Ithaca Energy said yesterday it had awarded a £146million contract to oil service group Technip.
The engineering, procurement, installation and construction deal covers subsea work on the Greater Stella Area (GSA) in the central North Sea.
Technip workers in the north-east and north will be involved in the project, though it is not known if any jobs will be created.
Ithaca said in April that it had been given the go-ahead for its £630million development.
The project, the largest undertaken by the company to date, will see the Stella and Harrier fields in the central North Sea developed through a floating production facility, the FPF-1.
GSA could produce about 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day.
Ithaca said yesterday the overall Stella and Harrier development work programme was progressing as planned, with all the major contracts now in place.
Development drilling is anticipated to start in late 2012 using the Ensco 100 heavy-duty jackup rig.
Installation of the subsea infrastructure is due to take place next summer.
GSA also contains the Hurricane discovery, now being appraised, and the Helios prospect which has yet to be properly evaluated.
The partners in GSA are Ithaca, Dyas and Petrofac.
Petrofac is taking a 20% stake in GSA in exchange for Ithaca and Dyas gaining an 80% interest in the FPF-1. After Petrofac gets its GSA shareholding, Ithaca will have 54.66% and Dyas 25.34%.
Stella and Harrier have an estimated 35.6million boe of recoverable reserves.
GSA asset manager with Ithaca Mike Travis said: “We are delighted to be working with Technip for the provision of an integrated subsea infrastructure design and installation service for the GSA hub.
“Awarding a single contract to Technip for the major subsea activities means that we benefit from a cost-effective solution as well as accessing the full resources and execution expertise of a leading contractor in the field of subsea engineering and construction.”
Technip said its operating centre at Westhill, near Aberdeen, would execute the contract.
Genesis, Technip’s consultancy subsea and offshore engineering company, will complete the detailed design workscope and flexible flowlines will be manufactured at Technip’s flexible pipe plant at Le Trait, in France.
Technip’s Evanton Spoolbase, near Inverness, will fabricate the linepipe and Duco, the group’s umbilical manufacturer in Newcastle, will provide the umbilicals.
Vessels from the Technip fleet will be used for the offshore work, including the Skandi Arctic and the Wellservicer.
Technip employs more than 900 people in Britain – most of them at Westhill.
Bill Morrice, managing director of Technip in the UK, said: “Ithaca Energy (UK) is a new client for Technip and we are delighted to have been awarded this significant contract to help them develop the GSA.
“The UK North Sea is still an exciting place to be, with opportunities in all areas including the inspection, repair and maintenance and west of Shetland markets. This particular award is evidence of the high level of activity around traditional developments and we look forward to supporting Ithaca Energy (UK) to bring the GSA hub on stream.”
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