Member Article

Teesside wins £300m construction project

The North East has been chosen as the location to undertake a £300m project which may see hundreds of jobs brought to the region. SeaDragon Offshore, a Cayman Islands company, has chosen the Tees Alliance Group to build a state-of-the-art floating drilling platform for the oil and gas sector.

The company has also announced plans to build two more identical vessels with Tees Alliance Group. The project has been assisted by a number of organisations including regional development agency One NorthEast, Tees Valley Regeneration and English Partnerships. The first rig is expected to be delivered in 2009. Once complete, the vessel, which will be able to drill for oil and gas in depths of up to 10,000ft, will be used to assist deep-water reserves around the world in locations such as the Gulf, West Africa and the North Sea.

David Allison, Director of Business and Industry at One NorthEast, said: “Today’s announcement is really fantastic news. “For the region to have secured such a massive contract, which has the potential to create hundreds of jobs, shows we are a real force to be reckoned with. “This is the culmination of over 12 months of effort from the people at the heart of the consortium, and they are to be commended for their determination to bring the project to the Tees Valley. “This project aligns closely with the Regional Economic Strategy, which focuses on key areas including the marine sector, where we see, and are pursuing, a number of options. “It’s a real boost for the oil and gas sector here in North East England.”

Ray Thompson, sector projects manager at One NorthEast, said: “If we can bring some of the facilities we have in the North East back into use, and get workers back into traditional engineering jobs, we’ll put the region in a strong position to maximise opportunities in the future. “Today’s announcement is an important step towards this.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .