Equinor secures new helicopter capacity
Equinor secures 15 new helicopters for passenger traffic on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) through contracts with helicopter manufacturers Bell and Leonardo.
After an extensive process, Equinor has qualified new helicopter types for passenger transport on the NCS. Under these contracts, Equinor will receive ten new Bell 525 helicopters and five AW189 helicopters.
"These helicopter types will supplement the current Sikorsky S-92. All three helicopter models meet stringent safety requirements. By increasing from one to three helicopter models on the NCS we get more flexibility and regularity,” says Kjetil Hove, executive vice president, Exploration & Production Norway.
The first two helicopters will be delivered from Leonardo in the first quarter of 2025. In 2026, Leonardo will deliver three, and Bell four helicopters. The additional six helicopters from Bell will be delivered in line with the agreed production plan for the period 2027-2030.
“All Equinor unions, including the safety delegates, have been thoroughly involved in the process and are positive that the company has taken this initiative. These helicopters have the quality and characteristics that we need offshore,” the unions and safety delegates said in a joint statement.
“We depend on safe and efficient logistics operations to maintain a high activity level on the NCS well into the future. The new models feature technological improvements in terms of pilot support systems, passenger comfort and noise reduction," says Ørjan Kvelvane, Equinor’s senior vice president for joint operations support.
Information about the contracts is published today for market reasons. The contract negotiations had been completed before the accident on 28 February.
Facts about helicopter types and traffic for Equinor on the NCS
- Bell 525 is produced by the well-recognised US company Bell. The company produces helicopters globally, including for the offshore and defence industries.
- The Leonardo AW189 is manufactured by Italian Leonardo, which also produces the AW139. Both helicopter types are well known in the global offshore industry.
- Since 2016, Equinor has only used Sikorsky S-92 machines (after replacing EC225) for personnel transport and search and rescue services on the NCS.
- Equinor has an extensive flight programme and annually transports 160,000 offshore employees to and from the NCS. This amounts to more than 24,000 flight hours annually.
- Annual landings on Equinor-operated installations on the NCS total approximately 16,000.
- Operators Bristow and CHC currently have 46 Sikorsky S-92 machines on the NCS, 24 of which are under contract with Equinor. The helicopters are mainly used for transport services, but also for search & rescue (SAR).
- On 25 January 2024, Equinor signed a contract with Lufttransport RW AS to operate two new search and rescue helicopters for the Troll and Oseberg areas. The helicopters to be used are Leonardo AW 139 machines. They will be ready for operation in early 2026.
