MMA Offshore has been awarded a US$15M contract by TechnipFMC to provide tug and barge support for a major subsea installation project in Australia
Utilising a combination of both owned and chartered vessels, the Australia-listed offshore support vessel (OSV) owner said it will provide a fleet of four tug and barge sets and two offshore positioning tugs to support the subsea installation project. Acting as lead contractor, MMA Offshore will subcontract to other vessel operators to meet the overall vessel requirements.
MMA Offshore said the vessels involved with the project will deliver equipment to the offshore field, operating under all relevant Australian requirements.
Offshore operations are scheduled to commence in August 2021, with completion anticipated in late 2021 or early 2022.
The contract comes as welcome news for MMA Offshore’s subsea service business, which was “significantly impacted by Covid-19”, MMA Offshore managing director David Ross said in recently announcing the Australian OSV owner’s H1 FY 2021 results.
Mr Ross said MMA Offshore’s first half performance was in line with expectations given the impact of Covid-19 on the offshore oil and gas business.
“Our vessel business performed relatively well with our AHT, PSV and MPSV fleet all generating over 70% utilisation for the half,” said Mr Ross. “Utilisation of the AHTS fleet, which is more commoditised and generally operates in the construction and exploration sectors, was significantly lower. We are continuing to progress our strategy to largely exit the AHTS segment.“
MMA Offshore is looking to diversify into offshore wind and non-oil and gas-related activities. Mr Ross noted that over 20% of the company’s revenue for the first half of the fiscal year was derived from these activities.
He said MMA Offshore was “successful in securing a number of offshore wind projects during the first half and we are progressing the establishment of a local operating platform in Taiwan. We are also building our government services business and undertook our first hydrographic survey project with the Australian Navy as part of the HIPPs scheme.”
MMA Offshore reported revenue for H1 FY 2021 ending 31 December 2020 of A$119.9M (US$92M), 8.4% lower than the corresponding year earlier period.
As for the second half of the fiscal year, Mr Ross said “Oil and gas production support activities remain steady, smaller project scopes are beginning to return to market, while exploration remains subdued. Previously deferred key oil and gas projects in Australia are now being rescheduled for final investment decision this year. Tendering activity for renewables in Taiwan continues to strengthen with further support building for offshore wind developments in our regions.
“Based on our current forward projections, we remain on track to meet our earnings guidance of A$30M-A$35M (US$23M-US$27M) underlying EBITDA for FY2021.”
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