Hartlepool’s JDR plots Australasian expansion after gas project win

A subsea cable maker is eyeing further expansion Down Under after securing an energy scheme contract.

Hartlepool-based JDR is making underwater power lines for Australia’s Beach Energy Limited (BEL).

Bosses say the cabling will help deliver the country’s East Coast with a new gas supply from an existing production plant at Otway Basin, near Melbourne.

The lines are due to be delivered in September.

Hailing the significance of the deal, JK Lim, JDR’s region manager for Singapore, said it will be a catalyst for further successes in the region.

He said: “This marks a key milestone in our Asia Pacific success story, as we continue to prove our subsea capabilities in this competitive market.

“The Otway project is one of our largest umbilical contracts to date, so it’s an extremely proud moment for the team.

“But we won’t stop there; Australasia is an important location for us, and we see an abundance of opportunity here.”

The Otway Basin covers 150,000sq kilometres and stretches from southeastern South Australia to southwestern Victoria, with 80 per cent lying offshore in water depths ranging from 50 to 3000 metres.

The deal follows the unveiling of £130 million plans by JDR last year to create 170 jobs at a new North East factory.

The business hopes to open a base in Cambois, near Blyth, Northumberland.

It says the plant, which could eventually provide work for 400 people, will help the company expand its product range to meet the growing global renewable energy market.

According to its plans, the factory will be the only one in the UK capable of full start-to-finish manufacturing of high voltage subsea cables for offshore wind farms.

Work on the 69,000sq metre plant – which will occupy the site of a former coal-fired power station – is tipped to start this year, with its opening earmarked for 2024.