Company to unveil plan for yard

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A demolition company interested in taking over the former Nigg oil yard in Easter Ross will unveil its blueprint for the future of the site later.Midlands-based DSM Demolition wants to use the facility to decommission redundant offshore oil structures.

Nigg was used for the construction of oil and gas platforms, but is now largely mothballed.

A US company which owns most of the site had planned to redevelop the yard and build offshore wind turbines.

However, Highland Council said earlier this month that KBR had withdrawn the proposal.

'Major asset'

Last summer, DSM said the massive yard offered an ideal site for the breaking up of redundant ships and oil rigs.

Spokesman Mark Cummings said at the time that Nigg was unique to the UK because of its size, deep water access, dry docks and large sheds.

Mr Cummings said Nigg was large enough to deal with the demolition of vessels and platforms in an environmentally sound manner without harming the activities of other site users, such as firms manufacturing renewable energy devices.

Parts for two offshore wind turbines were delivered to and put together at Nigg before being floated out into the Moray Firth in 2006 and 2007.

Highland Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) have been looking at ways of breathing new life into Nigg through the construction of more renewable energy devices.

Charlotte Wright, HIE regional director, said: "HIE continues to work with other public and private sector organisations to take forward the strategic development of Nigg as a major asset in the renewable energy sector.

"As part of this work DSM is one company we will be meeting to discuss their future proposals for the site."

Highland Council has previously said it would take legal action to take over the yard if a long-running dispute between its owners - KBR and a private landowner - was not resolved.


The dispute has held up the sale of the site.This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.