HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwired - Jan 24, 2014)
Era Group Inc. (NYSE: ERA) (Era) is pleased to announce its Search and Rescue (SAR) Program ("EraSAR"), operating in the Gulf of Mexico, has reached its 500 mission milestone. Since the initial implementation in August 2010, the program has experienced continuous growth supporting a primary membership group consisting of its initial customer, Anadarko, followed by several other oil and gas companies, including, among others, Shell Oil, Fieldwood Energy (formerly Apache), and Statoil. To date, more than 60 oil and gas and energy service companies have utilized this service. Annual mission completions have grown on an average of 28% per year, averaging 21 missions per month.
"It's been great to see the program grow and expand throughout the years. It's only due to the collaboration of the oil and gas companies and the hard work and professionalism of the crews that make this possible. We never wish that anyone should need to use the service, but they all sleep better at night knowing that we are available and ready should they need us," said Paul White, Era Senior Vice President, Domestic.
Over 300,000 people support the Gulf of Mexico oilfield to operate over 3,400 oil and gas facilities. Since 2007, federal regulators report that there have been 40 fatalities, 790 fires/explosions and 1,887 injuries. With this type of volume, oil and gas companies have turned to commercial aviation operators to address emergency response needs. As a result, the EraSAR/Priority 1 Air Rescue (P1AR) team was born.
"As we see additional SAR opportunities both here and abroad," said Sten Gustafson, Era's Chief Executive Officer, "we have chosen to elevate our emphasis on developing these opportunities by creating a focused SAR service line." This SAR service line will be led by Director of SAR, Earl Hitzman, Jr., who joined Era as a SAR pilot in 2012 following a 22-year career serving our country in the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force. While in the Air Force, Hitzman served in the illustrious US Air Force Combat Rescue unit, where he was involved in complex combat rescue operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
The EraSAR/P1AR team, based on the Gulf coast of Louisiana and Texas, is comprised of four EMD-certified medical dispatchers, 16 IFR, NVG, air ambulance, and hoist-qualified pilots, and 36 medically-qualified rescue specialists, including paramedics, hoist system operators, and rescue swimmers. Operating three SAR-configured AW139 Air Ambulances in support of the offshore oil and gas industry, the team specializes in providing long-range advanced life support and SAR services anywhere within the Gulf of Mexico, day or night. Adding to the aircraft's basic SAR capabilities are enhancements to include a Goodrich dual hoist system, night vision, integrated auto hover with search pattern modes, Nightsun and Forward Looking Infrared Imaging System (FLIR).
Era Group Inc. (NYSE: ERA) (Era) is pleased to announce its Search and Rescue (SAR) Program ("EraSAR"), operating in the Gulf of Mexico, has reached its 500 mission milestone. Since the initial implementation in August 2010, the program has experienced continuous growth supporting a primary membership group consisting of its initial customer, Anadarko, followed by several other oil and gas companies, including, among others, Shell Oil, Fieldwood Energy (formerly Apache), and Statoil. To date, more than 60 oil and gas and energy service companies have utilized this service. Annual mission completions have grown on an average of 28% per year, averaging 21 missions per month.
"It's been great to see the program grow and expand throughout the years. It's only due to the collaboration of the oil and gas companies and the hard work and professionalism of the crews that make this possible. We never wish that anyone should need to use the service, but they all sleep better at night knowing that we are available and ready should they need us," said Paul White, Era Senior Vice President, Domestic.
Over 300,000 people support the Gulf of Mexico oilfield to operate over 3,400 oil and gas facilities. Since 2007, federal regulators report that there have been 40 fatalities, 790 fires/explosions and 1,887 injuries. With this type of volume, oil and gas companies have turned to commercial aviation operators to address emergency response needs. As a result, the EraSAR/Priority 1 Air Rescue (P1AR) team was born.
"As we see additional SAR opportunities both here and abroad," said Sten Gustafson, Era's Chief Executive Officer, "we have chosen to elevate our emphasis on developing these opportunities by creating a focused SAR service line." This SAR service line will be led by Director of SAR, Earl Hitzman, Jr., who joined Era as a SAR pilot in 2012 following a 22-year career serving our country in the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force. While in the Air Force, Hitzman served in the illustrious US Air Force Combat Rescue unit, where he was involved in complex combat rescue operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
The EraSAR/P1AR team, based on the Gulf coast of Louisiana and Texas, is comprised of four EMD-certified medical dispatchers, 16 IFR, NVG, air ambulance, and hoist-qualified pilots, and 36 medically-qualified rescue specialists, including paramedics, hoist system operators, and rescue swimmers. Operating three SAR-configured AW139 Air Ambulances in support of the offshore oil and gas industry, the team specializes in providing long-range advanced life support and SAR services anywhere within the Gulf of Mexico, day or night. Adding to the aircraft's basic SAR capabilities are enhancements to include a Goodrich dual hoist system, night vision, integrated auto hover with search pattern modes, Nightsun and Forward Looking Infrared Imaging System (FLIR).
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