International oil services company Aker Solutions takes its subsea business to Sweden through establishment of an office in Gothenburg. The objective is to tap into the Swedish engineering market to help further grow Aker Solutions' subsea business.
The global subsea oil and gas market is expected to grow significantly over the next decades, driven particularly by field developments in deep and ultra-deep waters. Having access to a large base of engineering resources with appropriate technology know-how will be vital to meet Aker Solutions' ambitious growth targets.
"There will be plenty of interesting opportunities, both on the Norwegian continental shelf and internationally, in the years to come. Establishing the Gothenburg office is one tool to facilitate for this growth. Our colleagues in Sweden will work on prospects and projects across the globe," says Jesper Ericsson, managing director of the Gothenburg office. The office, which is based in Frölunda outside Gothenburg, currently houses a team of 13 engineers. However, recruitment is underway to add significantly to that number. Aker Solutions expects that the Gothenburg office will have approximately 50 staff by year-end 2012. The company is currently considering a new office location closer to Gothenburg city centre. "We believe Gothenburg is a good place to build up a subsea engineering team. The city has a number of large technology companies with engineers that can offer us the competence and capacity we need. The region also houses well reputed technical colleges and universities, which will be good sources for graduate recruitment," says Jesper Ericsson.
Employees at the Gothenburg office will deliver engineering and design services for most subsea production system technologies and products offered by Aker Solutions, including subsea trees, manifolds and structures, tie-in systems, work-over systems, pumps and processing systems. Additionally, the office will offer tender and R&D support. It will work integrated with Aker Solutions' head office at Fornebu outside Oslo and the company's subsea technology and manufacturing centre at Tranby in Lier, 30 km south-west of Oslo. "We have to acknowledge that Sweden has not played a big role in the global oil and gas industry in general or in the subsea sector specifically. However, we believe the competence and experience is available. So I encourage engineers who would like to pursue a career in a rapidly growing oil and gas segment to get in touch," adds Jesper Ericsson.
