AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, has been awarded a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) contract for GDF SUEZ E&P UK Ltd’s Cygnus gas field development, one of the most significant undeveloped gas fields in the North Sea.

The contract includes work on the ‘option to proceed’ into the detailed design and procurement phase, and is valued at an estimated £50 million. The FEED, which starts immediately, is scheduled for completion in 2012. The contract will create about 150 new jobs at peak.

“We are delighted to be working with GDF SUEZ E&P on their strategically important Cygnus field,” said John Pearson, Managing Director of AMEC’s Europe and West Africa business. “Nearly four decades experience and proven delivery in the North Sea will help to deliver Cygnus, which is not only a new field development, but GDF SUEZ E&P’s first major operated North Sea field. The combination of the quality of our people and our extensive service offering has been key in winning this award.”