Developer says new offshore development will support 1,500 jobs
Keegan Murray
The colossal heavy lift vessel which imposed upon the Lerwick skyline over the last week left Lerwick Harbour on Tuesday evening.The 217 metre Forte is carrying modules which will be used in a major North Sea development. And it was revealed this week that the Mariner project, where the equipment will end up, is set to support 1,500 jobs.
Forte, and a partner vessel berthed at Green Head, sailed from South Korea with modules destined for an installation 95 miles east of Shetland. Forte left her berth at Holmsgarth on Tuesday night, again anchoring off the coast of Quarff.
Around 250 million barrels of oil are to be produced from the Mariner field at a rate of 55,000 barrels per day. Production is expected to begin in the second half of 2018.
The development and running of the installation will create and support over 1,000 jobs, oil and gas firm Statoil have confirmed.
Roughly 700 of those jobs are to be long-term roles, based both onshore (including at a base in Aberdeen) and offshore. Further short-term roles will be created in fields such as engineering, rigging and pipe-fitting during construction.
Hedda Felin, managing director of Statoil (UK), said: “The Mariner development will create wider ripple effects in the supply chain for the next 30 years.
“We are privileged to be able to contribute towards job creation and the longevity of the UK continental shelf. Mariner demonstrates that this industry has a positive and exciting future ahead.”
Investment
Meanwhile, investors are confident about the potential of a recent oil find west of Shetland, lending huge financial backing to the company behind the find.
Hurricane Energy has raised $520 million (£400m) from investors, in a fundraising effort completed in under 24 hours.
The Surrey-based company say that the financial backing will help to develop the find, with production from the promising Lancaster field due to start in 2019.
It is estimated that a quantity of oil in the region of one billion barrels could be contained within the untapped region.
The company will aim to produce 17,000 barrels of oil a day from an early production system (EPS) and will use this to demonstrate the field’s commercial potential.
Charles L. Gallagher
Surely this must be ‘FAKE NEWS’ for you were repeatedly told that that N.Sea oil was running out???? As far as it goes this is semi true but this field is in the ‘Atlantic Margin’ which extends down the West Coast until it meets the RoI Economic Zone. All of this denied even the fact that Cameron sneaked into Sumburgh. Then there was the temporary closure of what turned out to be a massive field, with the workers sent home on ‘FULL PAY’ and warned not to talk about the potential of ‘The Faroe – Shetland Basin’.
With Brexit and a collapse in living standards on the horizon I now wonder how many regret voting ‘NO’ in September 2014???
Ali Inkster
The mariner field is 90 miles east of Shetland, makes you wonder where on the snp map the box with Shetland is.
Laurence Paton
The article states this field is 95 mile’s East of Shetland. It must be handy with the UK / Norway median line. Nothing to do with the ” Atlantic Margin”.
That is an interesting conspiracy theory….
ian tinkler
Great news with the the usual sour comments from SNP stalwart Charlie boy G. Thank Goodness Scotland comprehensively rejected independence. If we had had the Salmond/Sturgeon green nightmare inflicted on us, an Independent Scotland would have left all fossil fuels in the ground and we would be dependent on windmills (a la Fracked gas, (never quite understood why frack gas no, more polluting oil OK)). That is if you could believe a single word and policy the very Green SNP rave about, good job they got well beaten in indy1, indiy2 looks a lost caurse also.
paul barlow
the oil and gas that it produces is heading to the mainland. how is this good news for shetland. it should be transfered to sullom if in our waters. just more oil bypassing us.