Hundreds of new jobs are coming to the British offshore energy sector because of an agreement on services supporting a gas field, Wood Group said Monday.
The oil and gas division of Danish conglomerate Maersk awarded the services company with a contract to help commission the Culzean gas field in the British waters of the North Sea. At its peak, Wood Group said it expects 200 new jobs will be created for a field that could enter into production by 2019.
"Maersk's decision to award us this new contract to support them in this significant North Sea development reflects their confidence and assurance in our ability to deliver our broad technical solutions safely, efficiently and effectively," Dave Stewart, Wood Group's regional leader, said in a statement.
Maersk started cutting steel at a Singapore shipyard for a platform associated with its $4.5 billion Culzean project in early 2016. The company started drilling the first of six wells in September and drilling will take place continuously for the next five years.
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. At its peak, the prospect could meet about 5 percent of total British demand for natural gas.
Wood Group's contract is the second in as many weeks from Maersk Oil at the Culzean field. Services company Bilfinger Salamis landed a contract for services to help Maersk with platform installations in late June.
Bilginger Salamis said its 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.
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