Aker Solutions in Aberdeen has been awarded a three-year North Sea contract by Fairfield Energy which will create about 100 posts, most of them new recruits.
The deal, which includes options to extend, will be worth £20-£30million a year to Aker Solutions.
It covers providing Fairfield with engineering, procurement and construction services on the Dunlin Alpha platform in the northern North Sea.
The award announced yesterday comes in the wake of Fairfield’s takeover of the Dunlin field cluster from Shell/ExxonMobil. Fairfield acquired 70% of the selling companies’ holding, plus operation of Dunlin, while Mitsubishi Energy gained 30%.
Aker Solutions will undertake initial studies on the installation, followed by a programme of modifications, including onshore engineering work, procurement and offshore construction.
In delivering the contract, Aker Solutions will be working closely with Dunlin platform dutyholder Amec.
Rod Buchan, managing director of Aker Solutions’ maintenance, modification and operation business in Aberdeen, said: “Fairfield Energy is a new client for us and is taking over its first North Sea asset.
“Our success in winning this work is very much aligned with our key strategic goals, one of which is to develop relationships with independent operators and new entrants to the UK.
“Fairfield has ambitions to become a key North Sea operator, and we look forward to supporting its plans to achieve significant growth over the coming years and to delivering significantly increased value from the Dunlin asset.”
Aker Solutions reported a 17% rise in 2008 first-quarter core earnings yesterday, in line with forecasts, and said its business outlook was strong for the next three to five years. The supplier of engineering and construction services said it stood by its earlier financial guidance for 2008-10. Chief executive Simen Lieungh predicted the market for subsea oil and gas installations would more than double in three to four years.
Aker Solutions, formerly Aker Kvaerner, said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose to £101million for the period from £86.64million a year earlier. Operating revenue edged up to £1.44billion in the quarter from £1.43billion the year before.
The company’s backlog of orders fell to £5.52billion at the end of the first quarter, from £5.9billion at the end of 2007. It said it removed a £165million contract from the backlog because the client had not asked it to proceed with the project.
EnCore Oil said yesterday it had agreed a farm-out with Fairfield Acer, a subsidiary of Fairfield Energy, under which Fairfield will acquire a 25% interest and operatorship of block 9/27a in the UK North Sea. EnCore will retain a 62.5% stake. The deal gives Fairfield the option, but not the obligation, to increase its equity up to 62.5%.
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