Page 28: of Marine Technology Magazine (January 2012)

28MTRJanuary/February 2012 Expanding Infrastructure The official designation of the cluster in 2006 gave new profile to the Bergen region´s strengths and has encour- aged companies to invest and develop in the region. Many companies are undertaking aggressive expansion pro- grams, displaying their strong confidence in continued oil and gas-related activity on the Norwegian continental shelf. Twenty minutes outside of Bergen, the benefits of geo- graphical co-location within the cluster are on display. The Ågotnes industrial estate, just west of the city, is home to NCE Subsea´s offices, and also houses facilities of key players including Aker Solutions and Statoil. Statoil´s main Bergen offices are at Sandsli, but its Subsea Pool, which manages Statoil´s tools for subsea pro- duction on the Norwegian continental shelf, maintains a facility at Ågotnes. Aker Solutions´ expanded Ågotnes facility opened in 2009, and is the company´s largest subsea service and maintenance base worldwide. Ågotnes focusses on therefurbishment and upgrade of christmas trees used on subsea installations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Coast Center Base (CCB), which is a 50% owner of the Ågotnes estate, also has a major facility here for logistics, maintenance and supply activities for North Sea oil and gas fields including Troll ? the world´s largest subsea development ? as well as Statfjord, Gullfaks, Veslefrikk, Huldra and Kvitebjørn. Across the water from Ågotnes, Framo Engineering´s extensive new facility at Horsøy is visible. Framo is a Bergen-based product developer, supplier and system sup- plier, with three main product groups ? pumps and sub- sea systems, multiphase metering, and swivels and marine systems.Framo, which was fully acquired by Schlumberger in July 2011, purchased the former fish-processing site in 2007, and in 2008 began a 1 billion NOK ($171 millionUSD) infrastructure development. The Horsøy site includes a harbor, a logistics worksite, R&D facilities, assembly, and testing, including the full-scale pressure testing of large systems. At a total of 750,000 square meters, the site also has the potential for co-location ofGordon Birnie of Aker Solutions showing Marine Technology Reporter?s Clare McIntyre one of the subsea christmas trees in for refurbishment at Aker Solution's facility at Ågotnes, near Bergen, Norway. MTR#1 (18-33):MTR Layouts 1/3/2012 10:21 AM Page 28