GDF SUEZ E&P UK orders new ERRV for Cygnus field

June 5, 2014
GDF SUEZ E&P UK has awarded a five-year, multi-million-dollar contract to Sentinel Marine to provide a new 61-m (200-ft) multi-role emergency response and rescue vessel to support drilling operations in the Cygnus field. 

Offshore staff

LONDON – GDF SUEZ E&P UK has awarded a five-year, multi-million-dollar contract to Sentinel Marine to provide a new 61-m (200-ft) multi-role emergency response and rescue vessel (ERRV) to support drilling operations in the Cygnus field. 

The 1,890-metric-ton (2,083-ton) ship, to be namedCygnus Sentinel, will be built in the Fujian Southeast shipyard in China, is due to arrive in the UK in January 2015. The vessel will provide emergency cover for this flagship gas development in the southern North Sea.

Jean-Claude Perdigues, managing director of GDF SUEZ E&P UK, said: “Placing this order for theCygnus Sentinel demonstrates our long-term commitment to safe and effective operations support in the UK continental shelf. At peak, Cygnus will provide 5% of the UK’s gas, and ensuring the safety of our personnel during this project is our utmost priority.”

TheCygnus Sentinel is one of eight multi-role ERRVs being delivered in 2014/2015 by Sentinel Marine. The vessels will comply with pan European industry standards, which will allow them to work in all areas of the North Sea as well as throughout the UK continental shelf. 

Led by operator GDF SUEZ E&P UK, with partnersCentrica Energy and Bayerngas UK, the Cygnus field is the largest gas discovery in the Southern North Sea in 25 years and will consist of four platforms forming Cygnus Alpha and Cygnus Bravo. First gas is targeted for 4Q 2015. The first of the platforms was installed earlier this month.

06/05/2014