norway – Optime

Careers at Optime Subsea ― Start by Studying

Meet Tore Løkka and Andreas Tørre Haugen, engineering students at the University of South-Eastern Norway and interns at Optime Subsea AS.

Over the next three years, the pair will complete master’s degrees in Systems Engineering, with Andreas specializing in software, and Tore in mechanics.

Only in their 20’s, they are wasting no time putting theory to practice, and are already eight months into their work-internship programs.

The University of South-Eastern Norway (USN) is the fourth largest higher learning institution in Norway. And Optime Subsea AS (Optime), headquartered in Notodden Norway, with international offices in Houston Texas USA, is a rising star in the subsea oil and gas industry.

It’s a great opportunity to work at a company that is innovating their industry from Notodden Norway.
Andreas and Tore

Check out Notodden.no

Theory to Practice

We asked the two students what they liked most about their work-study program, and got the following observations.

– Combining theory from USN with practice at Optime, gets us the best platform possible to become great engineers. Andreas

The best way of learning is using our knowledge on real world problems in the workplace.
Andreas

– At school we learn the basics, but at work, we can use this knowledge in real work situations. Working as an engineer on a project team gives us valuable training that reinforces our learning, plus we get to see the results of our efforts at once. Andreas

– It is especially useful to be part of the workshop team, working side by side with our technicians. As interns, we gain an incredible amount of knowledge by being in the field solving problems. Tore

– In production, technical teams are easily accessible to us as engineers. We can get immediate feedback for product- and system designs and innovation, directly from workshop technicians, even before products are produced. Andreas

– As students working in a high-tech company, we have the chance to collaborate across disciplines which makes it easier to see the big picture, and all of its underlying connections. This way of working and learning helps us understand our studies better and get higher marks on exams. A little extra money does not hurt either. Tore

Foundations of Learning

We then asked the rising engineers what have you learned most from your studies so far?

– The Systems Engineering methodology and way of thinking has been most enlightening for product design. Andreas

– In our studies, we get a general understanding of mechanics and systems, and learn to look at things through a critical eye. This sets a good context for our work activities. Tore

Getting it Right the First Time

Structure and systematic practices are vital for success in the subsea oil and gas industry. Both students agree.

– Doing the job right the first time is essential. Optime delivers systems that facilitate subsea well-access operations. This means it is crucial that the systems perform correctly every time, without failure, to prevent costly downtime to operators. Andreas

– Spending time on the right tasks at the right time is important. While there is much to learn, it is important to prioritize and choose your work selectively. As engineers, we are accountable for the results of our work. Using the Systems Engineering approach helps to structure our efforts to get the results that we have planned. Tore

The Culture of Simplifying Subsea

Andreas and Tore reflect on their experience at Optime.

– What we have achieved so far is hugely impressive. Many who work here are industry experts that have disrupted the industry with Optime’s leading-edge technology. Tore

The slogan “We simplify subsea” is rooted deeply in every employee’s DNA.
Tore

– Working with such a close-knit team of skilled people is both motivating and inspiring. It makes you want to step up your game. In times of uncertainty, it is easy to ask for help. Not only is there a wide range of expertise, but colleagues are eager to share their knowledge. Tore

– There is a strong sense of unity amongst “Optimers.” The company is preserving its good culture, even throughout its fast growth. The atmosphere is trusting, playful, and positive. The benefits of a cup of coffee and a casual chat are well recognized, and often how new ideas are seeded. To us the Optime culture makes for a “one of a kind” workplace, that is not easily duplicated elsewhere. Andreas and Tore

Drawn to Making a Difference

Andreas and Tore were drawn to making a difference in the oil and gas industry.

– When USN sent out my CV to several companies, for options to work with for my industry master’s program, I found that Optime was the most synergistic to my software background and focus. Andreas

– Optime is a high-tech company that draws parallels to NASA, and technology development programs in the space industry. Its systems must operate in extreme environments and withstand the harshest conditions deep beneath the sea, at extreme pressures. Examples are the ROCS and SCILS products. Andreas and Tore

Experience SCILS

Experience ROCS

– New ideas are always welcome at Optime. It is easy to pitch them, and even if they are out of the ordinary, they are always well received and given due consideration. Andreas

– The company is not afraid to go big. Being a part of a growing company with ambitious intentions and resolute skilled people, is very rewarding. Tore

Work-Study Balance

As students, structure in your everyday life is essential.

– How tasks are prioritized for work differs from how studies are prioritized for school. At work, others are relying on you to get their work done. Whereas at school you are accountable only for getting your own work done. Finding the right balance is crucial to ensure the best results for work without compromising our ability to get our industrial master’s degree diplomas. Andreas and Tore

Start by Studying ― A Path Worth Taking

Upon completion of their master’s degrees, Andreas and Tore will be considered eligible for developing large complex systems and products, that may require multi-disciplinary work across domains.

At the end of three years, Optime will have invested significant resources and training into the interns. Andreas and Tore will undoubtedly be the better for it, with the benefit of entering the workforce already equipped with impressive, real-world work experience in engineering on their CV’s.

Any company would benefit from hiring them at this point and should pursue similar “start by studying” programs with universities such as that offered by USN through its industrial master’s degree program.
Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, CEO Optime Subsea AS

Sharing stories is a part of our success. Read more stories here.

Curious about studying for a master’s degree in Systems Engineering? Click here.

international, norway, Stories

Pezhman – The Iranian student who settled in Norway

While studying for an industry Master’s degree in systems engineering, it was an ongoing student project that introduced Pezhman to Optime, with the project being the building of ROCS. Now, some time later, he has become an employee at Optime Subsea, and continues to work with the system ROCS.

Optime hired him straight from his studies, with him only being halfway through. At that time he lived in Kongsberg. Now, he is renting a house at Notodden while searching for a home of his own. The once student that lived in Iran, is now becoming a resident of Notodden!

What brought the Iranian Pezhman to Norway

The Master’s studies at Kongsberg lured him to Norway in 2018. The moment he received his spot at the school, Pezhman accepted, packed his suitcase and headed for Norway. Originally, the electro engineer, Pezhman, is from a town in Iran with a population of over 2 million people. It was in his home country of Iran he finished his Bachelor’s degree, while also working with IT and automation for 10 years. This experience would prove itself useful when moving to a different country.

The link between school and Optime

The school project at Kongsberg, was building a new system for Optime – with the system being ROCS. This was a cooperation between Optime and the University of South-East Norway, also called USN. Trond Løkka at Optime was mentor for Pezhman and his study group. The task: The students would make small prototypes.

– Last year we started building the actual, real ROCS. The design was ready in April, and the production itself was finished by December 2020. In January 2021 we started testing, making sure it was ready for its premiere in February 2021! This month was the first time we tested ROCS in the field – this time in the North Sea with our customer Aker BP. The operation was successful from A to Z!

– Here, I got to see how the system truly worked with my own two eyes. Even though everything went smoothly and as planned the first time, we still improved for the next operation with ROCS. After the adjustments, the operation went even faster the second time around.

It is quite marvelous, that a student can follow the entire process – from an idea, through prototyping and to the finished system!

Optime cultivates the joy of creation

We ask Pezhman what he likes the most about working at Optime.

– The work culture – for sure! Here at Optime you can pitch the most bizarre idea, and it is still welcomed. No questions or ideas are “dumb”. The business structure is flat, and the CEO is like a good colleague. Everyone at Optime is curious about each other and gladly shares their experience and knowledge. We learn so much across our different educations and work tasks. We are not just colleagues – we are friends that care about each other.

What do you think is Optimes advantage?

– Big companies are less flexible than Optime. Processes often take much longer in big companies, and you rarely go directly to the CEOs with ideas and solutions, whereas in Optime there is a short distance from idea to implementation.

What do you think about your work tasks?

– My work is thrilling, and far from boring. You do have to be engaged, though. I was so lucky to be part of the first ROCS operation out at the North Sea. I have followed ROCS from the drawing board to the operation itself. That is really cool!

To see how the drawings and animations work in practice is pure magic. Watching every piece of work fall into place; that feeling can hardly be described. Oh, how I love my job!
Pezhman

Did you know that Iran has a lot of snow?

It is not just us Norwegians that are born with skis on our feet. Actually, Pezhman grew up with a passion for snowboard – a hobby he had for 8 years before moving from his home country.

– Yes, Iran also has snow, but you must climb up to a 2000 meters altitude. By moving to both Kongsberg and Notodden, it was amazing having easy access to both snow and slopes.

Even though the access to snow weighs up for some homesickness, Pezhman misses his family. Because of Covid-19, it is 15 months since he last saw his family.

It all started in a roundtrip in Europe

How come that one from west of Asia finds a study in the small country of Norway?

– After a longer time of just where it all was focused on work, I truly needed new impulses.

– I have quite a few friends in both France and Germany. Beginning in 2016, I started traveling for 2 years around Europe. Amongst the places I visited were Spain, Italy, and Germany. I wished to see the countries, their cultures, and how they lived there. For 75 days I traveled completely without a plan which resulted in lots of coincidences and exciting meetings that brought me to new places. I loved being a tourist without commitments. To discover new places and new people was thrilling. Now I look back at it as a journey I truly am glad that I prioritized.

Too many people dream but don’t carry that dream out. Opportunities like that rarely come around. Make sure to seize it while you can!
Pezhman

Why did you stay in Norway?

– Norway is a tranquil place to live, and Norwegians are very kind. I felt really welcomed and taken care of; you Norwegians show a form of sibling-love. Since I came here in 2018, I have gained good friends and colleagues.

– On that note, I want to highlight the flat structure within Optime – it is quite unique. You get an extra spark and energy when you meet and talk to “the people on the floor” the same way you talk to the CEO. The respect is mutual. It is truly amazing to be a part of that.

The contrast is big; moving from a town in Iran with 2 million people, all the way to Notodden with a little over 13.000 residents. Now Pezhman lives in the street with the pleasant name of Kjærlighetsstien, directly translated to the Love Lane.

We cross our fingers that Pezhman soon can meet his family, in real life.

Sharing stories is a part of our success. Read more stories here.

international, News, norway

Halliburton and Optime Subsea form Global Alliance

Companies will jointly commercialize and deploy subsea interventions and controls to improve safety and efficiency.

HOUSTON– March 7^th, 2021– Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) and Optime Subsea today announced they formed a global strategic alliance to apply Optime’s innovative Remotely Operated Controls System (ROCS) to Halliburton’s completion landing string services.

The companies will also collaborate and offer

intervention and workover control system (IWOCS)
services leveraging Optime’s Subsea Controls and Intervention Light System (SCILS) technology, a new system that compliments Halliburton’s subsea intervention expertise.

Experience SCILS

Experience ROCS

Increased Operational Efficiencies

The alliance will provide umbilical-less operations and subsea controls for deepwater completions and interventions delivering increased operational efficiencies while minimizing safety risk through a smaller offshore footprint and lower cost.

Both companies will work to advance subsea technologies and Halliburton will offer Optime’s technologies as a service across its global portfolio.

“We are excited to work with Optime and leverage their technologies within our existing subsea and intervention solutions,”
Daniel Casale, Vice President of Testing and Subsea

“This alliance will provide operators with previously unavailable capabilities that can be mobilized quickly and reliably to reduce operational time, cost, and safety risk.”

Strong Mutual Alliances

“We believe that strong mutual alliances across the vertical supply chain drives continuous improvements needed in our industry.”
Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, CEO of Optime Subsea

“By solidifying this relationship with Halliburton and combining their well-established, reputable service and technology capabilities with Optime’s innovative controls and intervention technology, more customers will have access to these cost-efficient subsea solutions.”

Discover the System ROCS: Do you want to ROCS Subsea?

About Halliburton

Founded in 1919, Halliburton is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry.

With approximately 50,000 employees, representing 140 nationalities in more than 80 countries, the company helps its customers maximize value throughout the lifecycle of the reservoir – from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data, to drilling and formation evaluation, well construction and completion, and optimizing production throughout the life of the asset.

Visit the company’s website at www.halliburton.com. Connect with Halliburton on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

About Optime Subsea

Founded in 2015, Optime is an innovative and globally leading technological provider of subsea controls and intervention systems.

With its headquarter in Notodden, Norway, and international office in Houston, TX, USA, it is a fully integrated system and services provider with all of the capabilities to optimize subsea well interventions and completions operations.

Within this segment, their capabilities are delivering quick to market solutions, further reducing cost, size and improving operational efficiency – simplifying subsea.

Discover the System SCILS: SCILS and the Creation of a Unique Company Culture

For additional information, please reach out to the following:

For Halliburton
Investors: Abu Zeya Halliburton, Investor Relations Investors@Halliburton.com 281-871-2633
Media: William Fitzgerald Halliburton, External Affairs PR@Halliburton.com 713-876-0105

For Optime Subsea
Investor relations Jan-Fredrik Carlsen Optime, Notodden, Norway jfc@optimesubsea.com +47 414 60 996
Media relations Thor Lovland Optime, Houston, TX tal@optimesubsea.com +1 832 904 6842

norway, Stories

Stine Therese uses her love for training at work for Optime Subsea

Every Thursday, the girls at Optime Subsea meet for a training session after work. Project Manager and Fitness Instructor Stine Therese Timland is the initiator of the vigorous and social gathering point.

“There is a very unique culture at Optime Subsea, in a positive way, but there are not that many girls in our company. Therefore, it is terrific that we girls can meet and strengthen our great environment, and at the same time be active together,” says Timland.

An active life is a lifestyle

In addition to the job at Optime Subsea, Stine Therese spends a lot of time on training and family. With a five-year-old in the house, a baby on its way and an instructor job at the local fitness centre Spenst, her days are busy and active. The fact that Stine Therese is structured, tidy and good at keeping track is thus useful both at work and at home.

“Training and activity is not really about structure for me. An active life is a lifestyle that I enjoy.”
Stine Therese Timland

“At the same time, exercise and activity help to improve health, both physically and mentally. It is an advantage for the employer that employees are active because training causes less ailments and lower sick leave,” says the engaged Optime employee.

The latter is one of the reasons why the fitness group Optime Girls is of great value to Optime. The resourceful Project Manager gets to use her training skills for the benefit of her employer.

A sporty working environment

“We do various activities in Optime Girls. Sometimes we do strength training at a gym we have here, other times we go hiking. We have also been on several summits and ski trips,” explains Stine Therese.

The active girl from Notodden is happy to work in a place where employees are encouraged to stay active, and that they have the opportunity to make it something social. She is one of several taking initiative for vigorous social activities in the company.

“Both ski trips and summits have been arranged for all Optime employees on several occasions, and we have had an altitude competition at Strava. If it hadn’t been for the corona we would have been a good bunch at the Birken race last spring and the Birkebeiner race now in March,” she says.

See Optime Girls in the video below.

A business with clear ambitions

Stine Therese started as a purchaser at Optime Subsea in December 2018.

“I submitted an interest application to Optime, because it seemed that they had a very good working environment. It also seemed like a business with clear ambitions, which dared to think outside the box. Based on their needs at the time and my experience, I was offered the position of purchaser,” explains Stine Therese.

As a newly hired purchaser, Stine Therese became an important piece in the launch of SCILS. Read how the work of SCILS helped create the unique corporate culture here.

When asked what the best thing about her job is Stine Therese replies that it is difficult to say anything other than the working environment.

“There is a very special culture here. We may disagree on procedures, and there is absolutely room for that here. Yet the distance between the departments is short, and we all have great respect for each other. We all want Optime to succeed and we are one team.”
Stine Therese Timland

New challenges as a Project Manager

As employee number 18 in the expanding company Optime, the 35-year-old was not allowed to remain among the “new” for very long. In little more than two years, the company has grown from 18 to over 50 employees.

Recently, Stine Therese started a new position as Project Manager. In this position, she will lead a project from order to delivery, which involves a lot of administration and coordination.

“It is exciting to get to try a completely different type of position than the one I had before. I am very happy to get this opportunity,” Timland says.

She appreciates the opportunity for, and the encouragement to, personal and professional development and new challenges.

“It provides an exciting and varied workday where you can grow. I have no trouble seeing myself working at Optime 10 years from now,” says Stine Therese.

Optime Subsea aims to “simplify subsea”. Read how here.

norway, Stories

Service Manager with a passion for mechanics, technology and the family farm

When Thor Øystein Finborud Tovsrud heard about Optime Subsea for the first time, he instantly knew that he wanted to be a part of the adventure.

– We were living and working in Trondheim when my wife found employment as a doctor in Notodden. This gave us the opportunity to move back to the farm where I grew up, Thor Øystein explains.

The farm in question had been in the family for more than one hundred years, and is situated only few minutes away from Optime Subsea’s headquarter in Notodden.

Going home to the family farm

Moving back to Notodden and the family farm meant that Thor Øystein would have to leave his job in Interwell in Trondheim.

– After quitting my safe job with Interwell I found myself unemployed. Optime Subsea had only recently started as a company, but I was in contact with the CEO, Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, about a position there. However, Optime’s economic situation at the time made it impossible for them to employ anyone, Thor Øystein recalls.

*Thor Øystein Finborud Tovsrud moved back to the idyllic family farm in Notodden.*

Instead, Optime and Thor Øystein found a solution through NAV (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration). The result was that Thor Øystein started to work at Optime without a salary, but with economic support from NAV, for a set period of time in a scheme known as work training.

Just before the 2016 merger between Optime and Telemark Technologies, Thor Øystein was formally employed as a system engineer at Optime and began working on SCILS.

Find out more about SCILS here.

As Optime has grown, so have the responsibilities of Thor Øystein Finborud Tovsrud. The engineer is now Service Manager for Optime and works in close collaboration with Optime Subsea’s customers in the offshore segment.

A natural born problem solver

Thor Øystein has always had an interest in mechanical and technical solutions. At the age of sixteen he acquired his first moped and started fixing on it. Since then it has escalated. Today Thor Øystein has his own 150 square meters workshop at the farm. Here he builds a veteran car and maintains the family cars, an ATV and a tractor.

– I like problem solving, either it is technical or in other areas, both at work and at home, he says.

Thor Øystein Finborud Tovsrud — *Building a veteran car is one of Thor Øystein’s many hobbies.*

At their idyllic and well-maintained farm in Heddal, lives Thor Øystein along with his wife and two young daughters.

– I spend a lot of time with my daughters, who are 3 and 4 years old, but I have also made sure to retain my hobbies. Be it fixing cars or going hunting or fishing, I use these activities to reset and re-energise, the busy family father explains.

At the farm he has 4 buildings and 1100 square meters to take care of, and describes it as both fun and demanding.

– A lot of my spare time goes towards maintaining the farm. It is quite a contrast to when we lived in a small apartment in Trondheim. But we really like it here and we could not imagine moving somewhere else with our small family.

Why the nickname Toffen?

Early in his Optime career Thor Øystein was given the nickname “Toffen”.

– One of the founders of Optime Subsea also holds the name Tor-Øystein, so the name was already taken when I started working here. I believe Trond, Jan-Fredrik and Thor Arne, the three other founders, were the ones who came up with “Toffen”. Ever since then it has been my nickname at work, Toffen says with a smile.

*The name was occupied: Toffen together with Tor-Øystein Carlsen, CTO of Optime (left) and Kristen Stenstad (right).*

Four engineers who wanted to change the industry

Engaging leadership at Optime Subsea

At Optime Subsea Thor Øystein is part of a working environment which he describes as very good.

– We have a fantastic leader in Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, who is amazingly enthusiastic and engaging. He really represents the culture here and is an important part of creating an environment where we encourage each other, Thor Øystein says.

For Thor Øystein, the work environment is the number one reason why he likes working at Optime Subsea.

– I think all the employees here will agree that the working environment in our company is very motivating. In addition, of course, the jobs at Optime Subsea are meaningful, innovative and interesting, the skilled engineer explains.

News, norway

Equinor selects Optime Subsea to bridge the gap in All-Electric fields

For over a decade, Optime has been the driver in moving hydraulic energy and control from topside to the seabed. This technology is also proving beneficial for All-Electric fields, where certain valve functions may require hydraulic control. Equinor have selected Optimes Hydraulic Pump for its future All-Electric initiative.

All-Electric solutions are attractive in subsea systems for enabling cost effective and standardised field developments. In traditional systems, hydraulic valves and equipment on the seabed is supplied and controlled from topside via hydraulic piping over long umbilicals. All-Electric fields may eliminate most of these hydraulic elements as well as related cost and risk by actuating all the valves and controls electrically. The last remaining valve to be operated by hydraulics is the Surface Controlled Subsurface Safety Valve (“SCSSV”). This is where Optime’s subsea hydraulic pump (“sHPU”) is providing local hydraulic power and control subea, and as such succesfully enabling the Operators to implement their new All-Electric technology.

“We have worked with Equinor on identifying the most optimized technical and commercial solution for its All- Electric subsea production systems for a while. By leveraging our experience in subsea hydraulic pump technologies, we now have a single unit pump, with redundant pistons and electronics that only requires almost the same amont of power as a lightbulb. This sHPU will contribute to optimizing project implementation cost to assist future operators drive to more electric and potential unmanned subsea production fields”.
Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, CEO Optime Subsea

The implementation of an All-Electric water depth independent system is a big step towards cost effective subsea solutions for the future. It allows for digitalization to increase control, maintenance, and source all the power from cleaner resources. While it is the intent to have all electrical controls and equipment, Equinor has selected Optime to provide this very small, low-cost and robust sHPU to drive all of its SCSSV valves where electric controls is not preferred. Eliminating the hydraulics in the host umbilical will enable new opportunities in field development, as well as making smaller fields safer, greener and financially attractive.

Find a place in our team

“Last year we delivered the subsea electric power and distribution control module for ABB with its partners in Equinor, Total and Chevron. Now, we are providing the sHPU for Equinor – both developments being All-Electric driven. Continuing this path, but with a significantly greater value directed at operators’ mature field and their cost reducing efforts, is our completed fully autonomous subsea battery and software controls system. The subsea industry is continously in the forefront technically and for future innovative, cheap and environmentally friendly solutions – we believe to be positioned as a preferred partner”
Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, CEO Optime Subsea

CTO Tor Øystein Carlsen is pleased to provide innovative technology, now to Equinor.

For further information, please contact:

(Norwegian) Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, CEO Optime, tel: +47 414 60 996 , email: jfc@optimesubsea.com
(International) Thor-Arne Lovland, CCO Optime, tel: +1 832 904 6842, email: tal@optimesubsea.com