Anko Bos, Van Oord
Release Date: 2011-11-25
Van Oord began back in 1863 but is relatively new to the Russian market. What would you define as the strategic interest of this to the company and what do you bring to Russia?Put simply, the oil and gas industry in Russia is booming and this has attracted Van Oord to the market. Van Oord is a marine construction company with several areas of focus. Primarily, our activities concern offshore construction and dredging. For a couple of years the company has been delivering trenching services in Russia’s Baydaratskaya Bay. Van Oord is also working in Sakhalin on several projects. Another one of the main services is the installation of pipelines and the company assisted last year in the North Stream project. Van Oord delivers world leading capabilities and indeed there are few companies who can provide the services of Van Oord.
Van Oord provides the same services in Russia as it does in other parts of the world. Therefore, the company has a lot of experience and practice with the services that it provides to the Russian market. Whether the project is in Africa or Australia Van Oord has a wealth of experience to meet the needs of its clients. In the 1980s Van Oord was active in the Beaufort Sea north of Canada. This experience can be combined with our experience elsewhere in the world to meet the specific requirements of Russia. Indeed, because of Van Oord’s experience in the Beaufort Sea the company now has specialised equipment and vessels which are ice-class and adapted for dealing with Russia’s arctic seas. Therefore, when Van Oord started on the Baydratskaya Bay project the company already had the equipment and knew how to operate in this environment.
The company is a centralised Netherlands-based company with a head office is located in Rotterdam. The regional offices then take equipment from the company’s technical department. Both equipment including dredging vessels and knowledge about working worldwide is gathered in one place which makes it easy to initiate projects.
Although the company has experience operating internationally, it should be said that there are certain challenges uniquely present in the Russian market. In order to enter Russian waters you need to have flag waiver, cabotage permit. Moreover, to sail from Murmansk to Baydaratskaya Bay there is a special sea route for which you also require a permit, which grants assistance from ice-breakers. Russia is a vast country and there are virtually no ports or infrastructure. You have to arrange for food, brokerage and your own logistics scheme. Everyone entering the area also needs a border-pass. I would therefore identify logistics as the most challenging aspect of the industry.
How can your company contribute to the expansion of Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure in the arctic?
Plans in the arctic are triggered by developments in the industry. Van Oord is currently engaged in a project called OffBay Just as the Teriberka port was triggered by the Shtokman project this is being driven by industry demands.
Van Oord has a unique product. There are only a few companies in the world with dredges, fallpipe vessels and Backhoe vessels like ours. Van Oord has the largest fleet of any company operating in our field. Furthermore, the company has initiated an investment programme for vessels. Between 2011 and 2015 the company will be investing €1billion in new ships.
In September the company is launching its self-propelled cutter suction vessel, which is one of the largest in its class. At the same time the company will christen a new fallpipe vessel which is also one of the largest in the world.
Given these capabilities, how are you positioned in the Russian market?
The Baydaratskaya Bay project has been highlighting our capabilities. The company has expanded geographically with an office in Moscow, one in Sakhalin because this is where many more projects are foreseen. There is also an office in Saint Petersburg. The company is working hard on developing capabilities to provide answers to potential questions emerging in the Russian market.
Last year, the company started its own laybach division and has already undertaken several projects with the installation of pipes and even a crossing of 35km. At the moment, we are looking at shallow water laybach from 5-100 metres of water depth.
Clearly the technical issue is not a problem for carrying out projects in Russia. What are the specificities of the business side?
One of the good things about the Russian market is that ultimately clients are not concerned if your product is 10% more expensive than your direct competitor.
The important factor is that the project must be good, the client must know that quality is guaranteed and that you provide everything according to the agreed schedule. When Van Oord carried out the North stream project last year, the clients were not interested that a large Laybach is lying idle. In Baydaratskaya Bay our clients would not have accepted delays because we were not ready with our dredging work.
The trench had to be ready on time.
Russians are fairly unforgiving when it comes to schedule demands and the modalities of a project. Russian companies will also insist on projects being carried out in a specific way.
Do you feel that the Russian industry is developing an understanding of how to operate which is more in line with European standards?
Standards are there to create a mutual understanding. There are differing vocabularies relating to soil types and there are different interpretations of health and safety. Currently, Russian companies are shifting more and more towards western standards. Van Oord’s added value comes in the size of the fleet with specialised operators. The company is very competitive in quality, scheduling and providing everything that has been promised.
In terms of your positioning where do you see Van Oord eventually ranking in the Russian market?
Van Oord will be a leading company in the fields of dredging and backfilling of trenches, rock supply and also Gravity Based Structural (GBS) installations. In each of these disciplines, Van Oord will easily be able to market its knowledge and expertise.
Russia is certainly not a market that the company would want to miss out on. There are several markets which are booming at the moment from Australia to Brazil. Van Oord will do everything to establish and reinforce its leading position in Russia. Indeed, Russia has the capability to flourish however, it would be better if Russian clients better appreciated that early planning is of great importance. The earlier Van Oord is involved the easier it is to organise all the logistics for the project. This is necessary simply to ensure that a client’s needs are fulfilled.
Finally how would you like to be seen in the Russian market?
Van Oord would like to be a one-stop-shop where everything in marine construction is provided from engineering, procurement through to construction. We want to be the number one contractor for dredging, trenching, back filling, rock installation, GBS installation and shallow water laybach. Ultimately we will be the company which offers everything from the production pipe to the shore.
| Company: | Van Oord |
| Position: | Country Manager |
| Country: | 俄罗斯 |