HI Uplift: Milestone wins ‘one of largest North Sea tenders’
Milestone has agreed a contract with Equinor for the purchase and leaseback of five new AW189s.
Milestone Aviation Group has won “one of the largest tenders in recent times” in the North Sea, according to its chief commercial officer, Sebastien Moulin. His comments followed news that the lessor has been awarded the contract for the purchase and leaseback of five new Leonardo AW189 helicopters with Equinor Energy – the largest oil and gas operator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The aircraft will be delivered this year and next for deployment on offshore missions in the North Sea.
“This was a significant tender, with multiple aircraft and complicated logistics to be addressed,” Moulin tells Helicopter Investor. “It was one of the largest tenders, certainly in recent times, to be taken to the market, with a formal tendering process to be followed.”
So, why the super-medium AW189 and why Milestone? After Equinor selected the AW189 last year it placed an order directly with Leonardo Helicopters, according to Milestone.
AW189 super-medium
“They subsequently initiated a formal tender process for the purchase and leaseback of the helicopters,” said Moulin. “With its advanced technology, including de-icing capabilities, the AW189 super-medium is well suited to meet Equinor’s operational requirements in Norway.”
And the reasons behind Milestone’s successful bid? Moulin believes it is partly the lessor’s track record in delivering large-scale projects for our customers and partners.
As the largest super-medium lessor with an existing fleet of AW189s dedicated to oil and gas and search and rescue (SAR) missions, Milestone is familiar with both the aircraft and the market, says Moulin. The company has an established presence in Norway and leases aircraft to the three main operators in this sector: Bristow, CHC and Lufttransport. Equinor was also said to value Milestone’s ability to execute within an extremely short timeframe.
The oil and gas sector is “an integral part” of Milestone’s mission-critical portfolio along with SAR, emergency medical services (EMS) and firefighting, according to the lessor.
15 new helicopters
Equinor revealed its intention to secure 15 new helicopters for passenger traffic on the Norwegian Continental Shelf last March. After consultations with safety delegates, the energy giant selected five new AW189 helicopters and 10 new Bell 525 aircraft.
“These helicopter types will supplement the current Sikorsky S-92,” said Kjetil Hove, Equinor’s executive vice president, Exploration & Production Norway at the time. “All three helicopter models meet stringent safety requirements. By increasing from one to three helicopter models on the NCS we get more flexibility and regularity.”
The first two AW189s will be delivered from Leonardo in the first quarter of 2025, according to the energy firm.
Bell 525 Relentless
The final three will arrive next year together with four of the yet-to-be-certified Bell 525 Relentless helicopters. The additional six helicopters from Bell are slated for delivery between 2027-2030.
For the past nine years Equinor has used exclusively Sikorsky S-92 helicopters for personnel transport and SAR missions on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. (The S-92 replaced the EC225 Super Puma aircraft). Each year the energy company transports about 160,000 offshore employees to and from the shelf logging more than 24,000 flight hours.
Meanwhile, oil and gas production in the Norwegian Continental Shelf looks assured for the foreseeable future. In its fourth-quarter 2024 results posted last week, the energy giant predicts growth in oil and gas production to exceed 10% between 2024 and 2027.
In 2030, production is expected to reach 2.2m barrel of oil equivalents (boe) per day, up from previous expectation of about 2m. Production from the Norwegian Continental Shelf alone is predicted to maintain about 1.2m boe per day until at least 2035.
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