ENGINEERING group Amec has won £80m-worth of work with the National Grid to work on gas storage facilities in South Wales and central England.

Amec's industrial division, based in Darlington, will carry out the work - the latest in a series of contracts this year which have reinforced the company's position as a market leader in engineering services to the energy industry.

A spokesman said no jobs would be created as a direct result of the contracts, but said: "Our industrial division is very buoyant at the moment.

"We are delighted that the market cycle has come round and is affecting our business in such a positive way."

The three contracts are the latest in a series of awards to Amec by the National Grid, covering gas and electricity infrastructure.

A station at Swansea, which Amec will work on, is a vital part of expansion in the gas network as the UK moves from being a net exporter to a net importer of gas.

The Swansea plant will allow gas from a terminal at Milford Haven, importing gas from overseas, to be distributed across the UK.

Amec has also won contracts to design the upgrade of two stations in the Midlands.

"As the UK comes closer to becoming a net importer of gas, one of the major challenges facing the energy sector is to ensure reliability of supply to industry and domestic customers and we are pleased to be supporting long-term customer National Grid in rising to that challenge," said Steve Lee, managing director of Amec's industrial business.

"This vital work builds on our ten years experience of gas compressor stations across the UK which, together with our projects in gas storage and for National Grid, both in gas distribution and electricity transmission, makes us one of the UK's leading provider of infrastructure services."

Amec is an international project management and services company, employing more than 44,000 people in more than 40 countries.

In September, it announced a recruitment drive across the UK that may see jobs created in Darlington.

The company employs 400 in its industrial and support services division in Darlington, and a further 100 engineers at its site in Wallsend, North Tyneside, although its fabrication yard on the Tyne has been mothballed.