Ineos has awarded Bilfinger UK a multi-million-pound contract to maintain its two Scotttish sites, the chemical and refinery complex at Grangemouth and the Forties pipeline at Kinneil.

The Grangemouth contract, which is new, will initially run over an initial period to January 2021 and contains a two-year expansion option. This will see Bilfinger double its workforce in Scotland to 220 people, with 110 workers transferring to the business.

The agreement for Kinneil, where the UK company currently employs 110 people, is an extension of a previous agreement signed in 2017. The pipeline system transports up to 40% of the UK’s crude oil from the North Sea to Ineos’ processing facility at the site close to Grangemouth.

Under the contract, Bilfinger UK will deliver maintenance services to a number of onshore assets that form part of the Forties pipeline system. It will also provide scaffolding access, insulation, painting, asbestos management and passive fire protection services.

The engineering firm said it provides its partners with a “unified, multidisciplinary support” across the lifecycle of an asset to “drive new efficiencies and reduce costs” Services include design and build, automated control and electrical systems, installation and commissioning, in addition to operations and maintenance.