A NORTH-EAST offshore protection specialist says it is defying the stagnant oil and gas sector after strengthening its order book with projects worth nearly £30m.

MTE Ltd, which has its head office in Darlington, makes fire and blast protection for oil and gas platforms, and is overseeing work around the world.

Bosses say the deals include two projects worth £20m, which will see it supply protection walls to Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, for Statoil’s Norwegian Mariner oil project, and Samsung Heavy Industries, for Total’s Norwegian Martin Linge oil and gas development.

The firm also revealed it has completed an £8m contract with Hyundai Heavy Industries to send fire and blast walls to BP’s Clair Ridge oil development, in the North Sea, and has been awarded a contract by Hyundai to make heat shields for a Congo energy programme.

Building on that, the company, which employs 220 staff, says it has secured multi-million pound work on a project in Kazakhstan to supply electrical substations and equipment rooms, which are being designed, engineered and made by MTE’s UK workforce.

The company, also known as Mech-Tool Engineering, previously opened a base in South Korea to attract work, and Anthony G Jones, its business development director for fire and blast, said that move has been critical in the firm securing such lucrative deals.

Mr Jones, who also revealed MTE was undertaking work in the Middle-East to supply blast walls for the Umm Lulu Project, for Technip, in Abu Dhabi, said the firm is using its UK and Korean teams across projects, with each division complementing the other on design and fabrication.

He told The Northern Echo: “The oil and gas price has caused problems for some operators, but some of the major projects that are underway are going ahead.

“We have moved to a larger facility in Busan, in Korea, which will allow the continued growth for future work with the Korean yards.

“It has more space, and the business is going from strength to strength.”

Mr Jones was speaking after MTE, which has manufacturing bases in Darlington and on the banks of the River Tees, in Middlesbrough, revealed its financial results for the year to March 31, which revealed a 35 per cent rise in sales to £35m.

A company report reiterated Mr Jones' stance that the oil and gas sector was improving.

It said: "Market conditions have proved to be challenging, following the fall in the oil price.

"However, there are now signs these projects are now back on track and the company is optimistic of winning several sizeable contracts for the supply of high-integrity modules in the coming year."

The firm has also been ranked tenth in The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200, which ranks UK mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales.

Referring to the acknowledgement, Marshall Garner, MTE chief executive, said: “This is a reflection of many years of successful endeavour aimed at increasing the total product offering to clients.

“Services now include comprehensive design and engineering of topside cladding at the concept stage right through to the supervision of installers at overseas shipyards.

“The result is a significant increase in project order values, which have underwritten the growth in both sales and profitability.”

MTE previously opened new Darlington offices to bolster its business development and design and engineering divisions.

Split into four divisions, the firm operates across the fire and blast wall sector, runs a heat shield division protecting workers against radiant heat and extreme weather, has a module and living quarters design team, and operates a design consultancy arm.