More positive news from leading offshore geotechnical engineering and drilling company Geoquip Marine, which has bolstered its recent record growth by adding a second DP2 OSV to its fleet and announced a significant new appointment to its board of Directors.
The new vessel Geoquip Speer, which is the second DP2 Multi-Purpose Offshore Support vessel to be added in 2019 following the Geoquip Saentis. Formerly MV Cristal, the Geoquip Speer was built in 2010, has a gross weight of 3504 tonnes and is 84m in length. Having acquired it, Geoquip Marine is currently carrying out upgrades to make Geoquip Speer suitable for international DP operations. This includes opening up the Moonpool design so that it can be fitted with a fully heave-compensated offshore geotechnical drilling rig.
When the refit is completed Geoquip Speer will commence its first assignment, undertaking seabed CPT work in the Moray Firth before embarking on assignments in the Mediterranean and USA.
Geoquip Marine has also confirmed another significant appointment to its Board of Directors with confirmation that Peter Østergaard Nielsen has joined in a non-Executive capacity. Peter is a senior lawyer with leading Danish legal practice Bech Bruun and has extensive specific experience in international wind farm development.
Peter has been the principal negotiator in many high-profile international offshore projects. In addition to his detailed experience of international business transactions and his insight into the energy sector, Peter is particularly valued for combining his legal skills with a commercial and technical understanding of the projects in which he is involved He is the second non-Executive Director appointed by Geoquip Marine this year, following Jean-Luc Laloë, who joined in the early Spring.
“The acquisition of Geoquip Speer and the appointment of Peter Østergaard Nielsen to our board of directors are the latest chapters in what has been an extremely busy and highly successful period in the growth of the business,” comments Chief Executive Officer Stewart Higginson.
“This has come about organically following outstanding commercial performance that saw us successfully undertaking contracts with some of the most recognisable international brands in our target markets, including Conoco Phillips, Exxon Mobil, Saudi Aramco and pre-eminent offshore windfarm developers. The commercial performance attracted a major investment from Njord Partners, a specialist European investment fund, last year. This has enabled us to increase the size of our fleet and make significant appointments at all levels of the business.
“The last few weeks alone have seen Geoquip Marine successfully tender for a whole series of new contract wins in West Africa, Northern and Central America, and in the Mediterranean, with partners in both the offshore wind and oil and gas sectors.
“Also, to manage our existing growth and keep pace with the expansion of our service offering and number of secured contracts, we have promoted Hans Hanse to the role of Chief Operating Officer. Hans embodies who we are as a company and his strong reputation in the market makes him ideally suited for this position. At the same time we have also commissioned McKinsey & Company as an advisor to make strategic recommendations to our Board on both how we can maintain our rate of growth as well as the corporate development needed to ensure that we provide industry-leading services in all our key markets around the world.”
