Offshore installation and decommissioning specialist Allseas has awarded a contract to Norway's Kvaerner to dismantle and recycle three large topsides, three jackets and four bridges from Aker BP's Valhall and Hod fields, with a combined weight of 33 000 tonnes, as well as options for another 5 000 tonnes.
Kvaerner said Tuesday that the assignment will at peak provide work for around 100 persons.
The Aker BP-operated Valhall and Hod fields have since production started in 1982 produced more than one billion barrels of oil equivalents.
After the new production and accommodation platform came in 2013, some of the oil installations will be removed.
Kvaerner has already started the decommissioning of the old Valhall accommodation platform, but has now been awarded additional removal work on the field.
Aker BP has given Allseas, with Kvaerner as a subcontractor, the assignment to remove and decommission the drilling platform and the production platform from the Valhall field, in addition to the unmanned Hod platform that is connected to Valhall. Allseas will use its giant Pioneering Spirit vessel to remove the platforms.
The project also includes three jackets and four bridges. The structures will be removed from the field by Allseas, and delivered to Kvaerner's decommissioning facilities at Stord where they will be dismantled and recycled.
The first structures are expected to arrive Stord in 2022. The drilling platform, the process platform and one jacket from the Valhall field will be delivered first, while Hod and the remaining structures are planned to arrive in 2025. The method work will begin later this year, while detail offshore mapping and engineering work will commence in 2021.
At peak, the project is expected to provide work for around 100 persons in Kvaerner.
"Decommissioning and recycling is a market in growth and a priority for Kvaerner. Kvaerner has won several decommissioning projects. We have made significant investments in facilities, methods and equipment to minimize high-risk manual labor. In this project, we will also utilize a newly developed automatic cutting machine for pipes and beams, which will reduce the need for manual work significantly and thus reduce risk. Combined, these measures enable us to handle these types of projects in a safe manner", says Magnus Kise, SVP decommissioning projects in Kvaerner.