Bristow Group Inc., a leading provider of helicopter services to the offshore energy industry, announced July 11 that it has secured several major new multi-year contracts for the provision of a total of 20 large aircraft that are expected to generate in excess of $2 billion in revenue.
In Europe, Bristow has been particularly successful with a number of wins including:
- Extension of an existing contract in Norway for four S-92 large helicopters that is expected to start in September 2014 for a further seven-year term with the option for an additional five-year extension,
- New contract award for the provision of Norway search and rescue (SAR) services using three new Eurocopter EC225 helicopters that is expected to commence in September 2014 for a period of five years with the option for an additional five-year extension, and
- New contract award for one S-92 helicopter in the UK North Sea that commenced work in July 2012 and one EC225 helicopter that is scheduled to start work in August 2012 for a minimum of two years.
In Australia, INPEX has awarded Bristow a ten-year contract for up to six EC225 helicopters to support drilling, development and production operations on the Ichthys Project. INPEX also has an option to add a long term SAR aircraft. This new contract is scheduled to begin in 2014 and reinforces our long term commitment to the Australian market.
William E. Chiles, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are very pleased with our recent commercial successes, which extend and enhance the pricing and terms of existing contracts and add new high-value long term contracts, for both crew change and SAR services. These contracts strengthen our position with key customers in several of our targeted growth areas. Our Client Promise initiative incorporating our unique Target Zero Accidents, Zero Downtime and Zero Complaints programs is becoming a clear differentiator in our industry, and we are pleased that our clients are recognizing the added-value of this initiative.”
In Brazil, Lider has been awarded five-year contracts by Petrobras for five Sikorsky S-92 large helicopters. One of these aircraft is leased to Lider by Bristow and is scheduled to start work in August 2012, and the remaining four aircraft are scheduled to commence work by April 2013.
“These multiple new contract awards with better pricing and terms than in the past are part of the increase in demand we predicted,” said Mark Duncan, senior vice president Commercial. “Our focus on providing clients the safest, most reliable and best service has positioned us well for further profitable growth as the market continues to strengthen.”
