Energy services contractor Sparrows Group, of Aberdeen, has won a multimillion-pound deal with Ineos in the UK North Sea.
Ineos FPS (Forties Pipeline System), a subsidiary of petrochemicals giant Ineos, awarded Sparrows a three-and-a-half-year contract for the work on its Unity platform.
It covers services including crane and lifting equipment operations, maintenance, engineering and inspection.
Sparrows will also be responsible for re-certification, repair and overhaul of lifting equipment as well as specialist engineering ad hoc support.
Contract to be managed from HQ
The work will be run by Sparrows’ UK team from the contractor’s Granite City headquarters.
Matt Corbin, regional director for Europe, Sparrows, said “Our commitment to providing safe and efficient operations, as well as our track record of more than 45 years’ in the North Sea and our experience working with Ineos FPS to date, is reflected in this announcement.
“Ineos FPS’ assets play a critical role in energy security here in the UK – we’re delighted to have been chosen to ensure the ongoing operations and maintenance of the lifting equipment on Unity.”
The normally unmanned Unity “riser” platform is located about 100 miles offshore in the central North Sea.
Described by Ineos FPS as a “gathering hub”, the facility receives crude oil and gas via six incoming pipelines connected to offshore installations operated by other companies.
Export is through a single subsea link to an onshore terminal in Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, and from there the hydrocarbons are transported via an underground pipeline to the Kinneil terminal at Grangemouth.
Remote-controlled installation
Unity is operated remotely from a control centre at Kinneil. Maintenance teams visit the platform regularly by helicopter and more intensive maintenance programmes are carried out periodically using a “walk-to-work” vessel.
French group Altrad snapped up Sparrows last year for an undisclosed sum, acquiring the business from Jersey-registered Hawk Caledonia.
Sparrows has worked in UK North Sea for nearly 50 years
Sparrows, founded in 1946, in Bath, employs about 2,500 people globally.
The Bridge of Don-based company moved into the offshore oil and gas market in 1975, when it supplied crane operators to the Forties field in the North Sea.
Some of its Aberdeen-based team have been involved in offshore strikes this year in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions in the UK oil and gas industry.
