A study by Oxford Economics has concluded that the Cygnus North Sea oil-field project will create around 1,500 Scottish jobs and bring more than £1 billion into the UK economy.
The study — commissioned by part-owner Centrica — found that the scheme will also support more than 4,820 jobs during its five-year construction period.
Currently 19,000 tonnes of offshore infrastructure is being built at yards in Fife, the Highlands and Hartlepool. In Scotland, where one platform and the bases for the other three are being built, £323 million will be generated. The report comes as drilling begins at the Cygnus field, where one platform and the jackets for two more platforms are safely in place.
Adrian Cooper, chief executive of Oxford Economics, said: “The Cygnus North Sea project is already supporting valuable income and employment opportunities in the North East, in Scotland and throughout the UK, even though the gas-production process itself has yet to start.
"The benefits are being felt not just by those directly involved in the design and build of the required infrastructure, but also by suppliers of goods and services of all kinds to those contractors.”
Scottish companies involved in the construction phase include Burntisland Fabrication, which is providing jackets and piles for the platforms, as well as the construction of the quarters and utilities platform. The work will be undertaken at its facilities in Methil and Burntisland in Fife and at Arnish on the Isle of Lewis.
Cygnus is the UK’s largest gas-field discovery in the southern region of the North Sea in the past 25 years. It is operated by co-owner GDF Suez, with Scottish Gas parent Centrica holding the biggest stake. At its peak, Cygnus should produce enough gas to meet the demand of about 1.5 million UK homes.
Jacqueline Law, a partner at Scottish law firm Aberdein Considine, said: “The jobs and investment coming from Cygnus are welcome respite from what has been a gloomy year of news and forecasts for the North Sea. The basin has been crying out for a vote of confidence from one of its key players, and the report confirms just how big ‘a shot in the arm’ this project is for Scotland. Major projects like this prove there is still plenty of life — and profit — in our oil and gas sector.”