ABOUT 130 jobs will be created in the oil and gas industry after a leading company in the sector opened an office in the region.

Fast-growing engineering company RDS, which designs oil and gas drilling rigs, admitted the wealth of experience in the region was one of the reasons it had opened a third UK office in Stockton.

About 50 jobs are expected to be created immediately, with 130 in total. The expansion follows a "significant" increase in offshore engineering project work by the company over the past 12 months.

RDS was awarded a £1.35m grant from development agency One NorthEast to establish the 13,000sq ft engineering design office, on the first floor of the Lion Court building on Wynyard Business Park.

RDS has signed a ten-year lease on the office, and the company said it was investing a substantial amount of money equipping it with the latest engineering design technology.

Peter Brackenborough, RDS's head of engineering, said the company, which employs 700 people, was looking to increase that to 900, with the majority of those new jobs in Stockton.

He said: "Our forward order book is extremely healthy, to the extent that we anticipate the need for another 200 people by 2009-10, which we are looking to fulfil with this office in Stockton.

"This region is renowned for its engineering skills base, which we hope to tap into, attracting people who live in the locality or who have perhaps moved away for work reasons and would like to return.

"RDS has experienced an unprecedented growth in demand for its services in recent months."

Ian Williams, director of business and industry for One North- East, said: "The North-East is fast developing a reputation as a UK hub for offshore oil and gas engineering and I am delighted that we have been able to attract a company of RDS's calibre to Wynyard Business Park."

The office is expected to become operational in August with the first 50 jobs created by the end of the year.

RDS, a division of leading offshore platform drilling contractor KCA Deutag, has offices in London, Aberdeen, Stavanger and Bergen, in Norway, and Baku, in Azerbaijan, and has nearly doubled the size of its workforce since 2005.

RDS is initially looking for NVQ or degree-qualified engineers and designers in structural, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, piping, and HVAC, as well as cost, planning, safety and drilling operations engineers.

There will also be a number of managerial and administrative positions.

A recruitment day is being held at RDS's Stockton office, on Tuesday. Anyone interested in applying for a job is invited to attend the event, or to send their CV and covering letter to sarah.

robertson@uk.kcadeutag.com