Five Oceans Services GmbH
Laying the foundations
Five Oceans Services GmbH was established in 2003 by Lars Muck and Hans Huijskens – two individuals with a combined long history in the submarine cable installation business.
In the beginning, Lars Muck mainly operated in the engineering, technical and operational aspects of the business, whilst Hans Huijskens focused on the marketing, sales and contractual side. The company was formed to provide turnkey solutions in the field of subsea engineering. Initially, the business focused on shallow water submarine power cable installations, and as a result several trenching projects were successfully executed in the Middle East in 2004 and 2005.
The organisation’s success is the result of a dedicated group of people, who have all worked in similar companies, and have gone through the negative effects of the collapse of the dot.com business. However, it is this history, which binds the people together and what inspired them to join Five Oceans Services. The first project the business executed in 2004/2005 was a contract with Al Nasr Irrigation and Contracting in Abu Dhabi and involved the interlinking of various islands offshore of Abu Dhabi. With a significant amount of entrepreneurialism, customer support and the joint strong determination of all personnel involved, this project was successfully completed in the middle of 2005.
After an initial steep learning curve, the company has developed into a multi-disciplined subsea engineering and installation contractor, operating cable-lay vessels and related equipment with a specific geographical focus on the Middle East. Five Oceans Services combines highly qualified and motivated personnel with state-of-the-art cable installation, repair, and trenching equipment in an ISO 9001 certified working environment. All equipment is engineered and manufactured in-house on a tailor-made basis, when required. All equipment is maintained in accordance with strict Five Oceans Services’ standards to guarantee maximum reliability throughout the operational phase of each equipment part.
In addition, the business offers contracting services covering the installation, repair and maintenance of submarine flexible products. These services include the installation and trenching of power cables, telecommunication and data cables, subsea umbilicals and flexible flow lines. Furthermore, the company can undertake trenching of rigid pipelines in shallow waters and also shore end and landfall operations.
The services provided by Five Oceans Services do not stop there. Employing highly qualified engineers with extensive experience in the offshore industry, the organisation is also able to offer its clients a wide range of engineering services, covering all aspects of the installation, repair and maintenance of submarine cables. With this is mind, the business can undertake desktop, environmental impact and risk analysis studies, whilst also providing design, route, authority, permit and installation engineering.
With such a wide range of services, Five Oceans Services has become one of the leading players in the subsea engineering and installation offshore market, especially with regards to the economic installation of submarine flexible products. This leading position is a result of the successful completion of a number of challenging projects. For example, the company has recently completed a major project in partnership with the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO) – a joint venture of British Petroleum (BP) and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC).
Five Oceans achieved this project in January 2007 when the business entered into a call-off contract for the engineering, transportation and installation of various umbilical sections of the Taurt LNG Train 1 Supply Project. The scope of work included the transport, installation and post-lay trenching of one 68.5 kilometre long electro-hydraulic umbilical and the post-lay stabilisation of one 20 inch and one 12 inch shallow water pipeline sections.
Another major project, which is currently under execution, is the Al Khafji Joint Operations Field Development Plan Phase I project, which involves the installation of 31 J-tubes at existing platforms. In addition, Five Oceans is also responsible for the installation of 31 interplatform medium voltage composite power cables offshore Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf.
Furthermore, on 27th March 2008, Five Oceans Services received the ‘Confirmation of Award’ for the engineering and installation of four medium voltage composite power cables, with a total length of approximately 142 kilometres, and two umbilicals. This is for the Qatar Gas 3 and Qatar Gas 4 Pipelines Project by J. Ray McDermott Eastern Hemisphere – as main contractor for Qatar Gas. The targeted completion date for the installation is scheduled for November 2008.
The continuous success of obtaining significant and high value contracts has triggered Five Oceans Services to enter into a long-term charter for the MV Siem Carrier. In co-operation with Siem Offshore, the MV Siem Carrier has extensively been upgraded and is presently predominantly employed in the Middle East region.
The main contributing factor to the success of the Five Oceans business is its highly skilled employees. With this in mind, the company believes the success of any organisation is governed by the people employed within the company. Within Five Oceans Services, the involvement, dedication and hard work of the workforce is now showing real results.
By concentrating on one particular area within the industry – subsea flexible product installation – and by focusing on a specific geographical area, Five Oceans Services has been able to specialise its services to meet the exact requirements of its customers. In addition, its excellent local knowledge and experience has helped the company to grow rapidly and become a prominent player in just four to five years.
Furthermore, to complement and enhance the services of Five Oceans Services, strong working relationships have been established with key players within the industry. To name a few, these include, Siem Offshore, LD Travocean, Fugro Survey and Subtech Diving. Moreover, to support its logistical operations, Five Oceans Services has also established long-term working relationships with various dedicated service companies, such as GAC Marine Logistics and EMO TRANS GmbH.
Through it established track record, Five Oceans Services has built up extensive experience and knowledge in the offshore industry. Furthermore, the company boasts great local knowledge in the geographical areas it operates in. Its wide range of skills and knowledge allows the organisation to work in a number of different areas within the offshore market, such as power cable an umbilical installation works. In addition, the business has developed a strong presence in the oil and gas sector through the completion of a number of very challenging projects. Looking to the future, the business plans to continuing strengthening its position in the market and to further expand the company to become one of the top players in the subsea service industry.
Five Oceans Services GmbH
Services Multi-disciplined subsea engineering and installation contractor