UK: Technip Celebrates Official Launch of Offshore Wind Business

To celebrate the official launch of Technip’s Offshore Wind business an event has been held today, on Monday 1st August, in the presence of the Rt. Hon. Alex Salmond, MSP, First Minister of Scotland and Thierry Pilenko, Chairman and CEO of Technip. This event took place at Technip’s Offshore Wind headquarters located on the outskirts of Aberdeen, Scotland. The Aberdeen office will act as a “centre of engineering excellence” and will support UK and other European Offshore Wind projects.

The launch of this new business underlines Technip’s commitment to the sector and represents another milestone in achieving the company’s ambition to become a leading player in this market. Other recent milestones include the launch of the Vertiwind wind turbine project and the acquisition of the assets of the former Subocean business, a specialist in offshore cable installation. This is set against the Group’s experience in successfully delivering the world’s first floating wind turbine, ‘Hywind’ located offshore Norway, and our vast experience in offshore operations and project and fleet management.

During this official event, Technip and Iberdrola have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to bid for two of the five offshore areas that the French government has offered for competitive tender in a first phase, totalling 3,000 megawatts (MW). More specifically, this MOU covers the design, engineering and construction of the 2 zones.

Thierry Pilenko, Chairman and CEO of Technip stated: “This opening and the MOU signature with Iberdrola both confirm that Technip, a world leader in the oil and gas industry, is strongly committed to the development of renewable energies. We have in the Group the talent, know-how and track record in offshore operations and project management to play a major role in the offshore wind business in Europe”.

Keith Anderson, Chief Executive of Iberdrola’s Global Offshore Division, said: “Technip’s new offshore wind offices in Aberdeen are a welcome addition to Scotland’s growing renewable energy sector. We established our global headquarters for offshore wind in Glasgow over a year ago, and since then a number of world leading companies have set-up offices in Scotland.

“We are also very pleased to welcome Technip into our consortium to bid for offshore wind projects in France. As a well-established company, with a strong presence in France and in all major energy capitals they are an ideal partner to help us bid for these major projects.”

Alex Salmond, the First Minister said: “Technip is a world-leading project management, engineering and construction business that has built its reputation for excellence in the oil & gas industry, where of course it has been a major player in Aberdeen for decades. Today’s launch signals the company’s determination to play a key part in the growing European offshore wind industry. Technip’s decision to headquarter its European offshore wind business in Aberdeen signals the leading role that Scotland is playing in the development and deployment of leading-edge clean energy generation. The MoU with Iberdrola – with its global offshore wind base in Glasgow – for developments off the French coast, underlines that the expertise being developed in Scotland can help harness not only the huge natural resources off our own coast, but the massive clean, energy resources around the world.”

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Source: technip , August 01, 2011