The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
£40m Premier Oil contract for Wood
Wood Group has secured a £40 million contract with Premier Oil to deliver energy services to two North Sea platforms.
The two-year deal will see the firm provide topside operations and maintenance to the Balmoral floating production vessel (FPV) and the Solan installation.
The move secures the future of more than 150 jobs and builds on a separate contract from 2014 to deliver fabric maintenance services to the Balmoral FPV.
Wood Group chief executive Dave Stewart said: “This contract clearly demonstrates the strong partnership we have developed with Premier Oil in the North Sea, renewing our support of the Balmoral FPV and broadening our delivery to include the Solan field, which came on stream in April 2016.”
Wood Group revealed earlier this month that it had agreed a £2.2 billion takeover of rival Amec Foster Wheeler.
The north east firm said the tie-up will result in “significant cost and revenue synergies” of at least £110 million a year.
Wood Group employs 29,000 people while Amec has 35,000 workers and the new entity will be valued at circa £5bn.
Meanwhile, production has begun from the Maersk Oil-operated Flyndre field which straddles the UK and Norwegian North Sea.
First oil flowed at 8pm on Sunday, travelling 25 km via pipeline to the Repsol Sinopec-operated Clyde platform.
Production is expected to peak at around 10,000 bopd with the field expected to produce until at least 2023.
Maersk Oil’s chief executive officer, Gretchen Watkins said: “Flyndre first oil represents new production for both the UK and Norway and we’re pleased to have worked with partners on both sides of the border to deliver this development.”
The field, which lies approximately 293 km south-east of Aberdeen, was discovered in 1974 and straddles the UK/ Norway median line.
The export route takes production from the Clyde platform, via the Repsol Sinopec-operated Fulmar platform and onwards to Teesside via the Norpipe system.