Wood Group has entered into a $250 million agreement with Antin Infrastructure Partners (Antin IP) to provide operating services for the Central Area Transmission System (also known as CATS) in the North Sea for up to 10 years, subject to certain regulatory and other consents.

Wood Group PSN (WGPSN) will act as the duty holder of the CATS terminal and pipeline and will have day-to-day responsibility for operations. A dedicated Wood Group Kenny (WGK) team based in Glasgow will be integrated into the operating services team to provide pipeline management expertise.

The CATS pipeline begins at a riser platform adjacent to the BG operated Everest gas field in the Central North Sea and transports gas through 404km of pipeline from the Central North Sea to its terminal in Teesside in the UK where it is then processed on behalf of major North Sea gas producers.

The system currently serves 34 producing fields with a high portion of contracted revenues. In 2013, CATS accounted for the transportation of 13% of UK domestic gas production.

The news follows the announcement that Antin has agreed to acquire BP’s share of CATS taking their interest to 99%. WGPSN will work closely with Antin IP and BP to ensure a safe and smooth transition. It is anticipated WGPSN will take responsibility for operating CATS by the end of 2015 once the deal between BP and Antin IP has concluded.

James Crawford, WGPSN’s UK and Africa managing director, said: “This partnership enables us to extend our existing duty holder capabilities and expertise into new markets. By leveraging the expertise of WGPSN and WGK, we will draw on the strength of Wood Group for our new client and our priority is to ensure a safe and smooth transition of operatorship with particular focus on retaining and developing the existing CATS workforce.

“We have already established a strong relationship with Antin IP and we are looking forward to working with them to grow and develop CATS.”

Source: www.offshoreenergytoday.com

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