How ODE Asset Management is expanding at an unprecedented rate
ODE Asset Management (ODE AM) is an established asset management and operations support provider with a presence in Aberdeen, Scotland and Great Yarmouth, England. As part of the DORIS Group, its services draw on more than 15 years of experience directly supporting the energy sector with a range of asset operations and maintenance programs. When it comes to general expertise within the oil and gas industry, the DORIS Group has been providing innovative design and quality services for over 50 years.
Back in 2018, the company invested in upgrading its business systems and processes to provide fully integrated operating services and meet standards to become an ‘Installation & Pipeline Operator,’ as set by the UKCS Offshore Regulator. This was followed up with another big move in 2019, with ODE AM successfully taking over the Babbage offshore gas installation as Installation and Pipeline Operator on behalf of new owners, NEO Energy.
Since then, ODE AM has added seven further assets to its portfolio. We recently sat down with Managing Director, Sandy Reid, to learn a bit more about the rapidly growing business. Talking us through the range of services ODE AM provides, he begins: “We are the owners of the asset safety case, a regulatory requirement which outlines the specific major accident hazards of each asset and the safe systems of work that we in turn apply to mitigate or prevent them.
“As well as providing offshore teams that are able to perform operations and maintenance duties on such assets, we have onshore technical and logistics support teams to ensure that facilities are managed in a safe and efficient manner.
“We also manage all the supply chain services necessary for the operation of a complex offshore asset and are able to offer our clients reduced cost of ownership through economies of scale in providing shared technical, helicopter, vessel, and warehousing services,” Sandy continues.
“Finally, across our operations, we integrate ourselves seamlessly into our clients’ various teams. We draw on our deep understanding of the cost and complexity challenges seen in the UK energy sector, and we have a unique service-offering tailored to address the needs of all kinds of clients.”
People-driven
Sandy speaks with tangible passion. He’s enjoyed a rewarding, multi-decade career in the oil and gas industry, working for both operators and contractors in the UK and overseas.
“I was working offshore as a maintenance engineer during the tragedy of Piper Alpha, so I’ve experienced industry life before and after Lord Cullen’s report, which brought about the transformation in terms of safety processes and culture,” he recalls.
It’s clear that, under Sandy’s guidance, ODE AM is a company on a mission, one that is constantly looking to innovate and truly operate as an enabler of change in the industry – a disruptor, so to speak.
As mentioned previously, we’re keen to learn about the company’s rapid growth. What factors have contributed towards it? For Sandy, the answer’s a no-brainer.
“People, people and people!” he enthuses. “Whilst this might seem like a rather simplistic answer, it’s been the capability, experience, and ambition of the ODE AM team that has convinced our UKCS new entrant clients that we can safely, competently, and cost-effectively deliver a range of integrated asset management services for their offshore assets.
“Of course, the company’s facilities, being located in Great Yarmouth and Aberdeen, have also been central to our growth – as well as some of our core strengths, such as plant maintenance, integrity management and integrated logistics planning.
“However, the leading factor is most definitely people,” Sandy reiterates. “The capability and energy of our team, at least in my view, has been the key to our success.”
When Alpha Petroleum recently awarded ODE AM the Installation and Pipeline Operator contract for its Tors & Wenlock assets, Sandy and the team were given a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the organization’s aptitude for delivering value. In this instance, on assets that are shut down and being prepared for decommissioning.
Growth opportunities
The offshore decommissioning market is taking off worldwide, with an estimated expenditure of $10 billion per annum. “We see it as a ripe opportunity for clients to outsource the management of asset decommissioning to companies like ourselves,” Sandy explains.
“We’re working with Alpha, which is now Waldorf Production, to address the specific challenges of reducing abandonment expenditure (or ABEX) post-cessation of production on the Tors & Wenlock facilities, while the production wells are plugged and abandoned and the facilities are prepared for removal and disposal.
“As we look more broadly to the future,” he concludes, “we’re set on continuing to develop our sales pipeline of new opportunities, including new markets, in order to maintain and grow revenues.
“We’re expanding our operational horizons in decommissioning, as I’ve mentioned, but also in other niches like new energies and renewables; we’re forecasting that these markets will make up 30 percent of our revenues in 2028.”