Renaissance Services SAOG, an international services  company listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange,  has announced the signing of an MoU between its subsidiary, Topaz Energy and Marine Ltd, and Gentas Ltd, a joint venture between the Al Shoaibi Group of Companies and the Saudi Trading & Research Company (Starc), both based in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

The MoU will lay the groundwork for the formation of a new Saudi-based marine vessel company. The JV will own and operate vessels to meet the growing demand for Saudi Arabia’s expanding offshore oil and gas exploration and production activities.
“The combination of our two companies’ skills, experience and resources will provide the platform for developing a new Saudi-based offshore vessel operating company to meet the growing demand for services in this sector of the industry,” stated Khalid Al Shoaibi, chairman and CEO of Gentas.
“We are extremely optimistic about the future and look forward to working with our new partners,” said Al Shoaibi. “Topaz’s move into Saudi Arabia is a natural extension for its offshore vessel division which has been operating in the GCC for over 25 years,” said Renaissance CEO Stephen Thomas.
“We see tremendous opportunities in the offshore energy sector of Saudi Arabia and by joining with one of Saudi Arabia’s leading companies with extensive experience in the energy sector we are confident our two companies can successfully develop a Saudi-based vessel company meeting the highest international standards in the industry.”
The Shoaibi Group is a wholly-owned Saudi organisation established in 1973 to develop and carry out industrial and commercial activities in Saudi Arabia, across the Middle East and internationally. The group’s primary focus is in the oil, gas and petrochemical, power and telecommunications sectors; in addition to undertaking private equity investments.
The group’s headquarters is in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, with subsidiaries in Dammam, Riyadh, Jeddah and London. The group counts amongst its partners Alcatel, Alderley, Dredging International, Enel Power, Expro, FMC Technologies, Halliburton Energy Services, J Ray McDermott, MIS Group, Petrofac, Petrolvalves, Pride International, Sirti, Tenaris and Technip. 
Starc is a limited liability company established in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia in 1992. It provides products and services to the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors in Saudi Arabia. It has exclusive relationships with Axens, Tenaris, EIM, Trident, KBC, Metito, Clock Spring, Alex Stewart, Messina, among numerous other principals.
Renaissance Services’ primary focus on providing safe and efficient services to the oil and gas industry.
2006 was the fifth successive year of record results for the company with revenues up from RO106.4 million ($ 276.4 million) to RO142.9 million  and profit after tax (PAT) and minority interests up from RO13.78 million to RO14.03 million. Profit from operations grew from RO16.40 million to RO21.80 million, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation were up from RO28.44 million to RO33.58 million. Shareholders who bought shares at the end of 2001 have realised a compounded return of 100 per cent per annum over these 5 years.
Whilst the increase in profit from operations is consistent with increase in revenue, the PAT growth reflected a flatter trajectory due to higher finance costs and tax charges. Also the non-operating and exceptional investment income has been lower in 2006 compared to the previous year. The higher finance costs and tax charges arise from various growth initiatives in new market and acquisition of new assets for sustainable long-term revenue, which has set the stage for long term exponential growth in both profit and revenue for the future.
This performance reflects the fact that the company has successfully completed its transformational change from a predo-minantly services-based business with a profitable short-term income base, into a balanced portfolio of asset-based and services business with a profitable long-term income base and sustainable growth plan. Today Renaissance is a growing multinational with a sustainable income base; it is increasingly recognised as a focused oil and gas services player from an investor viewpoint; it owns an offfshore support services fleet that ranks in the top 10 worldwide in which a material portion of its business is in long term (10 year +) contracts to Fortune 500 companies. Most importantly, the short-term windfall income streams that made significant contributions to performance over recent years have been reduced to an impact of less than 10 per cent PAT, based on current visibility.
Earlier this year, Renaissance signed two finance facilities with BankMuscat and BankDhofar. The facilities for a total of $37 million will be invested by Renaissance in Topaz Energy and Marine Limited to support Topaz Energy’s expansion and renewal programme of ‘offshore support vessel fleet’ servicing the oil and gas industry, a press release received here said.
Strong support from local Omani banks has helped the group to move forward in its oil and gas investment programme, which is poised to deliver strong returns over the medium to long term. Local banks have recognised the strong business model of the group and have structured the terms of the facilities accordingly.
BankMuscat’s general manager (commercial banking), Ganesan Sridhar, said: “Renaissance Services is today one of the most recognised and trusted names in the oil and gas services in the region.”
In other developments of recent months, BUE Caspian, a wholly owned subsidiary of Renaissance Services, was awarded prestigious contracts for the provision of three offshore support vessels by BP Azerbaijan.
Under the terms of the agreement BUE Caspian will supply two Norwegian-built Ulstein UT755L platform supply vessels and one fast crew boat presently under construction by Damen in Holland. The first UT755L, named ‘Caspian Pride’, was acquired by the company earlier this year and will enter service in October 2007, with both other newbuild vessels arriving in Baku, Azerbaijan, during 2008.
The contracts are for firm periods ranging from three to seven years, with extension options for a further three years. The potential contract value is estimated to be in excess of $210 million, assuming that all of the contract options are exercised. The investment in the new vessels is around $65 million.
Nico International, a subsidiary of Renaissance Services and the Dubai-based region’s leading ship repairer, announced that its specialised division NicoCraft has launched its first new build, the Nemo. This 19 m aluminum catamaran Dive Support Vessel was launched just 18 months after the company commenced operations. NicoCraft currently has orders for five additional crew boats ranging from a 17 m monohull to 30 m catamarans. Focusing on aluminum catamarans, NicoCraft also builds monohulls and intends to focus on the crew boat, utility boat, patrol boat and fast ferry markets.
According to Peter Tinker, operations manager, “We aim to offer the region state of the art, locally built vessels, with the very latest designs in passenger ferries, crew boats and patrol craft, for which currently there is an unprecedented level of demand in the Middle East Gulf region.”
Built in a purpose-built boat yard within the Port of Fujairah, the Nemo will provide a platform for Nico International to expand its diving operations in the Middle East, which include hull cleaning, propeller polishing, class-approved underwater surveys, anchor recovery and salvage operations.
NicoCraft has opted for the high-tech approach to customer satisfaction by bringing in designs from one of the world’s leading naval architects from New Zealand. Utilising water jet cutting and CNC technology NicoCraft’s vessels are built to exacting standards and tolerances and aimed at reducing any element of human error in the fabrication process.
Nico International has a workforce of over 1,500 with 24 nationalities, has worked in 42 countries last year and clocked up over 2.5 million productive man-hours. Nico has branched out into boat building through its specialised division, NicoCraft and intends to provide a full range of building, repairing and dry docking services to its customers on the East Cost through its new yard within the Port of Fujairah.