Bristow Norway has secured a contract to provide helicopter offshore crew change and SAR services to support Eni Norge and Statoil in the Barents Sea. The five-year deal, which is a renewal of an existing contract, includes options to extend by three years.

"We are honoured to earn the trust of both Eni and Statoil in the safety and quality of our operation," says area manager Heidi Wulff Heimark. "This contract is a result of our team's tremendous focus on continuously improving our service delivery, and strengthens our position as the leading operator of offshore helicopter transport in the global market."

The contract will mean continued high activity at Bristow Norway's helicopter base at Hammerfest, where the company currently provides helicopter services for Eni's and Statoil's exploration and production operations in the Barents Sea. Bristow will utilise a Sikorsky S-92 in oil and gas configuration to provide crew change services for offshore platforms, and an all-weather search and rescue (AWSAR) S-92 for the SAR work. Both helicopters will be equipped to the latest Norwegian oil and gas standards, with integrated traffic alert and collision avoidance systems (TCAS II), tail-mounted cameras and Performance-Based Navigation. The AWSAR S-92 is certified for night vision goggles and also has forward looking infrared, auto hover, a twin-hoist, mission management with moving map and increased on-board medical capabilities. On short notice, the crew change helicopter can be reconfigured as a back-up for the SAR helicopter with full AWSAR capability.

"The Barents Sea is a strategically important region for Bristow, and we foresee the continued growth of exploration and production activities in the coming years," says Heimark. "With this contract and our Arctic experience, Bristow is well-positioned for coming exploration campaigns in the high North."