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NOISE control experts are shouting the praise of North-East engineering skills and enterprise after helping a major offshore engineering project remain on track.

In mid-August, four huge compressor units were shipped ready for installation from Teesside directly to BP’s North Sea platforms in Norway’s Valhall Oil Field, at the conclusion of a £1.4million contract.

Built by MAN Turbo AG, the compressors were encased in stainless steel acoustic enclosures, capable of noise reductions of up to 45 decibels, which have been designed and manufactured by Mech-Tool Engineering Limited, of Darlington.

The compressors and enclosures were to have been fitted together in Norway, but Mech-Tool’s role on the project - initially only for the design and manufacture of enclosures and associated ventilation and gas detection systems - was expanded after difficulties elsewhere in the supply chain threatened to hamper the project.

Director Frank Vout said the additional fit-out and testing work at Mech-Tool’s second fabrication centre, on Teesside, increased the value of the contract to Mech-Tool, initially worth around £1m, by more than 30%.

“It enabled us to demonstrate our project management expertise, but it also provided a showcase for the deep-water quayside and fabrication facilities at the North Sea Supply Base, on the River Tees, and the logistical strengths of Teesside as a location for major engineering projects.

“Perhaps best of all, it was a perfect example of the ‘can-do’ attitude that has earned North-East workers admirers around the world and which has been so vital to this company’s recent success,” said Mr Vout, who is Commercial & Divisional Director of Mech-Tool’s acoustic products division.

MAN Turbo’s decision to expand the Darlington company’s role meant four compressor skid frames, designed specifically for use on oil platforms and weighing between 80 and 130 tonnes, were sent to Mech-Tool’s fabrication centre at the North Sea Supply Base.

Fabrication work to attach the enclosures, each measuring 7metres long, 3.5metres wide and 4metres tall, was carried out in what are the largest construction halls on the River Tees. The enormous hanger-like fabrication zones are 160ft high (equivalent to 13 double-decker buses) and 330ft wide (capable of housing two Boeing 767s side by side)

In August 09, the completed units were shipped directly to platforms in Valhall’s Norwegian sector for installation and commissioning.

Mech-Tool is currently involved in a number of projects for the BP Valhall oil field, most notably a £2.5m contract with SLP Engineering to supply stainless steel external fire wall cladding for a new living quarters platform for BP Norge AS. Other projects include the design, engineering and supply of windwalls and heatshields.

The acoustic division is on course to contribute a third of Mech-Tool’s projected turnover in 2009-10 of between £21m and £24m.

Earlier this year, it successfully completed a £3m contract to supply compressor and generator acoustic packages for Solar Turbines.

“We attract work because of the specialist engineering skills we offer clients, but increasingly, we can directly attribute some of the work we attain, and particularly add-on works on projects such as MAN Turbo, to our performance and to the ‘can do’ attitude we have nurtured in recent years,” added Mr Vout.

“Following the successful completion of this project, the professionalism and willingness we have demonstrated has been recognised when we received an email from our clients’ senior project manager thanking all involved and congratulating the team on a very well executed project.”

The Valhall field, which began production in 1982, has oil reserves to 2050 and estimated at 247 million barrels. It expects to start production from a new field centre in 2010.

For further information contact Phil Dunn on 01325 341576.

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