£150m rig order to create 800 jobs

Mar 5 2008 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

TODAY marks the rebirth of what was once one of the region’s most important shipyards and, according to the people behind its rejuvenation, its gates will stay open for many years to come.

Haverton Hill shipyard, near Billingham, reopens as work begins on a £150m project to build two drilling rigs which is expected to create 800 new jobs.

The deal between the Tees Alliance Group and SeaDragon Offshore will see the first rig delivered by 2010, with a second to follow and a contract to build a third rig under negotiation.

Tees Alliance Group chief executive David Eason said the contracts will secure work at the site up to 2013 and that a number of other offshore firms have expressed an interest in taking further work to the yard.

He said: “The contract has given us more impetus and we are now being approached by other companies to build drilling platforms. There is an option for a third rig which SeaDragon wants to add to its stable and we are hoping to get it, so we could see work here until 2013.”

Stockton North MP Frank Cook, who was heavily involved in helping to reopen Haverton Hill, said the project would have a huge impact on Tees Valley and the North East as a whole.

He said: “There will be about 800 jobs coming here for all disciplines and the types of job that we have done well at in the past.

“We’ve had so many call centres and large supermarkets coming here but we have got to be making value rather than passing it around in the service industries. The availability of experienced labour in the Tees Valley is a key factor.”

Ian Williams, director of business and industry at regional development agency One NorthEast – which invested £1.7m in the project – said: “This major investment will help create a world class fabrication facility to manufacture semi-submersible drilling rigs, leading to a high number of valuable employment opportunities for highly skilled workers in the North East.”

The hulls for the drilling rigs are being built in Russia and will be transported to Teesside later in the year. The Tees Alliance Group, whose members include Cleveland Bridge, McGill Services and K Home Engineering, will then build the topsides.

The two rigs will be developed on the back of a charter deal with Mexican company Pemex.