Bristow renews Barents Sea Contracts

Bristow Norway has renewed contracts for two S92s with Norwegian operators Eni Norge and Statoil to be operated on the Barents Sea.

Statoil and Eni will jointly operate the two aircraft on offshore crew change and SAR missions. The five-year contract will take effect from September next year and includes an option to extend the contract by three years.

The two helicopters are outfitted for search and rescue (SAR) and transport operations respectively. The transport helicopter can be converted for use in SAR operations at short notice.

Bristow Norway area manager Heidi Wulff Heimark said: “We are honoured to earn the trust of both Eni and Statoil in the safety and quality of our operation.

“This contract is a result of our team’s tremendous focus to continuously improve our service delivery, and strengthens our position as the leading operator of offshore helicopter transport in the global market.”

Barents operations

The helicopters will be flying production, development and exploration operations in the Barents Sea and will be based out of Bristow’s Hammerfest base in Norway.

Eni Norge will be flying the aircraft on missions in Goliat and Snøhvit natural gas fields and Statoil will be using the aircraft for drilling operations in Johan Castberg field.

Philippe F. Mathieu, senior vice president for joint operations support in Statoil, said: “These long-term contracts mean that Hammerfest will be an important helicopter base for us for many years to come. Hammerfest has the infrastructure and expertise to provide efficient helicopter services, and of particular importance, the helicopter base is close to our operations in the Barents Sea.”