With Two Former Executives of Veolia Environnnement and Technip at Its Helm, ECOCEANE has Established Itself Firmly on the North American Market

CLEAN GULF 2010 WORKBOAT SHOW

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The innovative French company demonstrated its capabilities during the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Through the creation of the subsidiary Ecoceane North America directed by the former President and CEO of Veolia Environnement North American Operations, and the launching of the Workglop introduced by the former Senior Vice-Chairman of Technip, ECOCEANE will be marketing its range of service vessels and hydrocarbon-recovery vessels intended for use in the petrol and gas industries, in countries, regions and ports.

ECOCEANE is an innovative French company that designs, constructs and sells vessels specialised in hydrocarbon recovery. Ten of its vessels were deployed during the US’s biggest oil spill due to the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon platform last April. There are over 3,800 oil platforms in this region, i.e. one third of the world’s installations. With this in mind, ECOCEANE set itself two aims at the start of 2010: to launch a new range of hydrocarbon-recovery vessels for the oil and gas industries, and to kick-start marketing in North America.

With the arrival at the end of 2009 of Pierre-Armand Thomas (former Senior Vice-Chairman of Technip) as director of international development in the oil and gas sectors, the company planned and began the construction of the Workglop at its naval shipyard at Paimpol in September 2010. This new range is endowed with ECOCEANE’s proprietary hydrocarbon-recovery technology and provides all the transport services between platforms and supertankers (transport of goods and persons).

Setting up the subsidiary Ecoceane North America directed by Michel Gourvennec (former President & CEO of Veolia Environnement North America Operations) has enabled the company to establish itself firmly on the American market.

After the sale of ten Cataglop hydrocarbon-recovery vessels and the hiring of its prototype of the SpillGlop SG180 (CATAMAR) for service in the Gulf of Mexico, the company set up its subsidiary Ecoceane North America. This development forms part of its international development strategy.
In France, ECOCEANE constructs its vessels and further develops its pioneering ideas through its design office and shipyard. With its optimised construction methods, ECOCEANE is already working at several French naval shipyards to respond to demand. For the European, African and Middle-Eastern markets, French naval construction is a guarantee of quality. However, some markets are more difficult to access.
“You need to know how to adapt to different geographical zones. To market our vessels in the United States, they have to be built in the country. This restrictive law, known as the Jones Act, was exceptionally waived for our vessels by the American coast guards this summer during the oil spill. Consequently, we were able to sell ten vessels for service in the Gulf of Mexico. With the crisis behind us, we have again taken up our 2010 aims: to be a player on the American market and launch the range designed for oil and gas companies,” explained Eric Vial, Chairman of Ecoceane.

The former President & CEO of Veolia Environnement North America Operations, Mr Michel Gourvennec, has taken up the reins of the "reins" of Ecoceane North America. What are the company’s aims?
“The oil spill has shown that all existing solutions were largely ineffective for the recovery of hydrocarbons at sea; this is why the hydrocarbons were picked up on land. It was with this in mind that ECOCEANE designed its hydrocarbon-recovery vessels. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico heralds a new world order. Governments and the oil and gas industries will now have to introduce effective prevention and intervention strategies to recover hydrocarbons and floating solid and liquid waste. It’s in this context that we plan to offer solutions to all those involved. Global organisations can no longer ignore these realities,” explained Mr Gourvennec.

The American company, located at 7300 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, plans to market all ECOCEANE ranges and set up joint ventures with American partners to build for the American market. The stakes are very high, as Canada and the USA account for 1/3 of "world"global wealth and 50% of accessible GDP. What’s more, the Gulf of Mexico harbours 3,800 petrol and gas platforms. Due to the volume of tanker and supertanker traffic in the region, the number of vessels required to ensure the safety of the petrol and gas platforms is estimated at several thousand. In the case of accidental oil spills or major catastrophes, ECOCEANE’s vessels can be deployed for platforms, tankers, in the open ocean, along the coastline and in ports. It is probable that over 30,000 vessels of this type will be needed worldwide.
Depending on market specificity, ECOCEANE will devise a set-up strategy as required for the construction of its vessels. ECOCEANE currently has a network of agents in 40 countries. The company can also transfer production to naval shipyards specialised in the design of aluminium vessels.

Upcoming dates to remember :

ECOCEANE will be participating in the following exhibitions:

CLEAN GULF (Tampa, 19-20 October 2010),
WORKBOAT SHOW (New Orleans, 1-3 December 2010)

ECOCEANE is a candidate in the challenge organized by the X Prize Foundation: http://iprizecleanoceans.org/Page/MediaCenter

Reminder of the role ECOCEANE played during the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico:
The sale of the first ten vessels to the USA was made following ECOCEANE’s presence in Louisiana and Florida from 6 to 27 June. ECOCEANE worked with the American authorities (coast guards and government bodies), environmental associations and American companies, and was supported by the French government.

The original source-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the source-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.