Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. PJSC (TAQA) has completed the topsides removal of the Brae Bravo platform in the UK central North Sea.
This marked the completion of two campaigns with HAF, the Heerema Marine Contractors and AF Offshore Decom (AFOD) consortium contracted to complete the Brae Bravo removal and disposal scopes.
Heerema’s semisubmersible crane vessels Thialf and Sleipnir removed the topsides. At its peak, up to 500 people worked on the project totaling nearly 400,000 man-hours without any major incidents recorded, TAQA said.
Campaign 1, executed from the Thialf, prepared the platform for removal and removed the cranes and helideck. During these activities, the Sleipnir simultaneously removed the flare tower, bridge, and jacket. This was said to mark the first time these two crane vessels converged in the North Sea.
Campaign 2 saw the return of the Sleipnir to remove the remaining modules and transport them to the dismantling yard.
The 36,000-ton structure was sent to the AFOD Environmental Base in Vats, Norway, and is now being processed with the aim of reusing or recycling 95% or more of the material.
Donald Taylor, TAQA Managing Director for Europe, said: “Decommissioning and late-life management of offshore assets will play a major role in our journey to a lower carbon future, and Brae Bravo will be the blueprint for all future TAQA decommissioning programs in the North Sea.”
Over its 33-year lifetime, Brae Bravo produced more than 500 MMboe.
The only remaining visible element of Brae Bravo is the top of the jacket above the sea surface. A navigational aid has been installed on the remaining structure, and a 500-m (1,640-ft) safety zone will remain in place until the jacket is decommissioned in 2022.
08/17/2021
