Kvaerner clinches Shell contract


Norwegian EPC specialist Kvaerner has been awarded an engineering, procurement, construction and management contract for the Shell-operated Ormen Lange/Nyhamna onshore facilities on the west coast of Norway.

The contract, worth NOK 6 billion (excluding options), is a framework agreement for a duration of six years, with options for an additional two-plus-two years.

The Nyhamna gas plant processes natural gas from the Ormen Lange gas field located in the Møre Basin in the southern part of the Norwegian Sea. The contract scope includes all modifications and projects on the Ormen Lange/Nyhamna facility and is established to meet the expected, significant increased project activity over the next five to 10 years. This includes the facilities at Nyhamna for gas from new fields such as Linnorm and Aasta Hansteen (formerly Luva).

Once fully mobilised, at least 500 employees are expected to be working in rotation on site at Nyhamna. In addition, more than 200 engineers and management staff will be working on the contract throughout the period. Of these, around 80 will be working out of Tromsø by the end of next year.

Commenting, Kvaerner’s president and CEO Jan Arve Haugan, said: “This is a major onshore contract, and the largest of its kind in Norway this year. We are proud to have won this important contract, which we believe demonstrates a faith in our project execution model and ability to deliver complete solutions to the client.”

Norske Shell's project director Bernt Granås added: "Kvaerner has a strong HSE performance, which was an important factor in the tender process. We are particularly pleased that key personnel with significant experience from similar operations and projects will be made available for us by Kvaerner.”

With more than 3,200 employees, Kvaerner is a specialised provider of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for offshore platforms and onshore plants. In 2011, the Kvaerner group had aggregated annual revenues of more than NOK 13 billion. The company had an order backlog at 31 December 2011 of more than NOK 10 billion.