Norwich-based Aquaterra Energy Ltd has been awarded a �14m contract to design and build a freestanding wellhead support structure (WSS) for oil production operations off Malaysia in the South China Sea.

The structure will be the first of its kind to be installed in water depths of 65 metres in Asia and will be bridge-linked to an adjacent mobile offshore production unit, where the produced oil will be processed before returning back for export via a dedicated pipeline to a remote floating storage and offloading vessel.

In the last two years the firm, which provides services to more than 100 customers in 35 countries, has almost doubled its turnover to �28m. Its international success was recognised in 2009 when it received a Queen's Award for International Trade.

Patrick Phelan, Aquaterra Energy managing director, said: 'There were a number of challenging aspects that we had to overcome in order to provide a WSS solution that, like most offshore structures, was sen-sitive to topside weight and space.

'And it was the flexibility of the WSS solution that we were able to demonstrate that proved a key factor in the success of this project. We are proud to be able to deliver this leading edge project, from conceptual design into commissioning the platform, and look forward to seeing the innovative WSS in operation.'