Paragon Engineering Services and Stolt Offshore announced the signing of a letter of intent to form a new company, Paragon Engineering Services International (PESI), with the goal of pursuing large deepwater projects worldwide using cost-efficient Gulf of Mexico practices and design approaches. PESI, a holding company, will have operating offices in both Houston and Nanterre, France, near Paris. PESI will operate independently of Stolt, serving the needs of upstream oil and gas customers.

Ken Arnold, currently CEO and president of PES, says Paragon’s joint venture with Stolt presents an opportunity to align itself with a prestigious deepwater EPCI contractor while allowing Paragon to maintain its company culture. “Houston is rapidly becoming a center for deepwater engineering, with most companies active in world-class EPCI contracts looking to establish an engineering center of excellence here. In the past six months, we have had discussions with and equity offers from most of the industry’s large offshore EPCI companies.

“With Stolt we found a partner who is automatically considered for almost every deepwater project anywhere in the world, and who respects and wishes to nurture the culture which made Paragon the company it is today,” said Arnold. Arnold will become CEO and president of PESI and retain his title of CEO of PES. Jim Gattis, currently executive vice president of PES, will be promoted to president of PES.