WOOD Group said it has won a significant extension to a flagship North Sea contract from Total, expected to be worth around an additional $150 mil-lion (£98m) to the oil and gas services giant.
The contract, which will secure around 300 jobs, covers maintenance work on offshore platforms that handle production from assets including the giant Elgin Franklin gas fields 150 miles east of Aberdeen.
These were brought back onstream by Total last month almost a year after production was shut down following a leak. The two-year extension also covers work on the St Fergus onshore gas terminal in Aberdeenshire.
Coming 10 years after Wood Group was appointed to maintain the assets by the French firm, the contract extension is a notable success for the company.
David Stewart, UK managing director for the Wood Group PSN divsion, said: "It's an important contract in our UK business and we are proud to continue to work with Total to deliver a range of technically challenging projects."
Among the biggest gas developments brought onstream in the UK in the last 20 years, Elgin and Franklin produce in a high-pressure, high-temperature environment.
Oil and gas firms have been increasing spending on these kinds of challenging assets as they look to meet strong demand for energy.
Last month trade body Oil & Gas UK predicted investment in the United Kingdon Continental Shelf will rise to a record £13 billion in 2013, from £11.4bn in 2012.
Wood Group has been a big beneficiary of oil and gas firms' efforts to boost output in the North Sea.
After Wood Group posted 35% growth in annual profits, to $461m, last month, chief executive Bob Keiller said he expected activity levels to remain strong in the North Sea for the foreseeable future.
He said the company was optimistic about its prospects for the UK.
Under the contract with Total, Wood Group will continue to provide engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning services to the Alwyn, Dunbar, Elgin and Franklin offshore platforms and the St Fergus onshore gas plant.
Total shut the Elgin Franklin gas fields in March last year following a leak it said subsequently was caused by a combination of several unprecedented events on a well.
It said a thorough investigation revealed the leak was caused by a type of stress corrosion which was unique to the well concerned.
After winning official clearance to restart production last month, Total said all necessary measures had been taken to enable the company to carry out future exploitation of the fields from the Elgin/Frank- lin area in the best safety conditions.
The closure had little effect on the contract with Wood Group.
The company helped Total to secure the Elgin facility and then to resume production from the platform.
Wood Group said the contract with Total supports 200 onshore and 100 offshore jobs in the UK.
Some engineering support work is provided by Wood Group's oil and gas operation in Glasgow, in which around 450 people are employed.
The company said: "Based on historical turnover, the award is anticipated to be valued at $150m."
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