North Sea Shell Fram Contract for Subsea 7

Subsea 7 wins US$135-million contract from Shell U.K. for work on the Fram oil & gas development in the Central North Sea.

The contract scope encompasses the engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of a 4.5km in-field pipeline bundle of approximately 44-inch diameter, with integrated manifolds and tie-in structures.

Project management and engineering work will commence immediately and will be managed from Subsea 7's offices in Aberdeen, with bundle fabrication taking place at Subsea 7’s Wester site fabrication yard in Wick.

Offshore activities utilising a variety of Subsea 7 vessels are scheduled to commence and be completed in 2014. Steph McNeill, Subsea 7 Vice President UK and Canada, said: “We are extremely pleased to have been awarded this significant project from Shell for their Fram field development in the UK. At peak this project will secure work for more than 300 personnel in the North East of Scotland as well as providing employment for numerous other supporting companies in the area.”

He continued: “Subsea 7 has a well-established track record of safe and successful bundle design, fabrication and installation, with over 70 bundles produced since our first bundle in 1980. Subsea 7’s unique bundle product provides a cost effective field development solution for operators. All the required flow lines, water injection lines, gas lift lines, control systems and valves are integrated in a single composite bundle. The bundle is tested onshore and then towed out and installed in a single operation. This allows for an optimised offshore installation programme.”