SUBSEAA B E R D E E N S H I R E

Image courtesy of Oceaneering

Image courtesy of Subsea 7

CONTENTS

Introduction 5

Global Industry /Global Players 7

Westhill 9

Peterhead 10 Aberdeenshire 13

Front cover images courtesy of Subsea 7

Image courtesy of Subsea 7

Image courtesy of DOF Subsea 7

Image courtesy of Bibby Offshore

Subsea

Global demand for energy is pushing the boundaries of knowledge, capability and know how in the quest for oil and gas production from reservoirs below the sea beds of the oceans which account for over 70% of the world’s surface area.

An increasing amount of production infrastructure is located between the seabed and surface of the sea and what happens in this zone is the domain of one of the UK’s big success stories, the Subsea Engineering Industry.

Worth some £20bn on a world wide basis and growing at a rate of around 20% annually, UK based companies control some 45% of the global market with around 30% of this value, a staggering £2.7bn, earned in or from North east Scotland with a focus on Westhill Aberdeenshire.

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Image courtesy of

The Underwater Centre

Supporting specialist companies in close proximity include Anixter, Divex, Hallin Marine, Helix Energy Solutions , Proserv, Risertec and Tritech who cover a wide range of specialist

services from diving to sonar imaging and as evidence of the attractiveness of out of city locations, oil production companies Apache and TAQA have their regional offices nearby.

An industry cluster of this scale is centred around global players and in Westhill you will find Bibby Offshore, OneSubsea, Subsea 7 and Technip all with a significant presence and employing well over 6000 skilled employees between them.

Global Industry /Global Players

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Image courtesy of Subsea 7

Westhill

Westhill is home to over 11000 residents and is one of the fastest growing towns in Scotland – originally very much a rural village , houses are now increasingly occupied by people who work in Westhill and who are making Aberdeenshire their home.

The growth in the town has been mirrored in the quality of the retail offering in shops, restaurants and hotel accommodation with an increasing number of trade suppliers such as builders’ merchants locating there.

Located just outside the line of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route which is due for completion in 2018, Westhill combines close proximity to Aberdeenshire’s diverse countryside and the infrastructure of a city, with good road access to Peterhead harbour, the North east’s premier deep sea port.

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Peterhead has been associated with fishing and the sea for several centuries and has been a leading whaling port as well as a major centre for herring landings over the past 200 years More recently it has also become the UK’s leading white fish landing port.

With deep water and sheltered berthing accessible at all states of the tide, Peterhead has supported the offshore oil and gas sector since the early 1970s with custom built quays on the North and South sides of the outer harbour.

Much of the hook up and commissioning work for platforms in the Northern North Sea was undertaken from Peterhead and the port has

Peterhead

accommodated semi submersible and jack up rigs for repair.

The port is a well established drilling and production support base with oil and gas related cross quay tonnage exceeding 1.3 million tonnes annually.

This is carried on around 2800 support vessels with a gross registered tonnage of 10.5 million tonnes which berth at the port annually.The port offers over 1300 metres of berthing offering water depths of 6.5 metres or better together with a further 800 metres of berths with a water depth of 8.5 metres or better – unrivalled in North east Scotland

Complementing its berths, Peterhead has generous quay adjacent laydown areas with the largest single area at Smith Quay extending to 16,000 square metres with the potential to increase this by a further 65,000 square metres.

Smith Quay also offers skid load on/off capacity of 2500 tonnes whilst the load bearing capacity of the quay affords shore side cranes the ability to handle loads of up to 500 tonnes.

Impending developments at the harbour will generate a further 190 metres of deepwater berthing and 13,000 square metres of laydown area.

For further information go to www.peterheadport.co.uk.

Peterhead

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Aberdeenshire

With around 9% of Scotland’s land area but under 5% of the country’s population, Aberdeenshire is characterised by open space, ranging from six of the seven highest mountains in the UK, contained within the Cairngorms National Park, the U shaped valleys of the Dee, Don and Deveron home to red deer, grouse, pheasant and diverse woodlands with the rivers themselves recognised as some of the finest salmon rivers in Europe.

Aberdeenshire is a frequent winner of the 'Best Quality of Rural Life' award for Scotland and it’s not difficult to see why.

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Aberdeenshire

Nearer the coastline you will find much of the 26% of Scotland’s arable farmland which lies within Aberdeenshire and which produces almost 20% of the nation’s agricultural output which includes oats, barley, wheat, soft fruit, rape seed, pig meat and prime beef – the Aberdeen Angus breed being synonymous with top quality eating. The North east accounts for 27% of Scotland’s food exports by value and Aberdeenshire is known as Scotland’s larder

The coast line varies from jagged sheer cliffs to some of the finest sandy beaches in the

country, stretching several miles along both the North and East coasts of Aberdeenshire.

A number of fishing villages and towns are spread along the coastline, the most prominent being Peterhead which as well as being the region’s premier deep water port is also the UK’s largest white fish and pelagic landing port and nearby Fraserburgh, the UK’s leading Atlantic Prawn landing port. Aberdeenshire harbours receive almost 40% of Scotland’s catch which is valued at over £180 million annually.

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SUBSEAA B E R D E E N S H I R E

For further information onthe Subsea industry go to www.subseauk.com

For further information on Aberdeenshire go to www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk