Magma is looking to recruit 50 new employees to work at its facility in Trafalgar Wharf, Portsmouth.

The company has developed a unique process, using the very latest carbon fibre and polymer technology, to create a high strength, lightweight pipe for use in subsea oil and gas extraction.  Since the launch of its pipe last year, Magma has receiving significant success, with a number of key contracts signed.

Magma is looking for a combination of skilled, semi-skilled and trainee personnel including mechanical and structural engineers, software and robotic programmers along with composite technicians to join its team.  Successful candidates will work in a dynamic environment, with excellent opportunities to build a career in a rapidly expanding company.

Comments Martin Jones, Magma’s CEO; “We are delighted with the response to our technology which has resulted in an influx of orders. We operate in the fast growing sub sea oil and gas industry, where over 90% of our sales are for export. This recruitment drive is our first step in a significant expansion program.  We have vacancies for those with skill and experience, together with a number of positions for school leavers and graduates.

“Magma is building some of the largest and most demanding carbon fibre structures in the World, which we believe is an exciting prospect for both our employees and manufacturing in the UK.”

Magma Global Ltd. has appointed Steve Hatton as its Commercial Director.

Best known for founding and building 2H Offshore, Steve joins Magma from Acteon Group Ltd., where he was Vice President and Principal Director of its riser engineering company 2H. With almost 30 years experience in subsea equipment and riser systems design, he graduated from Newcastle Upon Tyne University and then worked for Vickers Offshore, John Brown and Cameron Offshore Engineering where he was predominantly involved in the detail design of riser systems and riser EPC contracts. In 1993 he was jointly responsible for setting up the company 2H where, as a Director, he has driven the business in riser system and subsea hardware design and analysis.

Comments Martin Jones, Magma Global’s CEO: ” We are delighted that Steve has decided to take on this important role at Magma. We have worked closely with him for several years and have been impressed with his breadth of knowledge, experience and grasp of the positive impact m-pipe will have in solving some of the challenges facing subsea exploration and production. We expect Steve to have a significant influence over our development and delivery of m-pipe, our strategic direction and growth.”

Commenting on his appointment, Steve said: “It is an exciting time to be joining Magma; my experience at 2H and wider industry relationships will give a great foundation to help move the business forward very rapidly.”

“I believe m-pipe offers the potential for a significant improvement in the way we design, manufacture, install and operate critical riser systems. It’s time for us to look to new materials to solve some of the tough challenges the offshore industry faces; materials which will reduce risk and installed cost of riser systems.”

Steve will take up his new role on 5 September 2011.

Magma Global’s launch of m-pipe™ at OTC Houston reaffirmed the need for a high performance carbon and polymer pipe to meet the challenges of deepwater, sour service, high pressure high temperature and highly dynamic subsea applications.

“We were delighted at the industry’s response to m-pipe™,” remarks Damon Roberts, Magma’s Engineering Director. “It’s performance advantages over steel and un-bonded flexible pipes seem to resolve a number of specific problems facing existing fields, and many proposed developments, which face challenges with high pressures, high temperatures and sour service. Many of the teams visiting our stand during the show were articulating specific problems they were facing where m-pipe™ could provide the ideal solution.”

In addition to solving specific problems within existing architectures, many saw m-pipe™ as enabling new, more efficient and more reliable architectures. Particular focus was placed on the advantages resulting from m-pipe’s light weight when looking at deepwater configurations. m-pipe™ is around 1/10th the weight in water of an equivalent steel riser which has significant advantaged when it comes to reducing hang off loads.

Many see challenges with m-pipe™ in an SCR (Steel Catenary Riser) configuration, the general consensus being that it would require weighting at the touch down zone. A popular alternative was to look at the Compliant Vertical Access Riser (CVAR) configuration. Here m-pipe™ benefits in terms of fatigue and weight present distinct advantages.

Stuart Mitchell, Chief Executive of Flexlife, specialists in full field subsea project and integrity management, was quick to recognise; “Flexlife has a track record in delivering robust but novel solutions to the oil industry, and m-pipe™ offers some significant benefits which should enhance the solutions we are able to deliver our customers. This is definitely a game changing technology for deep water riser configurations.”

“m-pipe™ offers the potential for a significant improvement in the way we design, manufacture, install and operate critical riser systems,” comments Steve Hatton, Principal Director 2H Offshore. “It’s weight and high resistance to fatigue and corrosion solve many of the problems that riser designers are currently struggling to accommodate with current steel and flexible solutions. I believe the new technology developed by Magma will reduce risk and installed cost of riser systems – the time has finally come for the use of this type of material in the offshore industry.”

For deepwater applications, the combination of m-pipe’s lightweight and spool-ability appealed to many from the deployment perspective. The ability to significantly reduce deck loads and speed up deployment through a combination of simpler configurations and spooled deployment was seen by many as significantly reducing deployment risk and reducing deployment costs. Magma has worked on its first deepwater deployment configuration with Subsea7 to produce a faster, lower risk and lower cost deployment method.

“We see m-pipe™ as a potentially exciting technology for the industry. Working with an installation contractor from the start will ensure efficient and safe deployment, reduced risk and reduced cost particularly in deepwater deployments,” John Mair – Technology Development Director at Subsea 7.

m-pipe™is a high performance carbon and polymer pipe developed by Magma Global Ltd. in response to the challenges of deepwater, sour service, high pressure high temperature and highly dynamic subsea applications