INTERNATIONAL oil and gas services firm Petrofac said today it plans to create another 100 jobs after winning two North Sea deals with French energy giant GDF’s UK exploration and production arm.
The contracts are worth about £30million over three years and see Petrofac providing GDF with operations, maintenance, engineering and general support services from this month.
Petrofac said it would also supply all offshore personnel and significant onshore support to GDF SUEZ Exploration and Production (E&P) UK in the development of operational capabilities in the UK continental shelf (UKCS), including the significant Cygnus field in the southern North Sea.
This would mean an estimated 100 new jobs in the North Sea over the next five years, Petrofac said.
Bill Dunnett, managing director, Petrofac offshore engineering and operations, added: “We are delighted to be establishing a new relationship in the UKCS with our first contracts from GDF SUEZ E&P UK.
“We will be working closely with GDF SUEZ E&P UK to deliver these projects, helping build its presence in the UKCS and cementing a relationship for the long-term.”
GDF SUEZ E&P UK managing director Jean-Claude Perdigues said the new contracts represented a “significant milestone” for the division.
Including its Cygnus and Juliet development projects, the proportion of GDF SUEZ E&P UK’s operated production is expected to rise 50% by 2013.
Cygnus has been described as one of the most significant undeveloped gas fields in the UKCS.
It has been estimated to have at least 520billion cubic feet of natural gas and potentially up to 989billion cubic feet.
The development plan is for a four-platform complex, with two drilling centres and up to 10 wells. Project sanction is expected in the first quarter of 2012.
Petrofac employs more than 14,500 people out of key operating centres in Aberdeen, Woking, Sharjah, Mumbai, Chennai and Abu Dhabi plus a further 21 offices worldwide.
Its latest jobs boost for the north-east comes just the week after it said the number of people it employed out of Aberdeen had swollen by 400 in just six months, to about 4,400.
Much of the recruitment is due to work the firm is carrying out for French oil giant Total at Sullom Voe, in Shetland, where it is lead contractor for a new £500million gas-processing plant.
GDF SUEZ E&P UK is active in the southern North Sea, central North Sea and west of Shetland.
In the UK North Sea, it holds about 50 exploration licences – 19 as an operator – and 16 producing fields.
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