CHC Australia Dead?
 

CHC Oz have lost the Woodside contract. Can they afford to pay the redundancies? Where to now for them?

Offshore contracts, yes, but I thought they also have the following

• WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services contract to ~2035 with three AW139s
• Royal Australia Navy/AF/Army contract to 2026 (currently out to tender) with seven AW139s and two 412s

HH

If CHC lost that contract, which I assume is the one in Karratha, then who won it?

Yeah, losing the Woodside contract is a huge blow for them. It’s hard to say for sure if they can cover the redundancies, but if they’ve been making good margins elsewhere, they might still manage. It’ll probably come down to how well they handle this in the short term and if they can secure new contracts fast.

PHI. Who also beat CHC for the Shell contract in Broome. Soon PHI will have a monopoly on Off-Shore contracts in Australia. Something I thought the oil companies wanted to avoid.




First Bristow, now CHC (most likely) - there was a time, not so long ago, that this situation would have been unthinkable.

Those other contracts only make up 30 to 40 percent of their revenue, which doesn't mean much when they haven't made a "profit" in Australia for more than 5 years. They had over 200 million in revenue last financial year and overshored it all to CHC Cayman Island.

Just curious, are these financials available in Public Domain(apart from funds that reached The Cayman Islands, obviously) or gleamed from elsewhere?

Public domain. Lloyds offshore helicopter service in 22/23 had revenue of 325 million.

Shock, horror!

Another massive global helicopter company run by a team with limited knowledge of helicopters has once again struck an iceberg!

A quick review of the global marketplace reveals significant growth from new entrants into the offshore field, and monumental declines in the legacy providers.

Considering the success that many of these companies achieved prior to the incumbent management teams, it does bear reflection on what value these individuals bring?

Because of the huge revenues generated in this industry, it attracts many who can earn huge incomes without generating proportionate profits for their shareholders. This demise is very interesting, as the declines can be clearly apportioned to the management leading the business.

It'll all be OK though, a quick reorganization will provide adequate breathing space, until the next reorganization.

Triples all round!

Wasn't CHC taken over by an accountancy firm about 10-5 years ago? I can't remember the history of CHC & Heli-One combining. Or was it that Heli-One took over?

In reference to the quote above, do we think that PHI has a broader aviation-based knowledge team made up of helicopter personnel. I hope PHI succeeds to stay as the next CHC or Bristow or Llyods or Bond.

You're forgetting Sealand Helicopters and Craig Dobson in the discussion. Heli-One was a maintenance specific entity and was part of CHC. And to bring it full circle, Sealand was also partly owned by Bob Suggs of PHI fame.

Bain Capital*, I believe. Also own Virgin?

No knowledge of the “knowledge team” or financial situation of PHI. But I do know that the modern model isn’t to run a business at a profit long term. But rather: record profits every year with no regard for ANYTHING else. So as the single KPI that ensures the current CEOs bonus becomes harder to achieve (after making all the sensible efficiency changes): things like servicing the contract, paying tax in the country where the revenue is earned, viability of the company, etc are all abandoned. Not only in aviation, but every “modern business”. Sad.

CHC also control the OSA contracts out of Karratha don’t they? As part of the failed CHC / Babcock / OHS saga? It was just the UK element that failed due to competition regulations?

OSA has 4 contracts, Truscott with 3 x S-92, Darwin with 3 x H175, Barrow Island with 2-3 AW139 and Karratha with 2-3 AW139, OSA operated more offshore aircraft on more contracts than CHC did before they bought them, just means in the future when the new contracts take effect all CHC's offshore work will be thru OSA.

Don't forget that OSA have lost Dili and are on run-out on the Barossa contract out of Darwin. Truscott also has a sunset with the Northern Endeavor being decomissioned. Barrow is up for renewal with it being 10 years in 2026 since they (Babcock) won it from Bristow.

Dili was already finished, when Northern endeavour goes will drop to 2 x 92's at Truscott and Jadestone still continues, Dwn still has a way to go, I believe there is an extension on Barrow, and I believe Karratha still has a way to go. So all are in later phases of contracts but still a couple years to go on each.

OSA have just supplemented the Barossa contract with an extra 175 to meet demand.
OSA still run 2x139s and a175 for Santos in Karratha.
OSA have just renewed the Chevron contract on Barrow Island until 2030.
OSA’s loss of Dili was political, not commercial.
OSA are still in the fight despite their association with CHC.

the oil companies are 2 faced liars. They say they want healthy and safe contractors, then they play you against each other and squeeze until you die.

Death by a thousand cuts for CHC Offshore, they’ve just announced the loss of their Shell work in Truscott using S92s, switching to a 175 supplied by OSA.

Come June/July CHC offshore will cease to exist.

Why, what’s happening with Karratha / Barrow Island, Broome, Darwin and all the work up there that they are doing with both CHC Karratha and OSA?

The CHC birds are still flying a lot out of Karratha just now, a year on from when this thread was started, never mind the OSA aircraft on top?

Is everything due to collapse in June? Why?

Unlikely to be any CHC machines flying at Truscott after May 1st or Karratha from July 1st. Due to contracts finishing. One? S92 out of Broome for a few months then CHC Off-shore Australia ceases to exist.
A victim of the modern corporate world.

OSA will still be flying, for now.

I'm confused by differing accounts of who is / will be flying.
Can anyone shed the light on what contracts & aircraft are currently in use at Broome, Truscott & Karratha?

PHI fly 189s for Shell and 92/175? for Inpex, (the Inpex work has just gone to tender)
CHC fly 92s for Shell in Broome and Truscott, but not for long. OSA will do the Shell work on TST with a 175
OSA also have 92s in Truscott, can’t remember who the client is
CHC fly 189s & 139s in Karratha for Woodside, soon to hand that to PHI using 175s
OSA fly 139s in Karratha for Santos

By the middle of the year, CHC will only have RAAFSAR and a couple of EMS 139s in Perth

Don't PHI supply the pilots and engineering staff for the Esso owned 139's at Longford (Sale, Victoria)?

I thought the Captains were employees. Various operators have supplied FOs. I’d assumed the engineers were also employees.

On a related note: There are rumours of tenders to decommission the Base Straight rigs. If “all” the rigs are going: is the whole Esso operation shutting down?

Thirdly. I believe the situation you describe is in place in Broome with Shell, AW189s owned by Shell, maintained and flown by PHI

Hardly rumours - it's all over the web. All Seas has won a major portion with its Pioneering Spirit, which will go down there next year. Actual details of the programme are on the Esso and Woodside (JV partner) websites.


These are the ones that some bright spark decided should be in the same colour as the BSP machines. Without recognising that the colour scheme combines the Shell colours with the Brunei Flag!

the vast majority of the pilot group are PHI, exceptions are ESSO check n trainers and a few casuals.

Same for the ginger beers. Management are ESSO, but the majority are PHI.

the forgotten PHI workgroup as its all very much integrated into the ESSO (soon to be Woodside) operation