The world’s largest pressure chambers were recently unveiled, when NUI opened its hyperbaric test centre on the 1st of September 2020. The pressure chambers, named Asterix and Obelix, feature a unique design combined with high functionality. Built by Optime Subsea, they are the largest in their class.

“Asterix and Obelix were a distinctive challenge as far as pressure chambers are concerned, because they are unique on both a Norwegian and international scale,” says Rolf Røssland, CEO of NUI AS.

A unique project

What made this project unique is first and foremost that both pressure tanks are amongst the world’s largest.

“The pressure chambers we have delivered to NUI are, as far as we understand, the biggest in their class globally. Obelix has an inner diameter of 1.8 metres and a maximum pressure of 700 bars, while Asterix has an inner diameter of 1.2 metres and a maximum pressure of 1000 bars. This corresponds to water depths of 7 000 and 10 000 metres, respectively,” explains Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, CEO of Optime Subsea.

Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, CEO of Optime Subsea

The size of these pressure chambers enables the testing of large machinery, which are to be sent down to extremely deep water. Both Carlsen and Røssland are happy about both the collaboration and the end result.

Rolf Røssland, CEO of NUI

“I am very pleased with the delivery from Optime Subsea. What characterises a good manufacturer is not just delivering a good end product, but also how they handle the challenges along the way. Optime has proven to be the right choice for us. All obstacles have been handled well by a professional team and the end product is absolutely in line with expectations,” says Røssland.

Each chamber weighs 140 tonnes and was built, tested, and certified for use at Optime Subsea in Notodden. Next, the pressure chambers were transported and then installed at NUI in Bergen. The project to complete and deliver the chambers was set at 35 million Norwegian Krones.

Testing machines that will operate in deep water

Both Asterix and Obelix have Optime Subsea’s unique design and technical solutions onboard. To date, the oil service company has delivered 12 pressure chambers, in different sizes and with different pressures, globally.

Pressure chambers are mostly used to test machines that are to be sent down into deep water. This is to ensure that they can withstand the ambient pressure at their particular water operating depth.

“Companies operating in subsea oil and gas are the primary customers for such systems. However, we have also delivered smaller pressure chambers to various institutions that will send machines into the sea for research purposes. In addition, we are actively developing solutions for other industries. For example, we see pressure processing of food and lumber as one of many exciting future opportunities,” adds Jan-Fredrik Carlsen.

Optime Subsea’s philosophy is to develop innovative and cost-effective solutions that will simplify a client’s operations. In recent years, Optime has worked hard to develop a broad expertise in pressure related technology, which will without a doubt benefit both existing and future customers.

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.

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).

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.

Optime Subsea is actively working to both develop and preserve local expertise, not just for the benefit of the industry but for the county municipality as a whole.

Strategically located at the edge of ‘Energy Valley’ Optime Subsea has experienced both success and growth since its inception in 2015. For Optime Subsea, internal expansion and development are of the utmost importance. In order to achieve this they utilise the vast pool of talent that is to be found in the local area. This in turn positions Optime Subsea as a major contributor to the overall economic wellbeing of the Vestfold and Telemark regions.

– Despite the fact that we have grown from only four employees to almost 50 in just five years we are still a relatively small player in our industry. This means competition from China and other low-cost countries is fierce. Fortunately we have many high quality suppliers right here in Vestfold and Telemark and we choose to deal with these suppliers and to build close relationships to increase future collaboration.

Jan-Fredrik Carlsen, CEO of Optime Subsea

Reducing costs

– We have our offices on the edge of what is known as Energy Valley, a location consisting of a cluster of companies boasting an incredible amount of expertise. But where some of our competitors might choose to move this expertise out of Norway, we want to conserve it. It is precisely by preserving and developing this unique talent that we will also contribute to the growth of this industry in Norway, Carlsen continues.

Optime Subsea’s primary business consists of services related to the maintenance of subsea offshore installations and was established, according to Carlsen, to offer a more cost-effective alternative in an increasingly expensive industry.

– We were four colleagues who made the decision to start our own business when we observed that the subsea maintenance industry was becoming significantly more expensive. We had a vision to develop new cutting-edge technology that would reduce the cost and time required for subsea operations, thereby offering cost-effective solutions for installations, maintenance and retraction of oil and gas wells.

Jan-Fredrik Carlsen

– In our company, we work with systems engineering, so we have high skill levels within the many various engineering disciplines. Our engineers build the component elements for our products which are then assembled and tested in our own production facility in Notodden. Optime Subsea then outsources the machining of parts to local subcontractors in Vestfold and Telemark, thus contributing to economic growth in the county municipality, continues Carlsen.

An adaptable model

After having entered the business as a versatile alternative to the traditional big players, Carlsen believes that a large part of the company’s success is down to the work they do to help develop their own workforce.

– It is the employees who in reality are the core value of our company, so it is naturally very important for us to take care of them. Among other things, we offer development through further education and a variety of other courses that support the skillset we strive to possess in Optime Subsea, he adds.

– The fact that we entered this business as an adaptable alternative in an often rigid industry, and by doing so gained many satisfied customers, proves our capacity for further growth. We are innovative, forward-thinking and with a working culture based on team spirit. Our success is down to the reality of starting with a blank sheet, and from there we developed a completely new, cost-effective and revolutionary technology utilising local know-how, Carlsen finishes.


The text above is a translated version of Andreas Aguilera Myrvold’s text at www.næringslivnorge.no.