Long-awaited UK Government decommissioning paper lacks clarity on key issues
© Courtesy Rory Gillies/Shetland F The Ninian Northern arriving in Lerwick for decom work last year. A long-awaited UK Government paper into oil and gas…
Category: Oil and Gas Decommissioning
Pioneering Spirit to Remove Two Morecambe Bay Platforms
(Photo: Spirit Energy) Allseas’ giant heavy lift vessel Pioneering Spirit will remove the DP3 and DP4 platforms in Morecambe Bay off the U.K. for independent…
Spirit Energy gas platforms to be dismantled in Fife
An artist’s impression of CessCon Decom’s facility in Energy Park Fife. A Scottish firm has clinched its maiden contract for dismantling offshore platforms at a…
Montrose positions itself for decommissioning work
MONTROSE Port has strengthened its case for picking up work linked to oil and gas decommissioning activity in the North Sea, writes Scott Wright. The…
Repsol Sinopec hands in decom plans, but offshore work years away
Repsol Sinopec Resources UK (RSRUK) has handed in decommissioning programmes for the Fulmar and Auk North fields to the UK Government. But well plugging and…
OGA launches online resource to help kick-start decommissioning campaigns
The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has provided one centralised location for well data related to decommissioning. The data, which is already publicly available, has…
North Sea operators shelve half a billion pounds of decommissioning spend: OGUK
© Able UK Brent Alpha arriving at Able UK’s Seaton port in Teesside earlier this year for dismantling. North Sea operators have shelved more than…
Petronas subsidiary says decommissioning gas fields offshore Ireland
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) wholly-owned subsidiary PSE Kinsale Energy Ltd is decommissioning its gas fields in the Kinsale Area in the…
AGR Starts Decom Works on Kinsale Field Offshore Ireland
Kinsale Bravo – Image Credit: PSE Kinsale Energy (File Photo) Energy services company AGR has started decommissioning operations of Ireland’s first indigenous gas wells in…
New tool for slashing well decom costs aces first live test in North Sea
© Supplied by isol8 Andrew Louden, CEO of isol8. An Aberdeen start-up firm’s technology for slashing oil well decommissioning costs has passed its first North…
HMRC boosts projected decommissioning tax relief for oil firms by £1.1billion
© Allseas Removal of the CNR Ninian Northern platform earlier this year. CNR is among the firms with the largest decom bills through to 2030.…
Decom timing frustrations forcing North Sea firms to look overseas
© Able UK Brent Alpha arriving at Able UK’s Seaton port in Teesside for dismantling. Frustrated by uncertainty around project schedules offshore UK, North Sea…
Well decommissioning campaigns a ‘massive opportunity’, OGA says
Pauline Innes, head of decommissioning at the Oil and Gas Authority. Adopting a campaign approach to well decommissioning in the UK North Sea is the…
Continuing development of decommissioning at Lerwick
© Courtesy Rory Gillies/Shetland F Ninian Northern arriving at Dales Voe, Lerwick, where ongoing development of deep-water infrastructure enables support for larger-scale decommissioning projects in…
Well-Safe secures further £26m to fund growth
© Supplied by Submitted pic Well-Safe Protector. Oil and gas decommissioning firm Well-Safe Solutions has secured a £26 million investment to fund the next phase…
Versabar gears up for another crack at North Sea market
In 2012, Versabar’s VB 10,000 lift system installed a 3,500-ton refurbished platform in the first installation operation the system has performed. In 2011 the VB…
OGUK Launches Digital Decom Conference
Industry body Oil & Gas UK is launching its first ever virtual decommissioning conference. Industry body Oil & Gas UK (OGUK) has revealed that it…
Enpro Subsea enables safe removal of ‘attic’ oil from Brent Bravo’s concrete cells
Hunting Energy Services, Subsea Technologies division supporting DeepOcean has successfully completed another campaign in the North Sea using Enpro Subsea’s Field Decommissioning (F-Decom) system. The…
Kishorn Port hints at plans to extend dry dock
Kishorn Port. Kishorn port has raised hopes of a jobs boost after it signalled plans to extend its dry dock to cater to demand for…
New artificial reef off Grand Isle sets a record
The tallest oil platform ever converted into an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico is now in place about 50 miles southeast of Grand…
Premier Oil hands in Balmoral decommissioning plans
© Premier Oil/ Linkedin Premier Oil will end production at its Balmoral Area in October. Pic: Premier Oil/Linkedin Premier Oil has handed in decommissioning plans…
Chevron kicks off Thai decommissioning drive
US supermajor Chevron has launched a significant offshore decommissioning exercise in Thailand comprising dozens of offshore platforms and subsea pipelines, as the decommissioning sector gathers…
Premier Oil hands in Balmoral decommissioning plans
© Premier Oil/ Linkedin Premier Oil will end production at its Balmoral Area in October. Pic: Premier Oil/Linkedin Premier Oil has handed in decommissioning plans…
Decommissioning firm Well-Safe Solutions snaps up second rig
West Epsilon Heavy Duty HE Oil and gas decommissioning firm Well-Safe Solutions has acquired a second rig in a move it claims will spark the…
Super-size Lerwick decom pad takes delivery of its first oil platform
Ninian Northern arrives at Lerwick Harbour Lerwick Port Authority has taken delivery of the 14,200-tonne Ninian Northern platform topside -the first job for the new…
Greenpeace returns to Brent field to protest against Shell’s decommissioning plans
The Greenpeace Ship Esperanza passes in front of the Shell operated Oil platform Brent-C (Charlie). Photo by Carl Shanahan / Greenpeace Greenpeace activists have returned…
Ithaca approved to remove North Sea Anglia platform
Offshore staff ABERDEEN, UK – Ithaca Energy has received approval from the UK’s Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning for its decommissioning proposals for…
Repsol Sinopec calls time on Tartan Alpha after 40 years
Repsol Sinopec Resources UK (RSRUK) has decided to stop production on its Tartan Alpha installation after nearly 40 years, putting some jobs at risk. The…
UK decommissioning costs continue to fall
On the way out: the removal of Shell’s Brent Alpha topsides using Allseas’ gigantic Pioneering Spirit vessel Photo: ALLSEAS Latest estimates from regulator show expected…
Big oil rig scrapping job no trouble for Heerema
Dutch firm Heerema has safely removed the steel infrastructure of an end-of-life Shell oil platform, located in the North Sea. The dismantling job required some…
Sleipnir offshore crane breaks own record for single jacket lift
HMC’s Sleipnir safely and sustainably removed Shell’s 10100 mT Brent Alpha jacket. Dutch firm Hereema Marine Contractors (HMC) has broken its own record a single…
Orca to Provide Dive System Support for Well-Safe Guardian
Well-Safe Guardian – Image: Well-Safe Well-Safe Solutions, a UK-based company specializing in P&A services, has awarded Orca Oceanic Systems a contract for the provision of…
OOS New SSCVs Undergoing Final Touches
The two offshore mast cranes on board OOS International’s semi-submersible crane vessel (SSCV) OSS Walcheren have been installed and load-tested, while the company’s SSCV OOS…
Curlew – a decom object lesson
The Shell Curlew FPSO arriving in Dundee last year I’m baffled by the Curlew decommissioning saga that will now see the life-expired FPSO be dismantled…
Six-figure boost for budding Fife decommissioning facility
An artist’s impression of CessCon Decom’s facility in Energy Park Fife. Plans to create an oilfield infrastructure dismantling facility in Fife have been given a…
Tech knowhow gives new lease of life to marine habitats
Natural defences: mangroves, such as this one in the Caribbean, help to protect coastlines against storm surges © Getty Images As global awareness of the…
Voyageur Spirit heads to Kishorn after leaving Premier Oil’s Huntington field
The Voyageur Spirit FPSO is on its way to the Kishorn Drydocks after leaving Premier Oil’s Huntington field in the North Sea. Work to remove…
Hiretech Limited Investment Supports Decommissioning Sector
Equipment rental business Hiretech Limited has taken receipt of newly built subsea shears and hydraulic grabs as part of a recent £600,000 investment in decommissioning…
Allseas, Kvaerner secure Statfjord A platform removal contract
YourOilAndGasNews – The Statfjord A platform in the North Sea will shut down production in 2022, 43 years after first oil. This more than doubles…
Eni hands in plan to decommission six North Sea platforms
Eni will decommission six platforms in the North Sea. The 48/29A complex is the main operating hub for Hewett. Eni has submitted plans to decommission…
Completion of topside skidding as part of Pickerill platforms’ decommissioning
Petrodec, the decommissioning services specialist, confirmed the successful completion of skidding operations for the topside removal of the Pickerill A unmanned platform, located in the…
Watch: Neptune Energy completes safe removal of three Dutch North Sea platforms
https://vimeo.com/432060409/recommended Neptune Energy on Wednesday (June 24) announced the safe removal of the L10-C, L10-D and L10-G platforms from the Dutch sector of the North…
Petrodec Achieves Decommissioning Milestone
The ability to use one vessel, instead of a drilling rig and heavy lift vessel, is an industry first. Decommissioning services specialist Petrodec has completed…
UK decommissioning spend to fall short of £1.5billion yearly estimate, OGA warns
The OGA said decommissioning spend will fall short in 2020 and 2021 due to the downturn, bringing concern for suppliers. Pic: Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit vessel…
OOS joins decommissioning joint venture
Offshore staff SEROOSKERKE, the Netherlands – OOS International has joined a consortium of Lloyd’s Register and Worley to provide offshore operators with end-to-end decommissioning, from…
Marine biologists forecast effects of oil platform decommissioning on fish communities
Marine biologists forecast the effects of oil platform decommissioning on fish communities Biologists and fishermen alike know that offshore oil platforms function as de facto…
UK approves decom plans for Ineos-operated field
The Cavendish platform. The UK Government has approved Ineos’ decommissioning programme for its Cavendish platform. The field is in the southern North Sea, about 75…
Aker BP Cleared to Use Maersk Invincible Rig for P&A at Valhall
Maersk Invincible – Credit: Maersk Drilling Norwegian oil company Aker BP has secured consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway to use the Maersk Invincible…
Ashtead Technology and Reliance Subsea Services enter partnership
Subsea equipment solutions specialist Ashtead Technology has entered into a partnership with Trinidad-based Reliance Subsea Services. Established in 2018, Reliance Subsea provide tooling and equipment…
Taqa Cleared to Remove Eider Platform Topside
Eider Platform – Credit: Taqa The UK authorities have approved Taqa’s decommissioning program the Eider platform topside in the UK North Sea The Eider platform…
Well decommissioning under way on North Sea Rubie, Renee fields
Offshore staff ABERDEEN, UK – Petrofac’s Engineering & Production Services division has started a well decommissioning contract for the Rubie and Renee fields in the…
VIDEO: First Drone Delivery for World’s Biggest Offshore Vessel
Drone delivering a package to the Pioneering Spirit vessel – Credit: Port of Rotterdam, Allseas’ giant Pioneering Spirit offshore construction and decommissioning vessel last week…
GALLERY: Giant Sleipnir vessel wraps up decommissioning campaign for ConocoPhillips
Earlier this month, Heerema Marine Contractors’ giant semi-submersible crane vessel (SSCV) Sleipnir completed its first decommissioning campaign of the season. It was a unique project,…
Low Oil Prices Could Spur Offshore Decommissioning Wave
The total value of the global pool of offshore oil and gas decommissioning projects that will accumulate through 2024 could reach $42 billion, with the…
Archer boosted by Taqa decommissioning contract awards
The Archer Topaz unit is expected to move to the Cormorant Alpha platform in the second half of next year. Taqa has picked Archer rig…
Offshore decommission sector set for huge growth
As was the case just a few years ago, the offshore decommission sector stands out as the offshore sector set for rapid growth according to…
Maersk in UK decommissioning contract award
Danish contractor Maersk Supply Service has won a subsea removal contract for Fairfield Energy’s Dunlin Alpha project in the UK North Sea. MSS was awarded…
OGA launches its MER UK Strategy review consultation
The Oil and Gas Authority (“ the OGA ”) has launched a consultation into its proposed updated Maximising Economic Recovery Strategy ( “the Strategy” ),…
Kishorn Port aims to prove decommissioning credentials with stricken Minch cargo ship
MV Kaami, which ran around in the Minch, arriving at Kishorn drydock for dismantling. A redeveloped Highland port is aiming to use a stricken cargo…
Drydocks World Starts Bokalift 2 Conversion for Boskalis
Image Credit: Drydocks World Dubai’s Drydocks World shipyard has started construction of the offshore wind installation vessel for the Dutch company Boskalis. Drydocks World held…
Watch the moment enormous Brent Bravo lifting frame disappears into a cloud of dust
This is the dramatic moment the massive lifting framework on the Brent Bravo oil rig was torn down at Seaton port. The enormous structure, or…
Making the right offer: environmental and economic concerns in decommissioning
The untenable nature of the oil and gas industry is something of an open secret. Offshore revenues in the UK alone have cratered over the…
Bureau Veritas’ tool ‘can save millions in decommissioning costs’
A digital twinning and smart data asset management tool from Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspection and certification services, can save between 9%…
Boskalis Buys Salvage Firm Ardent Americas
Image Credit: Boskalis Dutch dredging and marine services giant Boskalis has acquired the U.S.-based maritime emergency response specialist Ardent Americas. Ardent, created by the 2015…
Repsol Sinopec to Remove Buchan & Hannay Subsea Infrastructure
Credit: Repsol Sinopec UK oil and gas operator Repsol Sinopec has filed a draft decommissioning plan for subsea infrastructure at Buchan & Hannay fields in…
Australia: Decommissioning In Australia – Is The Insurance Market Prepared?
1 Introduction Whilst decommissioning of offshore and onshore sites is a nascent industry in Australia, it is an industry that is set to become increasingly…
Awilco firms up rig contract with Petrofac off UK
Awilco Drilling has firmed up a contract with Petrofac for its semi-submersible WilPhoenix to carry out well plug-and-abandonment work off the UK. The 1982-built rig…
Exclusive: EnQuest calls time on fire-hit North Sea platform
The Heather Alpha platform, operated by EnQuest Oil and gas firm EnQuest has confirmed plans to decommissioning its fire-damaged Heather Alpha platform in the northern…
University of Aberdeen: National Decommissioning Centre and Chevron sign partnership agreement
The National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) and Chevron Corporation (CVX) have signed an agreement that will support research at the NDC through to 2023. The anchor…
Progress being made on multi-operator east of Shetland decom programme
Pauline Innes, head of decommissioning at the Oil and Gas Authority. A group of operators is making progress on plans to work together on the…
Tullow Awards Maersk Decom Bundled Project
Above is a Sept. 2019 photo of the subsea support vessel Maersk Installer during a subsea infrastructure removal, recycling and waste management project for the…
Lerwick Port reaps benefits of oil and gas recovery
Credit: John Coutts The gradual recovery in the offshore oil and gas sector’s fortunes has been reflected in the latest traffic statistics from Lerwick Port…
New metal recycling facility will boost Dundee’s decom ambitions
John Lawrie Metals’ director of projects and decom Julian Foley A metal recycling facility to be built in Dundee later this year will take the…
The Ongoing Debate Behind Oil Rigs on the Californian Coast
Krystal ChenStaff Writer The existence of oil rigs off the coast of California has been a continuous issue in Santa Barbara over decades. Ever since…
DEME: Orion’s New Crane Can Lift Nine Airbus Planes
Credit: DEME Group Offshore installation specialist DEME Offshore has shared that its flagship offshore vessel Orion has been fitted with a huge crane boom. The…
Maersk Decom P&A Services for Tullow’s Mauritania Wells
Credit; Maersk Decom Denmark’s Maersk Decom has won a contract for complete plugging and abandonment of Tullow Oil’s Banda and Tiof fields offshore Mauritania. This…
A fast and accurate solution to mercury contamination monitoring
A fast and accurate solution to mercury contamination monitoring Ion Science is highlighting the suitability of its ergonomically designed Mercury Vapour Indicator (MVI) for rapid…
China resumes work on giant heavy-lift vessel
Concept: the Lankun heavy-lift vessel Photo: Image SHANDONG MARINE New company created to finance, build and operate unit destined for offshore decommissioning and installation work…
Saipem ‘beats all targets’ for 2019 as it swings back to profit
The Saipem 7000 lifting the Hywind turbine towers into their floating foundations Saipem has said it has “beat all targets” for 2019 after swinging back…
Boskalis uses Wärtsilä thruster solutions in crane vessel project
A Wärtsilä thruster solution will enable an existing hull to become the crane vessel Bokalift 2. (Image copyright Boskalis) Wärtsilä has committed to a demanding…
Offshore decommissioning – challenges and opportunities
The number of offshore assets reaching their end of life, globally, is rising, meaning decommissioning projects are a real eventuality for many operators. Decommissioning is…
Transformational technology for well plugging and abandonment
Casing Cement Breaker from Deep Casing Tools There is a new transformational tool that could significantly reduce the cost of decommissioning that is currently being…
Offshore energy projects drive W2W demand
Uptime’s gangway enables personnel to transfer from a W2W vessel to an offshore platform New turbine installations will treble capacity to 20 GW by 2030,…
Well-Safe ‘actively’ looking at more rigs as maiden purchase gets ready to hit the market
Picture by SANDY McCOOK 18th February ’20 Wellsafe Guardian underegoes a major refit at the Global Energy Park at Nigg on the Cromarty Firth. Chief…
Schlumberger to provide downhole services for Well-Safe Solutions
Well-Safe Solutions has announced the award of a significant work scope to Schlumberger for the provision of Plug and Abandonment Well Services. The scope includes…
Opportunities Abound in Asia Pac
(File photo: Heerema Marine Contractors) Decommissioning in Southeast Asia and Australia offers a US$100 billion opportunity out to 2040 with a million tonnes of steel…
Timing North Sea decommissioning: when will the boom begin?
A new generation of specialist decommissioning companies are staking their claim to a slice of the UK Continental Shelf decommissioning market, projected to be worth…
Schlumberger Wins P&A Work with Well-Safe
Well-Safe Guardian – Image: Well-Safe The UK offshore decommissioning specialist Well-Safe Solutions has awarded “significant work scope” to Schlumberger for the provision of Plug and…
EnQuest plans to temporarily leave ‘precarious’ Thistle storage tanks on seabed
EnQuest has revealed plans to temporarily leave a pair of 1,200-tonne oil storage tanks from its Thistle platform at the bottom of the North Sea…
CNR International to remove FPSO as part of North Sea decom plans
The removal a Teekay-owned floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel from the North Sea could see further redundancy notices served to workers at the…
Petrobras looks to North Sea to help decommission ‘former cash cow’ Campos Basin
Petrobras has set out the opportunity for UK firms to help decommission assets from its former “cash cow” Campos basin. […] Click here to view…
Ulstein converts Aegir into heavy-lift vessel
ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands – Ulstein has converted Heerema Marine Contractors’ Aegir from a deepwater construction into a heavy-lift vessel. After Heerema’s strategic reposition on its…
Premier Oil Files FPSO Removal Plan for North Sea Field
The UK oil and gas operator Premier Oil has field decommissioning plans for the departure of the Voyageur Spirit FPSO and the removal of the…
Shell halts Curlew Dundee decom as final work to be done elsewhere
Curlew at Dundee Pic Peter Devlin Oil giant Shell has confirmed that decommissioning work on the Curlew floating production (FPSO) vessel moored in Dundee has…
Oil and gas exploration: ‘Priority action’ recommendation on disused wells not followed through
Oil and gas exploration: ‘Priority action’ recommendation on disused wells not followed through The government is being taken to task for failing to act on…
Canada’s struggling oil industry leaves thousands of wells abandoned, without enough money for cleanup
Canada’s struggling oil industry leaves thousands of wells abandoned, without enough money for cleanup Under provincial law, oil and gas companies are responsible for plugging…
Old wind turbine blades present a recycling problem
Old wind turbine blades present a recycling problem Companies are searching for ways to deal with the tens of thousands of wind turbine blades that…
Question List 4 – Risks Related to the Magnitude and Timing of Decommissioning Liabilities
Question List 4 – Risks Related to the Magnitude and Timing of Decommissioning Liabilities LONDON, Feb. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — As detailed in ARCM’s recent…
Courier Business Briefing: Forth Ports chief executive to outline his vision for Port of Dundee
The boss of Forth Ports will outline his vision for the future of the Port of Dundee at a Courier Business Briefing next month. […]…
3,000 tonnes is enough: Ulstein’s strategy for heavy lift in the 2020s
Speaking during session two of the Offshore Support Journal Subsea Conference in London, Ulstein Design & Solutions sales manager Nick Wessels said current demand…