Oil fabrication yard at Ardersier may re-open

April, 1993. Around two and a half thousand workers were paid off last

spring as work in the yard ran down, and there have been frequent

rumours that the yard's owners, US-based MacDermotts, was ready to pull

out.

Now it has emerged that the yard is in the final stages of being

awarded a relatively small sub-contract for piling work for the Claymore

field, 110 miles north-east of Aberdeen, which is being developed by Elf

Enterprise. Elf Enterprise was the company which took delivery of the

last large contract to be completed by the Ardersier yard, the Piper

Bravo jacket and topsides which replaced the ill-fated Piper Alpha

platform.

The contract, for eight piles, each 72 metres long and weighing a

total of around 2000 tonnes, is thought to be worth in the region of

#500,000, and should employ 80 to 100 men for several weeks. But though

the yard has a history of multi-million pound contracts, even a small

contract is regarded as a major psychological boost, since it improves

the yard's chances of winning further orders in future.

Management at Ardersier have so far refused to comment beyond saying

they are hopeful of work coming to the yard in the near future, and a

spokesman for Elf Enterprise said that no decision has yet been made on

the award of the sub-contract, although he confirmed that MacDermotts is

one of the bidders for the work. But representatives of the main

contractor on the Claymore project, SLP Engineering, have visited the

yard, and it is understood that the contract could be awarded within the

next seven days.

Work for the Claymore development has also been carried out in the

Lewis Offshore yard in Stornoway, with the first consignment of braces

and leg sections for the ''Submerger 1'' being shipped yesterday for

delivery and assembly at Teeside. The remainder of the contract is

expected to be delivered by the beginning of February.

The Ardersier yard, like its near neighbour, Nigg on the Cromarty

Firth, has had to contend with predictions from some analysts that there

is still one big fabrication yard too many in Scotland.

But there is some speculation with the oil industry now, that given

recent moves towards yards and contractors coming together to submit

joint bids, and to delivering total planning to installation packages

for contracts, this contract could presage a more significant

development for the Ardersier yard.

The Dutch company, Heerema, which specialises in heavy lift and

installation of platform structures, took a stake in the MacDermotts

yard several years ago, but subsequently pulled out.

But the involvement with SLP could develop into joint bids being

submitted by MacDermotts and SLP for the larger contracts due to be

awarded later this year. These include the jackets, piles and decks for

Lennox Hamilton and Hamilton North, and the Douglas jacket and piles in

Hamilton Brothers' Liverpool Bay integrated development, which should be

awarded in the spring.