Danish oil and gas engineering consultancy firm Ramboll Oil & Gas says that it pays to be in the Gulf market for the long haul as it sees much future demand for oil and gas engineering projects in the region.
Speaking from Ramboll’s Doha office on Sunday and shortly after receiving the company’s first major Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) contract from Qatar Petroleum (QP), Director of Business Development and sales, Tommy Laursen told Oil & Gas Middle East he expects a lot of growth in engineering consultancy and design projects for his industry.
“I can say that in the current situation there is a lot of need for high-end projects above U$2.8 million coming up in the near future,” he said.
“This is the first time that I can see that our list of most promising projects is really coming up so I’m quite keen on the future. As a company we have had a growth of more than 25% in this region and we are still growing. We have a chance now to make a stronger and solid growth in the market here in the Middle East.”
Ramboll first moved into the region 15 years ago when it established its office in Qatar whilst working with clients such as Maersk which designed the Al-Shaheen project, Qatar’s largest offshore field. The company has a long track record of working alongside its clients wherever they may be. The company’s second regional office was set up in Abu Dhabi about two years ago.
“At the moment I can see that there are opportunities for those who have invested in staying in Qatar. We have been here for 15 years and can see that it pays to be loyal and we are seeing the same benefits of staying in Abu Dhabi,” Laursen said.
“We have shown that we can handle projects from Qatar and now we are getting more and more involved in projects in Abu Dhabi,” he added.
Speaking about the 8-10 month FEED project contract with QP for the cathodic protection system of its wells in the Dukhan fields in the western part of Qatar, a first for Ramboll from a national oil company, Laursen said: “This is a historical moment for Ramboll Middle East. With this achievement, Ramboll will be an accomplished player for future FEED projects in the region”.
Laursen said that a lot of on and offshore facilities and systems in the region require upgrading and overhaul.
“A lot of the wells are quite old and remote and there is not enough regular information coming from the wells. We are ensuring that there is connection between the wells and the operator so that they can communicate directly with the wells and have the most up to date information,” he said.
Laursen believes that it is now easier to operate in the Gulf market especially on cross-border projects than in the past: “There was a closed-door policy before – if you were in Doha then you were in Doha, if you were in Abu Dhabi then you stayed in Abu Dhabi. It’s more open and positive working here across borders.”
