Belfast-based Harland & Wolff has received a new £61m contract for the refit of a single vessel, it was announced on Friday.
The contract awarded by Cenovus Energy is for the mid-life upgrade of the SeaRose floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.
Cenovus Energy is an international oil and natural gas company headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
The vessel is expected to arrive at the Belfast shipyard early next year, where it will remain in the building dock for three months while work is completed.
The company expects over 1,000 people to be on-site in Belfast as the company works to deliver on the new deal and the £1.6bn Fleet Solid project.
In 2022 the shipbuilding and fabrication company announced it had secured the billion-pound deal to build vessels for the Royal Navy.
John Wood, chief executive of Harland & Wolff Group Holdings, said: “I am delighted that Cenovus has chosen Harland & Wolff as its preferred yard to undertake the mid-life upgrade of the SeaRose.
“This is a significant win within our non-defence portfolio from a global, blue-chip energy group and I am pleased that we are gaining a reputation as a go-to yard for large and complex programmes.
“With an estimated 1,000 personnel on-site, this project will allow for further synergies in our execution, leveraging off of personnel, skill sets and supply chains that will support the upcoming FSS Programme”.
The company’s Belfast yard is one of Europe’s largest heavy engineering facilities, with deep water access, two of Europe’s largest drydocks, ample quayside and vast fabrication halls.
Following its acquisition in 2020, the company has been able to capitalise on opportunities at both ends of the ship-repair and shipbuilding markets where there is significant demand.
In February 2021, the company acquired the assets of two Scottish-based yards along the east and west coasts.
Now known as Harland & Wolff (Methil) and Harland & Wolff (Arnish), these facilities will focus on fabrication work within the renewables, energy and defence sectors.
The company also owns the Islandmagee gas storage project, which is expected to provide 25% of the UK’s natural gas storage capacity and benefit the Northern Irish economy when completed.