Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Equinor has appointed Heerema Marine Contractors to remove, dismantle, and recycle three platforms in the Norwegian North Sea.
The program covers the topsides and jackets of the Heimdal riser platform, Heimdal main platform, and Veslefrikk A platform.
Equinor, which is technical service provider for the Heimdal riser installation, awarded the decommissioning contract in this case on behalf of operator Gassco (Equinor operates the Heimdal main platform).
The Veslefrikk field will shut down permanently in spring of 2022: well plugging started earlier this year. As for Heimdal, a decommissioning plan has been submitted to the authorities: gas and condensate processing on the Heimdal field will likely cease in 2022 or 2023.
The Heimdal riser platform will be removed at the earliest in 2024, with Heimdal main and Veslefrikk A platform to be removed no earlier than 2025.
In addition to the platforms, the contracts cover removal, dismantling, and recycling of the gangway connecting the two Heimdal installations and a subsea pre-drill template connected to Veslefrikk A.
Heerema has issued a letter of intent to Aker Solutions for dismantling and recycling of the platforms at its specialist decommissioning center at Eldøyane in Stord, western Norway.
According to Aker Solutions, the combined weight of the three platforms is around 68,000 metric tons (74,957 tons), and the target is to recycle close to 98% of all the materials.
“In tonnage, this will be our largest decommissioning project since we recycled the Frigg oil and gas platforms about 15 years ago,” said Sturla Magnus, executive vice president and head of Aker Solutions’ topside and facilities business.
Early-phase engineering will start in 2022: the structures are currently set to arrive at Stord between 2024 and 2026, with project completion targeted for 2027.
According to Aker Solutions, the removal method will be adapted to each individual platform and Heerema’s heavy-lift vessels Sleipnir and Thialf.
Each topsides will be lifted on board the designated vessel in one or several parts.
Field Life Extension has corporate responsibility for performing decommissioning projects for Equinor on the Norwegian continental shelf.
03/18/2021
