Helicopter services company Bristow Group has been selected by Equinor (formerly Statoil), Norway’s state-owned energy company, to provide three search-and-rescue-equipped Sikorsky S-92s. Two will be based on a pair of offshore platforms in the Norwegian North Sea, with a backup stationed onshore. The two offshore helicopters will be based on the Johan Sverdrup and Statfjord B platforms. The contract has an initial term of four years with options for three single-year extensions.
“Search-and-rescue (SAR) is a strategically important service for Bristow, and we are all extremely proud to be chosen as the preferred operator for SAR services to Equinor’s emergency preparedness,” said Heidi Wulff Heimark, Bristow's managing director in Norway. Bristow has been an Equinor aviation partner for more than 25 years supporting the Norwegian Continental shelf for crew-change and search-and-rescue services. In addition to Norwegian operations, Bristow also provides helicopter services to Equinor in Brazil and the U.S.
An increasing amount of Bristow’s revenue is derived from SAR contracts. In July, the company announced it had been awarded a $1.9 billion, 10-year contract for the Second-Generation Search and Rescue Aviation (UKSAR2G) program by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), an executive agency of the Department for Transport.