Subsea7’s new multibillion-dollar UK gig brings it more work in North Sea oil & gas arena

Luxembourg-domiciled Subsea7 has tucked a new assignment in the UK under its belt, which will enable it to work on the development of a field that will be tied back to an existing floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel working in the North Sea.

The award of a contract that Subsea7 deems to be a “sizeable” one due to its value being between $50 million and $150 million will see the company undertake project management, engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) of a five-kilometer 8” production pipeline with a 3” piggy-backed gas lift line and an electro-hydraulic controls (EHC) umbilical on the Belinda field for Serica Energy, a UK-based upstream oil and gas player.

The Luxembourg-domiciled player’s assignment for this field development will also entail associated subsea structures and tie-ins to the FPSO Triton, operated by Dana Petroleum, via an existing production manifold near the Triton riser base and for controls at the Evelyn valve skid. Subsea7 highlights that the project management and engineering work will begin immediately in Aberdeen with the offshore activities scheduled for Q3 2025.

Commenting on the new job, Steve Wisely, Subsea7’s Senior Vice President of UK and Global Inspection, Repair and Maintenance, remarked: “We are pleased to have this opportunity to supply Serica Energy with EPCI knowledge and demonstrate the extensive North Sea expertise we have amassed over 50 years. We look forward to supporting the safe, efficient and timely execution of this project.”

The contract award to Subsea7 comes on the heels of the green light that the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) gave to Serica to develop its 100% owned and operated Belinda field as a tie-back to the FPSO Triton, following the drilling of a development well. The drilling activities are scheduled to begin in the first half of 2025.

The Belinda well is the fifth in the UK firm’s Triton area drilling campaign, which kicked off in April this year, using the COSL Innovator drilling rig to enhance production via the FPSO Triton. Located in Central North Sea’s Block 21/30f approximately 6 km southeast of the FPSO and about 190 kilometers east of Aberdeen, the field was discovered in 1990 and appraised in 2016.

Situated in a water depth of 95 meters, the proven and probable reserves in the field are estimated at around 5 million barrels of oil equivalent, 80% of which is oil. The production is expected to start in early 2026.

Subsea7 has secured multiple jobs, spanning geographies, over the past few months. Recently, the subsea giant’s strategic alliance with OneSubsea, Subsea Integration Alliance, won a contract with the Turkish Petroleum Offshore Technology Center (TP-OTC) for a natural gas project in the Black Sea in Türkiye.

Prior to this, a new deal was obtained with OKEA for a North Sea field in Norwegian waters along with a long-term strategic agreement with Equinor for the subsea scope at the Wisting field offshore Norway and the Bay du Nord project located off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.