overview & key facts

North East England offers a significant business opportunity in the oil and gas industry at a time of high worldwide growth in demand and a shortage in capacity. The region has a long and enviable track record with excellent infrastructure and a highly skilled and experienced workforce in this sector.

Over 70% of the platforms operating in the North Sea were built on the Tyne and the Tees. The most recent regional projects were the Encana Buzzard (Heerema), Shell Bonga FPSO and BP Claire (Amec).

Specialist sub-sectors in the region include flexible products/ pipelines, subsea fabrication, subsea renewable energy, pipeline engineering, sub-sea inspection robotics, deposition and burial services, cable/ pipeline trenching and subsea ploughs/ trenchers.

North East England is one of only a few subsea centres of excellence in the UK. There are over 50 companies with a combined turnover of over £500 million employing 5000 people.

Research & Training

The School of Marine Science and Technology at Newcastle University is the largest marine school in the UK, covering the fields of marine engineering, marine science, naval architecture, offshore engineering, coastal management and small craft technology. A dedicated centre offers industry services and research in different aspects of pipeline engineering.

The School of Engineering at Durham University has developed expertise in pipeline bristle tractor technology and runs development projects with its successful spin out Durham Pipeline Technology (DPT), a supplier of innovative technical solutions for pipeline access, inspection and cleaning based on cutting edge patented bristle tractor technology.

The Virtual Reality Centre at Teesside University specialises in computerised training that are able to simulate hazardous and complex training environments. One example of this is a simulation of a subsea marine environment.

South Tyneside College is a National Centre of Vocational Excellence for Marine Engineering and Nautical Science offering courses in fabrication, welding and offshore induction and emergency training.

Industry Support

NOF is a business development organisation with over 200 members for the region representing and supporting companies who supply to the oil and gas, marine and associated energy industries. With a wider remit NOF will continue to be active in encouraging members to diversify into other energy related sectors such as renewable energies and nuclear decommissioning.

Subsea North East is a regional industry group led by an Executive Committee chaired by Wellstream and includes heads of DUCO, The Engineering Business, BEL Valves, SMD Hydrovision, Penspen Integrity, Shepherd Offshore, CTC Marine, Perry Slingsby, Durham University and Subsea UK.

The New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) is a Centre of Excellence that can fast-track concept evaluation, carry out feasibility studies and prototype evaluation and testing through to early commercialisation. The Marine Test Facility consists of three seawater docks with a wave maker and access to pumps to emulate a tidal wave. Services include assistance in design and fabrication of prototype models, data acquisition processing and analysis, electronic control and instrumentation technical support and an offshore testing environment including a simulated seabed.

Companies

Some companies in the region involved in oil and gas industry include:

Duco
Manufactures the heaviest umbilical to date.

Wellstream International Ltd
Leading manufacturer of deepwater flexible pipe. First to provide piping solutions at 2000m water depth.

CTC Marine Projects
Leading in offshore trenching technology breakthroughs.

SMD Hydrovision
Designed and built the world’s first remote controlled subsea pipeline ploughing system.

The Engineering Business Ltd
Leading supplier of marine systems.

Hereema Fabrication Group
Builds large complex constructions for the oil and gas industry such as offshore modules and jackets.

AMEC
A global offshore engineering design company.

Market Access

The Model below demonstrates how all of the expertise and support organisations place North East England in a unique position to support companies in the commercialisation of research and getting new products to market. At the centre of the process is the Investment & Aftercare Team that will sit with you to understand your own individual requirements and come back with a tailored investment solution to include some or all of the elements shown.

From here in the UK or offices in North America, China, Japan, Korea, Australia, Norway and Germany, the team will help you get your products and services into the market.

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