The Port of Cromarty Firth (PoCF) has reached a new milestone after welcoming its 750th oil rig to the North Sea inlet in the Scottish Highlands.
PoCF said the Well-Safe Defender is undergoing scheduled maintenance and repair works in the firth after completing a well decommissioning project.
The Cromarty Firth has been a destination for semi-submersible and jack-up rigs since the early years of the North Sea oil boom in the 1970s.
The latest milestone comes as the PoCF marks the 50th anniversary of its establishment as a Trust Port.
Firth a ‘key location’ for North Sea rigs
PoCF chief executive Bob Buskie said the 750th visit underlines the firth’s reputation as a key location rig inspection, maintenance and repair.
“Half a century on from our establishment as a Trust Port, we are proud of the part we have played and continue to play in supporting North Sea energy industries and encouraging economic activity in the area,” Mr Buskie said.
“People and companies in the supply chain around the firth also have every reason to be proud.
“The engineering skills local workers have are world-class and the firms operating here have provided a hub of activity creating employment opportunities and benefiting the Highland economy.”
North Sea history
PoCF said its role in the North Sea energy industry stretches back to February 1978, when the first drilling rig, the Transworld 78, arrived in the firth.
The Transworld 58, which spent 33 days there in the same year, is believed to have produced the North Sea’s first oil from the Argyll field.
Later renamed the North Sea Pioneer, the rig returned to the firth in 1984 and 1988.
Well-Safe Solutions operations director Neil Ferguson said: “After successful completion of a 15-well decommissioning campaign in the North Sea, the Well-Safe Defender returned to the Port of Cromarty Firth in March 2024.
“We’re thrilled to be the 750th vessel to use the port in the 50th year of it being a Trust Port. Preparation is key to any project of this scale, and we’re thankful for the collaboration and support of the PoCF team throughout the rig’s stay.
“Well-Safe Solutions is now underway with regularly scheduled maintenance and repair works ahead of our next well decommissioning campaign, using the excellent facilities at the port.”
Renewables future on the horizon
While the Port of Cromarty Firth is celebrating reaching a milestone in its association with the oil and gas sector, the port is also on the cusp of a renewables ‘gold rush‘.
© Supplied by Port of Cromarty FirthThe PoCF is also in line for a share of £160 million in funding from the UK government’s Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (FLOWMIS).
The port is also a member of the successful bidding consortium for the Inverness & Cromarty Firth Green Freeport bid, which is set to create 16,500 jobs in the region.
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