The future of North East offshore specialist Enshore Subsea has been secured after the company was snapped up by a Saudi Arabian energy company.
Enshore Subsea Ltd parent company, DeepOcean, had previously said it intended to close the subsea engineering firm back in November along with DeepOcean 1 UK Limited and DeepOcean Subsea Cables Limited.
The decision would have led to the loss of around 90 jobs in the North East.
But it has now been revealed that Enshore Subsea has been saved after it was acquired by Saudia Arabian firm Al Gihaz Contracting.
Al Gihaz Contracting, which is part of energy group Al Gihaz Holding, has acquired Enshore's assets, intellectual property and management systems and said it intends to create a new joint venture that will become a "leading seabed intervention and construction management services provider".
Commenting on the deal Sami Alangari, group vice chairman of Al Gihaz Holding said: “With this acquisition, Enshore Subsea will benefit from the technical and financial expertise of Al Gihaz Contracting, which for many years has been a leading power and manufacturing services provider locally and internationally.
"We will be able to provide competitive, resilient and diverse services to cover projects globally, and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This investment is in line with the Vision 2030 of the Kingdom and will pave the way for a strong involvement of the Group in this field.”
Following the acquisition, Enshore's existing management and operational staff will remain at the company.
Pierre Boyde, managing director of Enshore Subsea, said: “I am delighted that through this cooperation with Al Gihaz, we are able to take the company forward with a sustainable cost base, renewed energy and focus on our areas of expertise.
"We aim to be the contractor’s contractor of choice, supporting seabed intervention projects worldwide.”
Enshore Subsea will continue to operate from its facility at Port of Blyth, Northumberland, which allows it easy access to the Northern European offshore wind market.
The joint venture will focus its services on subsea engineering and construction management, skilled manpower supply and equipment rental for subsea trenching, seabed intervention, development of seabed tooling technology, and submarine flexible product installation.
