Landlocked market town wins deal for undersea robots

Forum Energy Technologies (UK) which specialises in developing oil-field technologies, has secured a £20m export finance guarantee which will help it to grow.

The company has received support from UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, to secure a significant overseas contract.

The guarantee supports a HSBC bank loan to Norwegian company, DOF Subsea AS, in its purchase of six remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) from FET.

The vehicles will be used in subsea oil and gas exploration work. DOF Subsea provides subsea services to the oil and gas industry. It has one of the largest and most sophisticated subsea fleet of vessels, dive systems and ROVs in the world.

David Havelock, UK Export Finance Chief Executive, said yesterday: “The Government is determined to help UK businesses of all sizes to win contracts overseas. In the case of Forum Energy Technologies, its customer needed a £20m loan to commit to the deal.

“We were able to provide a guarantee to its bank, which was then able to approve the loan. As a result, FET secured a significant new contract. This deal shows that securing business overseas is for all companies, not just the large corporate brands.

“This was the second FET transaction that UKEF has supported in the past 12 months, and we are currently considering support for another.”

Simone Pizzolato, the commercial manager of Forum Energy Technologies, which has a base in Kirbymoorside, said: “The availability of UK Export Finance support is essential and has definitely increased our ability to bid and win export contracts in new and developing markets.”

Jan Nore, the executive vice President of DOF Subsea, said: “Forum Subsea Technologies has a proven track record with providing us with high quality reliable ROV systems.

“UK Export Finance support made continuing that relationship possible through its support for this transaction.”

The guarantee was made through a Buyer Credit scheme, which is typically available for export contracts with a value of £5m to more than £100m.

FET, which has 3,200 staff around the world, was formed in 2010 from a merger involving oil field technology and underwater services firms.

Through its Perry-Slingsby and Sub-Atlantic brands, the company manufactures a range of hydraulic and electric subsea ROVs for inspection and survey duties, as well as deep water heavy construction work.