Offshore access: Strengths and Weaknesses

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Introduction

One of the fastest growing business areas is the offshore access industry. It may be a wise move, to invest your funds in this industry. However, before you do that, it is always a good idea, to develop an in-depth understanding of what the risks and opportunities are in this industry. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to describe the strengths and weaknesses of companies operating in this business.

Strengths:

•          new standards in safety
•          strong reliability
•          improvement of the system, advantage against competitors
•          system can be introduced to other markets
•          cheap and safe alternative to competitors (e.g. helicopter)
•           (emotional) commitment
•          profitable companies

Weaknesses:

•          companies do not produce the system components
•          one mistake made could have a huge impact on the companies
•          dependence on employees
•          no marketing division
•          each employee has great responsibility, should not abuse the given trust
•          distribution of company shares
•         companies’ success depends heavily on great commitment and interaction of employees

First Strength: Cheap and safer alternative to competitors (e.g. helicopter):

Due to a superior system, the providers of differentiated systems have a great advantage over competitors. It serves the demand for safe personnel transfer offshore better than any other competitor, which is a major strength. Furthermore, the system is still cheaper than their competitors. Today, the oil and gas industry is not cost sensitive but it is likely to change in the future. In that case, these companies have strength by providing cheapness and avoiding offshore risks in one.

Second Strength: (emotional) Commitment of employees:

The employee commitment is the second great strength of these organizations. As mentioned earlier, most employees know each other and are therefore closely bonded. The fact that many of the employees own shares make them even more committed, resulting for example in a low absence rate as described.

First Weakness: No marketing department:

Most of these companies’ revenue is generated in the oil industry. As this industry is known for their conservatism, it is of high importance to inform and convince potential clients of the differentiated offshore access system. It is a major weakness that no marketing department had been established, which could have positioned the company in the offshore oil and gas industry more successfully. This weakness relates to the strategic issue of improving the company’s structure.

Second Weakness: Company’s success depends heavily on great commitment and interaction of employees:

The companies pursue a growth strategy which inherits the demand for new employees who handle the increasing work-load. It will be a great challenge to recruit new employees that show the same commitment and responsibility for their offshore career. It will include a zero mistake policy. Future economic success heavily depends on selecting the right applicants. This issue also relates to the strategic issue of improving the structure of the company.