Around 100 jobs are to be created in the north east’s flying oil and gas sector after Wood Group announced a new $50m contract for work in the North Sea.
The group’s production services division said it will carry out hook-up and commissioning work for the Golden Eagle development, 70 miles north-east of Aberdeen.
Field operator Nexen Petroleum is developing a two-platform installation for the site as part of its investment – comprising a wellhead and separate production, utility and living quarters connected by a 70-metre bridge above the waves.
Wood Group said the two-year deal would see it take on responsibility for the management, labour, materials, services and equipment during the start-up and connection of the rig.
Dave Stewart, managing director of Wood’s UK production services division, said the deal was a “key project” for his firm, which and he was proud to have been selected to support one of the most significant offshore developments on the UK Continental Shelf.
“We will be deploying a high performing management team, familiar with Nexen’s assets and processes, who have a track record of developing a positive project work culture that delivers results safely and on time,” he said.
Research into Scotland’s oil sector has repeatedly found the industry and Aberdeen to be flourishing, despite the vice-like grip of the economic downturn elsewhere.
But studies have also shown a shortage of appropriately-qualified workers, leading firms to recruit experienced contractors from across the country including those prepared to commute from Tayside and Fife.
Wood Group has already delivered similar projects for Nexen in the nearby Buzzard field, the biggest in UK waters.
First production at Golden Eagle where venture partners include Maersk Oil, Suncor Energy and Edinburgh Oil & Gas is expected late next year.
Government permission was granted in October 2011.
The field is expected to produce the equivalent of 140 million barrels of oil by 2032, at an initial rate of 70,000 a day.
At the time, Nexen said it expected the construction phase would create a total of 2,000 jobs, with 400 roles required to be filled during the operational phase and thousands of indirect posts supported over its lifespan.
The company says two-thirds of the total £2 billion investment will be spent on UK contracts.
Calgary-based Nexen owns the rights to significant adjacent acreage in the productive area of the North Sea, and says it continues to explore the seabed for other opportunities.
The company, the second-largest producer in the UK North Sea, is subject to a $15.1m takeover bid from Chinese state oil firm CNOOC. Its proposal has been approved by authorities in Ottawa, but is still being examined by regulators in the US.
The news came as a new study revealed that UK Continental Shelf drilling increased by a third last year, thanks to sustained high oil prices and a broad range of tax allowances.
A total of 65 exploration and appraisal wells were sunk in the 12-month period, professional services firm Deloitte said.
The firm’s petrol services group said other indicators also suggest positive prospects for this year.
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