Gulf Helicopters is a helicopter services provider mainly servicing the Oil and Gas industry in Middle East, Yemen, North Africa and India. It is a 100% subsidiary of Gulf International Services under the Qatar Petroleum

Qatar Petroleum

Qatar Petroleum is a state owned petroleum company in Qatar. The company operates all oil and gas activities in Qatar, including exploration, production, refining, transport, and storage. QP's Chairman Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, is also the head of the Ministry of Energy and Industry and, as...

 (QP) umbrella, and has its headquarters in Doha

Doha

Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...

, Qatar

Qatar

Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...

. Gulf Helicopters provides transport services to customers in Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

, Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

, North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

 and India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Among other services they offer Seismic Support, Load Lifting, Support of 'ad hoc' short-term contracts, VIP Executive Transport, and Helicopter Emergency Medical Services. The company operates a fleet of 37 helicopters and has 300 employees. They also have offices in West Sussex, U.K., Mumbai, India, and Tripoli, Libya.

History

Gulf Helicopters was established in 1970, with its base in the oil rich nation of Qatar. It was initially set up in February 1973 as a joint venture company involving British Overseas Airways, British European Helicopters and Gulf Aviation Services to provide helicopter service to oil companies developing the offshore exploration and production industry. In March 1977, Gulf Aviation Company Ltd. purchased Gulf Helicopters for the intention of developing economical cooperation and air transportation for the region. Then in June 1998 the company was purchased again by Qatar General Petroleum Corporation. The company is a member of the Helicopter Association International and has been a recipient of the Operators Safety Award in 1995 and 1996. Technical Safety Awards were awarded to several members of the engineering staff in 1998.

Fleet

Gulf Helicopters operates a fleet of 32 helicopters including the following:

• two Sikorsky S-92
  Sikorsky S-92
  The Sikorsky S-92 is a four-bladed twin-engine medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft for the civil and military helicopter market. The S-92 was developed from the Sikorsky S-70 helicopter and has similar parts such as flight control and rotor systems.The H-92 Superhawk is a military...
  
  ,
• 12 AgustaWestland AW139
  AgustaWestland AW139
  The AgustaWestland AW139 is a 15-seat medium sized twin-engined helicopter manufactured by AgustaWestland. Originally designed and developed jointly by Agusta and Bell Helicopters and marketed as the Agusta-Bell AB139, it was redesignated the AW139 when Bell withdrew from the project...
  
  ,
• 13 Bell 412
  Bell 412
  The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212 model, the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.-Design and development:...
  
  ,
• Four Bell 212 and
• one Bell 206
  Bell 206
  The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- or twin-engine helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter program, the 206 failed to be selected...
  
  .