Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway — Equinor has secured 15 new helicopters for passenger traffic to and from its facilities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) via contracts with Bell and Leonardo.
Following a qualification process, the company will receive 10 new Bell 525 helicopters and five AW189 helicopters.
The awards are unrelated to the crash earlier this week of a Bristow search and rescue helicopter west of Bergen, which led to the death of Reidun Hestetun, a 61-year-old crew member from Bergen. The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority has arrived in Bergen and has started investigations into Feb. 28's incident. Following consultations with the Civil Aviation Authority, trade unions and other offshore operators, the company has resumed flights to its Norwegian installations with Sikorsky S-92 helicopters.
The newly contracted helicopter types will supplement the current Sikorsky S-92, said Kjetil Hove, Equinor’s executive vice president of Exploration & Production Norway. “All three helicopter models meet stringent safety requirements," he said. "By increasing from one to three helicopter models on the NCS, we get more flexibility and regularity.”
Leonardo will deliver the first two aircrafts during first-quarter 2025, and three more the following year. Bell will provide its first four helicopters in 2026 and the remaining six between 2027 and 2030.
All unions involved have participated in the qualification process and have signaled their approval in a joint statement.
“The new models feature technological improvements in terms of pilot support systems, passenger comfort and noise reduction," added Ørjan Kvelvane, Equinor’s senior vice president for joint operations support.
There are about 16,000 annual landings on the company’s operated installations on the NCS.
Incumbent operators Bristow and CHC have 46 Sikorsky S-92 machines in service on the shelf, 24 of which are under contract with Equinor.
03.01.2024
