The Port of Dundee has appointed Southbay Civil Engineering as part of its multi-million pound North Sea decommissioning revamp.
The Forth Port has plans to plow £10million into creating a new quayside with an industry-leading “heavy lift” capability, coupled with a significant onshore operational area at the port.
The new construction is targeting the North Sea’s emerging decommissioning industry.
Charles Hammond, chief executive of Forth Ports, said: “The Forth Ports Board is fully committed to investing in the Port of Dundee to ensure that the infrastructure is in place to capitalise on the significant opportunities presented by the North Sea Oil & Gas and Decommissioning sectors over the coming years.
“The port’s access to the talented skills base in Dundee along with its key location, unrivalled land space and quayside strength makes it the logical choice for large scale decommissioning in Scotland. In addition our partnerships with the DundeeCom consortium and Augean, also strengthens Dundee’s position as decom hub.”
This privately funded investment will result in the development of the quayside at the East end of the port, connecting to the existing Prince Charles Wharf. The quayside will add both berthing and land capacity at the port and will represent a significant increase in port capacity in the North East region.
Paul Stephenson, managing director of Southbay added: “We are delighted at the award of this technically challenging project at Dundee which will allow us to further establish our reputation as one of the UK’s leading civil engineering contractors within the marine sector. Having recently delivered several smaller projects within the Port of Dundee we have established an excellent business relationship with Forth Ports.
“Together with our existing experienced people, we are already adding to our team by employing local staff and trades. The region has had some fantastic civil engineering schemes which has produced highly skilled people and we are pleased to add to this experience and skill set. We have also established a close working relationship with Abertay University and will provide work placement opportunities to students throughout the contract duration, ensuring a lasting project legacy. The scheme is a big investment in the port and is creating opportunities now that will benefit the local economy for many years to come”.
Earlier this month, oil giant Shell submitted the decom plans for its iconic Brent field.
The world’s largest ship, the Pioneering Spirit, is set to lift the development’s topsides later this year.
Last week, union chiefs claimed Scotland was a “decade behind” on oil and gas decomm.
They hit out after significant decomm contracts for Maersk Oil’s Janice platform, 175 miles east-south-east of Aberdeen, and BP’s Miller installation, 270km north east of the city, were awarded to Norwegian ports. The contracts totaled £40million.
At the time, GMB Scotland Secretary Gary Smith said: “The total failure of the UK and Scottish governments on North Sea decommissioning is exposed once again while Norwegian yards and Italian energy firms are making millions in our own back yard.”
But BP and Saipem later countered the claim, insisting 70% of the Engineer, Prepare, Remove (EPR) work contract value will be performed in the UK by Saipem, based out of their Kingston-upon-Thames and Aberdeen offices.
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