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Page 17: of Marine Technology Magazine (April 2012)
Global Offshore Deepwater Report
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According to Geir Egil Østebøvik, Managing Director and CEO, Imenco, a key to his companys continued success is the continuity and strength of its engineering department. In fact, the engineering staff makes up 40% of his 100-person company. them based on their needs. Being able to offer the engi- neering resources to deliver to our offshore oil and gas clients a product and system based on their need is the strength of our company.? Typical of this approach was a recent project to designer and deliver a diverless hot tap solution for an oil major. Imenco worked with the client for more than five years to design, develop and deliver a diverless hot tap clamps, allowing it the ability to tap a pipe without putting a diver in the water. Challenges AheadImenco faces many of the same challenges faced by companies large and small globally: a dearth of engi- neering talent. Also, the strength of Norway and its cur- rency, the NOK, makes it particularly challenging to export its brand of expertise globally. The currency exchange rate is a big negative,? admitted Østebøvik. Whereas it used to be about 10 NOK to a dollar, today it is about is 5.5 NOK to a dollar, meaning that if we sell the same product in the same dollar price, we get half the money. And we cant just say to our customers that, were sorry, we have to double your price.? But Imenco continues to grow and prosper, buoyed by a resurgent offshore oil and gas business in its homeland and a plethora of untapped opportunities globally. The offshore market is now increasing, with investment lev- els in and around the North Sea never higher and pro- jected to grow in the coming two or three years.