Eurocopter opened on 1 February its North Sea Service Centre in Aberdeen, Scotland - the heart of the UK's oil and gas exploration industry. The facility - in which Eurocopter has invested £10 million ($16.1m) - provides training, technical and logistics support to the UK's three main offshore helicopter operators - Bond, Bristow and CHC - which are based nearby.
The trio provide search and rescue operations, crew transportation to the oil and gas industry's offshore platforms and aerial support for the emerging wind farm sector. Eurocopter has the largest North Sea-based helicopter fleet, it claims, with 100 aircraft in operation generating 100,000 flying hours a year.
The most common type used for offshore missions is the EC225 Super Puma. A total of 45 Eurocopter types are based in Aberdeen, 11 at other UK bases, 31 in Norway, eight in the Netherlands and five in Denmark.
The airframer has already signed contracts with Bond and CHC for more than 1,000 hours of training on the facility's EC225 full flight simulator - the first of its kind outside Eurocopter's headquarters in Marignane, France. "The offshore market is very healthy," says Eurocopter UK managing director Markus Steinke. "Aberdeen is Europe's energy capital. It has and will continue to be the by-word for energy and gas exploration." Steinke says Eurocopter will expand the new facility to cater for the anticipated increase in demand from its key operators. "With our EC175 set to enter service with offshore providers, we will probably add a simulator for this type in Aberdeen," he continues.
Source: Flight International
