UK-based shipbuilding company Harland & Wolff has secured a £61m base contract to provide the mid-life upgrade of the SeaRose Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.
Canadian integrated oil and natural gas company Cenovus Energy has awarded the contract.
Under the terms of the contract, Harland & Wolff will deliver the SeaRose FPSO at Cenovus’ Belfast Yard in early 2024 and will be placed in the Building Dock for more than three months.
It is the second time for the SeaRose vessel to visit Belfast, following its last visit in 2012.
Harland & Wolff has already started several preparatory works in Belfast, including inspections, procurement of steel, fabrication of customised blocks and other dry dock operations.
Additional fabrication has started to ensure the yard is fully prepared to begin refurbishment and upgrade works as soon as the vessel arrives, in the next year.
The upgrade works are expected to employ 1,000 personnel on-site in Belfast, as Harland & Wolff continue to deliver the £1.6bn Fleet Solid Support programme.
Harland & Wolff Group CEO John Wood said: “I am delighted that Cenovus has chosen Harland & Wolff as its preferred yard to undertake the mid-life upgrade of the SeaRose.
“This is a significant win within our non-defence portfolio from a global, blue-chip energy group and I am pleased that we are gaining a reputation as a go-to yard for large and complex programmes.
“With an estimated 1,000 personnel on-site, this project will allow for further synergies in our execution, leveraging off of personnel, skill sets and supply chains that will support the upcoming FSS Programme.”
Harland & Wolff is a multisite fabrication company, operating in the commercial, cruise ferry, defence, energy and renewables markets.
The company offers technical, fabrication and construction, decommissioning, repair and maintenance, and conversion services across the maritime and offshore industries.
Its Belfast yard is one of the largest heavy engineering facilities in Europe, with deep water access, large drydocks, ample quayside and vast fabrication halls.
After acquiring the facility in August 2020, Harland & Wolff has been benefitting from the opportunities of the ship-repair and shipbuilding markets.
In February 2021, the company acquired two Scotland-based yards along the east and west coasts.
Currently known as Harland & Wolff (Methil) and Harland & Wolff (Arnish), the facilities focus on fabrication work within the renewables, energy and defence sectors.
In addition to the four yards, Harland & Wolff also owns the Islandmagee gas storage project, which would provide 25% of the UK’s natural gas storage capacity.
