As with most items of floating capital, whether it be drill ships, barges or semi submersible support vessels, the mobilisation costs to get the item to site are often too expensive for one project alone - a tow from the Gulf of Mexico will take over two months.

Prosafe Offshore boast 7 semi submersible offshore support vessels - used exclusively on construction projects - and have held a series of presentation in the oilfield centres in Australia aimed at raising the profile of the company and looking at the project scene in the region.

Vice president marketing, Denis Divers, said they were especially interested in the Bayu-Undan project and in the longer term, the Sunrise and Gorgon projects. Being semi-submersible, the support vessels can operate in deepwater and the largest can accommodate over 700 men.

Another advantage was their ability to operate in extreme weather conditions, where barges were limited to fairer water conditions due to their brick-like ocean going qualities. Divers said they were looking to open up a service centre here if successful in their bid to find work. He said they were looking to form a strategic alliance with an Australian firm in the near future.

Prosafe Offshore is a division of Prosafe ASA which is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. It is the world's largest owner of semi submersible service rigs. It is the largest platform drilling contractor in Norway and one of the major owners and operators of FPSOs outside of Norway.