Fresh plans for Nigg oil yard set out

CONTROVERSIAL plans will be unveiled today for the regeneration of a former Highland oil yard – but the new proposals clash with the local authority's vision for the site.

Birmingham-based DSM Demolition Group is understood to want to create a hub for decommissioning oil and gas installations at the Nigg yard at Easter Ross.

It will set out its proposals following a decision by KBR, the American engineering and construction company, to pull out of a potential 150 million plan to create a manufacturing base to support the offshore renewables industry at the yard.

A renewables centre is Highland Council's preferred option. It has written to the Scottish Government suggesting the yard be taken over by it or Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

A Highland Council spokesman said yards at Arnish, near Stornoway, and Methil in Fife, are now both in public ownership and being used for offshore renewable markets, adding: "This is what the council wants to see Nigg used for."

A spokeswoman for KBR said the firm will continue to seek alternatives for the yard, including its possible sale.