15ON/OFF - Offshore Center Danmark

Offshore Center Danmark 

February 2009 

15 ON/OFF 

A news magazine 

on offshore business 

in Denmark 

NEWS 

Topic: 

INTERNATIONALIZATION 

Danish offshore industry goes international 

Analyze this – How should Danish companies go 

international 

Greenland in focus 

Crossing Borders – with success 

Involvement at the highest level 

Take our advices 

Falck Nutec buys added services and safety drive training 

Financing a global success 

Conditioning monitoring paves the way for 

Brazilian success 

Norway: Great potential but Danish companies little 

known 

Norway: Uncertain offshore oil and gas 

investments 

Prequalifi cation: One way in 

Why it may be expensive for SMEs to start-up 

activities in other countries 

Avoid a smack in the eye – be in 

control of contracts and local law 

Welfare and adventure 

Diffi cult start up in Qatar

AN GROUP ENERGY A/S 

Industrial Engineers & Conctractors 

Contractors 

Multidisciplinary consulting and engineering 

AN GROUP create professional and reliable 

improvements for your projects and 

production related to: 

• Optimization 

• Automation 

• Instrumentation 

• Electrical 

• SCADA & ESD 

• Production IT 

• Project Management 

We offer you competencies and capabilities 

within maintenance, scheduling, 

modification and upgrading. Operational 

optimization and technology optimization 

in all project phases such as 

• Feasibility studies 

• Conceptual design 

• Basic engineering 

• Functional requirements specifications 

• Tendering and purchasing 

Pre commissioning, commissioning and 

start up related to the following areas of 

know-how and disciplines: 

• Chemical process 

• Mechanical 

• Automation 

• Instrumentation 

• Electrical systems 

• SCADA & ESD 

AN GROUP 

Main Office: AN Group A/S • Mejeribakken 8 • DK-3540 Lynge 

Offshore Office: AN Group ENERGY A/S • Niels Bohrs Vej 6 • DK-6700 Esbjerg 

Other branches: Hovedgaden 54 • DK-8220 Brabrand • Hareskovvej 19, DK-4400 Kalundborg www.angroup.dk

Welcome 

The offshore industry has been 

booming worldwide over the past 

decade. New oilfi elds are discovered 

in Brazil, in West Africa, in the 

Mexican Gulf, and perhaps also in 

the future in Greenland. With easily 

accessible reserves becoming more 

scarce, the demand increases for 

companies with specialities within 

oil extraction under diffi cult 

Director Peter Blach 

conditions as well as sub-suppliers 

within process control, logistics, service, manpower and 

many other activities. 

Danish companies have this expert know-how just like Denmark 

is world leading within production, erection and operation 

of offshore wind farms. The companies are hence in a 

good position to look towards international horizons for new 

markets. Offshore Center Danmark wishes to contribute to 

this process in close co-operation with the national Danish 

export institutions. The center has in view to facilitate the internationalization 

process and assist the individual company 

in establishing relations to international customers directly or 

via Danish trade bodies. 

This forms the basis for Offshore Center Danmark having 

initiated a four-year development project, which will strive to 

open the gate for a general profi ling of Danish know-how on 

the international offshore market. The project is simply called 

“Internationalisation” and is going to underline the competences, 

which Danish companies possess, the companies’ 

reliability and other values that characterise the industry. 

Through market analyses and positioning of Danish core 

competences on trade fairs, conferences and in the media, 

the center will strive to make Danish companies more known 

on the international market. Furthermore, under the Offshore 

Center Danmark’s management, an “Internationalisation” 

network group has been established consisting of about 

twenty companies, which work at internationalising their 

services. 

Kind regards, Peter Blach 

Next topic: Offshore environment 

Deadline – Advertisements and articles: March 16 

Content: 


Offshore Center Danmark starts new four-year development project .......................... 4 

Analyze this – How should Danish companies go international 

Danperform Consulting assists Offshore Center Danmark collecting and 

identifying core competences in the offshore industry................................................ 6 


Promising openings for Danish businesses are already available ................................ 9 


Great challenges are rewarded with even greater opportunities for 

Danish companies wanting to play at the international playground ........................... 11 


It may seem more diffi cult to operate abroad than at home, but basically it is 

the same: Preparations and presence are the essential factors ................................ 12 


Proper preparations and guidance make the move from Esbjerg to 

Taipei easier to grasp ............................................................................................ 14 

Falck Nutec buys added services and safety drive training ........................... 16 


The aid is near for the right idea ............................................................................ 19 

Conditioning monitoring paves the way for Brazilian success 

Conditioning monitoring of critical machines such as compressors, turbines 

and generators is expected to lead to a successful entry into the Brazilian 

offshore market for Brüel & Kjær Vibro. ................................................................... 20 

Norway: Great potential but Danish companies little known 

SystemTeknik in Aalborg hands out experiences 

with the establishment of new markets ................................................................... 22 

Norway: Uncertain offshore oil and gas investments ...................................... 25 


Prequalifi cation in a standardised database is one way to getting contracts 

with the Norwegian offshore sector - and elsewhere in the EU ................................. 26 



The auditing fi rm Deloitte gives guidance to fi nancing ............................................. 27 

Avoid a smack in the eye – be in control of contracts and local law 

DAHL Lawyers focus attention on what is worth familiarizing oneself with when 

Danish companies set-up business abroad ............................................................. 29 


The demands are high when the jobs become international. The organisation 

must re-adjust and recruitment will become more challenging, however the 

reward comes with growth, both for management and employees ............................ 30 

Diffi cult start up in Qatar 

It was a bad idea for a Danish company to set up business in Qatar during the 

Mohammed crisis, Ocean Team Scandinavia has learned ........................................ 31 

Offshore Center Danmark welcomes 

new members .................................................................................................... 32 

Names in News .......................................................................................................34 

Notes & News ..................................................................................................... 36 

Large-scale renovation project in progress at Horns Rev ............................... 37 

Ocean Team behind new hydraulic system for oil change on offshore 

wind turbines ..................................................................................................... 38

Colophon 

ON/OFF News is the magazine with offshore 

related news for the Danish offshore industry. 

The target group is operators, service companies, 

suppliers, authorities and educational 

institutions within the oil and gas industry, the 

offshore wind industry and within the offshore 

related maritime industry as well as international 

partners of Offshore Center Danmark. 

ON/OFF News is published 6 times yearly. 

Publisher: 


Niels Bohrs Vej 6 

6700 Esbjerg 

Denmark 

Web: www.offshorecenter.dk 

E-mail: news@offshorecenter.dk 

Phone: +45 36 97 36 70 

Director: 

Peter Blach 

pb@offshorecenter.dk 

Editor: 

Morten Holmager 

mh@offshorecenter.dk 

Editorial staff: 

Søren Dybdahl 

sd@offshorecenter.dk 

Advertisements: 

Søren Dybdahl 

sd@offshorecenter.dk 

Graphical production: 

Jan C Design & Kommunikation 

www.jan-c.dk 

Print: 

Chronografi sk 

Isues: 1,800 

Next issue: April 2009 

Deadline for advertisements and editorials is 

March 16 2009. 

Articles and news: 

Please feel welcome to forward offshore related 

articles and personnel information to the 

editor, however responsibility can not be taken 

for such material. Articles in ON/OFF News 

are brought with copyright and may be quoted 

according to existing rules. Articles and photos 

may not be published in other connections, 

without prior written consent. 

Subscribtion: 

Free subscription can be obtained at 

www.offshorecenter.dk/onoff.asp or by 

contacting Offshore Center Danmark. 

4 ON/OFF NEWS - FEBRUARY 09 

Danish 

offshore industry 

goes international 

Offshore Center Danmark starts new four-year development project 

Danish knowhow is to be brought to the 

forefront and presented for the international 

oil and gas industry in the quest 

for attractive contracts. Offshore Center 

Danmark has taken an initiative for a new 

development project that focuses on internationalisation. 

Danish skills are to be mapped, the opportunities 

on the international markets are to 

be studied and, fi nally, proposals for how 

Danish businesses can go about internationalisation 

are to be formulated. 

“Despite the decade of good times, the 

Danish oil and gas industry could be 

more visible and sometimes the sector is 

rather anonymous seen in international 

terms,” notes Mahmoud Redda, project 

coordinator at Offshore Center Danmark. 

“Although undeserved, the Danish skills 

are not so well known internationally. 

This comparative anonymity means that 

otherwise good business potentials are not 

fully exploited.” 

The project’s aim is to spread knowledge 

about Denmark’s offshore oil and gas 

competences in relevant international 

forums and connections, with the objective 

of increased exports of Danish offshore oil 

and gas technology. 

“Over the past 20 years, the Danish 

offshore oil and gas sector has achieved 

unique competences in a number of important 

areas, including oil and gas extraction 

from marginal fi elds and fi elds where 

access is diffi cult, technology for effi cient 

exploitation of these fi elds, and competitive 

platform solutions, with everything 

combined with great cost-consciousness 

and a focus on safety and environmental 

sustainability,” adds Mahmoud Redda. 

“These remarkable skills are not so well 

known internationally. If our initiative

succeeds, then Danish businesses can get 

more international orders.” 

What can we sell? 

Offshore Center Danmark’s internationalisation 

project was launched in January this 

year and starts with a review of the leading 

Danish oil and gas competences and a 

survey of the opportunities offered by the 

international markets. 

“In other words: we must determine both 

what the Danish offshore industry has to 

offer and which products and services we 

can realistically expect to sell in the great 

world about us,” says Mahmoud Redda. 

“We also have the tradition of smaller 

businesses collaborating across the sector 

– for example in a consortium. Collaboration 

is a vital key to opening new markets 

despite Denmark’s modest size in international 

terms.” 

When this part of the project is fi nished, it 

will be followed by a two-year period in 

which the spotlight will fall on Danish core 

skills at trade fairs and conferences, and in 

international magazines and other media. 

In addition, Offshore Center Danmark will 

prepare an ‘International Offshore Oil and 

Gas Handbook’ with specifi c proposals 

for what businesses should do if they feel 

ready to bid for international work, want 

to set up foreign branches or wish to assert 

themselves internationally in other ways. 

Focus on four geographical areas Initially, 

Offshore Center Danmark’s project 

concentrates on four selected markets: 

Norway, Greenland, Brazil and Sub-saharan 

West-Africa e.g. two African countries 

– Angola and probably Nigeria. 

Knowledge and export drives are then 

planned for the individual countries, but a 

Mahmoud Redda, project coordinator 


vital process is what happens internally in 

the business ahead of campaigns in new 

markets. 

“If Danish businesses are to enter the large 

international market, their organisations 

must fi rst and foremost be geared to it 

– the necessary ambitions must be there, 

and the business must have the necessary 

management, economic and organisational 

resources,” says Mahmoud Redda. “The 

companies must deal with these aspects 

before moving out into the world.” 

Offshore Center Danmark’s internationalisation 

project lasts four years, and during 

the closing phase it will be possible for 

all interested businesses to take part in 

concrete knowledge and export drives in 

the four selected areas.” 

ON/OFF NEWS - FEBRUARY 09 5

Analyze this – How should Danish 

companies go international 

Danperform Consulting assists Offshore Center Danmark 

collecting and identifying core competences in the 

offshore industry 

Offshore Center Danmark has hired Danperform 

Consulting to conduct an analysis 

of the international offshore market for 

small and medium sized suppliers in connection 

with the internationalization project 

initiated by Offshore Center Danmark. 

The main task is to describe the market in 

fi ve selected countries that operate with 

offshore oil and gas activities. 

According to Sigurd Bløndal, a strategic 

marketing director at Danperform, it is of 

great importance for the companies within 

this industry, to acquire focus on growth 

outside the domestic offshore market. As 

known the production of oil and gas from 

the North-sea area is declining and all 

companies need to grow in order to survive 

in modern society. Many of the larger Danish 

companies within offshore oil and gas 

have already expanded into international 

markets, but the small and medium sized 

enterprises do also need to fi nd their way 

abroad. In fact, some of the companies 

already have international activities, but 

there are still many of them operating only 

domestically or with a sporadic export, that 

needs to implement strategic methods for 

growth. 

Sigurd Bløndal suggests a pedagogic model 

he made, that can be used as a destination 

path for growth within companies. This 

model requires though that the companies 

employ or consult with skilled professional 

within enterprise development, to make re- 


Sigurd Bløndal, strategic marketing director at 

Danperform 

levant researches and implement strategies 

that can be used for the expansion. 

The company has to begin screening the 

potential markets for their products and 

fi nd out if there is an actual demand or if 

a product might be of benefi t for a market 

within certain industry. By beginning 

with an external screening for market 

potentials, tariffs, standards requirements, 

product competitiveness on the particular 

markets, political environment, culture, 

gross domestic production (GDP) pr. 

capita, logistics and other infrastructure, a 

lot of money can be saved instead of just 

trying to entering the market and facing 

costly and diffi cult barriers. If the company 

considers that a particular market 

can be a lucrative one, then it should do 

analyzes of its own competences. Do we 

have competent products in quality, price 

etc.? Is the company as an organization 

competent enough to start export? Here 

we consider fi nancial strength, access to 

capital, organizational structure, manpower, 

equipments, facilities etc. 

When these macro and micro analyzes 

have been conducted a decision will be 

made if the company should proceed to 

the process of expansion. If yes, it is time 

to implement strategies and methods for 

expansion designed for the particular fi rm. 

These have to be carefully considered as 

this process will require use of considerable 

fi nancial reserves and human resources. 

Markets abroad can often be too complicated 

or too expensive to access for small 

or medium sized companies, so a consideration 

of cluster cooperation should also 

be evaluated. This might not apply for all 

companies, which is why it is placed on top 

of the graph. However, there can be a lot of 

advantages to form a group of two or more 

companies, in order to achieve economy of 

scale e.g. 

The analyzes by Danperform Consulting 

will be done among the suppliers within 

offshore oil and gas to collect and identify 

their core competences, and following, 

these will be marketed internationally, 

through exhibitions, conferences and different 

networks employed by Offshore Center 

Danmark. 

For this purpose a steering group from 

Danish Embassies (via The Ministry of 

Foreign Affairs), Danish Offshore Industry, 

The Export Credit Fund and The Industrial 

Fund for Developing Countries, has been 

established, in order to support companies 

with information on local environment 

abroad and possibly with joint venture 

or other fi nancial agreements. Another 

group of assisting partners to the project is 

interested suppliers within Offshore Center 

Danmark, who meet to discuss methods 

and strategies for internationalization and 

exchange information.

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Seminar 

Esbjerg Institute of Technology 

Aalborg University Esbjerg 

April 21, 2009 

INVITATION 

Offshore anti-terror 

protection 

Little by little, safety precautions against terror are becoming part 

of everyday life, and also the offshore industry needs guidance 

regarding methodical handling of anti-terror protection. 

Therefore, Offshore Center Danmark has established a project 

group that includes relevant players within the offshore industry. 

During the last year, among other things the project group 

has worked with forming an overview of the legislation, tion, releva relevant 

regulations and procedures, which relates to offshore anti-ter- anti-te 

ror protection in Denmark. mark. It is important that Danish small and a 

medium-seized m-seized companies, operating within the offshore industry, indu 

are equipped for handling conditions and demands concernin concerning 

anti-terror protection, both domestically 

and abroad. 

ECUR 

In the future, Danish sub-suppliers will meet increasing demands 

regarding regarding safety precautions in this area, just like lik it will be a com- 

petitive element in contract neg negotiations. 

During Duri a seminar on April 21, 2009, the project group will throw 

light on the topic from various angles during more interesting 

presentations and it will be possible to discuss the topic. On of the 

objectives of the project group has also been to prepare an “Offshore 

Anti-terror Protection Handbook” for the offshore industry in 

Denmark. The handbook will be handed out during the seminar. 

Time and place: 

Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 13.00 – 16.00, Aalborg University Esbjerg, 

auditorium C 113, Niels Bohrs Vej 8, 6700 Esbjerg. 

Price per person: 

Members: DKK 600.00 (excl. VAT)/EUR 80 (excl. VAT) 

Non-members: DKK 1,200.00 (excl. VAT) / EUR 161 (excl. VAT) 

Registration deadline April 7, 2009, 

Via Offshore Center Danmark’s website www.offshorecenter.dk, 

choose menu item “Events/internal arrangements”. 


The programme can be seen on 

www.offshorecenter.dk 

Y


Promising openings for Danish businesses are already available 

Greenland is one of the fi ve countries that 

Offshore Center Danmark is now focusing 

on in connection with its internationalisation 

project. With varying intensity, there 

has been exploratory drilling off Greenland’s 

west coast since the mid-1970s, and 

international operators such as Exxon- 

Mobil, Chevron and DONG Energy were 

awarded concessions as recently as 2007. 

It is really only a matter of years before 

the fi rst important oil fi nds are made, and 

Danish companies should be looking to 

Greenland now for contracts. 

“There is plenty of work that Danish companies 

can bid for in Greenland - also at a 

time when the fi rst oil has not yet been extracted,” 

says Mahmoud Redda, a project 

coordinator at Offshore Center Danmark. 

“Today, there is a need for expanding the 

infrastructure in the form of harbour and 

telecommunications facilities and roads. 

Warehousing facilities must be built, and 

there is a need for catering, overnight 

accommodation and health personnel for 

the businesses that are already represented 

in Greenland. So the work is there even 

if there will be no production for a long 

time.” 

Marketing Danish knowhow in Greenland 

is therefore being accelerated by Offshore 

Center Danmark’s internationalisation 

project. Mahmoud Redda took part in a 

business conference in Greenland on 28-29 

January, when the challenges and opportunities 

for Greenland’s business community 

where discussed in depth - not least as a 

consequence of the prospect of enormous 

income from oil extraction. 

“So far, 37,000 km of seismic mapping has 

been done, there are promising prospects 

for oil discoveries in both West Greenland 

and Northeast Greenland, and it is really 

only a question of time before there are 

important fi nds in West Greenland,” says 

Mahmoud Redda. “Danish businesses 

will have a head start when production 

facilities are established if we focus on the 

possibilities now. At the same time we are 

already affi liated culturally and historically 

with Greenland, so in reality we’re not so 

far from home.” 

Useful addresses for 

businesses wanting to 

study work possibilities 

in Greenland: 

Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum 

(BMP) 

Imaneq 29 

P. O. Box 930 

DK-3900 Nuuk 

Telephone: +299 34 68 00 

Fax: +299 32 43 02 

www.bmp.gl 

www.nanoq.gl/rd 

Greenland’s Tourism and 

Commerce Council 

Hans Egedesvej 29 

P. O. Box 1615 

DK-3900 Nuuk 

Telephone: +299 34 28 20 

Fax: +299 32 28 77 

www.inussuk.gl 

Confederation of Greenlandic 

Employers (GA) 

Jens Kreutzmannip Aqq. 3 

P. O. Box 73 

DK-3900 Nuuk 

Telephone: +299 32 15 00 

www.ga.gl 

NUNAOIL A/S 

Tuapannguit 38 

P. O. Box 579 

DK-3900 Nuuk 

Telephone: +299 32 87 03 

www.nunaoil.gl 

SIK trade union 

P. O. Box 9 

DK-3900 Nuuk 

Telephone: +299 32 21 33 

Fax: +299 32 49 39 

www.sik.gl/program/index.php 

Dansk Standard 

Kollegievej 6 

DK-2920 Charlottenlund 

Telephone: +45 39 96 61 01 

Fax: +45 39 96 61 02 

www.ds.dk 

Geological Survey of Denmark and 

Greenland (GEUS) 

Ø. Voldgade 10 

DK-1350 Copenhagen K 

Telephone: +45 3814 20 00 

www.geus.dk 

NUSUKA - Organization of 

Greenlandic Employers 

Paassaasivik 2 

P. O. Box 664 

DK-3900 Nuuk 

Telephone: +299 32 57 57 

www.nusuka.com 


INSPECTION • TESTING • WELDING TECHNOLOGY • CERTIFICATION 

C&P Inspection A/S 

Gammelby Ringvej 11 

DK-6700 Esbjerg 

Tel.: +45 7026 0901 

www.cpi.nu 

ENSURES YOUR QUALITY 

Styrk dit faglige netværk 

Ajour 


Ajour 2009 

Odense Congress Center 

Torsdag 26. november & 

Fredag 27. november 

09 

Headquarters: 

Reskavej 6 

DK-4220 Korsoer 

Tel.: +45 7026 0901 

www.cpi.nu 

Maskinmestrenes 

Forening 

Maskinmestrenes Forening 

Sankt Annæ Plads 16 

1250 København K 

Telefon: 3336 4920 

Fax: 3336 4949 

E-mail: mf@mmf.dk 

www.mmf.dk


Great challenges are rewarded with even greater opportunities for 

Danish companies wanting to play at the international playground. 

Danish offshore knowhow is in demand 

worldwide, and Danish companies are 

acknowledged for their expertise in a wide 

range of fi elds. There is an ongoing demand 

for new suppliers and sub-suppliers, 

and a well-run business has a bright global 

future ahead. Even during a fi nancial 

crisis, say the experts. 

Associate Professor and Ph.D. Svend 

Ole Madsen from University of Southern 

Denmark, has spent a year analysing the 

Danish Offshore Industry, and he foresees 

continuing growth the years to come. 

Today 13,000 people work in the industry 

but that number could be 20,000 by 

2020, according to him. And a lot of those 

could very well be working in small and 

medium-sized companies, as there are a 

numerous global potential markets. 

Be open-minded 

The same positive forecast comes from 

Investment Manager Kasper Svarrer from 

the Industrialisation Fund for Developing 

Countries (IFU). He is focused on business 

development within natural resources. 

“There are a lot of possibilities for suppliers 

and sub-suppliers. And though it is not 

easy getting into foreign markets, once you 

are there the competition is rather small as 

Danish companies are in great demand”, 

he says. 

Offshore export 2008: 

- Between a third and a fourth of the 

Danish Offshore Industry is already 

involved in export 

- 50% of the industry’s total production 

is exported 

- The export consists of both knowledge 

and hardware 

How to become international: 

- Join an existing customer that moves 

abroad or who takes on international 

assignments 

- Sell directly to foreign customers 

- Enter license agreements with international 

companies in order to sell 

their products and services in specifi c 

countries 

- Establish your own subsidiary company 

abroad 

- Enter or establish a network of 

companies in order to pick up larger 

projects together 

- Use the Danish part of the North Sea 

to gain experience in internationalisation 

via foreign operators 

- Participate in fairs especially 

Aberdeen or Stavanger 

Kai B. Olsen, former chairman of 


According to Kasper Svarrer, this is for 

example the case in Africa, and he urges 

companies to look beyond the media pictures 

of a continent ripped in civil war and 

famine and in stead be open to the idea of 

doing business with oil-rich countries like 

Angola and Nigeria. 

Brazilian oil 

And Danish companies are looking across 

national borders. A recent joint promotion 

to Brazil had a record high number 

of participants, tells Kai B. Olsen, former 

chairman of Offshore Center Danmark. 

“In general, I am not worried, though 

the Danish and global situation is very 

different today than two years ago. Back 

then there were no obstacles and an almost 

unlimited demand for knowhow and 

advanced technology. Today the number of 

activities has clearly dropped, but maintenance 

and operations don’t stop because of 

a fi nancial crisis or lower prices on oil, he 

states while predicting that oil prices are 

back up within six months”. 



It may seem more diffi cult to operate abroad than at home, 

but basically it is the same: Preparations and presence are 

the essential factors. 

An outstanding product is needed, of 

course. But proper preparations are what 

turn the product into an international 

success. And this depends solely on the 

willingness of the top-level management. 

It is a complex process to internationalise 

a company – or to enter new foreign markets 

– and this cannot be done without a 

sincere and wholehearted effort and personal 

involvement from the CEO and the 

board of directors. That is the message 

from numerous experts. 

“It is very important, that the export plan 

is part of a thorough strategic decision. 

And that the top management is ready to 

allocate not only company resources but 

also its own personal time and involvement. 

They personally have to go overseas 

and get hand-on knowledge of the 

potential market”, says Anette Eberhard, 

CEO of Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF). 

Investment Manager Kasper Svarrer at 


Countries (IFU) also wants to see personal 

presence abroad. He notes that no 

Danish company would establish or run 

a business at home without the management 

on site, and operating overseas is 

basically the same. 

Where to begin? 

First step of the preparation phase of going 

international is asking and answering 

questions, explains Export Consultant 

Jens Peder Jensen from Customer Rela- 


tions and Internationalisation at the Trade 

Council of Denmark: 

“What is the purpose? We have a 

product, but what are we actually selling 

and what makes it unique? Those 

answers are needed in order to move on 

to asking: What market are we looking 

to enter? Who are our competitors? How 

does that specifi c market determine the 

price level and how much is our product 

worth? How can we distribute it and 

what is the supply and demand situation? 

A company can save a lot of vexation 

and disappointment by allocating time 

and energy to these factors”. 

Preparations also include looking indepth 

at the political, legal, and business 

climate in the potential market. How 

do we fi nd trustworthy local partners? 

And if it comes to a legal disagreement 

with the local partner, are the courts able 

to make a decision and to execute the 

judgement? 

“In Denmark the distance between the 

top and bottom of the company hierarchy 

is very short, but that is not necessarily 

the case in another country. Who makes 

the decisions in that specifi c business 

climate? And in case you are negotiating 

with the wrong person, will he or she let 

you know or just waste your time? How 

will you fi nd the right decision-maker? 

You need to know these things to be able 

to operate”, says Anette Eberhard. 

Challenges 

However, before actually negotiating 

with foreign partners, the managements 

in Denmark face numerous challenges 

as part of their preparations. That is 

the conclusion from Associate Professor 

and Ph.D. at Southern University of 

Denmark, Svend Ole Madsen, who spent 

two years interviewing and analysing the 

Danish offshore industry. In his fi nal report 

from May 2008 he pins several areas 

that Danish companies need to focus on. 

Amongst these are: 

• Standardisations 

• Documentations 

• Qualifi cations 

• Marketing and development 

“Doing business internationally is playing 

in Premier League. In order to move 

from the 1st or 2nd division a variety of 

strategic assessments are needed. Your 

job is to create value to your customer 

in terms of both knowledge and technology. 

In order to do so, the level of 

competences within your company must 

be attractive”, Svend Ole Madsens says 

before elaborating: 

Standardisations 

“A lot of doors will be open to Danish 

companies if they are certifi ed according 

to international standards e.g. ISO. They 

need to be able to document the products 

and services, the safety and environmental 

aspects, and the management processes. 

This is extremely important in the 

offshore industry and it is essential to have 

an accurate overview of all these factors”. 

As an example, he mentions that Rambøll 

before its ISO-standardisation 

almost entirely worked for Maersk Oil. 

Today the company has a broad and 

international portfolio.

He suggests that a place to start is by being 

registered in the Achilles database, as 

this automatically pre-qualifi es to cooperation 

with partners in the Norwegian 

part of the North Sea. This geographic 

area could also serve as a starting point for 

gaining international experiences. 

“Becoming certifi ed is very complex as 

it e.g. demands taking on more labour, 

upgrading employees’ skills, analyses of 

customer satisfaction, and an in-depth 

look at security procedures and the management’s 

own skills. But if the company 

does not invest in standardisations, it 

will not be able to differ itself from the 

17 other competitors, and then the price 

falls and the show is running”, Svend Ole 

Madsen states. 

A strong team of specialists 

– with a global perspective 

Are you aware that Deloitte has a locally placed Tax Department 

in Esbjerg which is specialised in helping both Danish 

and international offshore companies? 

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according to the Danish Corporate tax act and companies 

which are taxed according to the Danish Hydrocarbon tax 

act. 

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process to the Danish tax authorities regarding the employees 

regardless whether they are taxed according to 

special low tax rules or to the ordinary tax rules. 

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abroad. 

Possibilities ahead 

His report also concludes that Danish 

companies ought to enhance their marketing 

and development. 

“There are so many low-hanging fruits 

ready to be gathered, if the marketing 

departments broadened their focus to 

customer needs rather than primarily 

working with product quality. Co-operate 

with the customers, he urges and remarks 

that without a professional development 

department the marketing won’t be able 

to come up with products responding to 

customer needs”. 

His position is backed up by Anette Eberhard 

who stresses that “a substantial part 

of selling something is helping the buyer 

fi nancing the specifi c product. It is caring 

Frodesgade 125 

DK-6701 Esbjerg Tel. +45 79 12 84 44 

www.deloitte.dk 

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strong relationship with you and your assignees that is de- 

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Contact persons: 

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Tax manager Anette Vium 

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Tax consultant Christina Hansen 

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for the customer and it moves your sell 

closer to a positive decision”. 

However, a lot of decisions need to be 

taken at home before an actual sell is 

relevant. Luckily, there a numerous places 

to seek professional strategy sparring and 

guidance but the main effort still relays 

on the CEO and board of directors, as 

the more well-prepared the company and 

management is, the more will it gain from 

the external experts. 

Internationalisation of a company is not 

done overnight, but as it says in the report 

on the industry: “Becoming a player at the 

international scene is not something you 

do, because you now and then have some 

spare capacity. It’s a long and complicated 

process, but the reward is worth the effort”. 

Member of 

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu 



Proper preparations and guidance make the move 

from Esbjerg to Taipei easier to grasp 

There are numerous possibilities to obtain 

thorough guidance before entering the 

international scene. Amongst others the 

Trade Council of Denmark has several 

packages to both small and medium-sized 

and large companies regardless of their 

export experiences. It is also possible 

online to test if your company is ready to 

go worldwide: 

Export Preparation 

13 consultants at The Trade Council of 

Denmark are able to assist Danish companies 

in developing export preparation 

plans and provide export advice within a 

variety of sectors. Typically, it’s three to 

four meetings, the plans are developed and 

it is free of charge for companies with less 

than 50 employees and a turnover below 

€ 6,700,000. Amongst the 130 companies 

yearly participating in the programme, 

some 10% work within energy and environment. 

Jens Chr. Jensen, Consultant: 

“The offshore industry today has much 

more focus on export than previously, 

and in general, there is a lot of knowledge 

especially in Esbjerg. My advice is to go 

globally while you are still making money 

at home. It is so much easier than if you 

have to start the process by asking the 

bank for a loan”. 


Global Mindlab 

Global Mindlab is a new consultancy 

service from the Trade council of Denmark 

helping a company’s international growth 

strategy. Global Mindlab offers one day of 

intensive counselling service with consultants 

from the Trade Council of Denmark 

and selected external experts during which 

the future internationalisation strategy is 

mapped out. An accurate and very detailed 

action plan is afterwards handed over to 

the company including specifi c dates and 

deadlines for the implementation of the 

internationalisation strategy. The price is 

€ 4,690 ex. VAT, but small and mediumsized 

companies can get a 50% funding 

from the Government. 

Jens Peder Jensen, Export Consultant: 

“It is very intensive as we gather the 

utmost experts also from abroad to focus a 

full day on just one company and one market. 

The company needs to have allocated 

some resources for their own preparations 

and the more detailed and thorough the 

company takes part in the preparation of 

the agenda for the Global Mindlab, the 

greater the outcome will be”. 

EKF (Eksport Kredit Fonden) & 


EKF offers consultancy on business 

climate, general economics and bank sectors 

in the 77 countries, EKF is currently 

active, and in a wide range of others. EKF 

is also engaged in a project on internationalisation 

with Offshore Center Danmark. 

Anette Eberhard, CEO: 

“Seeking advices from both EKF and the 

Trade Council of Denmark is a good com- 

bination. And it is worth while to start off 

by contacting the local Danish Embassy 

in the country of interest. They have the 

hands-on knowledge and provide analyses 

both by charge and for free”. 

IFU (the Industrialisation Fund for 

Developing Countries) 

The organisation provides fi nancing and 

partnerships with companies operating in 

developing countries. 

Kasper Svarrer, Investment Manager: 

“We look for aspects that the company 

itself had not thought about. Due diligence 

is essential and IFU can assist with that”. 

Danish Offshore Industry (DOI) 

The industry assists in minor market 

analyses and redirect companies to more 

in-depth guidance. In 2006 DOI and 

Rambøll Management carried out the fi rst 

and most comprehensive analysis on the 

offshore industry.

ON/OFF NEWS - MARCH 08 7


The aid is near for the right idea 

Obtaining grand loans from an average 

bank could be an up-hill task these days. 

But luckily there are other ways to get a 

company’s international adventure on the 

roll. 

EKF (Eksport Kredit Fonden) is a 

Danish state-owned credit insurance 

company. The organisation has 86 years of 

experience in providing long-term export 

credit insurance, investment credit insurance 

and investment guarantees. 

“We step in, when the private market for 

fi nancing steps out”, explains Anette Eberhard, 

and the CEO gives these examples 

of EKF-assistance: 

A Brazilian company wants to buy a 

Danish product. But the Brazilian customer 

has troubles fi nancing the investment 

through the normal bank that hesitates 

and wants to split the risk with someone 

else. That someone else could be EKF that 

provides a guarantee of up to 95% of the 

Brazilian loan. 

A Danish company wants to establish 

a production abroad. EKF provides an 

investment guarantee that covers the 

political risks including investment losses 

due to factors from transfer restrictions to 

acts of war. The cover can be extended to 

cover breach of contract by public authorities 

in the host country. 

EKF’s investment guarantee can also 

cover loan capital for the fi nancing of 

the part of the investment that cannot be 


Anette Eberhard CEO of Eksport Kredit 

Fonden (EKF) 

covered under the ordinary export credit 

scheme. 

In 2008 EKF made a total of 55 guarantees 

and fi nancing offers to Danish export 

companies. 

IFU (the Industrialisation Fund for 

Developing Countries) has for almost 

40 years offered risk capital to companies 

doing business in developing countries 

around the world. Besides the main offi ce 

in Copenhagen, IFU has 6 worldwide offi 

ces together covering investments in 77 

developing countries. 

“We have a commercial point of view 

and invest in what we regard as profi table 

projects in any kind of industry, Investment” 

Manager Kasper Svarrer explains. 

“IFU can provide up to 30% of the total 

investment, but we put forward that the 

Kasper Svarrer, Investment Manager at 


Countries (IFU) 

company itself provides a substantial part 

of the investment to prove its sincere commitment. 

As a ground rule, the company 

needs to have access to a net capital three 

times the overseas investment”. 

IFU offers partnerships – by subscribing 

to shares and/or granting loans of up to 

€ 7,370,000 per project. IFU participates 

on the boards of project companies and 

exits when the project is well on its way, 

typically after fi ve to seven years. The 

shares will then be sold back to the project 

company. 

Approximately 40 new investments 

are made every year and IFU share its 

administration and management with the 

Investment Fund for Central and Eastern 

Europe, IØ. 

More info at www.ekf.dk and www.ifu.dk

Quality is a sport 

Q-STAR Manpower is a solid Danish company providing manpower 

mainly for the oil industry in both Norway and Denmark. 

All activities are joined in the Q-STAR company, and the basic values are based 

on the values of sport such as fair play, team spirit, and accuracy 

- consequently our motto is: Quality is a sport. 

Q-STAR Manpower is based on loyal employees always doing their 

utmost for the company and our customers. 

www.q-star.com 

Q-STAR Manpower A/S DENMARK 

Stormgade 99 � DK-6700 Esbjerg � q-star@q-star.dk �Tlf.: + 45 75 45 63 22 � Fax: + 45 75 45 64 22 

Q-STAR Manpower A/S NORWAY 

Nøstetorget 5 � NO-5011 Bergen � q-star@q-star.dk �Tlf.: + 47 55 31 20 22 � Fax: + 47 55 31 20 23

Falck Nutec buys added services 

and safety drive training 

Through a strategy of expansion 

by acquisition and additional 

services, an Esbjerg-based 

training unit of the Danish 

rescue and emergency services 

Group Falck A/S has built up a 

presence in important oil operations 

centres around the world. 

Falck Training division originally started 

as the Esbjerg Fire School. In 2004, 

Falck acquired the Dutch company Global 

Safety Group (NUTEC), originally 

a Norwegian company, and renamed the 

group Falck Nutec Training. The group 

formed the fourth of Falck’s business 

streams, supplementing Emergency, Assistance 

and Health Care, and since the 

company never stopped expanding. 

Falck Nutec claims more than 30 years’ 

experience from the offshore industries 

and it now has 23 centres in the North Sea 

area, the US, Brazil, Trinidad & Tobago, 

Nigeria, Angola and South-East Asia. 

“We decided we must follow our 

customers wherever they go – we must 

have a presence in all vital oil hubs 

worldwide,” said Torben Korsgaard, vice 

president, global sales and marketing, 

Falck Nutec Training. “We have followed 

this strategy for four years and we 

have footprints in vital oil hubs except 

for the Middle East.” 


A solid platform for USA 

The strategy implies at least three new 

footprints a year. Korsgaard added, “In 

2009 I can say with certainty that we 

will enter Vietnam, Thailand, Russia, 

Venezuela and Mexico.” The two South- 

East Asian centres will open in the fi rst 

quarter, and the company is examining 

the possibilities presented by the Middle 

East, North Africa and Australia. “But 

there is nothing concrete yet,” Korsgaard 

said. 

The strategy has been given added impetus 

with the latest acquisition, 80% of the 

Louisiana-based Alford Group in the US. 

The acquisition of this company, now 

called Falck Alford, means Falck Nutec 

has a solid platform for entering the 

US with other Falck activities such as 

fi refi ghting, ambulance and healthcare 

services. 

New acquisitions to follow 

Falck Nutec’s future growth is expected 

to be partly organic, partly through acquisitions 

and partly by way of a broader 

palette of training services. 

“The next part of the strategy calls for an 

expansion of our product palette in the 

markets so that, as well as safety training, 

we can offer safety services at all 

levels,” Korsgaard said. “We have started 

training crane operators in Aberdeen in 

collaboration with Falck Onsite. We will 

also be expanding our training portfolio 

with computer-based training, as well as 

engineering training aimed at technicians 

and engineers. This is something new to

the market and it isn’t traditional safety 

training. As we don’t have competences 

in computer-based training we expect to 

buy a business in this fi eld.” 

Past growth has been driven by acquisitions, 

which have not been cheap. “The 

most recent, Alford, cost a double-digit 

amount in millions of US dollars,” Korsgaard 

said. The last acquisition in the UK 

was Onsite Training Services Ltd of 

Aberdeen, which Falck Nutec bought 

early in 2008 for “a single-digit million 

amount in pounds”, while the buy of 

Nutec itself was for a triple-digit million 

Danish kroner fi gure, Korsgaard said. 

“We see much good sense in these acquisitions, 

and our customers have reacted 

positively,” he added. 

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Poorly consolidated sector 

As the Falck group does not have the expertise 

in-house, external help was used 

in these deals. 

“Acquisitions of this size can’t be done 

without outside help and we used a US 

company in connection with Alford,” 

Korsgaard said. “The US advisers took 

care of the legal aspects, due diligence 

and accounting. We also use the Danish 

foreign ministry’s co-funding and 

advisory service IFU for our start-up in 

Nigeria and this worked well. We can’t 

do this without help.” 

Noting that expansion is the key to the 

future, Korsgaard said, “With the fi nancial 

crisis and the falling oil prices the 

future can seem somewhat bleak, but oil 

companies have safety as a high priority 

– today’s mantra is safety.” 

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This emphasis on safety training will 

lead to consolidation in the sector, 

Korsgaard predicted. 

“We are the largest global provider of 

such products and services. There are a 

couple of other providers with a global 

presence, and many small companies 

operate locally,” he said. “Safety training 

is a very poorly consolidated sector and 

we see great opportunities for consolidation 

in the coming three to fi ve years. We 

expect to be active in that.” 

With about 600 staff, Falck Nutec Training 

had sales of approximately € 94 

million in 2007. In 2009 staff will reach 

1,000 and sales will be close to € 134 

million, according to Falck Nutec’s managing 

director, Poul Victor Jensen. 

ON/OFF NEWS - FEBRUARY 09 19 

��

Conditioning monitoring 

paves the way for Brazilian 

success 

Conditioning monitoring of critical 

machines such as compressors, 

turbines and generators is 

expected to lead to a successful 

entry into the Brazilian offshore 

market for Brüel & Kjær Vibro. 

Brüel & Kjær Vibro, a leading supplier 

of instruments that monitor the condition 

of critical machines such as compressors, 

turbines and generators, has entered the international 

offshore market in a large way. 

One market of interest is Brazil, where the 

company hopes to collaborate with the integrated 

energy company Petrobras as well 

as with the petrochemicals manufacturer 

Braskem, which has been a good reference 

for B&K Vibro in Brazilian onshore installations 

for a number of years. 

“We are in the process of further expanding 

our presence in Brazil,” says Torben 

Ekvall, B&K Vibro’s managing director. 

“We are seeking prequalifi cation to work 

with Petrobras and we believe the power 

and process industries will provide growth 

in the future, along with oil and gas in 

Brazil. Our petrochem collaboration with 

Braskem will also benefi t from this.” 

Brüel & Kjær Vibro already has representation 

in Brazil via partners and an expat 

stationed in Sao Paolo. “We have the 

infrastructure in place, so we can benefi t 

from the set-up that we have already established,” 

Ekvall adds. 

Confi dent of success 

To ensure further success in Brazil, 

B&K Vibro is in the process of fi nding 

a partner dedicated to working in the oil 

and gas industry, says Jean Abdo-Berndt, 

the company”s sales manager for Latin 

America. He says it is early days yet for 

the Brazilian offshore venture to be termed 

a success, but he is confi dent of success in 

the medium to longer term. 

“Our partner must have very good 

knowledge of the industry, must be located 

centrally for Brazil’s offshore oil and gas 

industry and must be able to identify the 

opportunities for us,” Abdo-Berndt adds. 

The company will draw on its oil and gas 

competence centre in the Netherlands for 

Advertising in ON/OFF NEWS 

Please contact Søren Dybdahl: 

Phone 28 58 23 09 - news@offshorecenter.dk 


preparing tenders and other documents. 

“This centre operates worldwide and can 

work quickly and at short notice,” Abdo- 

Berndt says. 

Venture based on new products 

The existing local distributors will continue 

their collaboration with Brüel & 

Kjær Vibro, and will provide service and 

technical functions as applicable. 

Abdo-Berndt says the venture is based on 

the advent of two new Brüel & Kjær Vibro 

condition-monitoring products, which 

give Brazilian customers a new choice in 

a market that has been dominated by one 

American brand. 

The company’s rack-based safety monitoring 

system, VC-6000, provides safe, 

reliable and high-quality solutions for 

protecting people, environments and machinery. 

The Compass system adds predictive 

monitoring functions to the VC-6000 

safety system and provides integrated and 

reliable safety and predictive monitoring 

solutions. 

“These instruments were designed to meet 

or exceed the stringent norms set by the oil 

and gas industry, such as API 670 and IEC 

61508,” Abdo-Berndt says. “They provide 


er Danmark 

y 2009 

NEWS 

Topic: 




international 


Crossing Borders – with Success 



Buys, added services and safety 

Financing a Global Suc 

Conditioning m 

Brazilian 

N 



in Denmark

emote monitoring of performance and 

safety aspects, something the industry is 

interested in because, in the end, monitoring 

the performance of, say, compressors 

helps keep their costs down.” 

No confl icts of interest 

The company says cutbacks in oil industry 

maintenance staff combined with the use 

of large gas compressors, heavy turbine 

generators and a myriad of critical pumps 

have created an increasing demand for 

conditioning monitoring solutions. 

B&K Vibro also sees a market in selling 

the new instruments to update existing installations 

– which many customers regard 

as a good alternative to completely new 

instrumentation. 

The company further believes that its status 

as an independent supplier will attract 

customers. 

“We have no confl icts of interest and we 

are independent – we are not selling monitoring 

equipment that monitors our own 

compressors or turbines,” Abdo-Berndt 

says. “And our products are at least as 

good as our American competitor’s.” 

Furthermore, B&K Vibro has agreements 

with leading original equipment manufacturers 

(OEMs) of compressors and turbines 

so the instruments can be pre-installed at 

the OEMs’ production facilities. 

Expansion potential 

While preparing Brüel & Kjær Vibro’s 

further expansion abroad, Ekvall attended 

a number of meetings and conferences 

arranged by the Confederation of Danish 

Industries. “Through our owners, Spectris, 

B&K Vibro has a worldwide network of 

companies, so we have not needed external 

help to expand as we can draw on the facilities 

of this network,” he adds. “Spectris 

has 6,000 staff worldwide and we can 

piggy-back on their set-up and expertise.” 

The company’s new Brazilian initiative is 

based on the already existing business in 

Brazil and the success it has seen in the oil 

and gas industries in other territories, such 

as the North Sea, Australia, Singapore, 

Vietnam, the Netherlands and Germany. 

“Emerging markets such as Singapore, 

Vietnam and Africa are relatively new for 

us and have further expansion potential,” 

Ekvall says. “This move into the petro-energy 

market is about fi ve years old.” 

Over the next fi ve years, Ekvall expects 

the company will see further strong growth 

in the energy market. If successful, Brüel 

& Kjær Vibro can easily treble today’s 

business in Brazil alone. 

Brüel & Kjær Vibro has delivered a wide 

range of monitoring solutions for the 

world’s leading oil & gas companies, and 

claims Esso, Shell, Statoil, Maersk and 

Norsk Hydro among its references. 


Norway: Great potential but 

Danish companies little known 

The investment-intensive Norwegian offshore 

sector presents many opportunities 

for suppliers, and aims at greater expansion 

abroad. But Danish offshore suppliers 

are little known in Norway. 

The oil and gas sector expects continued 

high investments in Norway in 2009, 

Statistics Norway said in December, when 

the forecast was a 14.5% year-on-year rise 

in investments. 

However, according to business daily 

Dagens Næringsliv, many of the sector’s 

companies – including StatoilHydro 

– expect to review their investment programmes 

on the background of the fi nancial 

crisis and the fall in oil prices since 

their peak last summer. This is likely to hit 

investments for 2010 and beyond. 


“The amounts for investment in 2009 are 

robust, the decisions have been made and 

the contracts agreed,” said Liv Monica 

Stubholt, a politically appointed state 

secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and 

Energy. “But there is greater uncertainty in 

the picture for 2010.” 

“Investments in 2009 have been decided 

and the ongoing, comprehensive construction 

activity in the fi elds on the Norwegian 

continental shelf will be implemented,” 

says Per Terje Vold, managing director 

of the Norwegian Oil Industry Association 

(OLF). “But if oil prices continue at 

around US$ 40 a barrel until the summer 

of 2009 then I see reduced prospecting 

activity in 2009.” 

A report issued by OLF late last year indicated 

offshore investments would amount 

to about € 15.5 billion in 2009, up from 

€ 14.4 billion in 2008. But OLF also sees 

investments falling to about € 13.2 billion 

in 2012. 

According to Vold, four out of fi ve businesses 

in the poll have not experienced 

credit tightening. 

Indeed, the companies expect a fairly 

good market in 2009, but see labour as a 

problem. 

In December, in a poll conducted for OLF, 

companies with high sales to the Norwegian 

offshore sector said they believed the 

market would continue to be good in 2009, 

but weaker in 2010, while companies with 

smaller turnover in the sector were less 

optimistic. 

Between 40% and 50% of the companies 

whose sales to the Norwegian offshore 

sector amount to more than half of their 

total sales expected to employ more people 

in 2009; many of the 1,080 businesses 

polled said the greatest challenge facing 

them in the future is the availability of 

skilled labour. In addition, two-thirds of 

the businesses cited capacity problems as a 

contributory cause of delayed deliveries. 

Despite the lower oil price and the fi nancial 

crisis, the Norwegian offshore market 

is still attractive. 

But Danish companies should not consider 

their common roots with Norwegian companies 

as having any importance, an OLF 

spokesman says. They need to stand on the 

quality of their goods and services. 

“To be quite honest, my knowledge of the 

Danish offshore industry is not very large,” 

says Øystein Joranger, OLF’s main contact 

person for the suppliers to the sector. 

Other people in the sector share that view, 

suggesting that a well-planned market-

Who is who in Norway 

OED - The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy’s 

principal responsibility is to achieve a 

coordinated and integrated energy policy. 

http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/oed. 

html?id=750 

NPD - The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate 

contributes to creating the greatest 

possible values for society from the oil and 

gas activities by means of prudent resource 

management based on safety, emergency 

preparedness and safeguarding of external 

environment. 

http://www.npd.no/Norsk/Frontpage.htm 

PSA – The Petroleum Safety Authority is 

the regulatory authority for technical and 

operational safety, including emergency preparedness, 

and for the working environment. 

Its regulatory role covers all phases of the 

industry, from planning and design through 

construction and operation to possible 

ultimate removal. 

http://www.ptil.no/main-page/category9.html 

Enova - A public enterprise owned by the 

Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Enova’s 

main mission is to contribute to environmentally 

sound and rational use and production 

of energy, relying on fi nancial instruments 

and incentives to stimulate market actors 

and mechanisms to achieve national energy 

policy goals. 

http://www.enova.no/sitepageview. 

aspx?sitepageid=100 

Gassnova - The Norwegian state enterprise 

for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), 

Gassnova is owned by the Ministry of 

Petroleum and Energy. It manages the state’s 

CCS interests, including the development of 

technologies and realization of CCS projects, 

and advises the ministry. 

http://www.gassnova.no/ 

INTSOK - Norwegian Oil and Gas Partners 

was established in 1997 by the Norwegian 

oil and gas industry and the Norwegian 

government. Today, the network-based 

organisation’s objective is working with the 

offshore industries companies - which enjoy 

leading-edge experience, technology and 

expertise - in expanding the sector’s business 

activities in the international oil and gas 

markets. 

http://www.intsok.no/ 

OLF - The Norwegian Oil Industry Association 

is a professional body and the employers’ 

association for oil and supplier companies 

engaged in the fi eld of exploration and 

production of oil and gas on the Norwegian 

continental shelf. OLF is a member of the 

Confederation of Norwegian Business and 

Industry (NHO). 

http://www.olf.no 

NPF - The Norwegian Petroleum Society 

is Norway’s most important meeting place 

for people working in the petroleum sector. 

Politically neutral, NPF aims to raise important 

issues in the industry for discussion and 

debate. 

http://www.npf.no/index.php?c=166&kat= 

Welcome+to+NPF 

OG21 - The national technology strategy for 

the petroleum industry focuses on sustained 

profi tability in the Norwegian petroleum 

industry and resource optimisation on the 

Norwegian continental shelf (NCS); and 

increased technology and knowledge exports 

by exploiting the competitive advantages and 

internationalisation of the Norwegian service 

and supply industry. 

http://www.og21.org/ 

ing campaign and efforts to prequalify 

for work or contracts with the Norwegian 

offshore industry would be benefi cial to 

both Danish and Norwegian companies. 

“Maersk Oil Norge and DONG E&P 

Norge are members of OLF, but otherwise 

we have no direct contact with the Danish 

offshore industry,” Joranger says. 

He adds that the Norwegian offshore 

market will have a considerable size for 

many years. 

“Where there is a market there are opportunities,” 

he told ON/OFF News. “Large 

operators on the Norwegian continental 

shelf such as StatoilHydro, Shell and 

others have been drivers for the developments 

we have seen and they use new 

technology. The Norwegian offshore 

market therefore has also been a good opportunity 

for innovative suppliers.” 

The offshore sector is becoming more 

and more global and being close to and 

knowing the market are the most important 


factors, Joranger adds. “As a parallel to 

Danish companies’ possibilities we have 

the same discussion here about the possibilities 

open to the Norwegian companies 

in the regions, especially northern Norway 

and – not least – Norwegian offshore 

companies’ possibilities internationally.” 

During the period 2008 to 2011, Norway 

will maintain its position as one of the 

world’s largest offshore markets, according 

to a recent report from KonKraft, 

a collaboration forum for the OLF, the 

Norwegian Association of Ship-owners 

and the Norwegian Trade Union Federation 

(LO). 

The report says this means the Norwegian 

continental shelf (NCS) can 

continue to provide a breeding ground for 

new technologies and new operational 

solutions that can then be taken out into 

the world. 

“However, Norwegian companies are 

currently faced with a market that is 

undergoing change,” the KonKraft report 

says about the offshore supply industry’s 

activities abroad. ‘National oil companies 

are increasingly important on the customer 

side and demands are growing for 


local participation in supply. This means 

that Norwegian companies must establish 

local operations to an ever greater extent in 

order to safeguard their competitiveness.” 

In the face of international challenges, 

Norwegian technological and research and 

development institutions must become 

involved in fi nding smart solutions for use 

in the future, KonKraft adds. 

“One of their goals should be to attract 

national oil companies with technological 

and expertise development needs to Norway 

in order to pursue their development 

here,” KonKraft says. “International technological 

communities should be encouraged 

to develop their research activities in 

Norway.” 

KonKraft aims at improving and boosting 

competitiveness on the NCS to ensure 

stable and constant development activity 

there. Two of its scenarios to help develop 

Norway as an energy nation in the period 

up to 2030 are turning the country into a 

signifi cant exporter of CO 2 -effective energy 

and expertise developing the country 

into an energy and environmental technology 

cluster of world standard. 

Norway already has eight offshore-related 

clusters, which cover large parts of the 

value chain. The KonKraft study shows 

that the development of industrial clusters 

assists not only in internationalisation but 

also in retaining the companies in Norway, 

thus creating growth and employment. 

As an aid to companies wanting to enter 

Norway’s oil market, the Norwegian 

Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has issued 

a book, “Why Norway?”, which can be 

downloaded from http://www.npd.no/English/Emner/Ressursforvaltning/Promotering/whynorway_04.htm. 

“The Norwegian continental shelf consists 

of areas with varying degrees of maturity, 

and large quantities of petroleum remain 

undiscovered and many possibilities exist 

for fi nding both oil and gas,” NPD says. 

It adds that Norway’s well-established, 

competitive petroleum industry, predictable 

and transparent framework conditions, 

and approachable and skilled public administration 

are some of the reasons why 

foreign companies should choose Norway 

as an area for future growth.

Norway: Uncertain offshore oil and 

gas investments 

Depending on the sources and the calculation 

methods, total investments in the 

oil ad gas operations on the Norwegian 

continental shelf will rise from about € 

14.3 billion in 2008 to € 15.4-16.5 billion 

in 2009, and then fall until about 2015. 

But the fi gures are uncertain because of 

potential constraints imposed as a result of 

the fi nancial crisis, the fall in the crude oil 

prices since they peaked in the middle on 

2008, and the spread of costs for prospecting 

under different scenarios. 

“Challenges will be greater if low oil 

prices persist in a longer perspective,” says 

the Norwegian Oil Industry Association 

(OLF). “Capital spending on the Norwegian 

continental shelf could then fall 

sharply.” 

Bjørn Harald Martinsen, OLF’s economics 

manager, warns that lower oil prices may 

lead to a slowdown in petroleum investment. 

“That could mean a rapid upturn in 

oil prices when the world economy and 

thereby demand for petroleum return to 

growth.” 

Investment area 2007 2008 2009 

Extraction of raw oil and natural gas, total 12,030 14,245 16,408 

Pipelines 411 211 103 

Land installations 1,286 584 804 

Prospecting and conceptual studies 2,034 2,833 3,300 

Field expansion and fi elds in operation 8,691 10,801 12,276 

Of which: fi eld expansion 3,492 3,976 3,904 

Of which: goods 1,269 2,366 2,065 

Of which: services 1,448 970 756 

Of which: production drilling 774 640 975 

Fields in operation 5,203 6,828 8,373 

Of which: goods 461 676 2,069 

Of which: services 1,713 2,447 1,546 

Of which: production drilling 3,049 3,729 3,771 

AmouAmounts are millions of Euro (rounded off). Source: Statistics Norway, Dagens Næringsliv 

Investment area 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 

Prospecting* 2.182 2.505 2.482 2.712 2.973 

Field expansion 4.885 5.689 3.763 3.914 3.265 

Fields in operation 6.440 6.562 6.617 6.158 5.828 

Pipelines & land installations 568 517 657 905 854 

Removal & decommissioning 225 197 149 139 152 

Total investments 14.296 15.476 13.674 13.826 13.072 

* Prospecting investments are based on an average of a wide variation. 

Prospecting 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 

Low scenario 2.195 2.160 2.360 2.585 

Middle scenario 2.183 2.509 2.484 2.714 2.973 

High scenario 2.822 1.673 3.068 3.360 

Amounts are millions of Euro. Source: Norwegian Oil Industry Association (OLF). 



Prequalifi cation in a standardised database is one way to getting contracts 

with the Norwegian offshore sector - and elsewhere in the EU 

As well as marketing themselves, 

Danish offshore suppliers will fi nd that it 

is easier to win and keep contracts with 

the Norwegian offshore sector if they are 

prequalifi ed. 

Under the laws and regulations of the EU 

internal market and the agreement for the 

European Economic Area (EEA), which 

includes Norway, oil and gas companies 

with production licenses on the Norwegian 

continental shelf (NCS) and the Danish 

continental shelf must select their suppliers 

of goods and services on the basis of objective 

criteria and public announcements. 

“We have 100 to 200 Danish offshore 

companies at any time in our database of 

businesses that are prequalifi ed for contracts 

with the Norwegian offshore sector,” 

says Klaus Kræmer, who heads Achilles 

Denmark, the Danish branch of the Achilles 

Group Ltd, which provides services for 

sustainable procurement. 

Part of the reason is that the customers 

– which include Danish-owned operators 

DONG E&P Norge and Maersk Drilling 

Norway, as well as Shell and BP 

Norge – wanted Danish suppliers 

to get prequalifi ed, thereby 


documenting that they meet the objective 

selection criteria. 

In addition, Kræmer claims, his company 

offers both an internet-based prequalifi - 

cation system and quick notifi cation of 

contract opportunities that are published in 

the Offi cial Journal of the European Union 

(OJEU). 

Achilles describes its Joint Qualifi cation 

System (JQS) as “a unique collaboration 

between Norwegian and Danish oil and 

gas operators and management contractors”. 

The system enables suppliers to 

provide information about their company, 

products and services to potential customers 

in an easy and uniform way. 

“In the prequalifi cation system, the applicants 

answer a number of questions 

over the internet and then document their 

answers in the form of relevant certifi cates 

and so on, that they send to us for registration 

and fi ling,” says Kræmer. 

“The participants use the system for information 

and to select suppliers and contractors 

when buying goods and services,” 

Kræmer adds. “Buyers not subject to the 

European Union’s procurement directives 

use the system as a joint vendor database.’ 

An additional service, NOTiCE, alerts suppliers 

registered with Achilles’ databases 

to contract opportunities published in the 

OJEU, which is central to all regulated 

procurement in Europe. Overall, OJEU 

publishes contract opportunities for ap- 

proximately 400,000 purchasing organisations 

with a total value of € 112 billion per 

year. 

“NOTiCE simplifi es the tendering process, 

using the OJEU, for both purchasers and 

suppliers,” Kræmer claims. 

There is also a system for prequalifying 

licensees and operators set up by the Norwegian 

authorities. 

According to the Norwegian Petroleum 

Directorate (NPD), the aim is to bring new 

and competent companies onto the Norwegian 

continental shelf. 

“The prequalifi cation system is an offer to 

new companies to have their suitability to 

participate on the Norwegian continental 

shelf evaluated by the authorities prior to 

investing resources on evaluating specifi c 

business opportunities,” NPD says. 

The directorate adds that, in connection 

with licensing rounds and transfer of 

participating shares in production licenses 

on the NCS, the Norwegian authorities 

undertake an evaluation of the technical 

expertise of the company in question. With 

the prequalifi cation system, this assessment 

is done upfront, so uncertainties connected 

with entering the NCS are reduced. 

The system is also used if a licenseholder 

wishes to qualify as an operator.

NPD says the key requirement for 

new licensees is that they are able to 

contribute to the creation of value on 

the continental shelf. 

“The licensees’ expertise need not be 

equally good in all relevant technical 

fi elds, but they must be able to help 

create value through their own technical 

expertise,” the directorate says. 

“Participants must possess a minimum 

level of expertise in all relevant fi elds 

in order to be able to evaluate, understand 

and follow up the activities of 

the operator in the production licence. 

The participants must also have suffi 

cient in-house capacity and expertise 

to satisfy the prevailing requirements 

with regard to health, environment and 

safety (HSE). Operators must have 

suffi cient resources and personnel to 

manage and carry out relevant operations 

and activities in accordance with 

regulations.” 

The prequalifi cation is an evaluation 

of the competence and capacity of the 

company with respect to subsurface, 

production and development technologies 

and HSE. The NPD evaluates the 

company on issues relating to resource 

management, and the Petroleum Safety 

Authority evaluates those relating to 

HSE. 

A company seeking pre-qualifi cation 

makes initial contact with the Ministry 

of Petroleum and Energy, which makes 

the fi nal evaluation and issues the 

formal prequalifi cation notice. 

Why it may be expensive 

for SMEs to start-up 

activities in other 

countries 

The auditing fi rm Deloitte gives guidance to fi nancing 

For many SMEs it may end up being an 

expensive experience, when the company 

moves outside the country’s borders. The 

reasons for this may be many, for example 

business and cultural differences. It may 

also be for tax matters, which result in 

unforeseen extra expenditure for both the 

company and its employees, warns the 

auditing fi rm Deloitte, based in Esbjerg. 

The reason that unanticipated expenses 

may arise due to tax matters is because not 

alone should national Danish regulations 

be considered, but also other countries 

internal rules, as well as a potential double 

taxation agreement between Denmark and 

the country of activity. Further to this, the 

rules regarding tax and accounting abroad 

may cause considerably more administrative 

burdens. 

Costs for the company as an 

employer 

The requirements for registration as 

employer abroad may differ much from 

country to country. Some countries have 

demands for registration from day one, no 

matter the duration of the project, while 

others only demand registration from the 

moment the company becomes subject to 

tax in the country in question, as can be 

seen below. 

If the company has a duty to register as 

employer abroad, this may lead to a large 

administrative and fi nancial burden for 

the company in relation to deducting and 

payment of foreign provisional tax for 

the dispatched employees, as the foreign 

regulations within this sphere may be very 

different from Danish ones. 

Social security 

One of the fi nancial surprises that a Danish 

employer may meet when dispatching 

employees abroad, is the expenses for 

social security in the country where work 

is performed. According to Danish regulations, 

the employer’s payment for social 

security does not account for a particularly 

large fi nancial burden for the company, 

however, it may often be so abroad. In this 

connection it is important to distinguish 

between EU/EEA countries and other 

countries. Within the EU/EEA there are 

common guidelines for which country’s 

social security rules apply. Hence, it will 

often be possible to maintain the Danish 

employee under Danish social security. In 

order to remain under Danish social security, 

an approved Danish E101 is required. 

If the employee is going to work outside 

the EU/EEA countries, it should be investigated, 

whether Denmark has entered into 

an agreement regarding social security 

with the country where the work is performed. 

If this is not the case it may mean 

that the company must pay the employer’s 

contribution to social security, which in 

some countries amount to 30% of the gross 

wage bill. 


Expenses for the company itself 

When determining the taxable expenses 

for the company itself it is important, if the 

company will have what is called an established 

place of business abroad or not. 

Whether the company’s activities abroad 

means that it has an established place of 

business abroad depends, among other 

things, on which kind of services are supplied 

abroad, that is if manpower hire or 

contract work is considered. If manpower 

hire is considered it will not, according 

to a Danish view, result in the company 

becoming subject to tax abroad. On the 

other hand, if contract work is considered, 

the duration of the project abroad will be 

of importance. 

If the company has an established place 

of business abroad, this means that it becomes 

subject to tax abroad of the income 

earned through the established place of 

business. In addition, this has an effect 

on how the taxable income in Denmark 

should be calculated. An established place 

of business abroad may therefore either 

mean a fi nancial saving or a fi nancial 

burden, depending on the specifi c circumstances. 

An established place of business abroad 

may also have the secondary consequence 

that the company automatically has a duty 

to register as employer in the country in 

question. 

Furthermore, it has the consequence that 

the company has a duty to fi le its income 

tax return abroad. In this connection it is 

important to notice when there is a deadline 

for fi ling income tax return abroad. 

The fi ne for lack of fi ling income tax 

return is in some countries considerably 

higher than in Denmark, for example in 

Qatar the fi ne is 10,000 QAR (approx. 

EUR 1,950). 

Costs for the individual employees 

Further it is our experience that if the 

employees experience problems regarding 

their own income tax matters either in 


Denmark or abroad, the employees often 

expect the employer to help solve these 

problems. If the problem remains unsolved 

it may lead to such great discontent with 

the individual employee that he or she 

chooses to end the employment. 

In particular it is conditions concerning 

the income tax return procedure in 

Denmark and possibly also abroad which 

cause problems for the employees. If the 

employees have a duty to fi le income 

tax return abroad, it is important to pay 

attention to the deadline for fi ling income 

tax return as well as the fact that the rules 

concerning permissible deductions from 

income abroad may differ considerably 

from Danish ones. 

Even though the employees are not to 

fi le income tax return abroad, but only in 

Denmark, this may lead to frustrations for 

the individual employee, as it in Denmark 

is important to fi le income tax return 

properly in order to ensure the right deductions, 

tax reliefs, etc. If it is the fi rst time 

an employee has worked abroad, he or she 

may not be aware of these conditions. 

Corporate tax optimisation 

It depends on the corporate tax rate abroad, 

to what extent it is a fi nancial good idea 

for tax purposes to have an established 

place of business abroad and thus pay 

foreign corporate tax instead of Danish 

corporate tax. If the corporate tax rate is 

lower abroad than in Denmark, there may 

be an overall tax saving for the company, 

as the income from the established place of 

business only is subject to tax abroad and 

hence not simultaneously in Denmark. 

On the other hand, if there is a loss on 

projects abroad, overall it may be a fi nancial 

burden that the company has an established 

place of business abroad. Therefore, 

it is important that the consequences are 

thoroughly considered before a project is 

started up abroad. 

The calculation of the income subject to 

tax concerning the established place of 

business is not an exact science and may 

hence lead to long discussions with both 

the Danish and foreign authorities. If 

corporate tax matters should be optimised 

it is important, at an early stage, to involve 

your advisers in order to make sure that no 

unintentional tax consequences arise. 

A company, which has activities abroad, 

must always consider the possibility of 

global joint taxation. The purpose and size 

of this article does not allow for further 

elaboration on this matter. 

Tax optimisation for dispatched employees 

“We often see that duly planning for the 

individual dispatched employees may give 

large fi nancial savings for the employee, 

without implying extra expenditure for the 

company. As an example I can mention 

an employee, who is going to work six 

months in Qatar. If the employee is above 

the limit of top tax rate, his marginal tax 

rate in Denmark will be approx. 63%. If 

his stay abroad is planned in the right way, 

his Danish tax of the income earned in 

Qatar can be reduced to zero euro”, says 

Annette Vium Sang from Deloitte’s tax 

department. 

Under the circumstances where the 

employee goes abroad for a period shorter 

than six months, it is also important to 

notice the possibilities for paying tax-free 

travelling allowance. 

If the company does not take the tax 

conditions into consideration unforeseen 

fi nancial burdens for both the company 

and the dispatched employees may arise. 

Duly planning for both company and its 

employees will therefore often result in 

that both the company and its employees 

will achieve fi nancial advantages from 

working abroad.



DAHL Lawyers focus 

attention on what is worth 

familiarizing oneself with 

when Danish companies 

set-up business abroad. 

Many Danish companies are setting up 

business abroad by mere chance. First an 

order arrives, then a contract, and suddenly 

there is a branch offi ce with 10 

people in another country. In many occasions 

this may lead to problems, especially 

later on in relation to tax and expatriation 

allowances. Lawyer Dan B. Larsen, who 

from the DAHL Advokatfi rma’s offi ce in 

Esbjerg counsels companies in setting up 

business, among other places in Norway 

and England, has several times seen Danish 

companies perform large jobs abroad 

without having the paperwork sorted out. 

He explains: 

”It is so easy to start working in, for 

example, Norway, where everything looks 

very much like in Denmark. The language 

is almost the same and the expressions 

are the same, thus the companies run their 

business like they have done all the time. 

However, after the fi rst or second job, they 

ought to make a strategic decision about 

how they wish to set-up business formally, 

in order to avoid a smack in the eye by 

way of a large tax bill”, says 

Dan B. Larsen. 

”A company must decide whether the 

employees should be employed in Denmark 

continuously or if they should have 

expatriation status. And the company 

Dan B. Larsen, 

DAHL Advokatfi rma 

Useful links with standard 

contracts, etc.: 

www.orgalime.org 

www.di.dk 

www.startvaekst.dk 

should arrange for a formal business set-up 

abroad, either in the form of an agency, a 

subsidiary or as a branch offi ce”, Dan B 

Larsen recommends. 

Use international law 

In England, the special Anglo-Saxon tradition 

makes sure that other conditions apply 

compared to the rest of Northern Europe. It 

is Dan B. Larsen’s experience that Danish 

companies are better at preparing new business 

in England in comparison to Norway, 

given that all conditions are so fundamentally 

different across the British Channel. 

As an example, Dan B. Larsen mentions 

that in England it is possible to set-up a private 

limited company with just one pound: 

”In Denmark we are used to private or 

public limited companies should contain 

assets, for which reason you should be 

careful and be better at seizing up your 

possible business partners in England. It 

is an entirely different world. Another important 

thing is to collect outstanding debts 

Seven pieces of good advice from 

the lawyer: 

• Plan a strategy before the company starts up 

international activities 

• Become acquainted with the country’s culture 

and tradition of law – all other countries do 

not act like us 

• Have a fi rm agreement regarding law and jurisdiction 

clause 

• Use international approved standard contracts 

• Seek counselling – preferably with someone that 

your partner can recommend personally 

• If you want clients you need to register in the 

country – the local prefer to trade with locally 

registered companies 

may be terrible expensive. We have been 

given examples of companies, which have 

given up recovering debt worth hundreds 

of thousands Danish kroner, because the 

lawsuit would be too expensive”, says Dan 

B. Larsen, who recommends companies 

to provide themselves against expensive 

lawsuits by including jurisdiction clause 

according to either Danish or international 

law in their contracts. 

”It may not be the fi rst thing that springs 

to mind, when you clinch a huge contract 

with a new client that you should take 

precautions as to which country’s law the 

contract should be construed, but I would 

recommend that it takes place according 

to continental European law”, emphasizes 

Dan B. Larsen, who also stresses as a must 

the company’s ability to acquaint itself 

with the other country’s culture: 

”Many Danes assume that the way things 

are done here, is the right way. But we 

just need to travel 100 km southwards and 

we are already in a different country with 

different laws, rules and traditions. For the 

company, further education and openness 

towards what is different is important”, 

says lawyer Dan B. Larsen. 



The demands are high when the jobs become international. 

The organisation must re-adjust and recruitment will become 

more challenging, however the reward comes with growth, 

both for management and employees. 

When a company has decided to extend its 

activities internationally, the demands for 

the company grow: 

“It is clever for the companies to spread 

their activities internationally, however it 

demands many resources from both the 

organisation in Denmark as well as locally, 

where you are often met with a huge 

bureaucracy. Especially for the companies 

that are new in the world, it is important to 

achieve a good, local knowledge in order 

to succeed in competition”, says Joan 

Bonde Bach, managing director at HH 

Consult. 

HH Consult has engineers, inspectors, 

and supervisors stationed in among other 

places Norway, Angola, and Qatar. The 

demand for especially engineers has been 

high lately. 

”For engineers it is important to become 

involved in exciting projects, and it is 

defi nitely a reward that there is a tax 

advantage when they go out. The way the 

development of society is today, it is a 

requirement that we also take the family 

into account and not just the individual 

employee”, says Joan Bonde Bach. 

Group management must be 

strengthened 

The Esbjerg-based company Ocean Team 

Scandinavia has set-up a joint venture in 

Qatar with a local company and employed 

a Danish operations manager, an English 

manager as well as 10-12 local employ- 


ees. During the start-up phase of 1½ year, 

Ocean Team Scandinavia’s managing 

director Jens Peter Thomsen went to Qatar 

every a month: 

“With a managing director not being 

very much present, we had to change the 

organisation in Denmark. From the beginning, 

it was our policy that we should not 

establish new markets at the expense of 

existing customer; therefore we ordered a 

tailor-made course at Mercuri Urval with 

the purpose of strengthening the management 

group and develop both the team 

and each individual member. All members 

of the management group needed more 

responsibility, and we were to be equipped 

for constantly adapting and adjusting to 

new situations”, Jens Peter Thomsen says. 

In close contact with Denmark 

The Danish employee in Ocean Team 

Scandinavia Qatar WLL is in Qatar on a 2- 

3 year contract. Jens Peter Thomsen takes 

Bureaucracy is one of 

the many challenges for 

companies expanding 

internationally, says 

Joan Bonde Bach, 

managing director, 

HH Consult 

into account that this employee is in close 

contact with head offi ce and is able to spar 

with the top management. The employee 

has brought along his family to Qatar, and 

according to Jens Peter Thomsen’s opinion 

it is an important factor that the family is 

thriving in order for the employee to be 

willing to extent his contract: 

”The employee sees it as a big reward that 

the job is challenging and exciting. He 

regards it as an adventure. The personal 

salary is of course important, too. The 

employee must be able to keep his home 

in Denmark, and in Qatar he must be able 

to live in a secure compound with guards 

and a small swimming pool. The settings 

should be in good order”, says Jens Peter 

Thomsen. 

First professional courses onshore 

JobInVest recruits unskilled employees 

for the offshore industry. The recruitment 

often takes place through the job centre

and other players and has a very specifi c 

purpose: First, the new employee takes a 

course within scaffolding work, insulation 

and surface fi nish and is then able to work 

onshore for a year. Not until then does the 

employee take a safety course in order to 

work offshore. Niels Frederiksen, project 

manager at JobInVest explains: 

”There are high costs connected with 

shipping people directly to the North 

Sea. Often they fi nd out that the job is 

not their sort of thing – that they can’t 

do without home or that they can’t be a 

part of the special culture that is found 

offshore, where you live close to other 

people. Therefore, initially we set to work 

on the formal requirements and later the 

personal requirements. First of all, we have 

a personal, clarifying interview in order to 

uncover if this is the right industry. If you 

don’t like to stand on ten meter high scaffolding, 

there is no reason to continue the 

process”, says Niels Frederiksen, who has 

experienced that the industry has found it 

diffi cult to recruit people: 

”We all know what work is done in a 

bacon factory, however offshore work, 

what’s that? The industry has a responsibility 

to draw attention to itself. Among 

other things you can point out the attractive 

salary, as many employees attach importance 

to being guaranteed an attractive 

annual income. The conditions offshore 

are defi nitely also important. Just look at 

the new accommodation platform, which 

has single rooms and welfare facilities like 

internet and television-set in the room and 

a shared cinema. This is what the employees 

like, instead of the shanty towns, you 

see many places”, says Niels Frederiksen. 

Diffi cult start up in Qatar 

It was a bad idea for a Danish company to set up business in 

Qatar during the Mohammed crisis, Ocean Team Scandinavia 

has learned. 

When the Esbjerg-based company Ocean 

Team Scandinavia wished to expand its 

activities to Qatar, the thought was initially 

to establish itself as an independent company 

with a local, passive sponsor to market 

the services within purifi cation systems 

for lubrication oil and process systems. An 

arrangement that many companies chose, 

and which typically cost 5 to 10% of the 

turnover as a fee to the sponsor. 

The management was aware that it was 

crucial to hire a lawyer, who could help 

sorting out the registration of the company, 

thus it fulfi lled the laws of Qatar. But it 

turned out that the lawyers were a waste of 

money, and selling oil cleaning and service 

within fl ushing components in the Arab 

countries was far more complicated then 

expected. 

When managing director Jens Peter Thomsen 

came as far as the Ministry of Justice 

in Qatar to put his signature on the sponsor 

agreement he faced the challenges of doing 

business abroad. A sign in the ministry’s 

café said “We do not trade in Danish 

goods”, and after three hours waiting the 

message from the ministry was that the 

local sponsor had cancelled and withdrawn 

from the agreement. 

Joint Venture instead of local sponsor 

Jens Peter Thomsen went home and the 

company licked its wounds for three 

months to consider a new strategy for 

Qatar. The board of Ocean Team Scandinavia 

realized that the company was too 

small to a match for international politics 

and decided instead to found a company, 

which formed a joint venture co-operation 

with an existing local company in Qatar, 

the present Ocean Team Qatar WLL. 

Managing director Jens Peter Thomsen 



welcomes new members 

With 5 new members in the FIRST quarter of 2009 Offshore Center 

Danmark has past the magic line of 200 members. 

Offshore Center Danmark welcomes all new members including: 

Activ Pipeline Security Ltd. 

www.activ-company.com 

Activ-Pipeline Security Ltd. is a company in the Activ- 

Cam Group which has activities in a number of countries 

including England, Denmark, Poland and Nigeria. Activ- 

Cam’s main business is high-end security. Our typical 

clients are Police, Military, State Security, banks, other 

fi nancial sector companies and oil industry participants. 

We are a key supplier of security with elements built on 

our own products and products of our partners who are 

amongst the most well respected names in the security 

industry. These include Sony, G4S (Group 4 Securicor) 

and Intel. Our affi liate Activ-Pipeline Security exclusively 

takes care of the oil industry. Its leak detection system 

can detect leaks within 4 seconds with an accuracy of 

less than 100 meters over any distance of oil pipeline. 

We also have a program for maintenance and cleanup 

Upcoming Offshore Events: 

March 16 2009 

EWEC 2009 Marseille 

European Wind Energy Conference 

2009 in Marseille 

Marseille, France 

March 17 2009 

Taking safety to the NEXT level 

Occupational Health and Safety are 

important values in all responsible 

companies. 

Esbjerg 

March 25 2009 

OMC 2009 Offshore Mediterranean 

Conference & Exhibition, Italy 

Ravenna, Italy 


after oil spills. With its main offi ces in Warsaw, Poland, and 

Abuja, Nigeria, and other offi ces in Vienna, Austria and 

Copenhagen, Denmark, the group is headed by its founder, 

Hans Flindt, a Danish national with roots in the security 

business going back more than 100 years. 

Bjørntoft Maskinfabrik 

www.bjorntoft.dk 

Bjørntoft Maskinfabrik A/S was established in 1946. Today 

it has a staff of 17. The company specialises in machining 

small and medium-sized series, as well as carrying out 

repairs, but is also geared to carrying out special commissions. 

With over 50 years’ experience in milling, turning 

and drilling jobs, we can offer high-quality precision 

work on our modern CNC-controlled and conventional 

machines. The works has its own grinding and erection 

department. 

March 31 2009 

MCE Deepwater Development 

2009 

Copenhagen 

April 8 2009 

CWEE - Offshore Wind China 2009 

Shanghai 

April 21 2009 

Offshore Security conference 

Esbjerg 

April 23 2009 

Business in Mexico’s Oil & Gas 

Industry and One-to-One Meetings 

with Pemex 

Esbjerg 

Grønlands Turist- og Erhvervsråd 

info@greenland.com 

Greenland Tourism and Business Council is Greenland’s 

offi cial industrial development company and owned 100% 

by the Greenland Home Rule. The company was established 

in 1992 with the main purpose of developing a sustainable 

tourism and market the country’s adventures. Today, the main 

target groups of Greenland Tourism and Business Council are 

entrepreneurs and smaller companies within both onshore 

industry and tourism. The marketing of Greenland plays an 

important role. Greenland Tourism and Business Council is 

concentrating its efforts on six main areas: consultancy, innovation, 

marketing, competence development, documentation, 

and information. Our main offi ce is located in Nuuk and from 

there is managed consultancy and development, innovation 

and export promotion, competence development as well as 

documentation and information. 

Hydrafl ex a/s 

www.hydrafl ex.dk 

Hydrafl ex A/S is a 100% Danish-owned, well-consolidated 

manufacturing company based in Viborg, Denmark. We 

manufacture to order and have extensive experience in 

developing, manufacturing and servicing customer-specifi c 

hydraulic cylinders. We always focus on following parameters: 

Quality - ISO 9001:2000 certifi cation Safety and Environment 

- Hydrafl ex is certifi ed by the Danish Trade Association for 

Hydraulics Fast and fl exible delivery according to customer 

requirements R&D and construction in close co-operation 

with the customer Know-how and expertise Quality products 

Full overview of events 

including all our project 

meetings and network events, 

can be found online: 

http://offshorecenter.dk/events.asp 

To have an event included in ON/OFF 

News, please inform the editorial team on 

news@offshorecenter.dk. This service is free 

for members. Events will also be included in 

the online event calendar on www.offshorecenter.dk.

at competitive prices Service and repair The Service and 

Repair Department is staffed by highly qualifi ed professionals. 

No job is too big - or too small. 

Nunaoil A/S 

www.nunaoil.gl 

NUNAOIL A/S is the national Oil Company of Greenland. It 

was founded in 1985. The government of Greenland and 

DONG, the national Danish Energy Company jointly owns 

the Company. 

NUNAOIL has a share in all hydrocarbon licenses in 

Greenland. 

The Company aims to generate and encourage new interest 

in oil and gas exploration in Greenland. 

NUNAOILs approach is, through comprehensive co-operation 

with the oil industry present in Greenland and information 

to the local society, to facilitate the operations of the 

international oil industry. 

Samson Reguleringsteknik A/S 

www.samson.de 

SAMSON - A name recognized worldwide as a synonym 

for high-quality work, entrepreneurial spirit and innovative 

strength. The company is not only known for a complete 

product line in instrumentation and controls but also offers 

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ames in News 

Names in News 

Tommy Petersen new project 

coordinator 

Tommy Petersen, B.Sc. has been employed 

by Offshore Center Danmark in a 

position as project coordinator. Tommy 

Petersen has previously been employed 

with Maersk Oil and COWI and has 

furthermore had his own consultancy 

company for several years. Tommy will 

be coordinating technical development 

projects within oil and gas, among others 

a new project focusing on innovative 

platform design. Tommy will also coordinate 

some of Offshore Center Danmark’s 

network forums. 

Mahmoud Redda new project 

coordinator 

Mahmoud Redda, M.Sc., has been 

employed by Offshore Center Danmark 


in a position as project coordinator. 

Mahmoud has previously held a position 

as technical manager with an engineering 

company in Iraq and has also been 

employed with Semco Maritime in Denmark. 

Mahmoud Redda holds a masters 

degree within oil & gas technology from 

Aalborg University Esbjerg. Mahmoud 

will assist Offshore Center Danmark in 

the new market area Internationalization, 

coordinating the new development 

project focusing on identifying and international 

branding of the competences 

held by Danish offshore companies. 

Mahmoud will also coordinate technical 

development projects within oil and gas. 

Marianne Tølbøll new project 

coordinator 

Marianne Tølbøll, MBA, has been employed 

by Offshore Center Danmark in a 

position as project coordinator. Marianne 

Tølbøll was previously manager of a 

business council and has also held a position 

with Viking Life Saving Equipment. 

Marianne will be responsible for the HR 

related development projects coordinated 

by Offshore Center Danmark, among 

others a project aiming to put focus on 

Danish offshore in order to attract new 

employees to the industry. 

John Sørensen appointed by 

Ramboll Oil & Gas 

John Sørensen, 45, has been appointed 

as Managing Director by Ramboll Oil 

& Gas as part of a generational change. 

John Sørensen is replacing Dan Madsen, 

who retires on reaching the group’s age 

limit. 

“In recent years John Sørensen and I 

have worked hard to make this generational 

change as smooth as possible. I am 

confi dent that John Sørensen will be able 

to continue our positive development”, 

says Dan Madsen. 

John Sørensen was appointed Managing 

Director as of 1 January 2009. Dan 

Madsen will carry on as a consultant for 

Ramboll Oil & Gas. 

The Ramboll Group employs more than 

8,000 people world-wide, of which 210 

are employed at Ramboll Oil & Gas’ 

head offi ce in Esbjerg. 

Vesta’s CEO in energy 

advisory panel 

Vesta’s group CEO Ditlev Engel has 

accepted an invitation from Singapore’s 

Ministry of Trade and Industry to join an 

international energy advisory panel. Together 

with leading international business

executives and opinion makers within the 

energy sector, Ditlev Engel is to advice 

about important energy problems and 

legislation as well as giving Singapore’s 

government knowledge and perspectives 

as regards development within the global 

energy area. Singapore has established an 

advisory panel in order to obtain knowledge 

from leading international business 

executives and opinion makers to ensure 

that Singapore’s energy politics are 

relevant and visionary. The Minister of 

Trade and Industry S. Iswaran is chairman 

of the panel and meetings take place 

two to three times a year. The members 

are elected for a two year period. 

Per Buch Andreasen re-appointed 

Per Buch Andreasen, MD, has been 

re-appointed as chairman of the board 

in GEUS – the Geological Survey of 

Denmark and Greenland. Per Buch 

Andreasen has been chairman of GEUS 

since 2007 and the Minister for Climate 

and Energy Connie Hedegaard has assigned 

him to continue for at four year 

period. 

Per Buch Andreasen has a wide knowledge 

of questions related to research and 

WE CREATE SOLUTIONS 

Blue Water Shipping A/S | www.bws.dk 

has for many years been active in various 

forums relating to research policy. Further 

to the medical research issues, he has 

knowledge of the areas within energy and 

environmental research. 

Per Buch Andreasen, MD, was Clinical 

Director at Copenhagen County Hospital, 

Gentofte in the period 1981 to 2001 

and during 2001 to 2006 he was research 

manager at the same place. Between 1996 

and 2000 Per Buch Andreasen, MD, was 

chairman of the Advisory Committee on 

Energy Research, 1996 to 2003 he was 

chairman of the Ministry of the Environment’s 

Advisory Research Committee, 

1997 to 2003 a member of Risø’s board 

and during the period of 2000 to 2001 

chairman of the board at Nordic Energy 

Research Committee. 


New Chairman of Offshore 

Center Danmark 

Offshore Center Danmark wishes to 

express its gratitude for six years of excellent 

chairing of the center by director 

Kai B. Olsen from Ramboll Oil & Gas. 

Kai B. Olsen has recently been appointed 

to a new position as Regional Director of 

Ramboll Oli & Gas, UK, and hence will 

not be able to chair the center any longer. 

As new chairman of Offshore Center 

Danmark has been appointed Niels- 

Aage Giversen, former Vice-president 

from FORCE Technology. Niels-Aage 

Giversen brings with him more than 

40 years of national and international 

experience from the oil and gas industry 

at a strategic level, and has a thorough 

knowledge of the challenges and potentials 

lying within the Danish offshore 

sector. As one of the founding fathers of 

the center, Niels-Aage Giversen has an 

intimate knowledge of the center, and has 

been the facilitator of many events and 


activities undertaken during the past 6 

years. 

Jens Rebsdorf-Gregersen has been appointed 

as new member of the board of 

Offshore Center Danmark. Jens Rebsdord-Gregersen 

holds a position as 

regional director within Ramboll Oil & 

Gas and brings with him vast management 

experience as well as a thorough 

knowledge of the technical and strategic 

aspects of the offshore sector. 

The board of Offshore Center Danmark 

furthermore consists of Torben Rosenørn, 

Vice-principal of Aalborg University 

Esbjerg, Johnny Søtrup, the Mayor of 

Esbjerg and Verner Andersen, Business 

Development Manager with PonPower 

Oil & Gas. 

Advertising in ON/OFF NEWS Offshore 

ON/OFF NEWS also includes advertisements. 

ON/OFF NEWS is Your direct contact to the 

Danish offshore industry! 

The next issues of ON/OFF will be: 

ON/OFF 16: April 2009 - Environment 

Deadline for news material: March 16 

ON/OFF 17: June 2009 - Human Resources and Education 

Deadline for news material: May 15 

Kai B. Olsen Niels-Aage Giversen 

Jens Rebsdorf-Gregersen Johnny Søtrup 

Verner Andersen 

Center Danmark 

February 2009 




international 


Crossing Borders – with Success 



Buys, added services and safety drive training 

Financing a Global Success 

Conditioning monitoring paves the way for 

Brazilian success 

Norway: Great potential but Danish companies little 

known 

Norway: Uncertain offshore oil and gas 

investments 

Prequalification: One way in 






Difficult start up in Qatar 

NEWS 

Topic: 




in Denmark 

Please contact Søren Dydahl for further information about 

advertising in ON/OFF NEWS 

Søren Dybdahl - Phone 28 58 23 09 - 

news@offshorecenter.dk 

N

OTES & NEWS 

Maersk oil discovery in 

Notes & News 

Semco Maritime receives 

award from Esbjerg Business 

Development Centre 

At their annual new year’s reception at 

the concert hall in Esbjerg, the Business 

Development Centre in Esbjerg, 

“Esbjerg Erhvervsudvikling”, awards a 

company which has made a special contribution 

to the business development in 

the municipality of Esbjerg. This year, 

Semco Maritime received this honourable 

award. 

In order to be considered for this award 

the company must display the following 

values: Energy and creativity, persistence 

and frankness, international focus. 

Semco Maritime was chosen this year 

because it fully qualifi ed for these criteria. 

The company was founded in 1980 

in Esbjerg with just two people and 

today the company has 1,500 employees 

world-wide. 

”Furthermore, Semco Maritime has 

always been well-known for its innovative 

spirit. We have chosen to develop 

creative and innovative solutions for 

the benefi t of our customers and other 

stakeholders and this has worked in our 

favour”, says Erik Gaj Nielsen, Managing 

Director Semco Maritime. 

Record earnings at Vestas 

Wind Systems 

The world’s leading supplier of wind 

power solutions, Vestas Wind Systems, 

continued its growth in 2008 with the 

best fourth quarter ever – a revenue 

of € 2,500 million with an EBIT margin 

of 15.4% compared to a revenue of € 

1,900 million and an EBIT margin of 

12.3% in fourth quarter 2007. 

Total revenue in 2008 rose to € 6,000 

million from € 4,900 million in 2007. 

In 2008, Vestas shipped wind power systems 

with an aggregate capacity of 

6,160 MW and handed over wind turbines 

with a capacity of 5,580 MW to its 

customers – an increase of 24% each in 

relation to 2007. 

The growth will continue in 2009, and 

in the coming months Vestas will launch 

two new turbines – fi rst a V112-3.0 MW 

turbine and shortly thereafter a V100-1.8 

MW turbine. 

Marketing of the new turbine types will 

commence now, and the fi rst turbines 

will be ready for delivery in 2010 to fulfi l 

the goal “10 in 10” – producing, shipping 

and installing 10,000 MW in 2010. 

Vestas’ result should be seen on the background 

of the diffi culties the company 

has had in recent years with delays and 

wrong deliveries from a number of subcontractors. 

It seems the company has 

now overcome these problems. 

“By the end of 2008, the majority of 

Vestas’ many key suppliers were at a 

quality and management level corresponding 

to 4 Sigma, which contributes 

to the improvements in profi tability and 

competitiveness. However, further 

effi ciency gains may still be realised 

internally at Vestas, and the professional 

level may also be further strengthened,” 

Vestas Wind Systems said in a statement 

accompanying its 2008 annual report. 

Central North Sea 

Aberdeen-based Maersk Oil North Sea 

UK Limited has made two oil discoveries 

in the UK part of The North Sea and 

based on the new fi ndings the company 

will continue exploration in the region. 

The fi rst discovery was made December 

2 2008 when Maersk Oil North Sea UK 

Limited successfully completed the High 

Pressure and High Temperature (HPHT) 

Culzean exploration well located in 

Block 22/25a in the UK Central North. 

The well encountered a promising gas 

condensate column in reservoirs of Middle 

Jurassic to Triassic age. Evaluations 

are now ongoing to determine size of the 

gas volume, commerciality and possible 

development options. 

The second fi nding was announced February 

12 and is located in Block 20/1N 

approximately 1.5 km west of the recent 

Golden Eagle discovery. Future appraisal 

and development options are being considered 

in the Golden Eagle area, which 

includes discoveries at Golden Eagle, 

Pink and now Hobby. 

Managing Director Kurt Normann 

Nielsen, representing Maersk Oil in 

Aberdeen, says: “We are encouraged 

by the continuing exploration success 

in the Golden Eagle area. After further 

assessment we hope to be able to confi rm 

commerciality and integrate this latest 

discovery into a combined development 

with our other discoveries in the Golden 

Eagle area.” 

Aberdeen-based Maersk Oil North Sea 

UK Limited is part of Maersk Oil, a 

wholly-owned subsidiary of the Danish 

A.P. Moller-Maersk Group. It currently 

employs over 900 staff and contractors 

in the UK sector of the North Sea and 

operates Gryphon, Janice, Dumbarton, 

Affl eck, Tullich, James, and oversees 

production on Maclure for operator BP. 


Large-scale renovation 

project in progress 

at Horns Rev 

Vattenfall Vindkraft and DONG Energy invest 

€ 15 million in renovation 

Fourteen km west of Blåvands Huk, 

Horns Rev with its 80 wind turbines 

beautifully emerges on the horizon. One 

of the largest offshore wind farms in the 

world and target for a large-scale maintenance. 

The wind farm was in place in 2002 as 

one of the very fi rst offshore wind farms. 

At the time, the experience of offshore 

wind was limited of course, and it has 

later turned out that several things should 

have been made differently, including the 

design of the platforms on the foundation. 

Severe storm destroys platforms 

After a severe storm, the crew needs to 

walk very carefully on the platforms as 

grating and brackets may be destroyed 

or perhaps even have disappeared. The 

platforms are located 10 m above sea 

level, but the waves may still cause 

massive destruction in severe storms. In 


spite of various repair work performed 

on the platforms over the years, we have 

noticed that the problems have not been 

satisfactorily solved. This being the case, 

Vattenfall Vindkraft A/S and its co-owner 

DONG Energy decided to be more thorough 

and establish a permanent solution. 

The weather is a tough opponent 

of repair work 

The wind speed at Horns Rev is 10 m per 

second on average. This wind is an excellent 

mean wind in terms of electricity 

generation by wind turbines. However, 

it is often extremely diffi cult to work 

outdoors in such wind conditions when 

wave crests take their toll and render it 

impossible to transport crew and equipment. 

The weather determines the pace, and 

there have been some days when it was 

not possible to work due to bad weather 

since the project began. 

“It makes the work even more expensive, 

but such are the conditions for an 

offshore company like ours”, says project 

manager Ole Bigum Nielsen. 

The work step by step 

The work is made up of several processes. 

First, the extent of damage must 

be established. Next, the renovation 

project is planned in detail, signifi cantly 

involving the experience of all employees 

working daily at Horns Rev. 

Tenders were called for the project in 

the winter of 2007, the general contract 

being won by SubCPartner. SubCPartner 

is to remove the western half of the 

existing platforms and extend the eastern 

part of the platforms by just under half a 

metre, but also to undertake other minor 

repair work. The reason why the western 

parts of the platforms are to be removed 

is a more aggressive weather from that 

direction. 

The costs of the renovation project total 

more than € 15 million – an amount that 

could have been reduced by more than 

50% should the work be carried out on 

land. 

According to plan, the work is at a standstill 

until March due to the time of year, 

but the project is scheduled for completion 

by June 2010.

Ocean Team behind new hydraulic 

system for oil change on offshore 

wind turbines 

System prevents damages 

on equipment during offshore 

service in rough sea 

Oil from the gear systems on offshore 

wind turbines is now changeable in 

even relatively rough sea with Ocean 

Team Scandinavia’s new hydraulic wave 

compensated gear-oil conversion system, 

which is introduced on the international 

offshore market. 

The system, developed by Ocean Team 

Scandinavia themselves, allows any vessel 

to be able to pump oil from the gear 

systems in the nacelles into tanks onboard 

the ship without equipment being 

damaged due to rough sea or wind. The 

hydraulic systems simply compensate for 

wave crests and troughs. 

“Our new system solves many of the 

existing challenges of maintaining 

offshore wind turbines. Even in rather 

rough weather the hydraulic systems will 

compensate for wave crests and troughs 

by reeling the hoses fi xed on the nacelle 

back and forth on a winch on the service 

vessel”, explains Jens Peter H. Thomsen, 

manager at the Esbjerg based Ocean 

Team Scandinavia. 

Ocean Team Scandinavia is an independent 

company specialized in providing 

“Total purity package solutions” through 

development, production, sale and hiring 

out of practically all types of purifi cation 

systems for lubrication oil and process 

systems. 

The company provides services worldwide 

to companies in the fi elds of 

Managing director Jens Peter Thomsen, Team Ocean 

Scandinavia, demonstrating the new hydraulic wave 

compensated gear-oil conversion system. 

hydraulics, oil and gas extraction, wind 

turbines, industry as well as construction 

and piping. 

The new hydraulic wave-compensated 

gear-oil conversion system takes up 

a couple m3 and the main hose “the 

sock” between the service vessel and the 

nacelle contains separate hoses for clean 

and used oil as well as a bearing steel 

wire to prevent the hoses from being torn 

apart. 

Both hoses are equipped with a “weak 

point” with a patented valve system. If 

the pulling in the sock becomes uncontrollably 

strong, in case of over-pull, the 

weak point of the hose will break immediately, 

and the hose will be separated 

from the nacelle in a controlled and safe 

way and any possible physical damage or 

oil spilling will be minimized to the widest 

possible extent. The hydraulic winch 

“Hose-reel” on the service vessel will 

automatically be compensating for the 

vessel’s movements in the sea. 

“We have solved a practical problem, 

which at the same time satisfy all 

requirements and specifi cations environmentally, 

for which reason we expect 

great things from this product”, says Jens 

Peter H. Thomsen. 


Ingenious engineering makes a difference--- 

Ramboll Oil & Gas works on some of the most challenging engineering 

projects in the world: one of the world's longest pipeline projects, a large 

underground gas storage facility, floating production units, great platform 

and wind turbine projects all over the world. Our growth rate has been 

100 per cent over the past 3 years and we are still growing. Interested? 

www.ramboll-oilgas.com/jobs 

Knowledge taking people further 

Ramboll Oil & Gas provides engineering consultancy for the offshore industry. 

We employ 650 dedicated specialists and at the moment we have offices in 

Denmark, Norway and Qatar. Ramboll Oil & Gas is part of the Ramboll Group, 

a leading knowledgebased company operating in a broad international context. 

COPSØ A/S

15ON/OFF - Offshore Center Danmark

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