OTSL going deeper

For Offshore Technology Solutions Ltd (OTSL), a recent alliance formed between a local diving company and a US outfit, it seems that they have got that down pat and now are trying to ensure that it gets a bigger piece of the pie.

OTSL chairman Ian Bertrand told guests at the company’s launch at Crews Inn in Chaguaramas last week that it was the culmination of a five-year alliance between local diving outfit Coastal Diving Services Ltd and US-based Cal Dive International Inc.

Company directors say not only are they trying to take advantage of the opportunities in the sector but also provide a platform to market their skills elsewhere in the region. They choose to describe it as a one-stop shop for marine construction requirements.

Bertrand said current trends in TT’s energy sector show that there is an abundance of opportunities for local entrepreneurs in the services side of the sector, and particularly in deepwater diving.

He added that it was for this reason that Coastal Diving joined forces with Cal Dive "to create higher level jobs for locals." The company will provide a full range of subsea services to the offshore oil, gas, shipping and construction industries and can perform operations on both deep and shallow water.

According to the glossy brochure, the company’s inventory of equipment includes work boats, crane barges, deck barges and dredging equipment as well as underwater tooling, allowing for a mobility in any sort of marine environment and divers whose responsibility it will be to inspect offshore structures.

During the tour of the vessel, the vessel’s captain pointed out that although the vessel was an old one, it was completely refurbished with state-of-the art technology.

Cal Dive CEO Owen Kratz said while his company could have had its pick of lucrative diving contracts with energy companies operating in TT, it decided to look at the big picture and saw that an alliance with Coastal Diving Services would give his company the opportunity to be "part of something special."

Another drawing card, he said, was that TT provided fertile ground for the development of energy sector-related services in the Caribbean. It was, he said, a direct response to the evolving local energy sector.

With the OTSL’s acquisition of the deepwater multi-million diving vessel "Witch Queen" and its planned use as a training platform for deepwater divers for the energy sector, Kratz said OTSL’s goal is to train divers to handle some of the most demanding underwater marine construction projects in the Caribbean and South America.

The vessel has a permanent Sat System for carrying out inspection and construction tasks down to 300m or 1,000 ft. The vessel has racks outboard for carrying oversized spool pieces to the work site for installation and also a contracted drill rig.

It can accommodate 60 people, including marine and construction crew.

Kratz added that all of the company’s divers will be trained in accordance with the highest safety regulations as outlined by the industry.

He added that the idea was to create a deepwater dive contractor with employees whose skills would be marketable throughout the region.

The formation of OTSL is just one of a slew of developments in the energy sector over the past few weeks.

Others include the launch of a state-of-the-art energy sector training facility by Hummingbird Helicopter Services Ltd; the launch of the Prometheus Energy Fund by RBTT and Guardian Holdings Limited and the signing of a 17-year, $2.5 billion agreement between Atlantic LNG and Italian company Nuovo Pignone (a subsidiary of US energy giant GE Energy- Gas and Oil) to establish world class turbine and compressor maintenance and training facility at Point Fortin.

In his address, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy, Leroy Mayers, hailed the formation of OTSL as the opening of a new chapter in the creation of local content in the energy sector.

Noting that the energy sector will continue to play a pivotal role in the economic fortunes of TT, Mayers took the view that now was the time for local entrepreneurs to get on board and get involved in the energy sector. He said Government continues to provide the stage for local entrepreneurs and the local financial market is now more receptive towards financing energy sector projects than it was in previous years.

OTSL director Richard Lewis said the company was an indication of what local content was all about and described their effort as a premier package for local content.

Lewis explained that in addition to providing real training for locals, the fact that the company was locally owned and financed, meant that the cash stays here. He recalled that in the past, deepwater contractors in TT were managed and financed by foreigners who closed up shop after completing their jobs.

But the directors have set their sights on expansion.

Lewis added that OTSL was already looking further afield at opportunities in Venezuela and other Latin American countries, where there was a market for diving services.

In addition to the most rigorous commitments to safety, OTSL, in its press briefing, stressed that it has a strong commitment to environmental preservation in its activities.