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Gas development boosts opportunities in British North Sea

Hundreds of new jobs expected from the latest offshore development, services company Bilfinger Salamis U.K. said.

By Daniel J. Graeber
Hundreds of new jobs expected to emerge from the development of a North Sea natural gas field, a services company said. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI
Hundreds of new jobs expected to emerge from the development of a North Sea natural gas field, a services company said. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

June 30 (UPI) -- Energy opportunities in the British waters of the North Sea are bolstered by new work slated for natural gas, services company Bilfinger Salamis said Friday.

The company announced it landed a contract for services to help Maersk Oil with platform installations for the Culzean natural gas field.

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"There are fewer major hook-up projects in the North Sea than in previous years, but the Culzean contract ensures further recruitment and growth for our North Sea business in the years ahead," Managing Director Sandy Bonner said in a statement.

The company said the new work contract could create as many as 300 new jobs in the North Sea energy sector.

Parts of the North Sea are rebounding somewhat following maturation concerns. Repsol Sinopec Resources U.K. said this week that first gas was developed on schedule from its Cayley field in the central North Sea, the final phase of the company's development from the broader Montrose area in British waters. Installed in 1976, the company said the production gains from the region will extend the life of the entire area.

Maersk started cutting steel at a Singapore shipyard in early 2016 for a platform associated with its $4.5 billion Culzean project. The company started drilling the first of six wells in September. Drilling will take place continuously for the next five years with the first volumes of gas set for production in about two years.

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With a peak production rate of up to 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the company said Culzean field is the largest discovered in the area in more than a decade.

Production begins in 2019 and, at its peak, should meet about 5 percent of total British demand for natural gas.

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