Pemex Delves Deep into UK Subsea Sector

Senior figures from Mexico’s national oil company, Pemex, have been discovering the secrets of the UK subsea sector’s success and how it has revolutionized the way in which hydrocarbons have been extracted from beneath the seabed during a fact-finding visit to Aberdeen.

Organized in partnership with the Department of International Trade (DIT), the five-day subsea learning event included site visits to some of the sector’s most innovative companies, including GE Oil & Gas, Aker Solutions, Hydrasun, Wood Group, BP and ROVOP. The delegation experienced what it’s like to operate a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), learnt about diving operations and toured a number of subsea manufacturing plants.

The mission provided a broad but in-depth overview of the sector, covering how technology has evolved over the years to meet the demands of exploration and production companies as they move to harsher and more complex environments in order to recover the world’s oil and gas reserves.

They also gained an insight into the subsea industry from a UK perspective and as a global sector, looking at how subsea fields are developed, and how subsea systems are designed, installed, operated and decommissioned around the world.

Neil Gordon, chief executive of Subsea UK, said: “Welcoming the Pemex team to Aberdeen to see first-hand some of the ground-breaking technologies and innovations that created the subsea sector center of excellence was an important development opportunity for the sector.

“The Energy Reform in 2013 saw Mexico’s oil and gas industry undergo some big changes as it opened its doors to international companies for the first time. This fact-finding mission has allowed us to showcase the UK’s subsea industry and demonstrate why the UK leads the way around the world in subsea technology and expertise. “

Each year, Subsea UK works with DIT to organize trade missions to Mexico in a bid to increase business and trade opportunities in this very promising energy hub.

“Mexico has the potential to be one of the fastest-growing oil and gas provinces in the world and this visit to Aberdeen builds on the already close ties between our two countries. With Mexico’s energy ambitions and the UK’s wealth of experience, there are huge opportunities for collaboration. We hope the delegates found the visits to the various companies involved to be highly valuable,” added Mr. Gordon.

Subsea UK has 300 members and is a self-sustaining body that champions the country’s subsea supply chain. It acts as a focal point to promote the sector, maximize its opportunities and provide a national forum for collaboration, diversification and technology development.