BP awards Bibby Offshore 'multi-million pound' North Sea contract

The contract, commencing April 2016, will see Bibby Offshore provide dive support and construction support vessels from its international fleet for BP's $1 billion (£660m) Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) Life Extension Project.

Subsea services firm Bibby Offshore has secured a new 'multi-million pound' contract with BP to replace subsea infrastructure in the Central North Sea.

The contract, commencing April 2016, will see Bibby Offshore provide dive support and construction support vessels from its international fleet for BP's $1 billion (£660 million) Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) Life Extension Project.

The overall value of the contract has not been disclosed.

The ETAP area comprises nine reservoirs in total, six of which are operated by BP and three by Shell.

To date ETAP, which was first discovered in 1976, has produced more than 520 million barrels of oil.

Bibby will deliver umbilical installation, trenching, structure installation and commissioning services as BP looks to extent the life of the fields until 2030.

Howard Woodcock, chief executive of Bibby Offshore, said: “This is a significant contract win for Bibby Offshore, and we are delighted to be working with BP again, having previously undertaken subsea intervention work for BP in 2014.

“The contract award as part of this high-profile life extension project highlights our wide range of subsea services and affirms our capability to consistently and successfully deliver complex and challenging projects for our clients.”