British International Helicopters (BIH) faces an uncertain future after Shell UK Exploration and Production (Shell Expro) awarded a vital £175 million ($289 million) North Sea support contract to rival UK operator Bristow Helicopters.
Aberdeen, Scotland-based BIH has held the Shell Expro contract for the past 30 years. It will now lose around 50% of its business, prompting fears that the Canadian Helicopter (CHC) owned company will have to make jobs cuts.
"The company lost out on competitive tendering. Bristow's offered the best value for money" says Shell Expro.
The million contract is one of two Shell Expro awarded to Redhill, UK based Bristow. It involves supporting Shell Expro's operations in the UK sector of the central and northern North Sea, including the transport of personnel and cargo to offshore oil rigs. The seven-year contract will start on 1 July, with six Eurocopter Tigers based in Aberdeen and Shetland, Scotland.
A second contract for around £50 million will run concurrently over five years. Under its terms, Bristow will support both the Anglo-Dutch company's Gas Supply Group in the southern North Sea and the Dutch exploration and production operator NAM in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. Five Sikorsky S-76s will be based at Norwich, England, and Denhelder in The Netherlands. The company says it has no plans to acquire extra aircraft "for the time being".
Bristow now holds around 60% of the UK sector of the North Sea operations market, followed by Aberdeen's Bond Helicopters, with around 25%. BIH's share has slumped to 15%.
Source: Flight International
