Bibby Subsea Expands in Houston

As part of its continuing global growth strategy, subsea installation contractor Bibby Offshore has announced the opening of a new division and international base in Houston. The company, that also has bases in Aberdeen, Liverpool, Singapore and Trinidad, has initially invested over £3million into the new division, Bibby Subsea Inc. 

As part of the expansion plan, Andrew Duncan will relocate to Houston, from his existing position of business and commercial director at the company’s Aberdeen HQ, to president and managing director of Bibby Subsea. He will be responsible for establishing the Bibby Subsea brand in the U.S. and implementing Bibby’s robust corporate framework within this new area.

The new division has also secured its first contract mobilizing a SMD Quasar work-class remotely operated vehicle (WROV) on Cal Dive International’s support vessel, Mystic Viking. This represents Bibby Subsea’s first call off job since signing a Master Service Agreement with Cal Dive. The contract, valued at circa £600,000, is for a pipeline touchdown monitoring project in Mexico with a likely duration of over two months.

Mike Arnold, Bibby Offshore’s chief operating officer for the west, said, “In order to meet the growing needs of our clients, it was essential to expand our operations by opening a base in the area. Houston is a major market within the global oil and gas industry, and having a presence there demonstrates Bibby Offshore’s firm commitment to our clients in the region. We intend to offer our clients a full solution package including engineering and project management to deliver remote intervention solutions in line with our Bibby philosophy.”

Errol Campbell has been recruited in to the role of ROV operations manager to drive the growth and development of the new division. Mr. Campbell joins Bibby Subsea from Canyon Offshore, where he spent more than 13 years in various operations and business development roles, and more recently held the position of global offshore personnel manager based in Houston.

Mr. Arnold continued, “Andrew’s in-depth knowledge of the company and Errol’s local understanding of the region will help us to quickly establish our local presence, ensuring that we maximize this opportunity.

“We are looking to recruit a further 20 in the region over the next 12 months in order to meet the impressive client demand for the company’s expertise, and to further expand our offerings and capabilities.

“Our bases in the U.K., Singapore and Trinidad provide a solid foundation and excellent platform from which to leverage our move into the U.S. and this is an exciting entry into a new market for our business. An enormous amount of work has gone into getting to this stage in a bid to further enhance our ambitious growth plan.”

Bibby Subsea, Bibby Offshore and sister company Bibby Remote Intervention has grown from 10 employees in 2003 to now employing more than 1,300 people onshore and offshore worldwide, with offices in Aberdeen, Liverpool, Singapore, Trinidad and Houston. The company has an international fleet of six subsea support vessels and 13 Remote Operating Vehicles (ROV) and will continue to add to their fleet to meet demand.

bibbyoffshore.com