ENGINEERING services firm Aker Kvaerner has lost more than £7m worth of work in the region this month.

The company, which employs more than 1,000 people at its Stockton site, lost a contract with chemical group BASF worth £6m a year for maintenance on the site.

The Stockton branch, AK Engineering Services, has held the work for more than six years but is believed to have been undercut on price by a rival. About 200 workers employed by AK on the BASF Seal Sands site will transfer to the new contractor, under the same terms and conditions.

AK also admitted yesterday that it had lost a £1.5m-a-year contract with px, which runs the Teesside Power Station at Wilton. That affects about 20 workers, who will also be transferred to the new contractor. But the company has this week won a five-year contract for an undisclosed amount with British Gas owner Centrica.

It will maintain offshore valves at Centrica's Morecambe Bay underground gas reservoirs.

Although most of the work will be carried out by AK's Humber workshops, it will be managed from the headquarters at Stockton.

A statement released to The Northern Echo by AK yesterday, regarding the loss of its BASF contract, said: "Although continuing to assess feedback on the unsuccessful (BASF) bid, Aker Kvaerner believes that the prime grounds were commercial.

"Aker Kvaerner believes that the bid, as submitted, was extremely competitive, linking income to performance, whilst retaining existing levels of staff benefits and pensions.

"Having successfully delivered integrated maintenance services over the past six years, Aker Kvaerner continues its positive relationship with BASF providing engineering, consultancy and specialist workshop services to Seal Sands.

"Aker Kvaerner's engineering services business continues to work with many companies on Teesside and throughout the UK and mainland Europe.

"Aker Kvaerner firmly believes its strategy and vision have been made visible to customers, staff, the media and other stakeholders and will continue to invest its efforts in contracts and businesses that add value and deliver a fair return."

Stockton is the headquarters for Kvaerner's engineering services business, which employs more than 2,000 people across the UK and mainland Europe.