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 from Spirit Energy’s ST-1 for decommissioning by Veolia and Peterson.
Now at the end of their working life recovering these platforms is important to maximise the value of the materials and assets they contain, and further the sustainability of the offshore industry. With a recycling target of 97 per cent 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 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 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.”
