Statoil awards £160m Mariner field contract

Production is expected to start at the Mariner field in 2017

Norwegian oil firm Statoil has awarded a drilling services contract worth £160m for its Mariner development.

Under the deal, Odfjell Drilling will perform drilling services, maintenance and logistics at the field, which lies about 150km (93 miles) east of the Shetland Isles.

The contract will run for at least four years from November 2016.

In February, the UK government approved Statoil's £4.7bn project to develop the North Sea field.

The Mariner platform is now under construction and production is expected to start in 2017.

The field is expected to produce for at least 30 years.

The average production is estimated at around 55,000 barrels of oil per day over the plateau period from 2017 to 2020.

Odfjell Drilling, which has a major base in Aberdeen, will provide engineering and commissioning services under the construction and start-up phase of the field development.

The new contract includes options for drilling services on the nearby Bressay field development, in which Statoil also has a major stake.

Statoil has described Mariner as the largest new offshore development in the UK in more than a decade.

It plans to create more than 700 jobs for the project, including 200 onshore posts in Aberdeen.

Statoil is the operator of the Mariner field, with 65.11% equity. Other partners include JX Nippon Exploration and Production (UK) Limited and Cairn Energy.