Tumbling oil prices ripple through Helicopter operations

*Firms downsize, cut work force

* Bristow explores new opportunities to meet demands

 

Helicopter operators said tumbling oil prices rippling through the helicopter industry have affected the big chunk of their business.

 

The helicopter market is struggling at the moment with stumbling oil price in the oil and gas market.

 

The operators who spoke to Woleshadare.net said the situation has cut their operations by half, leading to the release of hundreds of pilots and engineers from their payroll.

Helicopter operators have been trying to cope with slumping business by sacking some of their pilots and engineers as they have equally shipped some of their aircraft to countries where activities are booming.

 

Over 250 pilots and engineers are said to have lost their jobs since the inception of recession coupled with the unrest in the Niger-Delta that has made oil production to plummet.

 

Managing Director of Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited, Capt. Akin Oni said from the second half of 2014, the global oil and gas market has been in continuous decline, adding that Nigeria has not been immune to this decline.

 

In the past 12 months, Bristow Group, one of the largest helicopter operators and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, saw its share prices plunge 64 per cent.

 

The shares of Era Group, the longest serving helicopter transport operator in the US, dropped 58 per cent. Nasdaq-listed Petroleum Helicopters International declined 35 per cent, and CHC Group saw its over-the-counter shares plunge 97 per cent. Citic Offshore’s A-shares lost 31 per cent in the same period.

 

Oni stated that his firm has witnessed a significant reduction in activity in the Nigerian oil and gas market.

 

His words, “Because of the reduced level of activity, the requirement for aircraft and flight hours for offshore transport has also reduced, significantly. This is the reality that Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited (Bristow) and other aviation operators face today.”

 

Currently, the market and activity levels, he said have reduced and accordingly Bristow, like any other operator, must downsize its operations in accordance with market demands.

 

Bristow is however exploring new opportunities to meet the demands of its customers. It will continue to contribute to the Nigerian market in terms of developing local expertise and developing its national staff.

 

“The number of aircraft we operate today is half of the number of aircrafts we operated in 2014-2015 time-frame. In terms of flight activity, we have about 45 per cent of what it was in 2015. That is the level of impact.

 

In the last few months we have been shipping aircraft out of Nigeria so that we can use them somewhere else and we are still shipping today.”

 

“Last week, I think we had four aircraft shipped out and if you go to our ramp today, it tells the story itself; you will see the number of aircraft that are just parked doing nothing. In 2014, you would hardly see aircraft on ground; that is the level of reduction. It is not just us; it is the same with our competitors. For the fixed wings, there are positives.”

 

Oni noted that while the firm’s growth rate may be impacted by the current market environment, Bristow is in good position to weather the downturn in oil prices.

 

He stated that despite the harsh economic reality, Bristow acquired four brand new Sikorsky-76 helicopters as part of its fleet renewal programme.

 

The airline chief stated that as part of its diversification programme, the firm introduced a search and rescue service, the first of its kind in Nigeria.

 

He disclosed that the service would be provided by a Leonardo AW139 with capabilities for both day and night rescue operations, stressing that the search and rescue service lends from the expertise and experience held by an affiliate UK company, Bristow Helicopters Limited, which provides a similar service to the United Kingdom.

 

A helicopter pilot who worked with Caverton Helicopter but who pleaded anonymity lamented that the oil slide has already taken its toll on shares of helicopter transport firms, which along with leasing companies are major customers of the manufacturers.

 

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