Q. What is your company’s primary business activity?
A: Fugro collects and interprets data related to the earth’s surface and subsurface. We offer a full range of onshore and offshore survey and geotechnical services, as well as subsea support, for projects related to oil and gas, mining, building and infrastructure, and sustainable energy.
Q. What do you most want people to know about Fugro?
A: Fugro is a global company with a long and proven history in Alaska. Our experience in the state dates back to the 1970s when we supported oil and gas exploration activities in the Bering, Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Some of the people who worked on these early programs are involved in our Arctic projects today. It’s an impressive legacy and we benefit greatly from the involvement of these longtime Fugro employees.
Q. What are some of the projects Fugro has undertaken in Alaska this year?
A. In the offshore arena, we managed multiple survey projects for oil and gas clients in the Chukchi Sea and Cook Inlet. Services included positioning, pipeline inspection, ice gouge, and shallow hazards surveys. In April, we performed a remote-sensing ice thickness mapping program in the Chukchi Sea. We also completed a hydrographic charting project for NOAA in the Aleutians. Onshore, we performed airborne geophysical surveys for the state of Alaska to help identify new mining prospects, and performed topographic mapping services related to the Statewide Digital Mapping Initiative (SDMI). We also provided geotechnical consulting services to an engineering firm in support of a major hydroelectric power project.
Q. Describe the equipment your company uses.
A. Fugro owns a large inventory of specialized and built-for-purpose equipment. Globally, these resources include vessels, aircraft, drill rigs, jack-up platforms, laboratories, and a host of related sensors and systems. These global resources are a great complement to our local assets, which primarily comprise offshore geophysical equipment, and can be mobilized for work on Alaska projects as needed. At times, specifically for vessels and helicopters, third-party charters are a better choice for our local clients. In these cases, we have longstanding relationships with equipment providers.
Q. What are your company’s main strengths?
A. We are locally based but have the strategic and financial backing of a global company, which allows us to take the long-view when it comes to working in Alaska. This is a difficult place to sustain a capital-intensive business like ours. Anyone who has lived in Alaska knows how quickly a major project can come to a halt due to regulatory hurdles. When that happens, we are able to “wait it out”, mobilizing crew and equipment to work on Fugro projects in other parts of the world until the Alaska work comes back online. This flexibility is key to our maintaining a highly skilled local staff despite sometimes unpredictable market pressures.
Commitment to innovation is another strength. As an organization, Fugro has long worked with system manufacturers, clients, and universities to develop and test new technologies and/or to develop new applications for existing technologies. The GeoSAR system is a perfect example. A dual-band airborne radar mapping system, GeoSAR was developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and commercialized by Fugro as a way to provide efficient, large-area mapping in regions obscured by vegetation or clouds. In 2010, GeoSAR was used in Alaska as part of the SDMI. It was during this project that Fugro discovered the ability for GeoSAR to penetrate snow and ice, a finding that could lead to a number of important Arctic applications including sea-ice thickness mapping. Over the past two years, we have engaged in several studies to test this capability, partnering with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and major oil and gas companies with interests in Alaska.
Q. What new markets, clients or projects did your company attract in the last year?
A. One of the most exciting developments is the ice-thickness mapping capability I just mentioned. Based on promising results from two years of tests, 2013 will mark our first fully-funded program, though the project will be taking place in Arctic regions outside Alaska. While the capability is continuing to be developed, it is believed that GeoSAR will help reduce uncertainty in the prediction of ice-loads and provide accurate, timely information about sea-ice thickness, structure, extent, ridges, and modeling.
Q. What are the biggest challenges to completing the projects your company undertakes?
A. Working in Alaska means working in extremes. Even the most straightforward project typically entails logistical challenges due to remote locations, as well as technical challenges due to Alaska’s harsh environment. But if it was easy, it wouldn’t be so rewarding. We have great teams of people tackling these projects. They are skilled in their field and trained in Alaska’s field conditions. Being prepared is something Fugro takes seriously, which is evident through our ISO-certified quality management, occupational health and safety, and environmental management systems, as well as our stellar safety record.
Q. What do you see as the biggest obstacles to your company’s success in the next five years?
A. Political uncertainty. While Fugro is firmly committed to Alaska and the Arctic in a broader sense, I think we, and other companies like us, would be so much stronger if our clients were working in a more stable regulatory environment.
Q. What is the address of your company’s website?
A. Our global website is www.fugro.com. Our local website is www.fugrogeoservices.com.
