Babcock MCS Offshore have won a significant new five-year shared contract with three oil and gas operators for helicopter transport in the northern North Sea. The contract will initially see Babcock operate over 100 helicopter flights each month from Sumburgh in Shetland, on behalf of CNR International, EnQuest and TAQA under a collaborative agreement.

Flights are expected to begin on 1 July 2020 from Sumburgh Airport. Fixed-wing services between Aberdeen and Sumburgh will be provided by Loganair.  Babcock has not stated what aircraft types will be used, but the Sikorsky S92 is expected

The concluding contract which will finish in July has been operated by Bristow Helicopters since 2008 from Scatsa in Shetland rather than Sumburgh. The consortium approach dates back to 2008 when Bristow flew the “Integrated Aviation Consortium (IAC)”. Established over 20 years ago, the IAC has been a partnership involving Bristow Helicopters, Eastern Airways and five major oil and gas companies to deliver aviation logistics in the northern North Sea sector. The three oil companies who will be working with Babcock were joined by BP and Total in IAC.

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com