OFFSHORE SOLUTION
Africa’s leading industrial services company, Southey
Contracting is a project management specialist. With advanced technology, expertise and experience, the company invests in excellence. Divisional Director Kyle Nash discussed the company’s offshore division and its growth, in conversation with Antonia Cole.
Southey Contracting delivers full turnkey solutions to a wide range of clients, Divisional Director Kyle Nash said: “We pride ourselves on achieving our slogan, let us be your solution, and in finding innovative ways to meet client requests regardless of turnaround time or location.”
Southey Contracting was established in 1939 and operates as a division of Southey Mauritius, which forms part of the Southey Holdings Group, a leading group of engineering companies and industrial service providers. Originally, Southey Contracting offered industrial painting and contracting services to both the mining and heavy industries in South Africa.
In 2003, the Southey Offshore Division was created to supply specialist maintenance, inspection, integrity, access and manpower services to the oil and gas, power generation, petrochemical, mining, marine, and energy sectors in Africa and beyond.
“In line with our business philosophy, we register companies in our countries of operation, thereby allowing our international clients to capitalise on our local content offering,” added Mr Nash. “Our African footprint allows us to mobilise our multi-disciplined teams swiftly and efficiently to meet our clients’ requirements. Through strategically placing equipment in our operating regions, we provide a quick turnaround on contracts that we secure throughout Africa.”
Operational footprint
Headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, Southey Contracting has an international footprint, with most operations focused across Africa. The company has permanent
offices in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Mauritius.
With increased foreign investment driving African economies to grow infrastructure, Southey Contracting can address market requirements and expand across the continent. The company considers geopolitical climates, regional operating conditions and energy policies to strategically reach new countries and navigate mature regions with its services.
“Geographically, we have built a footprint that allows us to address market requirements and gives us easy access to neighbouring countries,” explained Mr Nash. “Some of the major challenges we face in Africa are oil price fluctuations, regularly changing local regime laws and workforce shortages. It is important for us to remain flexible and engage in open conversations
with relevant authorities to mitigate this. We regularly engage and invest in local communities to support national development and education too.”
Southey Contracting has established strong local partnerships sponsoring ongoing training programmes for people across Africa. This facilitates the development of the communities in which the company operates, growing workforce numbers.
In Africa, the company is exploring emerging markets, such as LNG, power generation and renewable energy. By tailoring its service portfolio, Southey Contracting is able to support new markets with solutions that meet clients’ evolving needs. Additionally, the company is investigating the potential of mature oil fields, where there is a need for asset renewal initiatives.
“In many of these areas, ageing assets, which include platforms and FPSOs, are
reaching 10 to 15 years old,” continued Mr Nash. “With this comes an increase in the frequency of maintenance opportunities and critical life extension initiatives. The renewal and upgrading of these assets cause a ripple effect, offering us various opportunities to develop our service offering and presence.
“We encompass a spectrum of services, allowing our clients to acquire multiple solutions under one roof. Our services are not limited to Africa, and we relish the prospect of developing our service offering by identifying prospective markets and helping our clients grow, wherever they might be operating.”
Performance focused
As well as expanding operations across Africa, Southey Contracting has grown its service offering and invested in new
equipment. The company has state-ofthe-art NDT equipment, UHP machines, Amphiblast units for wet and dry blasting, Layher scaffolding, Flange Management tooling and 3D scanning capabilities to support steel fabrication works. This new machinery enables the company to provide more accurate, reliable and efficient solutions, leading the market in safety and performance.
“This, combined with aligning with strategic partners globally, has improved our service offering to ensure we can continue to offer turnkey solutions across multiple sectors,” commented Mr Nash. “We have also incorporated a cloud-based digital reporting solution, which supports a more accurate form of inspection, a faster turnaround of reports and increased security to both ourselves and our clients. With direct access to a live feed dashboard, clients can access and manage their reports in real-time.
“We are fully ISO compliant, accredited through ABS and DNV for our NDT inspection solutions and maintained memberships to IRATA, LEEA, WJS, MLC and DROPS, ensuring our services are aligned to global governing standards.”
Southey Contracting has completed many significant projects that demonstrate its ability to deliver high-quality results. An example of such is the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project. The GTA project is a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) terminal located in the Tortue gas field.
“GTA is the first gas development in the new basin offshore Mauritania and Senegal,” added Mr Nash. “For the project, we sourced, secured and delivered successful solutions to multiple clients
utilising a diverse global workforce. Our team was able to constantly adapt under pressurised working conditions and finished with no incidents or downtime. We grew the project from three to 70 people across four regions, facilitating its success.”
Responsible expansion
The company has worked on many projects that require innovative solutions and expertise. Collaborating with strategically selected partners, Southey Contracting is able to draw on the specialisations of other companies to meet certain demands. Suppliers are selected through extensive market research and inspections to make sure they meet the company’s governing standards.
“By having transparency in our approach and aligned goals, we feel the combined portfolios of our partners provide our clients with comprehensive turnkey solutions,” said Mr Nash. “The driving force behind our expansion and development is our people. We have a team of dynamic and determined individuals from various industry backgrounds. A fundamental part of our operation involves enhancing training capabilities and facilitating skills development. We pride ourselves in affording opportunities to driven individuals.”
Going forward, the company plans to keep investing in its workforce and technologies, as well as increasing its global footprint. In an industry that is constantly changing, Southey Contracting aims to remain ahead of the market utilising partnerships and innovations to drive progress.
“The industry we find ourselves in is so dynamic,” continued Mr Nash, in conclusion.
“There is no single morning you wake up knowing what the day holds ahead for you. Although demanding at times, the industry offers an environment of personal growth being continually challenged and tasked with problem solving. The industry itself is built on the back ideological thinkers and forms part of the vanguard of technology.”
