Engineering firm hard at work for ambitious oil project

The Forth Jouster is loaded with one of the access platforms, ready to fit on the transport vessels.

Workers at an isles engineering firm have been grafting around the clock after landing a major contract to help extract oil from the Clair Ridge.

Lerwick Engineering and Fabrication Ltd won the £250,000 -plus deal to fabricate eight access platforms and install them on four transport vessels travelling to the west of Shetland for the BP oil project.

The Talisman, Triumph, Transshelf and Mighty Servant 1 are carrying modules as part of the construction of two new platforms. They are then being lifted off the vessels by heavy lift crane barge the Thialf, which walkers around The Knab will have spotted when she arrived last week.

According to BP Clair Ridge is designed to continue producing until 2050 at a peak rate of more than 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

The access platforms are being built onto the transport vessels to help with the module installation at the Clair Ridge.

Fitting of the platforms to the transport vessels has been carried out at sea because the ships are too big to come alongside at Lerwick Harbour.

This has meant shipping of the platforms by work boat Forth Jouster.

The Transshelf is arriving in Lerwick Harbour this afternoon for access platforms to be installed.

Managing director Dave Suckley, said he was happy the firm had been awarded the contract from Heerema Marine Contractors.

“It has been a large amount of work having to be carried out in a short time. It’s quite a challenge and it’s probably the biggest thing to be fabricated in Shetland for some time.

“We are pleased we have got the work done and the client seems to be very happy with it.”

About 12 workers have been involved with the project and have been working 24 hours a day to get the work done.

Mr Suckley said the company had been involved with work in the oil and gas sector since the firm’s inception and hoped there would be more work in future.

“We’re hoping this will lead to future work. Hereema don’t normally work as far north as this,” he said.

“With fabrication a lot of the work is done down in England in the Newcastle area or on the continent so we’re quite pleased we’re able to bring this work to Shetland.”