No Goliat contract for Aker Solutions

The operator for the Goliat field, Eni, awarded the contract for building the Goliat FPSO to the Korean shipyard Hyundai this week. This means that yet another big contract leaves the country.

- Hyundai was the best candidate, manager of communications in Eni Norge, Andreas Wulff, says to Oilinfo.

Last weeks' debate of the loss of big contracts to companies overseas has resulted in strong reactions from the workers. Wulff points out that fifty per cent of the contracts concerning Goliat have been awarded to Norwegian companies, and that the Korean shipyard in this case had the best bid.

Eni owns 65 per cent of the Goliat field license, and is the operator of the field. Statoil owns 35 per cent. The development of the Goliat field is the first oil field development in the Norwegian part of the Barents Sea.

Very dramatic
Union representative at Aker Solutions, Arve Teigland, thinks the loss of contract is very dramatic, and points out that the bid is extremely low, even for an Asian shipyard.

- That the Goliat development is headed abroad, and that the construction of the living quarters at Ekofisk is also being built abroad is a worst case scenario. With the Goliat contract going overseas I will say we are in a worst case scenario situation, Teigland says to Oilinfo.

- This will result in a challenge concerning people's jobs, although this will not happen overnight. Now we need to discuss this with the management, Teigland says.