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Subsea 7 to close Singapore office in favour of Kuala Lumpur

Subsea 7 is understood to be closing its office in Singapore and will move its Asian base to Kuala Lumpur (KL) in an effort to trim its operating costs, reports say.

Less than 10 staff will be asked to move to the new location, reports say, and others will be made redundant so local staff can be hired in Malaysia, according to reports from Strategic Offshore Research.

The move is expected by the third quarter this year, but Subsea 7’s logistics base is expected to remain in Loyang, Singapore.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the move have corroborated the reports. Splash has contacted Subsea 7 for comment and is awaiting an official response.

One Singapore-based subsea industry specialist questioned the move, telling Splash: “The amount of oil and gas service companies heading to KL from Singapore is a knee-jerk reaction to the oil price crash and the perceived low cost of operations in KL.

“The reality is that Singapore offers a more cost-effective and efficient base for international operations. The hidden costs of operating out of KL have not been considered. They will all be back once the industry recovers.”

The London-headquartered company reduced its headcount in Singapore by 20% during 2015, and around 60 staff remain. The cuts were part of Subsea 7’s wider initiative to reduce its global workforce by around 2,500 employees by early 2016.

Holly Birkett

Holly is Splash's Online Editor and correspondent for the UK and Mediterranean. She has been a maritime journalist since 2010, and has written for and edited several trade publications. She is currently studying for membership of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. In 2013, Holly won the Seahorse Club's Social Media Journalist of the Year award. She is currently based in London.

Comments

  1. Nor I can agree that the hidden cost of operating out of KL is unknown. SBM have successfully operated the HQ out of KL for many years and just keep a site presence in Keppel Tuas. The fact is that Singapore is too expensive for accommodation and transport and is fast becoming overcrowded. A large proportion of the Singapore workforce live in Malaysia and travel to Singapore every day!

  2. In a poll we carried last year KL was deemed the most likely destination for SG companies to move to. Conversely, HK companies said en masse that if they did not reside in Hong Kong, they’d be in Singapore

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