Another offshore renewables win for Global Energy’s Port of Nigg

Global Energy Group are set to win their next staging port award and the new client will be DEME Offshore, for the Moray East Offshore Wind farm development for what will be an estimated £10 to £12 million contract. Global’s Port of Nigg has been earmarked to provide the services of the Port for receipt of completed jacket structures, that will be installed in the Moray Firth as foundations for the wind turbines. This will be the third success for the Cromarty Firth, after Port of Cromarty Firth at Invergordon announced a few months ago, their award for marshalling works for the turbines and piles for the same project.

In March 2018, the Port of Nigg embarked on its first staging port/renewables hub contract for Siemens, the turbine supplier for SSE’s Beatrice offshore wind farm, Scotland’s first large scale and the UK’s deepest water offshore power generation project. The port’s service performance was recently commended by Siemens, as Global Energy transitioned their logistics processes from the oil & gas industry to offshore wind, which has different technical requirements. The Beatrice offshore installation and construction operations has now been completed and Siemens are in the process of departing from the site at Nigg, ready for the ports next staging and marshalling contract commencing late 2019, early 2020.

Global Energy are pleased that their ambitious £90 million investment programme since taking over the site in October 2011, is starting to pay off. £50 million has been spent on port infrastructure including the new south quay and £40 million on heavy plant and equipment such as cranes and low loaders (SPMT’s), to handle the large offshore wind structures and increase capacity for oil & gas logistics and load out work. Global also recently announced a further planned £10-£15 million investment, designed to expand quayside availability and adjacent yard space. With a busy schedule of planned wind farm developments in Scotland and the rest of the UK, Global feel that this will be money well spent. The company has suffered from lack of capacity in the last year.

Global’s chairman, Roy MacGregor said, “This award is a culmination of a lot of hard work from our people and I would like to thank them and DEME Offshore for their confidence and support in awarding us this contract. Global now have great experience in this work and this will further establish the Port of Nigg’s position as an important staging port supporting the offshore wind industry. We look forward to working with DEME Offshore in the delivery of this important work.”

DEME Offshore are one of Europe’s largest offshore installation contractors working in the energy industry and were awarded by the Moray Firth owners EDPR, the EPCI contract for the foundations procurement and installation offshore, using their huge vessel the Orion, a new build expected to enter service by the end of the year. DEME Offshore are part of the Deme Group and operate a vast array of vessels and are active in multiple offshore scopes of work.

EDPR, together with partners/co-investors Engie and Diamond Green ltd, are developing the 950 MW Moray East wind farm for first power generation in 2021. They were awarded a Cfd (Contract for Difference) by the UK government in October 2017. EDPR and its partners, are planning to develop the Moray West wind farm in 2023/24, subject to contract. If the West development goes ahead, it will be a further huge opportunity for the Cromarty Firth to win some of the work, which will help maintain continuity of employment in the area.

Commenting, Marcel Sunier, Project Director for Moray East said:

“The selection of Nigg as the staging port for the massive ‘jackets’ – the oil-rig-like foundations on which the turbines and offshore substations will be installed comes after extensive engagement with the local supply chain and capitalises on the strengths of a history of offshore engineering.

“Using Nigg for jackets complements our previous announcement of the Port of Cromarty Firth as an intermediate port for turbines. The installation of subsea substructures from Nigg combined with the installation of turbines from Invergordon shows how a complete onshore cluster to deliver the offshore works has been established in Easter Ross.

“I am delighted that Moray East is part of the facilitation of major investment plans (projected at over GBP100m across both ports) making Moray Firth facilities attractive and competitive for future developments as the offshore wind industry matures.