Gas network decarbonisation project seeks EPC contractors
A gas transmission operator is procuring engineering and construction expertise to deliver electric-drive compression and tighter cyber-safe operations in Scotland.
A gas transmission operator is procuring engineering and construction expertise to deliver electric-drive compression and tighter cyber-safe operations in Scotland.
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Gas Networks Ireland has gone to market for experienced contractors to deliver engineering, procurement and construction support on critical upgrades to its South West Scotland Onshore System, replacing gas-driven compression with electric drives and embedding stronger safety and cybersecurity controls across a key part of its network.
Published on 20th November 2025, the contract notice for Engineering and Construction Services for SWSOS makes clear that the South West Scotland Onshore System Decarbonisation Programme is now moving from strategy into delivery.
The buyer is seeking “experienced contractors” to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for “critical infrastructure upgrades” to this onshore system. The work centres on the design and integration of new electric drive compressor halls, a shift that goes to the heart of how gas networks cut emissions from their own operations.
Gas compression is one of the most energy-intensive elements of gas transmission. Moving away from traditional combustion-based drive systems towards electric drives allows operators to cut direct emissions at compressor stations and, where the power supply is low carbon, reduce the overall footprint of transporting gas. By specifying electric drive compressor halls as the focal point of the programme, the buyer is signalling that operational decarbonisation is now a core part of network investment.
The notice also underlines the criticality of the South West Scotland Onshore System itself. Describing the upgrades as “critical infrastructure” frames the project not as an optional environmental add-on but as an essential modernisation of assets that underpin security of supply.
The procurement seeks a single pool of capability across engineering design, procurement of equipment and materials, and on-site construction for the new compressor halls. While the notice is high level, several expectations are clear.
First, contractors will have to demonstrate competence in the design and integration of electric drive compressor halls within an existing gas transmission system. That implies an ability to manage complex interfaces between new electrical plant, existing mechanical assets and control systems, ensuring the upgraded sites perform as a coherent whole.
Second, the buyer places explicit weight on compliance with safety standards. Any EPC partner will need to show they can work within stringent process safety regimes, from hazardous area design through to commissioning and handover, in an operating environment where downtime and incidents carry high system and public consequences.
Third, cybersecurity is written directly into the brief. The notice requires that the design and integration work ensures compliance with cybersecurity standards. For contractors, this moves cyber considerations out of the margins and into the core of project delivery. Design teams will be expected to collaborate closely with operational technology and information security specialists to ensure that new drives, control panels and automation are protected against cyber threats as well as being functionally robust.
Finally, the use of an EPC model underscores the desire for clear accountability. By bundling engineering, procurement and construction, the buyer is looking for contractors who can manage risk across the full lifecycle of the upgrade works, from concept design and equipment selection to site works and integration into live operations.
This move in South West Scotland sits within a broader pattern of energy infrastructure buyers across Europe using procurement to drive decarbonisation, modernisation and digitalisation.
In July 2025, Energinet Gastransmission A/S in Denmark launched a Gas Facilities Qualification Scheme covering main contracts for the establishment and expansion of gas return facilities, compressor stations and M/R stations, primarily linked to its Fast Track Biogas project. There too, construction and civil engineering capacity is being aligned with a low-carbon gas strategy.
In Germany, Gasunie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG issued a framework notice in July 2025 for planning and project management services on large construction projects involving energy transport pipelines, compressor stations, gas pressure regulation systems and biogas feeding plants. The emphasis there is on building long-term access to multidisciplinary planning expertise as pipeline networks adapt to new energy flows.
Further north, Stromnetz Berlin GmbH is moving in parallel on the electricity side. Its August 2025 notice for an Electrical Equipment Qualification System seeks turnkey electrical equipment and services for substations and network nodes as part of network expansion and upgrades in Berlin. As with the Scottish gas project, the focus is on turnkey capability that can deliver complex, site-specific upgrades within existing network constraints.
In Poland, PGE Inwest 22 Sp. z o.o. is going to market for the design and implementation of a complete Electric Energy Storage Facility in Gryfino, including documentation, installation, integration and training. That project, like the South West Scotland upgrades, combines new electrical infrastructure with integration into existing systems and regulatory frameworks.
Other buyers are using qualification systems to prepare their supply chains for repeated waves of low-carbon investment. In July 2025, A2A S.P.A. launched a Qualification System for Cogeneration Plants, seeking qualified companies for the design, assembly and supply of materials and machinery. And in Switzerland, Swissgrid AG’s August 2025 procurement for engineering services to renew the Robiei 220 kV gas‑insulated switchgear illustrates how transmission operators are renewing ageing grid assets with modern equipment and project support.
Closer to the South West Scotland context, GNI (UK) LIMITED issued an August 2025 contract notice for facilities management and integrated workplace services across key sites in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Together with the SWSOS decarbonisation programme, this points to a coordinated effort to upgrade both operational and support environments across the network.
Carbon capture is also starting to reshape gas-related infrastructure procurement. In November 2025, EBN B.V. published a notice on the Aramis CCS Project transition, confirming the ongoing Engineering, Procurement and Construction procedure for the project’s onshore pipeline and beach valve station and transferring it between e‑procurement platforms. While administratively focused, it underlines that large EPC processes are already under way for carbon capture and storage infrastructure linked to gas systems.
The explicit mention of cybersecurity in the South West Scotland notice reflects a wider concern with the resilience of energy control systems.
In July 2025, Czech distributor PREdistribuce, a.s. went to market for a dispatch control system (SCADA) to manage and monitor electricity distribution networks, including hardware, software and interfaces to existing data systems. In the Netherlands, N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie’s August 2025 tender for System Integrator Services seeks contractors to handle replacements and modifications to PCS, UCP, ESD/SIL and SCADA systems, along with network and control panels and simulation models.
These projects show that as networks electrify and digitise, buyers are building cyber and functional safety requirements directly into their engineering and construction scopes. For the South West Scotland upgrades, that means EPC contractors will need credible approaches to securing both the physical assets and the control and communication layers that govern them.
Oversight and assurance are being strengthened too. In October 2025, 50Hertz Transmission GmbH announced a Supplier Qualification System for certification services tied to offshore converter platforms, covering design, manufacturing and installation certification to national standards. While focused offshore, it reinforces a trend towards formal, pre‑qualified pools of specialist assurance providers that EPC contractors will increasingly have to work alongside.
The South West Scotland Onshore System Decarbonisation Programme is still at an early contracting stage, but the contract notice already highlights several points to watch.
One is whether the market can offer EPC teams that combine deep gas transmission experience with the electrical, digital and cybersecurity skills required for modern compressor halls. Another is how far safety and cyber requirements in this project become a template for future gas network upgrades elsewhere in the UK and Ireland.
Across Europe, recent procurements for gas facilities, substations, storage plants and control systems suggest that energy network operators are converging on similar models: long‑term frameworks or qualification systems, turnkey scopes and stronger expectations on decarbonisation and resilience. The outcome of Gas Networks Ireland’s search for contractors in South West Scotland will give an early indication of how ready the supply chain is to meet that combined challenge.
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