Statoil announced Tuesday to award Siemens two wind power contracts worth 516 million British pounds (about 848 million U.S. dollars) for 67 wind turbines and related work on the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm project in the North Sea.
Holding a 70 percent stake in Dudgeon Offshore Wind Limited, Statoil is the operator responsible for construction and operation of the project which will provide electricity to 400,000 British households upon completion.
The remaining 30 percent stake is held by Statkraft, a leading power company in Norway.
Under the WTG supply contract, Siemens plc will be responsible for engineering, procurement, assembly and offshore commissioning in addition to the supply of the 6.0-megawatt wind turbines, each consisting of a tower section, a nacelle and three separate rotor blades (154-metre rotor diameter).
The first batch of turbines shall be ready for installation in January 2017, said Statoil in a statement.
The service contract covers operations and maintenance of the WTGs in the first two years after the completion of installation, followed by three years of provision by Siemens with technicians and other services.
A final decision on investment for the project will be taken in the third quarter of 2014.
The Dudgeon offshore wind farm, 32 km north of Cromer off the coast of Norfolk, England, is planned to be fully operational in 2017.
The wind farm is Statoil's second full-scale commercial offshore wind power project following the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of North Norfolk.