An amateur film made by John Parsons showing the construction of steel jackets for the Forties Bravo oil platform built for British Petroleum and the Thistle Alpha platform built for Burmah Oil. Construction work took place at the Graythop yard of Laing Offshore near Hartlepool between May 1975 and May 1976. Mr Parsons was a Mechanical Draftsman at Laing Offshore during the production of this film. The film begins with views of the Forties Bravo oil platform steel jacket under construction...

An amateur film made by John Parsons showing the construction of steel jackets for the Forties Bravo oil platform built for British Petroleum and the Thistle Alpha platform built for Burmah Oil. Construction work took place at the Graythop yard of Laing Offshore near Hartlepool between May 1975 and May 1976. Mr Parsons was a Mechanical Draftsman at Laing Offshore during the production of this film. The film begins with views of the Forties Bravo oil platform steel jacket under construction in dry dock at the Graythop yard of Laing Offshore. A large floatation sphere hangs from a crane being moved into position alongside the steel frame. On one side of the sphere is the BP logo. The steel floatation tanks stand at the base of the structure with writing along it that reads 'BP Forty Fields'. General view of the fabrication yard from a lift going up the side of the structure, followed by overhead views from the top of the structure. Pieces of equipment and fabricated steel sections are laid out nearby. A panoramic view follows over the river Tees and fabrication yard below as well as the surrounding area, including Graythorp village, local steel works and Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station under construction. A supply ship is moored along a quayside. The film cuts to a wintry scene at the Graythop yard in early 1976 during the construction of the Thistle Alpha platform. Men and machinery work to construct the first panels. Along a quayside a lower leg section imported from Germany waits to be moved into position. A man stands in the snow beside a number of parked cars. In the background, two lorries slowly begin the process of moving the leg section into position against the jacket. Filmed in May 1976, there's a travelling shot along the Tees Road near Hartlepool towards Graythorp with a view of the massive Thistle Alpha platform jacket in the near distance. At the Graythorp yard, the jacket is nearing completion with the scaffolding surrounding it now removed. The film ends with another travelling shot along the Tees Road with the Thistle Alpha jacket in the near distance.