Weststar Aviation Services Awarded JX Nippon Contract to Operate

Weststar Aviation Services Awarded JX Nippon Contract to
Operate State-of-the-Art AgustaWestland AW189 Helicopter
Press release
Miri, Sarawak, 24 July 2015: Weststar Aviation Services Sdn Bhd (WASSB), a
leading regional offshore helicopter transportation services provider will be utilizing
its first in the region state-of-the-art AgustaWestland AW189 helicopter type to
service recently awarded RM10 million JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Sdn Bhd
contract.
The helicopter will fly from Miri Airport to transport offshore workers and goods for JX
Nippon’s deep-water exploration drilling program at the deep-water block DW2F
located 210 nautical miles offshore Sarawak, South China Sea. The contract has a
duration of three months, with an extension option to come in view in October.
At the contract’s maiden flight commencement ceremony, WASSB Business
Development Director, Datuk Anuar Noordin said, “We are pleased to have entered
into this contract. Meeting our clients’ needs for safe and efficient transportation, the
introduction of our AW189 helicopter type works out as a timely introduction, aptly
corresponding to what the industry is looking for at the moment.”
“We are proud to be the first owner and operator of the AW189 helicopter in Asia
Pacific. This is the first AW189 of four that we have ordered. Furthermore, this is also
an important milestone in order to harness our unique opportunities for upward
mobility, moving from medium type helicopter to heavy type helicopter. We are
seeing more opportunities to utilize this type of heavy helicopter surfacing to support
deep-water operations in Sabah and Sarawak,” Datuk Anuar emphasized.
“With the AW189 helicopter, our clients now have the option to run a more cost
effective operations that translates into a comparatively lower cost per pax for every
passenger on board,” added Datuk Anuar.
He concluded, “At a time when the oil and gas market is soft and plummeting oil
prices are causing more companies to put their expansion plans on hold, the cost
effectiveness of running the AW189 provides a simple solution for the current
situation. Apart from that, the AW189 comes with the latest modern avionics system
that is proven to improve the overall performance of the aircraft from every aspect
particularly safety.”
According to Datuk Anuar, despite WASSB fifth base in Miri, albeit temporarily,
WASSB aims to press ahead to broaden its clients’ base in Sabah and Sarawak with
its AW189 helicopter type offering.
Weststar Aviation Services Sdn Bhd (WASSB) is a Malaysian based company that
provides offshore helicopter transportation services to the oil and gas industry.
Having made its regional presence strongly felt, WASSB is currently the largest
provider of offshore helicopter transportation services in South East Asia. Our oil &
gas clients include Petronas Carigali, ExxonMobil, Carigali Hess, CPOC, Talisman,
Petrofac, Newfield, TOTAL, KPOC, Lundin, SapuraKencana Energy, WesternGeco,
Hess, Shell, Tullow Oil, Mubadala Petroleum, CGG Veritas, ConocoPhillips, INPEX
Offshore, PTTEP, Galp Energia Tarfayabb, PC Mauritania, EnQuest, JX Nippon Oil
& Energy Co., and Kosmos Energy. At present, WASSB owns/operates a fleet of
AgustaWestland and Sikorsky helicopters used exclusively to provide offshore
support services for multinational oil and gas companies.
For more information, please visit http://www.weststar-aviation.aero
Contact:
Weststar Group of Companies
Muhaini Mahmud
Director, Corporate Affairs
muhaini@weststar.com.my
Image
Figure 1: Weststar Aviation Services Domestic Operations Manager, Datuk Jamil Osman and
JX Nippon’s Senior Logistics Advisor, Gordon Mellis today witnessed the inaugural crew
change of flight utilising the latest state-of-the-art AgustaWestland AW189 helicopter in Miri.