The Dales Voe decommissioning facility in Shetland is one step closer to becoming a centre of excellence for recycling offshore structures from the North Sea with the arrival of two new installations for decommissioning by strategic partners Veolia and Peterson. The structures from Spirit Energy’s ST-1 arrived in the dedicated port facility on 15 July.
Now at the end of their working life recovering these platforms is important to maximize the value of the materials and assets they contain, and further the sustainability of the offshore industry. With a recycling target of 97% the project includes recovery of approximately 2,500 tonnes of materials that will be carefully extracted and returned to industry, and where possible assets that have further operational life will be sold for re-use.
ST-1, comprising of a 45 metre high 1,300 tonne steel jacket and 1,200 tonne topsides structure, was originally installed in 1994 in the Greater markham Area 160km off the coast in the Southern North Sea. Comprising three levels including a cellar and accommodation unit, the weather deck with pedestal crane, and a mezzanine deck, production on this gas platform ceased in April 2016 and was placed in warm suspension mode in September 2017.
The final part of the decommissioning programme, covering the removal of the topsides and jackets, was carried out through two single lifts by Seaway 7, the Renewables and Heavy lifting business unit of Subsea 7, using the Seaway Strashnov heavy lifting vessel. Successful delivery onshore further highlights the key receipt strength at Dales Voe which includes a 60 tonnes/m2 strong quay.
Martin O’Donnell, Decommissioning Director of Veolia said: “This work follows the successful recovery operations carried out at the facility, and really demonstrates how collaboration across the supply chain can deliver greater sustainability. We have already recycled over 80,000 tonnes of materials and created new job opportunities to meet the growing demand for decommissioning”
James Johnson, Decommissioning Manager at Peterson added: “This project is a great showcase of how our collaboration with Veolia is enabling us to provide a full decommissioning service which provides a better customer experience. We are pleased to be involved in the ongoing development of Dales Voe as a centre of excellence for decommissioning for the North Sea.”
Set up to provide a full decommissioning service the partnership services include decontamination, deconstruction, waste management and environmental services together with associated integrated logistics, marine and quayside services. The partnership has been providing onshore decommissioning services for over 10 years and achieved ‘excellent’ environmental assessment ratings in the process. These services are offered by the partnership from their extensive site portfolio including Lerwick Dales Voe, Lerwick Greenhead Base, Great Yarmouth, and Lutelandet.
