Offshore Group 'to create 600 jobs' on Tyneside
An offshore engineering firm claims of hundreds of jobs will be created on Tyneside after it secured a multi-million pound oil contract.
OGN Group has landed the deal with oil and gas production company EnQuest.
The 600 new workers will prepare the EnQuest Producer, a 813ft (248m) long floating oil platform, before it goes out to the North Sea.
An OGN spokesman said it will have a "significant impact" on the North East's economy.
The vessel will be based at the firm's Hadrian Yard in Wallsend.
The contract is also expected to generate about 250 supply chain jobs.
OGN Group's chief executive officer, David Edwards, said: "With Wallsend's proud shipbuilding history, it's quite moving to see a vessel of this size and scale docked at Hadrian Yard.
"It sends a clear signal that this region still has much to offer the global energy industry.
"This project will have a significant impact on the North East economy, particularly in terms of creating employment and providing opportunities for the region's high quality supply chain."
When the work is completed, the vessel will be deployed in the North Sea.
OGN was founded in 2010 and works within the offshore oil and gas and renewable energy industries.