SCOTTISH fabrication and engineering company Isleburn has secured North Sea contracts worth nearly £5million with BP for two structures which will be fabricated at its facilities around the Cromarty Firth and assembled at its new Invergordon base.
Isleburn, part of the Global Energy Group, which has its main offices in Inverness and Aberdeen, will produce a 394-foot caisson for the Andrew platform plus a 245-tonne manifold and 65-tonne subsea isolation valve structure for the Devenick field.
A caisson is a watertight steel column that attaches to the side of a platform to house various lines from the seabed.
Work on the projects – involving an estimated 40,000-plus man hours and 100 out of Isleburn’s 546-strong workforce, will begin immediately – with the structures assembled at Invergordon for load-out next March.
Chief operating officer Neil MacArthur said: “This is excellent news for us as a company and helps secure work for our current workforce.
“It is also good news for the area as contracts like these provide welcome opportunities for suppliers and other local businesses.
“Investing several million pounds in building our new assembly facility at Invergordon was a big decision for us earlier this year, particularly at a time of downturn in the oil and gas sector . . . and we are delighted to have secured this major work from BP as it reaches completion.”
Isleburn, whose headquarters are at Evanton, Ross-shire, is also working on other fabrication projects for BP, valued at £4million, for operations offshore Angola.