Aker Solutions, the Norwegian international oil and gas engineering service company, opened a new operation centre in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, yesterday.
Located within the State-owned base of Petroleum Technical Services Corp (PTSC), the new centre will provide strategic and effective support services for Aker Solutions’ on- and offshore oil and gas customers.
At the opening ceremony, the participation of Aker’s president, Egil Martinussen and the director of the National Vietnam Oil and Gas Group’s (PetroVietnam) HCM City branch was welcomed.
Aker Solutions’ general manager of surface products and services, Crawford Tennant, said that the new base of operation demonstrated the company’s commitment to provide unparalleled services to its customers, while acting as a nucleus in Vietnam to capture other potential clients.
“Vietnam represents an important market in our overall surface and subsea business. Our client base has expanded from 1996, when we won a contract with Petronas Carigali, to now, with several big players such as CLJOC, Vietsovpetro (VSP), Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC), Truong Son and BP Vietnam”, he said.
Vung Tau, which is located 125km from HCM City, was chosen as the operation centre of Aker Solutions because it is the petroleum heart of Vietnam. Crude oil and gas exploration forms the basis of the city’s economy.
“Vung Tau, which means anchorage, also coincides with our intent of establishing long-term business relations within this country”, Tennant added.
The operation centre, consisting of an office and a 740sq.m warehouse, currently employs a team of six engineers. However, the company is in the process of recruiting several more local engineers to improve customer support services.
Aker Solutions is a leading global provider of engineering and construction services, technology products and integrated solutions. The business itself contains several divisions, including oil and gas, refining and chemicals, mining and metals and power generation.
The parent company is Aker Solutions ASA. Aker Solutions has aggregated annual revenues of about 58 billion Norwegian kroner and employs about 24,000 people in around 30 countries.
