Neptune Energy announced the award of a two-year contract extension to Petrofac for engineering services for the Neptune-operated Cygnus Alpha and Bravo platforms in the UK Southern North Sea.

Petrofac will provide a range of brownfield engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning services for the Cygnus field. It follows the award of a separate, three-year contract extension to the company earlier this year, for operations and maintenance support in the UK.

Earlier this year, Petrofac celebrated its 10th anniversary of supporting the Cygnus field, having begun working on the pre-operational phase of Cygnus in 2011.

Neptune Energy’s UK Managing Director, Alexandra Thomas, said: “Petrofac is an important partner for Neptune Energy in the UK with a strong and well-established understanding of the Cygnus assets.

“The offshore team’s detailed knowledge supports the safe and optimal operation of the facility, and reduces time and costs associated with planning engineering activities. This is crucial given Cygnus is a key component of the UK North Sea’s energy infrastructure, capable of producing 6% of UK domestic gas demand.”

Petrofac’s Chief Operating Officer Nick Shorten said: “Our operations experience on Cygnus gives our engineering team unique insight into how to manage key brownfield integrity scopes and EPC modifications with ultra-efficient results; reducing impact on operations and minimising downtime in order that Neptune can continue to meet critical energy demand.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to build on that approach, and further strengthen our long-term partnership with Neptune Energy.”

The contract extension will take effect from 1 January 2022