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Renewables success bolsters Tekmar's oil and gas expertise [Newcastle Journal (England)]
[February 20, 2014]

Renewables success bolsters Tekmar's oil and gas expertise [Newcastle Journal (England)]


(Newcastle Journal (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WITH engineering, manufacturing and technology development embedded in the roots of the North East's economy and entrepreneurial spirit, the region has long established itself as a world-leading player in the energy industry.



This has been reflected in the rapid emergence of renewables, particularly the offshore wind sector, which opened up a diverse range of opportunities and which the region was quick to capitalise on.

As a result, the North East has become a global energy hub and attracted substantial inward investment because of its critical supply chain mass and exceptional engineering, design and manufacturing skills base as well as its outstanding infrastructure. The region not only boasts a port and huge network of industry- needed facilities but strong transport links which also serve as a gateway to the rest of the UK and Europe.


Tekmar Energy, through its inherent oil and gas expertise which span more than 25 years, has become a market leader in the offshore wind sector as a specialist in the design, manufacture and supply of bespoke subsea cable, umbilical and flexible protection systems.

Our track record has seen the company supply more than 3,000 Tek- Link cable protection systems into wind farms since we brought the product to market in 2008.

Tekmar's energy and engineering talent pool has been the driving force behind the company's significant success and also led to the company forming strong alliances with key companies in the supply chain. This has resulted in Tekmar recently expanding into new state- of-the-art design, manufacturing and test facilities alongside our County Durham headquarters and investing in its expert team. Through capitalising on our energy and engineering experience, Tekmar's dedicated research and development team have also developed a ground- breaking solution which offers a major step change in cable operations.

TekTube is a polymer based corrosion resistant cable protection solution which replaces the need for costly steel j-tubes on jacket, tripod and gravity base foundations. It offers the ability to pre- install the cable protection system onshore, rather than during cable installation.

As the energy industry continues to evolve, Tekmar also adapts to the different market needs for both off-shore renewables and oil and gas to ensure its presence in each sector.

With the offshore wind market currently experiencing a slowdown, new opportunities are emerging in oil and gas.

We are seeing a role reversal from the offshore wind greatly benefiting from the experience of the offshore oil & gas industry. But this transfer of knowledge is not just one way as innovations and developments in the renewables sector can be used to support operations in hydrocarbon extraction. While this solution was originally designed to respond to drivers in offshore wind to reduce cost and risk, we are now finding new applications in oil and gas for both new platform builds as well as offering significant cost savings to developers in re-energising brown-field works where the existing j-tubes and cables have reached the end of their service life.

In addition, we are realising that Tekmar is offering a more dynamic service to the oil and gas compared with the offshore wind industry which is much more fast-paced and has a different go-ahead attitude.

Being able to identify gaps and trends in the marketplace is integral to ensuring business sustainability and this can be evidenced across the North-east where companies are continuing to grow and succeed by capitalising on new opportunities - and, ultimately, making a crucial contribution to helping to ensuring the region's global energy status and its future prosperity.

By James Ritchie, chief executive officer at Tekmar Energy (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.

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