Global Engineering and Construction (E&C) expects to create about 100 new jobs in Aberdeen after securing further work with North Sea oil producer Ping Petroleum.
Granite City-based Global E&C – part of Global Energy Group (GEG), which has its headquarters in Inverness – is to carry out rejuvenation work on a floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), Hummingbird, destined for the Avalon field in the central North Sea.
Hummingbird was only recently acquired by Malaysia-based Ping, from international marine energy transportation group Teekay.
The vessel arrived in the Cromarty Firth about a month ago and is now berthed at the GEG-owned Port of Nigg.
Global E&C carried out out pre-Feed (front-end engineering design) work for Hummingbird earlier this year.
The firm’s new port services deal involves modifications to the FPSO to facilitate electrification from an external, low-carbon source. The contract value was undisclosed.
Global E&C said the project highlighted the energy transition intentions of major oil and gas operators.
Derek Thomson, projects director at the firm, said: “With our extensive experience in the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) arena and unique offering to support the oil and gas industry in energy transition, we are confident our full lifecycle capabilities offer further opportunities for the successful execution of this project and working with Ping as a new customer to our portfolio.”
Energy transition growth
Global E&C employs more than 900 people and supports offshore energy operations across more than 25 assets in the UK, delivering modifications ranging from small like-for-like repairs to major capital projects.
The company was created in 2019 after GEG swallowed up Aberdeen firm Apollo Offshore Engineering and merged that business with its own integrity and construction division.
Global E&C has been supporting the oil and gas industry ever since, with client energy transition activity an increasing area of focus.
Chief executive Terry Allan said: “We are already helping operators to decarbonise their assets and switch to alternative power sources and expect this to be a significant growth area for our business as the momentum behind energy transition gathers pace.”
Hummingbird was designed by Norwegian company Sevan and has been in operation since 2008.
It has a production capacity of around 25,000 barrels of oil per day.
The vessel previously worked on the Chestnut field, around 125miles east of Aberdeen.
It will soon be renamed and is expected to remain at Port of Nigg for at least a year.
Wind turbine hook-up- plan
Ping received a letter of “no objections” from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) in March this year for its Avalon proposals.
The Malaysian company has also recently been granted a 19-month extension by NSTA to the second term of the P2006 licence containing Avalon. This allows the firm additional time to optimise and gain full regulatory approval for its Avalon field development plan.
Ping is evaluating options to connect Hummingbird to a dedicated floating offshore wind turbine to power the facility, minimising diesel usage and associated greenhouse gas emissions.
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