Clough secures $US50m contract

Perth-based engineering company Clough Ltd has secured a contract worth $US50 million ($A53 million) by Norwegian company Advanced Production & Loading.

The contract is for the offshore installation support activities associated with the Neptune LNG Deepwater Port terminal off the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Clough will provide APL with project management, procurement, logistics, and offshore installation engineering services.

The offshore construction activities will be carried from Clough's subsea construction vessel "Normand Clipper" and will include the installation of two 230te Submerged Turret Loading (STL) buoys, the associated gas risers, umbilicals, suction anchors, mooring chains, and wire segments. The vessel will be mobilised from Europe and will be used to transport the mooring system components prior to the starting of the offshore construction campaign in the USA.

Clough chief executive John Smith said: "We are extremely pleased to have been selected by APL to support them on this interesting project. We have a significant commitment to the SURF business, in people, vessels and equipment, and the Clipper is particularly well suited to high end subsea construction of this type."

The Neptune Deepwater Port will be located 10 miles off the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The project will provide an average of 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, enough to serve 1.5 million homes.

The installation campaign is scheduled for the second quarter of 2009, and has been reported by APL to have a contract value of approximately 50 million US dollars.

Mr Smith concluded: "We hope that this award will assist the strategic positioning of our Company in the SURF business and APL with the deployment of their STL and Submerged Turret Production (STP) technologies around the world."