team have continued to deliver globally.”
‘Growing appetite for the repurposing of oil and gas assets’
He added: “As stalled projects continue to reactivate this year, there is a real demand for efficient, fit-for-purpose assets across the oil and gas, LNG, offshore wind and geothermal industries.
“There is also a growing appetite for the repurposing of oil and gas assets for use in the renewable energy sectors, and we are perfectly placed to conduct rig inspection and selection surveys to match operator requirements.”
Earlier this year, the company rebranded from Aberdeen Drilling Consultants to reflect its increasingly diverse operating portfolio, with the offshore wind market poised as a key growth area.
As stalled projects continue to reactivate this year, there is a real demand for efficient, fit-for-purpose assets across the oil and gas, LNG, offshore wind and geothermal industries.”
Austen Hay, director, ADC Energy.
With Rystad Energy projecting a five-fold increase in new-build wind turbine installation vessels coming to the market by 2030, ADC’s bosses believe their firm is ideally placed to leverage its “extensive worldwide shipyard assurance experience” to make sure as many as possible of these ships are “delivered operationally ready”.
The newly recruited data scientists, both former postgraduate students at Aberdeen University, are now building a data tagging system to deliver greater trend analysis during inspections.
The pair are also involved in enhancing ADC’s technical rig audit management system (Trams).
Smarter inspections and audits
The innovative technology ensures a rig remains operable during an inspection, and that major and critical non-conformances can be closed out while the audit team is still on board.
Mr Hay added: “Data intelligence is key to supporting our clients’ energy transition goals.
“Our Trams system is just one example of how we are utilising smart data to enhance our inspections and understand trends, so we can effectively predict issues before they occur.
The system is already delivering significant results for our clients – and it’s a great value proposition as we continue to increase our global footprint.”
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