Saudi clients accounted for 24 per cent of Bahrain’s Asry Offshore Services (AOS) business in the first half of this year, but the Saudi involvement was more significant than the statistic, said Asry’s acting chief executive Nils Kristian Berge.

Saudi Arabia is a fundamental part of Asry business as not only is there direct business from the kingdom, but also has a large proportion of regional fleets that are guided by and must adhere to Saudi standards, he told The Gulf Industry, our sister publication.

"For example, Saudi Aramco specifications are constantly updated, which means that jack-up rigs must also be constantly updated, resulting in more business for Asry," Berge explained.

Berge pointed out that Asry had built a strong reputation amongst the major rig owners and operators especially in Saudi, where the number of rigs are increasing. "By creating a local presence in the kingdom in Al Khobar there will be a greater opportunity to capitalise on the growing market potential," he stated.

“Up until now our Saudi-based rig work has mostly been modest repairs, for example steelwork, leg repairs, pipework repairs, sandblasting and painting. With the creation of this local presence we can quickly and efficiently respond to immediate repair requirements with major rig repairs still being carried out in our Bahrain facility,” said Berge.

The major Saudi companies that Asry has been contracted to work for inlcude Saudi Aramco, Ensco, Hercules, Rowan, and Shelf Drilling, he revealed.

According to Berge, the ability to respond with more efficiency is just one of the advantages of having a branch in Saudi Arabia, another advantage being the greater variety of jobs the yard will be exposed to.

"For example, Asry has been contracted to install fibre optic cables for a client in Saudi on their offshore rigs, which Berge said was an interesting departure from regular repair jobs," he noted.

As a growth strategy, Berge said, Asry will start with minor repairs and services in Saudi while the larger repairs will be covered by its Bahrain facility. "Once established in the kingdom it will look to gradually increase the scale to larger projects being done in-country," he added.

Berge described Asry Offshore Services as “one of the pillars” of the yard’s revenue streams in recent years with 2013 serving as a continuation of the success it has enjoyed.

In the first half, approximately 43 per cent of total revenues were derived from AOS, said the top official.

Saudi Arabia also had a significant presence in Asry’s vessel repairs business with 28 of the 100 vessels repaired in the first half coming from there, equating to approximately 18 per cent of the business for that period and constituting the second-largest national contribution to revenues with only the UAE being a larger contributor.

“Therefore,” Berge said, “Saudi is considered a very important part of Asry’s business with constant attention and energy injected into the market for future growth.”

According to him, the tally of 100 vessels repaired overall (rigs and ships) at Asry in the first half was an improvement over the 96 repaired in the same period last year.

“Analysis of the results of the first half of the year reveals the possibility of a slight market recovery, because the average spend per vessel has increased, but whether that continues remains to be seen,” added Berge.-TradeArabia News Service