Offshore engineering firm Subsea 7 said yesterday it had signed an £85million deal which would secure more than 300 north and north-east jobs.
It said the work on Shell’s Fram development in the central North Sea would be carried out from its Aberdeen office and Highland fabrication yard.
Under the contract, Subsea 7 will carry out engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of a pipeline bundle nearly three miles long.
It said project-management and engineering work would start immediately in the Granite City, while the fabrication work will take place at its Wester site, near Wick. Offshore activities are due to take place next year.
Fram, 136 miles east of Aberdeen, will use a floating production vessel.
The find, thought to hold up to 300million barrels of oil and gas, is expected to produce an average 35,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. First production is expected within three years and about two-thirds of the output will be gas.
Subsea 7 vice-president for the UK and Canada Steph McNeill said: “We are extremely pleased to have been awarded this significant project from Shell for their Fram field development in the UK.
“At peak this project will secure work for more than 300 personnel in the north-east of Scotland as well as providing employment for numerous other supporting companies in the area.
“Subsea 7 has a well-established track record of safe and successful bundle design, fabrication and installation, with over 70 bundles produced since our first bundle in 1980.”
It comes after the Norwegian company signed a £185million contract extension with BP for work west of Shetland at the end of last year, securing 100 jobs. Subsea 7 said it would continue to provide construction, inspection, repair and maintenance services for the operator until 2017. It said its Subsea Viking support vessel would be used primarily for BP’s Foinaven and Schiehallion fields plus other North Sea assets.