Leonardo to supply three helicopters to support oil & gas sector in Russia

Leonardo, a helicopter design and manufacturing company, has signed a contract with Sakhalin Energy for the supply of three AW189 super medium twin engine commercial helicopters to support the oil gas industry in Russia. 

Leonardo said on Thursday that the aircraft will be used to perform transport operations from Sakhalin Island in Russia supporting the oil & gas industry, with deliveries expected to start in the 1Q 2020.

The contract was signed in Moscow on Thursday by Gian Piero Cutillo, MD Leonardo Helicopters, and Roman Dashkov, CEO of Sakhalin Energy.

“This latest order confirms the competitiveness of Leonardo’s modern product range in the Oil&Gas market and further strengthens the success of the AW189 in Russia and globally thanks to its performance, new design, latest certification standards and cost effectiveness for the mission,” said Gian Piero Cutillo.

Roman Dashkov said: “It is symbolic that we are finishing this year with such an important event as signing of the contracts for delivery and maintenance of three helicopters to provide the transportation of the company staff to the remote facilities of ‘Sakhalin Energy’.

He added: “The direct consequences of that are: safe air transportation, reliable service of offshore oil and gas objects in adverse natural and climatic conditions of Sakhalin shelf. This is the step forward both for Russian industry and for international cooperation.”

The 8.6 tonne AW189 is a commercial helicopter from the ‘super medium’ category. The AW189 features a cabin configured with 16 seats as standard with the option of a high density 19-seat layout.

Sakhalin Energy Investment Company is the operator of Sakhalin-2, one of the world largest integrated projects, which has built an extensive infrastructure for hydrocarbon production, transportation and processing. The company is exporting crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced in the Okhotsk Sea and at Russia’s first LNG plant built by Sakhalin Energy in the south of Sakhalin. The company’s shareholders are Gazprom, Shell, Mitsui, and Mitsubishi Corporation.