“Aberdeen is an attractive place to invest. This market will be here for decades to come.”
That’s Stuart Cameron, managing director of Dutch marine firm Boskalis. Since joining the company in 2018, he has since seen the firm grow from six to nearly 1,000 employees with hundreds based in the North-east.
And for Stuart, Aberdeen has been and always will be one of the best places to work.
He said: “I was asked to come in and set up a subsea contractor in Aberdeen to look at the UK market and grow something that was a sustainable business that could be around for many years to come.
“I was employee number one, and we came into a part of the industry which had difficult barriers to new entries, so it was really tough.
“We had to provide the exact same safety and quality as the existing players, but the only differentiator we had was to be better to deal with. We had to be more responsive, more agile, and we had to treat clients and the supply chain differently.
“The first couple of years were about building up our reputation, taking work off the third player and we always hoped at one point we would take over their position and remove them from the market.
“And that’s exactly what we did when we acquired Rever in 2021.”
The acquisition of Rever Offshore’s subsea services business allowed Boskalis to obtain two diving support vessels through the transaction.
This was a milestone for the team that have since gone “from strength to strength”, Stuart adds.
Stuart Cameron, managing director at Boskalis
‘The operations we do in the North-east are the best’
It’s been a difficult time for the North-east with the downturn of oil and gas and big companies leaving the region.
But Stuart sees the North-east as a golden opportunity for generations to come.
“Aberdeen is an attractive place to work and to invest in. If you look beyond just some of the politics, this market will be here for decades.
“As I say to a lot of the young people in the company, it’s not their careers, it’s not even their kids’ careers, it’s their kid’s, kid’s careers that may well see the downturn of production.
“I don’t personally see that we’re heading into a place where people can’t stay in Aberdeen, have a brilliant career, and their kids have a brilliant career.”
Stuart reflected on his time working across the globe but said nothing compared to the region he loves.
He added: “In terms of the highest quality, my view is the operations we do in the North-east are the best.
“If you want to build a high-quality business, this region is certainly the right place to start.”
Stuart quickly realised the potential Aberdeen has to offer and knew he was only ever going to utilise that.
“There was no point in having myself and my team scattered around the globe chasing every bit of work that moved, whether that was in Australia, Africa or Brazil. We decided that we would 100% focus on Aberdeen and we would only go abroad with our vessels if existing local clients wanted us to support them.
“We’ve gone with Total Energies to Nigeria and Qatar to provide our expertise, with BP to Trinidad, but we’ve never ventured out of the North Sea without being asked by our existing Aberdeen client base.
“I think this focus has stood us in really good stead, and the results are hopefully there for our clients and our shareholders.”
Investing in the next generation
A shift in focus away from oil and gas production has created opportunities in decommissioning. But Stuart warns there are consequences in reducing new oil field developments in the region.
Stuart said: “About 50 or 60% of our business is decommissioning, but there is a need for continuous self-growing production, and we need oil fields installed far more than removing them.
“There’s a reality going to hit quite soon that the day you stop producing new fields in the UK sector, is the day that boats and people disappear.
“As soon as that happens, it’s not just construction that’s going to stop, it’s going to be maintenance, decommissioning, and the following day the lights at ARI go off.
“I think we’ve got an onus and responsibility for the young people in the industry now, to prove it’s not doom and gloom.
He added: “When you look outside the window here, there is still a huge opportunity for young people to grasp and have a fantastic career.”
A key feature for the company is its Young Boskalis initiative which invests in the next generation of talent.
It aims to connect young professionals within the company, fostering a sense of community and facilitating their professional development.
“We’ve now got 77 people in Young Boskalis here in Aberdeen, and this happens in conjunction with our peers in Holland, and I see that as such an important thing for the region.
“Amongst the negativity that can be there from time to time, people can really see a way forward and be with a company that values young employees.
“That’s been part of our success as we’re focused on making sure we’re a rewarding company to work for, and that our values are correct, we support our graduates coming out of university and pushing them through that initial part of their career so they want to stay in Aberdeen.”
‘We absolutely believe in the future of this region’
Last year was the firm’s most successful year in every aspect of the business.
Since launching its presence in the North-east, Boskalis has become the largest diving contractor in the North Sea.
The company is also reinforcing its diving business and requirements going forward with further investment in the UK with specific focus on diving and remote tech capabilities.
“We are the only ones doing things differently because we absolutely believe in the future of this region,” Stuart said.
Boskalis has significantly doubled down on its commitment and invested heavily in vessels and equipment.
Stuart added: “We’ve also invested £50million in ROVs and tooling to build up on our diverless portfolio, and so far, we have completed over 3,000 days of diverless work in the seven years we’ve been open.”
But Stuart sees a bigger opportunity for growth. While other big contractors are sending boats down to what are deemed as more lucrative places in Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico, Stuart sees an opportunity to bring other assets in by investing in remote operations.
Stuart said: “There is an opportunity with the technology advances that have been made in satellite communication that we’re going to run ROV operations from this office remotely as opposed to always having people on every boat.”
This has been deemed an important step forward for the industry. The Remote Operations Centre has almost reached the finish line at its offices in Westhill, and by the end of this year, will create around 100 new jobs.
“The operations will move people from offshore to an onshore environment where they can go home at night and still have a technical and rewarding career,” he added.
Stuart explains that the operations will also open doors for apprenticeship and provide an opportunity for a different way of working.
“By then end of 2026, we see that this office we will have recruited an additional 200 people mostly centered around remote operations.
“It’s an exciting time and a good opportunity to hopefully continue doing what we’re doing.
“We’re focused on always delivering the highest quality and maintaining the safest standards, and we remain committed to our original mantra of doing things differently and being nicer to deal with.
“What we’ve seen so far is if we give that approach to our clients, we get it back, and I think it’s the right way to behave.
“Growing from zero to 300 has not been easy, but from day one we recognised that attracting the right people is key to our success, both onshore and offshore. Recruitment is a challenge, but we believe we are different and offer a unique working environment that attracts a variety of skills and high-performing individuals.
“We see a strong future in Aberdeen, and our business is here to invest and create jobs. We are committed to building a team where everyone can thrive and contribute to our success.
“And I think that’s very important.”