Structure

Topaz Energy and Marine is a Dubai-headquartered marine services and engineering company, specialising in the oil and gas industry.

The company’s history traces back to the founding of Nico International, a ship repair firm that was established in Dubai in 1973 during the oil boom. 

Topaz acquired Nico International in 1995 and the company was floated on the Muscat stock exchange in 1998. Topaz then began expanding its marine services capabilities, mostly through acquisitions.

In 2004, Topaz acquired the industrial and marine engineering division of Fujairah Marine Services. The following year, it merged with Oman’s Renaissance Services to acquire BUE Marine Services, a firm which provides equipment and support services to the offshore oil and gas industry in the Caspian Sea.

In 2008, Topaz bought Qatar’s Doha Marine Services for $124m, which gave it access to the firm’s fleet of 14 vessels.

The company recorded net profit of $65m for 2009, from sales of $448m. The company employs more than 5,200 staff. Its chairman is Samir Fancy and chief executive officer (CEO) is Fazel Fazelbhoy.

Operations

In 2009, Topaz realigned its businesses to operate under two divisions – Topaz Marine and Topaz Engineering.

Topaz Marine is the offshore support vessels and operating division. It works with oil companies during the offshore field development and production phases.

The unit has a fleet of about 100 vessels, including anchor handling vessels, platform supply vessels, survey vessels, cable layers and ice-breakers.

Topaz Marine claims to be among the top 10 largest offshore support vessel operators in the world. It has operations throughout the Middle East and the Caspian region, and the division accounts for nearly 70 per cent of the company’s profit.

Topaz Marine has three units: Topaz Marine Azerbaijan, Topaz Marine Kazakhstan, and Topaz Marine Middle East and North Africa (Mena).

Topaz Marine Mena operates some 30 vessels throughout its geographical area of the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, North Africa and Southeast Asia. It comprises the fleets of Nico Middle East, Doha Marine Services, Topaz Saudi Arabia, another acquisition.

Topaz Marine Azerbaijan owns and operates 16 vessels in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, using combined fleets of BUE Caspian, BUE Kazakhstan and BUE Turkmenistan.

Topaz Engineering is the company’s engineering, fabrication, ship building and repair division, which includes Adyard Abu Dhabi and Nico International. Its clients include  shipping companies and oil and gas firms. Adyard Abu Dhabi offers both onshore and offshore engineering, including fabrication of heavy structures and rig refurbishment.

Nico International has operations in Dubai, Fujairah, Oman’s Salalah, Baku in Azerbaijan and Bautino in Kazakhstan, and specialises in ship repair services, including conversion and refurbishment. In 1999, it formed a joint venture with the UK/South Korean Doosan Babcock to offer boiler servicing and repairs.

Ambitions

Topaz aims to become one of the top five offshore support vessel owners and operators in the world by 2015. The restructuring of its business in 2009 was under taken to strengthen its  regional and global position in marine and energy engineering sector.

In the marine engineering business, the company is bidding on several short-term projects in Egypt, Libya, and the UAE. The firm says business in the Caspian region is more long term and steady, while work in the Mena region is much more profitable but less predictable.

The firm intends to maintain a balance of market exposure in the two regions to shield itself from future market downturns. The company is also looking to expand its geographic spread beyond the Middle East and Caspian region, and is considering opportunities in Brazil and West Africa.