LONDON, July 24 (UPI) -- The British government sees the North Sea as a re-emerging source of economic stimulus, British Energy Minister Michael Fallon said.
Chevron announced this week it awarded contracts worth more than $840 million for two projects in the North Sea.
OneSubsea, a British subsidiary of oil services providers Schlumberger, secured a contract for work in the Rosebank field in the deep waters off the coast off the Shetland Islands. The companies said as much as 240 million barrels of oil could be extracted from the field over its lifespan.
French energy company Technip and its Norwegian counterparts Aker Solutions secured contracts for work on the Alder field, discovered in the 1970s but only recently emerging as a commercial prospect, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.
Fallon was quoted as saying Tuesday the planned work shows Chevron's regional growth strategy parallels London's ambitions.
"The North Sea is seeing a resurgence of investment. From Aberdeen, Leeds and Newcastle this half a billion pound investment will support hundreds of highly skilled jobs in engineering, design and manufacturing," he said.
