Sparrows wins North Sea crane maintenance gig from Premier

UK’s offshore crane services specialist Sparrows Group has secured a five-year contract with Premier Oil for the provision of crane operations and maintenance across two of its North Sea assets.

Sparrows said on Thursday that the scope of the work, awarded to the company for the first time, would see the company provide offshore crane operations and maintenance, including major component change out and overhaul, to the Balmoral floating production vessel (FPV) and the Solan installation.

The contract encompassed all cranes and associated mechanical, electrical, hydraulic and instrumentation on the fields. Sparrows will also be responsible for all inspection, condition monitoring, management of maintenance strategies and full engineering scopes.

Sparrows CEO, Stewart Mitchell, said: “We have a long history in the North Sea and we look forward to implementing the Sparrows high quality and safety standards we are recognized for across Premier Oil’s assets.”

The company added that the onshore support and repairs would be conducted from its global headquarters in Aberdeen.

As for the assets, the Solan field, located 96 km north-west of the Orkney Islands, achieved first oil in April 2016.

The Balmoral area fields – Balmoral, Stirling, Brenda & Nicol – are located in Blocks 16/21a and 16/21b in the UK Central North Sea, 200 kilometers northeast of Aberdeen.

The Balmoral area fields produce via the Premier-operated floating production facility located on the Balmoral field. Oil is transported via the Brae-Forties link to Cruden Bay and overland to Hound Point.

The contract comes a month after Sparrows was awarded a three-year crane management services contract with Chyrsaor.