Fearnley Offshore AS is an advisory, consulting and brokerage company servicing the international offshore industry. We provide such services for all types of mobile drilling, production and construction support units on a world-wide basis.
Our types of services range from advisory work for charter contracts, including sub-lets/farm-outs, sale & purchase transactions of existing units, either on an outright basis or with charter-back, lease/purchase, etc. We also undertake assignments for newbuilding or conversion contracts. We are proud of our staff of advisors within the various market niches, and our capabilities can best be demonstrated with our impressive reference list.
Fearnley Offshore has at all times focused on the future in the various offshore markets and we always strive at being in the forefront when it comes to predicting the trends and developments in the marketplaces that we are involved with.
Contributing to the contracting process
Fearnley Offshore continuously work to optimise the decisions that our clients make. The main objective for the staff is to be creative in finding solutions and improvement in our clients' business process. Fearnley Offshore provides valuable assistance in connection with the contracting process of all types of offshore equipment, always with our clients’ best interest in mind. We give advice and assistance in charter contracts, and we have also assisted most of the major oil companies in sublet and farm-outs of excess rig capacity, mainly in the deepwater drilling market niche.
We also undertake on behalf of or advising our clients in the sale & purchase process of drilling units, mobile production units, offshore construction vessels, flotels, etc. We have handled numerous sales assignments on behalf of clients, and successfully concluded all of them to their full satisfaction. These transactions range from outright sales to more complex transactions such as lease/purchase, sale with charterback, etc.
Fearnley Offshore also enjoy a high standing with all the international shipyards, having been involved over the years in several newbuilding or conversions projects for all types of drilling units, production units and construction vessels.
For 30 years we have handled all such tasks to fulfil the requirements of our clients, whether our work is performed for the oil company or the contractor or the shipyard, with the overall objective in mind to always add value to the client’s contracting process.
Market Reports and Forecasts
With our in-house detailed and comprehensive market data base, coupled with the always up to date market information possessed by our team of advisors, information is provided in studies, reports, and presentations tailored made for specific projects and markets.
In this process Fearnley Offshore also offer their clients a continuous monthly report showing the market development, in particular for drilling units in different market segments.
In the Forefront with New Developments
We strive at being in the forefront when it comes to developing projects for the future. We participated e.g. in the newbuild contract for the first 4th and 5th generation semi submersible drilling unit and recently also the first 6th generation drilling unit. We were also at an earlier stage involved in the first project for a purpose built harsh environment FPSO. Moreover, we also have assisted clients in newbuilt deepwater pipelaying vessel.
Swift and Discreet handling of Assignments
When an operator some years ago needed a semi submersible unit to able to drill in ultra deep water Fearnley Offshore was contacted. The challenge was to find a new unit which could meet with the operator's stringent technical requirements, with earliest possible delivery and maximum contractual flexibility, combined with the need for confidentiality. For several months, Fearnley Offshore worked with the operator and a nominated contractor and the selected shipyard to develop the best concept without the market being aware of such work taking place. A contract was finalized to the full satisfaction to all the parties involved.
"This case in many ways demonstrates the strength of Fearnley Offshore" explains Managing Director Morten Mæhle in Fearnley Offshore. "The day after the operator had described their project, Fearnley Offshore put a detailed proposition on the table. In such work we always try to combine two or more parties’ interests in the project with the goal of optimising the result. In other words, all parties end up with a better deal."
Fearnley Offshore always strives to be in the early stage of the development of equipment for the future. "We always seek and search for new opportunities in the market place" Mæhle says, "and we try to develop these into concrete business propositions".
Experience and Timing
According to Mæhle, experience, know how and timing are the key words to Fearnley Offshore’s success. "We do not pretend to possess more capacity, capabilities and knowledge than the larges organizations within the service contracting business and the oil companies. But having a broad variety of contacts, experience within different fields, and always being completely updated on the market developments, and coupled with clear incentives when being successful, we will be able to give our clients alternative scenarios and solutions. As the oil companies and the contracting companies often are pressed for time, our contribution can be very valuable also from a time saving point of view".
Operating world wide, Fearnley Offshore has different sources of information and thus attack the problems differently. "In short: we must be able to assist our client in a critical point in the process, enabling him to successfully complete the project. In doing this, we may venture 100 percent of our resources for months on a no-cure-no-pay basis"
The partners and the senior staff in the company have an average of more than 15 years of offshore industry advisory experience.
A Company with long traditions
Fearnley Offshore is part of the Astrup Fearnley A/S group of companies, which history dates back to 1869! We must be doing something right having survived in this business for such a long time.
Astrup Fearnley is the parent company of a group of companies engaged in investments, consulting and brokerage. The activities of the group have their origin from the international maritime industry, but the companies also cover the energy sector, financial services and research. The group today employs about 250 persons, with the main office in Oslo, and affiliated offices in London, Paris, New York, Houston, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Jakarta, Singapore and Seoul.
Fearnley Offshore’s was established in 1973, and it was incorporated as a separate company within the Astrup Fearnley group in 1987. Fearnley Offshore is today the world’s largest and leading offshore advisory, consulting and broking company.
In the initial stage, Fearnley Offshore had a significant portion of its portfolio in the North Sea area. Today Fearnley Offshore has several of its largest clients in the U.S. This development led to the establishing of representative offices in Houston in 1997; Fearnley Offshore LLC and in Singapore in 2007; Fearnley Offshore Pte Ltd.
Quality Assurance
Fearnley Offshore has the DNV Management System Certificate NS-EN ISO 9001:2000.