TSmarine Asia Pacific has signed a multi-year service contract with international oilfield service company Expro.

The contract, through TSmarine's new Aberdeen-based subsidiary SALT Subsea, will deliver worldwide support for Expro's groundbreaking subsea well intervention system AX-S™.

The deal has a potential value of $100 million.

TSmarine Asia Pacific chief executive officer John Edwards said AX-S™ would change the way oil and gas companies work on their subsea wells in the future, saving valuable time and money.

"There are about 4,000 oil and gas producing subsea wells around the world and this number is growing," Mr. Edwards said. "Many wells are more than a decade old and require servicing to allow for maximum oil and gas recovery.

"Current methods involve positioning a rig above the well while the work is carried out, which is time-consuming and expensive with rigs costing up to a million dollars a day."

Expro's AX-S™ subsea system is 35 meters high and weighs 220 tonnes and is deployed from a monohull vessel, such as TSmarine's DP2 DNV-classed intervention vessel Havila Phoenix.

The system can be lowered on to any subsea well down to a depth of 10,000ft, providing a safer and cheaper alternative to current practices.

Under the contract, SALT Subsea will supply the Havila Phoenix, a 110m long vessel built in 2009; dual Schilling 4,000 meter-rated UHD Workclass ROV systems; specialized tooling packages; survey and positioning and overall marine management of the vessel.

The Schilling UHD ROV systems were selected by SALT Subsea for their compatibility with the AX-S™ control systems and sub-assemblies, further enhancing the inbuilt redundancy and reliability of the system.

The Havila Phoenix and AX-S™ will be mobilized in Europe during October and commence a series of demanding offshore trials before being deployed for operational use.

Mr. Edwards said TSmarine was pleased to enter into this important contract with Expro and the AX-S™ technology.

"This is an ideal partnership for TSmarine and Expro," he said.

"We bring our integrated servicing of vessels, ROVs, subsea positioning and marine operations along with our well intervention experience from ongoing operations in Asia Pacific."

Expro's AX-S™ managing director David Shand said it was an important contract for Expro.

"With TSmarine, we are able to bring AX-S one step closer to becoming operational," Mr. Shand said.

"I am confident that both companies will become a successful global team and our plans for AX-S will allow us to deliver to the highest standards for our customers."

Tags: Expro Group International, TSMarine Subsea Ltd