Oil giant BP is moving ahead with plans for the £4billion phase two development of the giant Clair field west of Shetland.
The company has just awarded a £177million contract to Norway’s Aker Solutions for two steel jackets for platforms for the project, known as Clair Ridge.
The drilling and production jacket will weight 22,300 tonnes, while the living quarters utility jacket will weigh 9,000 tonnes.
They will both be built in Aker Solutions’ yard at Verdal, Norway. Fabrication is due to start in June 2011 and the jackets are expected to be delivered in March 2013.
Matt Taylor, a spokesman for BP in Aberdeen, said yesterday that Clair Ridge was among a number of major investments which BP was planning to sustain production in its North Sea business. He added that further contract awards for Clair Ridge – including for the drilling and production facilities and living quarters – are planned to be announced later this year.
A variety of engineering contracts have already been awarded.
There is a project team of 200-plus people working on various aspects of the Clair Ridge project in Amec’s offices in London.
Jarle Tautra, executive vice- president at Aker Solutions, said: “Jacket structures is the core business for our yard in Verdal and I am pleased to see that we have won such a huge and important contract in an international competitive bidding process.”
BP’s Mr Taylor said UK yards had been considered for the jackets, but ruled out as they did not have the capacity to build structures of this size.
Clair was one of the largest undeveloped reservoirs in the UK continental shelf before production started in February 2005. Phase one uses a platform also built at Verdal and it produces around 50,000 barrels of oil daily.
There is thought to be more than 4billion barrels still in place in the Clair area.
Clair Ridge is expected to come on stream by the middle of 2015. Daily production is expected to reach 120,000 barrels.
In March, BP signalled a massive vote of confidence in the North Sea by announcing plans to spend several billion pounds in Scottish waters over the next few years.
The oil group is determined to invest heavily to keep North Sea production above the 300,000-barrels-a-day mark – at least until 2020.
BP’s North Sea strategy was revealed at a presentation in London, at which it identified 24 significant developments worldwide.
Four of these are in waters off Scotland – the centrepiece being Clair Ridge.
Another major development is intended to extend the life of the Schiehallion oil field west of Shetland. The preferred option is believed to involve spending more than £1.3billion replacing a floating production vessel.
The other two big BP projects are the Devenick gas field, on which around £500million is being spent bringing it on stream, and the Kinnoull oil field, which is to be a £450million development. Both are north-east of Aberdeen.