£200m deal in pipeline for steel giant Corus

The company said yesterday over 150,000 tonnes of pipeline would be produced at its site in Hartlepool for the Laggan-Tormore offshore development west of the Shetlands in Scotland.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said the order was "excellent news" for the Corus workforce.

The Corus pipe mill will supply the pipes to Total and its partner Dong Energy, which are investing 2.5bn in developing the offshore gasfields.

The order, for 520 kilometres (323 miles) of pipes, will safeguard or create 350 jobs over the next two years.

Total and Corus signed a contract yesterday at the London office of Lord Mandelson, a former MP for Hartlepool. He said: "This is excellent news for the Corus workforce at Hartlepool. Through their hard work they have won a prestigious contract to supply pipes for Total's development of gas fields in Shetland."

Energy Minister Lord Hunt said: "The west of Shetland is one of the most challenging marine environments in the UK and this new pipeline is key to opening the area up to further oil and gas developments."

Total managing director Roland Festor said: "Developing the Laggan and Tormore gas fields in 600 metres of water in the harshest environment on the UK Continental Shelf will be a major challenge and the support and expertise of suppliers such as Corus will be vital to the success of the project."

Corus said it would make sure workers at its Redcar factory, which has been partially mothballed following the collapse of a contract, were made aware of jobs being created at Hartlepool.

The blast furnace was shut down at the Redcar plant last month, leaving 1,600 workers facing the axe.