£1.4bn North Sea gas field project could create up to 4000 jobs

A new £1.4bn project to develop a gas field in the North Sea could create up to 4000 jobs.

On Tuesday, three developers announced that they would be investing in the field in the southern part of the North Sea.

The Cygnus project, backed by CDF Suez, Centrica and Bayerngas, will create an initial 1200 jobs through an initial £375m funding instalment.

According to the developers, production in the field is expected to start late next year and it is "expected to meet demand for nearly one and a half million homes at peak production, accounting for around 5% of the UK’s gas production".

Around 50 jobs will be created at the GDF Suez base in Aberdeen while the gas field is located around 90 miles off the coast of Lincolnshire in east England.

Another 100 jobs will be created at Burntisland Fabricators in Fife, which will manage the main fabrication contracts.

Jean-Marie Dauger, executive vice-president of GDF Suez, said: "Cygnus, along with the Juliet development which we announced in June, are major projects for the UK gas industry and demonstrates our commitment to the North Sea. I am delighted to announce that we have signed these initial contracts which demonstrate our commitment to the UK supply chain.

"We are proud that Cygnus will bring substantial jobs and investment to the UK. We look forward to working with our partners and contractors to develop this very significant project."

The three energy firms believe that the project could result in around 4000 jobs being created in the UK, including 100 offshore positions.

Centrica chief executive Sam Laidlaw added: "Today’s announcement represents a significant boost to the UK’s long term energy security and creates much needed jobs. For Centrica, which handles around a third of the UK’s gas and supplies half of its homes, this is an extremely important project as we look to unlock remaining gas in the North Sea and secure UK gas for our customers."

The UK Government is backing the project and has enabled it to happen through allowing larger shallow water gas fields.

Bayerngas UK’s managing director, Gerry Harrison, said: "Cygnus represents a major investment for Bayerngas UK and complements other field developments, in Norway and Denmark, being undertaken by our parent company, Bayerngas Norge. We look forward to working closely with GDF Suez and Centrica to ensure the project is delivered according to plan."

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