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Tuesday, 14 October, 2008, 18:20 GMT | more prices >>

Bourbon dives in to subsea sector



By Upstream staff 

French marine service giant Bourbon is set to launch a new subsea services wing as part of a plan to focus on the oil and gas sector.

The company plans to become a leader in modern offshore oil and gas marine services by offering a full line of new generation high performance vessels and an expanded range of subsea activities.

The group will develop and integrate a new subsea business as part of the offshore division which will receive a gas injection of €1.7 billion ($2.5 billion) over the next five years.

The cash will be used to fund the expansion of the offshore vessel fleet and remotely operated vehicles (ROV). Earlier this year ten inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) GPA 696 type vessels were ordered at a cost of €450 million.

The marine giant said it has 19 IMR vessels and 4 ROVs on order in addition to its existing fleet of 11 IMRs and seven ROVs.

Meanwhile, Bourbon said it expected annual sales growth of 17% over the next five years as it unveiled new medium-term targets for its businesses.

In a statement, Bourbon said it planned to invest €2 billion over the next five years, "largely financed by cash flow", of which 85% would be spent on its offshore division - mostly on expanding its fleet of oil and gas service vessels.

It said it now had 188 ships on order in addition to its existing fleet of 230 vessels.


Wednesday, 06 February, 2008, 07:48 GMT  | last updated: Wednesday, 06 February, 2008, 08:30 GMT

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