La Brea-based, local energy service company, Perfection Services Ltd (PSL), has recently been accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) as an inspection body, and has acquired the ISO 17020 Certification for Inspection. This standard specifies requirements for the competence of bodies performing inspection and for the impartiality and consistency of their inspection activities. Achieving this accreditation is a boost for local content, as the inspection services that PSL intends to carry out have until now been performed by foreign entities. In the current low price environment, where cutting costs is key, the provision of these services locally at a lower price obviously has benefits for the entire industry.
Over the last 25 years, Managing Director/CEO, Desmond Roberts has been able to establish PSL as a homegrown company with international recognition to service the upstream energy activities in Trinidad and Tobago and beyond. PSL was established in 1999, on the south eastern coast of Mayaro, initially intending to deliver construction services. However, the business quickly moved away from construction into the supply of cargo carrying units (CCUs) for which it subsequently received DNV 2.7-1 certification. PSL now operates from its Santa Margarita, St Augustine head office and its sevenacre operating base on the LABIDCO Estate in La Brea.
The driver for achieving the new certification was the need to have a competitive advantage and to be more proactive in supporting the client to deliver quality service, while improving local content. Perfection Services is a 100% locally owned and operated firm. All staff at the La Brea facility are from La Brea and Pt Fortin. At present, there are three level 2 inspectors at PSL. Roberts is grateful to his entire team and all those who worked tirelessly to achieve this certification and he also expressed gratitude to the team from Ferguson Group who also assisted and provided advice and assistance.
BPTT and Schlumberger were PSL’s first clients and they constructed the longest cargo basket ever built in the region for their clients. In 2004, after partnering with the Ferguson Group, 40 additional units were brought in. The partnership with the Ferguson Group proved to be very successful as they can now provide offshore accommodation units, office accommodation units and freezer units that can be used to transport food to and from offshore platforms and rigs to DNV certification.
The company also designed and built a pipe rack (by Roberts’ own design) and was certified by Lloyds of London which will also take the international market. There is only one other company out of Scotland that has a similar product so this being only the second type of its kind: designed and built by Trinidadians.
The Perfection Services CEO, explained that they traditionally partnered with foreign firms to gain credibility in the market, both locally and regionally. There are approximately 1,000 units in the fleet currently, but according to Roberts this will increase to 1,500 in 2016. The increase in fleet size is consistent with their long-term goal of establishing a presence in foreign markets including Colombia, Suriname, Cuba and Guyana. These markets were selected as they are all now exploring offshore drilling and would open up a new market for them in terms of the CCU business.
In the future, Roberts notes that the CCU, accommodation and freezer unit business will remain their core business line, however, he anticipates that there will be significant growth in the inspection services now that they have achieved the ISO certification. He explains that there is need to diversify the business lines to spread risks, especially during the downturn in the sector.