NOVA SCOTIA CANADA: THE NEXT PLAY

Nova Scotia firms working worldwide

Offshore/Onshore Technologies Association of Nova Scotia (OTANS) Managing Director, Paul McEachern, whose industry organization represents 400 members, says that over the past decade there has been significant growth in Nova Scotia’s supply and service chain. So much so, in fact, that the skills, capability and reputation of some Nova Scotia companies are drawing the attention of long-established oil and gas giants. Recently, Halifax-based Secunda International Ltd., was sold to McDermott International Inc., an affiliate of its subsidiary, J. Ray McDermott of Texas, for $260 Million US. The sale included 14 harsh-weather, multi-functional vessels, with capabilities that include subsea construction, pipelay, cable lay and dive support. The growth of Secunda and other local companies, like the engineering firm of Neill and Gunter (recently sold to Stantec), shows the strength of Nova Scotia’s expertise.

“We’ve gone from little industrial capability to a fairly robust industry that is competent, safe and professional,” says McEachern. The Sable Offshore Energy Project (SOEP) encouraged many local companies to develop specific expertise. Nova Scotia service providers, including diving personnel, remote access services, emergency specialists and inspection services, as well as the development of equipment for harsh environments, have all grown. “We learned that the oil and gas industry is extraordinarily demanding with the highest standards, the best safety, and rigorous timelines on the delivery of goods. They know they have had to compete,” says McEachern.

More and more Atlantic companies are partnering with Western Canadian firms. Mulgrave Machine Works is manufacturing pressure vessels for companies in Alberta. Focus Corp., a Calgary-based engineering and geomatics firm, is employing Nova Scotians for clients in Alberta. Last year, AMEC plc, an international project management and services company, acquired Coastal Ocean Associates Inc., a leader in professional oceanographic, numerical modeling and scientific technical services based in Halifax. AMEC’s purchase of the company added expertise in the continental shelf regions of Atlantic Canada. The company said the acquisition, alongside AMEC’s existing marine operations group in St. John’s, Newfoundland, strengthens AMEC’s position in the emerging energy business in offshore Nova Scotia.

Survival Systems Ltd. training simulation theatre features state of the art equipment.

Recently, Laurentian Steel Fabricators finished a heli-transportable oil rig component, constructed in Sydney, Nova Scotia, for use in Alberta under the terms of the Deep Panuke Offshore Strategic Energy Agreement. Employees of Laurentian worked with Calgary-based Academy Services to learn about the design and assembly of the rigs, which has provided technology transfer for the Nova Scotia workers.

In Halifax, Albert Bohemier is CEO of Survival Systems Limited (SSL), a company he founded in 1982. His company has achieved a highly regarded international reputation for consistent, high quality, realistic safety training programs, products and services. The primary training simulator (see photo) that has earned SSL a place in the global marketplace is the Modular Egress Training Simulator (METS™) used in the delivery of helicopter underwater escape training. An expert in teaching safety and survival training, Bohemier says the local labor serves the company’s needs very well. “We have the talent here. We have the technical expertise and we have great manufacturing, and great engineering talent in Nova Scotia that can do things and export them all over the world,” he says.