Aker Solutions has acquired a fabrication facility in Sandnessjøen, Norway, to increase its fabrication capacity in the Norwegian Sea and further north.
The purchase is part of Aker Solutions' northern Norway strategy. The facility, which is located at Helgelands Industrial Park in Sandnessjøen, Norway (Helgelands Næringspark), is being acquired from Ruukki Construction Norge AS. Historically, the core competence at the facility has been within fabrication of steel structures, including product deliveries to the oil industry. The transaction value is undisclosed.
"As the oil and gas industry moves further north, it is important to build up our capacity in northern Norway. The facility in Sandnessjøen will enable us to provide fabrication services even more competitively, in line with our customers' expectations," says Tore Sjursen, head of maintenance, modifications and operations (MMO) in Aker Solutions.
The facility in Sandnessjøen has not been in use since autumn 2011.
"With this acquisition, we are positioning ourselves for fabrication work for both existing and future oil and gas field developments in the north. The facility will be able to carry out work related to subsea developments as well as traditional offshore and onshore facilities," Sjursen continues.
"Exactly how many who will be working at the facility is dependent on our ability to secure work from our customers. However, we will start by recruiting around 40 employees to our new facility," Sjursen ends. The facility will be an integral part of the fabrication organization within Aker Solutions' maintenance, modifications and operations (MMO) business area. "It is great that we are able to increase our fabrication capacity. We will build up gradually and the goal is that the facility will become an important part of our delivery model in the north," says Svein Oskar Nuland, responsible for fabrication in Aker Solutions.
Before start-up buildings and equipment will be upgraded to prepare for the planned activities. At the same time, work will start to transfer knowledge and competence is transferred from Aker Solutions' fabrication yard in Egersund to the facility in Sandnessjøen. This is necessary, to be able to carry out the complex operations that Aker Solutions' customers require.
In February this year, Aker Solutions acquired engineering company Sandnessjøen Engineering AS. Today, this engineering business has grown from 24 to 41 employees. Late last year, Aker Solutions also announced that it would set up an engineering office in Tromsø, Norway. This office has already grown to 61 employees. In addition, Aker Solutions recently acquired well technology business X3M Invent in Narvik, and is in the process of building up a subsea service base in Hammerfest.