Decom North Sea News 005

Issue 5 August 2011

Reduce, Recycleand Re-useSee the inside story

DOWNLOADDecom Media Pack

Available NOW!www.decomnorthsea.com

Skills forthe futureSee page 6

ForthcomingeventsSee page 3

MemberNewsSee page 8

Spotlight onNew MembersSee page 15

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2 Decom North Sea News August 2011

Over the summer months, Decom North Sea has been planning ahead for a busy autumn.This will be kicked off on the 14th September with our first lunch & learn session. The purpose

of the lunch & learns is to give our supply chain members the opportunity to present their offshoredecommissioning capabilities both to raise awareness of their expertise with the operators andmajor contractors and also to allow the rest of the supply chain to seek opportunities forcollaboration. These events will be run every couple of months and will either showcase a group ofcomplimentary companies or focus on a specific area.

At the end of September we will be holding an Offshore Decommissioning Challenges Workshop inCounty Durham. The event will be run using an innovative facilitation process called “Open Space” whichwill allow a much higher degree of active participation and ownership by delegates attending. The purpose

of this event is to take forward one of our key strategic themes ‘Members working together’. It is hoped that the workshop willresult in a number of small focus groups being created with a view to stimulating collaboration, sharing ideas, addressingtechnology issues and building local capacity.

The beginning of October will see the return of our Annual Conference which is organised in partnership with Oil & Gas UK:more information on this can be found below.

Later in October we are organising a Trade Mission to Holland and Belgium. The aim of this mission is to explore offshoredecommissioning opportunities in the Dutch Continental Shelf, promote Decom North Sea members capabilities to the Dutchand Danish markets and explore opportunities for collaboration. We will be working with our partner organisations – IRO inHolland and The Carbon Energy Club in Belgium to organise this mission. We aim to organise introductory meetings withoperators and the key organisations in these markets such as Heerema, Allseas, Mammoet, SMIT, Scaldis, Svitzer etc. We also planto organise a seminar and a ‘speed networking’ session in both Holland and Belgium. The visit to Holland will coincide with a majorconference and exhibition in Amsterdam, Offshore Energy, and there will be time in the programme for delegates to visit theexhibition and/or attend some of the conference sessions.

We hope to catch up with the majority of our current members over the next few months either at these events or throughindividual meetings and we also look forward to meeting potential new members.

Brian Nixon | Chief Executive | Decom North Sea

Director’s Foreword

Where Demand Meets Supply –The North Sea Decommissioning Market

The 2011 Offshore Decommissioning Conference will build upon the successes of the 2009 and 2010conferences and will focus specifically on the role and needs of the oil and gas industry’s offshore

decommissioning supply chain. The two day event will comprise of four mainsessions following an opening keynote address:1. Feedback on outcomes from 2010 conference2. How the decommissioning sector works in

practice3. Decommissioning and the environment –

challenges and topical issues4. Technological – current developments and

future opportunitiesThe key objective of the conference is to bring awide spectrum of oil and gas companies together;small supply chain companies, contractors and many of the large operators to facilitate open and honest dialogue betweenall parties. Previous conferences have resulted in delegates being actively involved and willing to contribute and discussthe challenges and opportunities associated with offshore oil and gas decommissioning in an open and shared arena.More information and how to register for the conference can be found at www.decomnorthsea.com

Offshore Decommissioning Conference 2011SUPPORTED BY SPONSORED BY


August 2011 Decom North Sea News 3

Forthcoming DNS eventsand exhibitionsSPE Offshore Europe, Aberdeen, 6th – 8th September Decom North Sea is exhibiting at SPE Offshore Europe on stand 5C100 and welcomes visits frompotential new members to discuss opportunities in the decommissioning market. We would also be delighted to catch up with our current members.The topical lunch on Wednesday 7th September will focus on decommissioning and isbeing organised by Decom North Sea. For more information on this lunch and how to bookyour space see www.offshore-europe.co.uk

Decom North Sea Lunch & Learn, Aberdeen, 14th SeptemberThis is the first of a series of events where supply chain companies will have the opportunity togive 15 – 20 min presentations on their capabilities in offshore decommissioning. This event willinclude presentations from SMRU Ltd, Norse Cutting & Abandonment Ltd and RBG Ltd. For moreinformation and to register your interest for this event, contact [email protected]

Offshore Decommissioning Challenges Workshop, Xcel Centre,County Durham, 29th SeptemberThis interactive event will explore the main challenges and opportunities affecting the offshoredecommissioning industry, which the supply chain is willing to collaborate on findingsolutions to. More information about this event can be found on page 7.

Offshore Decommissioning Conference 2011,Dunblane Hydro, 4th – 6th OctoberDecom North Sea in partnership with Oil and Gas UK are holding a two day OffshoreDecommissioning Conference at the Dunblane Hydro again this year. For more informationand to book your space see www.decomnorthsea.com

Decom North Sea Trade Mission to Holland and Belgium,10th – 14th OctoberThe aim of this mission is to explore offshore decommissioning opportunities in the DutchContinental Shelf, promote Decom North Sea members capabilities to the Dutch and Danishmarkets and explore opportunities for collaboration. We will be working with our partnerorganisations – IRO in Holland and The Carbon Energy Club in Belgium to organise thismission. For more information and to register your interest in participating in this missioncontact [email protected]

Decommissioning Supply Chain -Developments Update, Aberdeen,1st NovemberDecom North Sea will be hosting this seminar with Maclay Murray Spens LLP and will explorethe legal, technical and commercial issues related to decommissioning. The seminar will berepeated in Edinburgh and London later in November. This seminar is part of a series of oil andgas focused events being hosted by MMS. The first seminar - ‘Carbon Capture and Storage - aViable Proposition’, will take place on the 19th of September at The Marcliffe Hotel. For furtherinformation or to register for this event, please visit www.mms.co.uk/MMSKnowledge/EventSeries/mms-seminars.aspx

Decom North Sea Members Meeting, Marcliffe Hotel, Aberdeen, 9th NovemberMarathon Oil will share their decommissioning plans for the Brae Fields. They will discuss thetimescales for these projects, how they plan to engage with the supply chain and any issuesthey are facing. This is also an excellent opportunity to network with other key players withinthe decommissioning industry. For more information and to register your interest for thisevent, contact [email protected]

Supply Chain Management in Oil & Gas, Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury,London, 28th – 29th NovemberSMi’s forthcoming Oil and Gas Supply Chain Management conference will address challenges,innovation, solutions and lessons learned, as influential players from the oil and gas landscapecome together to understand how to generate value, create efficiency and improveproductivity.Decom North Sea are presenting at the conference on ‘Decommissioning Supply ChainDevelopment’.For more information and to book your place visitwww.smi-online.co.uk/events/overview.asp?is=5&ref=3756

Please visit www.decomnorthsea.com for details of future events.





Decom North Sea believes this could be about tochange. Earlier this year we were asked to chair aconference in Amsterdam entitled “Re-Use andDecommissioning”. The conference attractedsenior industry professionals from across Europe,with several of the speakers highlightingopportunities for re-use. These included :-• Re-configuration for use with carbon capture

and storage• Conversion to gathering hubs or transformer

stations for offshore wind farms and marineenergy developments

• Conversion to booster stations for the plannedNorth Sea Electricity Super Grid

• Modification of jackets for use on new develop-ments with similar or different water depths

• Modification of topsides for use on newdevelopments

• Toppling of jackets near to shore to assist thereduction of coastal erosion

We live in a society that quite rightly encourages us all to progressivelyReduce, Recycle and Re-Use. With regard to Reduce, the Scottish

Environmental Protection Agency has recently announced a 36% reductionin landfill waste from businesses and households between 2005 and 2009.The Oil & Gas industry has also contributed to the Reduce concept with someinnovative designs for lighter platform structures which have resulted inmarginally smaller carbon footprints. When it comes to Recycling, earlydecommissioning projects in the North Sea have recorded an encouragingfocus, with some impressive percentages being quoted. However, on the UKContinental Shelf, Re-Use has not yet featured strongly.

(plus, of course the usual ideas for fishing,tourism and the like)! To date, re-use has primarily been recorded in theGulf of Mexico plus some examples in the DutchContinental Shelf, but there are signs that someoperators are considering this option in otherlocations, such as West Africa, Southeast Asia andhere in the UK and Norwegian ContinentalShelves. Marathon has recently appointed achampion to actively research the possibilities forre-use throughout its own global operations andalso the wider industry, and is keen to hear fromthe supply chain in this regard. In addition, at aDecom North Sea members’ event in June,companies heard of Perenco’s success inrefurbishing the topsides of their Wellandplatform prior to re-deploying it on a newdevelopment in West Africa. There would appear to be numerous possibilitiesto re-use all or part of redundant oil & gas

production facilities if economic, environmentaland social factors can be satisfactorily balanced.The accommodation modules from BP’s NorthWest Hutton platform were refurbished and

redeployed as officeaccommodation units at theonshore disposal yard. Cladvessels (perhaps designed forsour service) are likely toremain in good conditionand be potentially suitablefor re-use on new develop-ments. Drilling derricks couldbe upgraded and mod-ernised. Gas turbines andpower generation sets arecapable of being overhauledand put back into service. It is

worth bearing in mind that many of today’s newdevelopments will be designed for much shorterlife-spans than those facilities beingdecommissioned.It is clear that the industry must move to reduceits energy footprint, improve its environmentalperformance and help to reduce the overall costsof the decommissioning programme over thenext twenty to thirty years. Re-use must surelyhave a growing contribution to play in thisambition? �

There wouldappear to benumerouspossibilitiesto re-use allor part ofredundantoil & gasproductionfacilities

Reduce,RecycleandRe-use

Topsides being lifted off the Welland platformprior to being refurbished and redeployedon a new development in West Africa.



He describes the Oil & Gas Enterprise Management course he has just completed as half technical andhalf management. His thesis is on economical evaluation of field decommissioning and when hestarted researching decommissioning, he said he emailed around 30 organisations he found online toask for a placement, including Decom North Sea chief executive Brian Nixon.Following discussions with Konstantin, Brian organised a three-month placement for him with JohnAllan – CNR International Development Projects & Decommissioning Manager, who is also working onthe Oil & Gas UK Decommissioning Base Line Project, a JIP to gather data.“From speaking to fellow students on my course, I believe I was the only one out of 25 to get a practicalplacement while doing my thesis. Decommissioning is a very interesting sector and I know I want tomake my career in it because the work can be so different day-to-day,’’ said Konstantin.

Skill Shortages

Konstantin Nazaaruk is one of a growing number of graduates and studentswho view decommissioning as a future career. He graduated in 2010 and

had the choice of going on to Imperial College London or Aberdeen Universityto continue his education. He decided to take up the place in Aberdeen becausehe wanted to work in the Oil & Gas industry and believed there would be moreopportunities in Aberdeen.

There has been huge concern regarding the potential engineering andtechnology skills shortages in the offshore energy sector and Decom

North Sea is regularly asked if this will also impact on offshoredecommissioning.A first pass at exploring this issue has been undertaken by a student at Robert Gordon Universitywho undertook her final year project exploring ‘Potential Skills Shortages in the UKCSDecommissioning Phase’. This project was endorsed by Decom North Sea and the final report canbe downloaded by Decom North Sea members from the members only section of the website. Herresults indicate a 32% shortage of skilled onsite personnel. Results for offsite professional personneldiffer greatly indicating an initial 14% shortage rapidly tapering off over 5 years. In summary, herfindings indicate that there will be a significant shortage of skilled and professional personnel overthe next 20 years if action to mitigate this eventuality is not taken immediately.As mentioned in Issue 4 of Decom News, Decom North Sea is also reviewing the skills requirementsof the offshore decommissioning sector and a Skills Steering Group has been set up under thechairmanship of Graham Gall, MD of Falck Nutec, with assistance from Jamie McGregor of PSN,Colin Turnbull of Mintra, Ruth Christie of Petrofac Training and David Gordon of Tyco. The steering group

“It has been very important to me to havepeople from industry to talk to and chat with.Everyone at CNR International has been open ingiving me their views and offering help when Ihave needed it. I have been given far moreresponsibility and practical work than inprevious placements and the experience hasbeen invaluable.’’

CNR International’s decommissioning depart-ment started in earnest around 18 months ago,with a focus in the UK on the Murchison Field andNinian Northern Platform projects. UKGovernment tax changes announced in Marchhave had major impact, according to John, andaccelerated Murchison decommissioning work soCOP is now forecast for 2014.“We are now at full steam ahead with thedecommissioning projects and have a firmtimeline in place. These really are exciting,challenging projects with emerging technologyand several world firsts. There are major technicalchallenges to overcome with significant budgetsinvolved – and, of course, we have to make surethroughout that we can be as environmentallyfriendly as possible.“We’re going to be increasingly competing withother projects not just for assets, like single liftvessels, but for the most talented people. This meansfacing and overcoming the challenge of recruitingexperienced people with the skills we need. Sowe are out recruiting and building the team andpart of that is bringing in students,’’ said John. “Konstantin is the first student we’ve had workingon the decommissioning side and it’s workingwell and we’ll look at doing more in future. It’sgood to see the initiative of graduates or studentsgoing to DNS and asking about placements.These can and do lead to jobs in the future andwe view taking on placement students as aninvestment in developing a skills base for thefuture. We try to get a balance betweenexperienced people and more recent graduateswith different skills.’’ �

“Decommissioning is a veryinteresting sector and I know I wantto make my career in it because thework can be so different day-to-day,’’said Konstantin

Skills for the Future

has now commissioned a consultant who iscurrently undertaking research into the likelyskills and competencies that the forthcomingdecommissioning programme might require.His research includes face to face interviewswith individuals who have been involved withprevious decommissioning projects to get anunderstanding of what skills they think areneeded for offshore decommissioning andwhere the skills gaps are if any.

An online questionnaire will also be sentout to the members of Decom North Sea atthe end of August. This research is expectedto be complete in time for the offshoredecommissioning conference in Octoberand the full report will be shared with theEngineering Construction Industry TrainingBoard (ECITB) and OPITO, the Oil & GasAcademy, to assist them in consideringwhat may be needed in the design ofdecommissioning technician trainingmodules and accreditation standards etc. �

(Left) Konstantinos Nazaaruk and John Allan



Acteon companies have contributedto demanding abandonment and

decommissioning projects in theNorth Sea and in many other regions.They have undertaken more than 1500individual well abandonment engin-eering studies and performed manyabandonment operations, therebydemonstrating Acteon’s ability to directand perform well decommissioningprojects from beginning to end.In the North Sea, Acteon companies InterAct, OIS,Claxton and Aquatic have been particularlyactive. In 2011, InterAct was awarded platformand subsea well abandonment engineeringcontracts for a major asset owner in the southernNorth Sea and a leading gas operator and utilitycompany. In the Irish Sea, Claxton is currently using its field-proven SABRE® abrasive conductor cuttingsystem. This follows the successful use of thesystem to cut conductor and casing strings belowthe seabed for a 16-well decommissioning andabandonment programme in the Indefatigablefield, southern North Sea. The company alsodesigned and built a novel torsion cut verificationsystem, and used its CAMSCAN® downholecameras to assess the conditions around theintended cut point.InterAct successfully abandoned a well attachedto the flooded remains of a bathymetric chamberfor Centrica Hydrocarbon Resources Ltd in theEast Irish Sea. The company designed theabandonment programme and jointly supervisedthe offshore work. Claxton provided tooling, OIShelped to devise and manage the marineprocedures, and 2H contributed riser analysis skills.Aquatic has also been engaged in North Seadecommissioning work and has used its poweredreels and related equipment to retrieve flexiblerisers for CTC Marine Projects and Technip UK Ltd.Acteon companies are increasingly being askedto produce well decommissioning strategyreports, which suggests that decommissioningactivity will continue to increase. Each wellabandonment has its own set of challenges.Armed with SABRE and SWAT units and theirexpertise, Acteon’s engineers are ready to take onthese campaigns. �

World class decommissioning specialists, AF Decom Offshore, has establishedan Aberdeen office to deliver opportunities in the UK sector.

ActeonDecommissioning: Safe, reliableand effectiveabandonment

AF Decom Offshore Targets UK

CSL StrengthensDecommissioning Capability

Kenny Anderson, AF Decom OffshoreUK’s Project Manager,and CaptainCalum Grains,Harbour Masterat LerwickPort Authority.

Project management and engin-eering company CSL has increased

the scope of its decommissioningservices following the acquisition of ahighly-specialised vessel by its parentcompany, DOF Subsea.The recently acquired Skandi Constructor is a lightwell-intervention and subsea construction vesselcapable of working in challenging deep-waterenvironments but is also ideally suited to decom-missioning projects. Neil Knowles, CSL’s Managing Director, said: “WithCSL’s decommissioning management experienceand the addition of a multi-purpose supportvessel into the group, we are well placed to offera complete service for the safe, economic andenvironmentally acceptable removal of subseainfrastructure.”The vessel is equipped with a 150-tonne heavecompensated crane, a module handling towerwith moon pool and two remotely operatedvehicle (ROV) spreads.“Due to the vessel’s high specification it has theability to carry out the entire scope of manysubsea decommissioning projects making it acost and time efficient option for projects of this

type in the North Sea,” Neil added. The CSL andDOF Subsea approach is already established withwork on the Hess Ivanhoe/Rob Roy decom-missioning project currently underway. Neilconcluded: ”The provision of an integrated service,which offers a single point of contact, has provedto be attractive and beneficial to operators”.

“The services of CSL and DOF Subsea arecomplementary in the decommissioning arenaand we believe collaboration between the twocompany’s results in a wider and more attractiveoffering to our clients.”For more information contact Claire MacLeod,Marketing & Communications Coordinator,[email protected] �

Following an exclusive agreement with LerwickPort Authority last year to develop a deep-waterdecommissioning facility at Dales Voe, the officiallaunch of the company’s UK operations and theoffice coincides with September’s Offshore Europein Aberdeen where AF Decom Offshore will beexhibiting on the Lerwick - Shetland stand.Kenny Anderson, a Mechanical Engineer withover 13 years experience in the decommissioningindustry, has been appointed Project Manager byAF Decom Offshore UK to head up its newAberdeen office in Centurion Court. “Combined with excellent progress being madetowards redeveloping the environmental base atDales Voe, the latest moves are designed to placethe company in prime position when the marketemerges,” Mr Anderson explained.At the consents and approvals stage, Dales Voe

will evolve to match the facilities at AF Decom’sVats base in Norway, the most advanced in Europe.Norwegian-headquartered AF Decom Offshore isa market leader in the removal, demolition andrecycling of North Sea installations. Targeting theUK sector – from northern waters to the southernbasin – is in line with global expansion plans.Services include project management, feasibilitystudies, offshore decommissioning and onshoredisposal. Offshore removal as the main contractorincludes piece small and reversed installationmethodologies.AF Decom’s track record includes projects onEkofisk, in the Norwegian sector, Indefatigableand the Kittiwake loading buoy, in the UK SNSand CNS respectively, and a contract awarded byStatoil in June to remove the H-7 platform, in theGerman sector. www.afgruppen.com �

Member News



Evolve Training in Dyce, Aberdeen, has rolled out a new mobile RestrictedAccess Trainer (RAT), to provide more readily accessible confined space

training to companies across Scotland. The 14-foot long mobile unit has been purpose-built to meet the demands and requirements forconfined space training across a range of industries including oil & gas and marine. The RAT offerscompanies the convenience of training staff at their own premise, which eliminates the inconvenienceof staff travel costs and time.The Health and Safety Executive Confined Space Regulations 2007 define confined space as a place

Mobile RAT Offers Easier Provision of Safety Training

which is substantially enclosed (though notalways entirely), and where serious injury canoccur from hazardous substances or conditionswithin the space or nearby. i.e. lack of oxygen orbuild-up of harmful gases in a chamber, tank, vat,silo, pit, trench, pipe, sewer, flue, well or othersimilar space.The RAT is an addition to Evolve’s existingConfined Space/Vessel Entry and Rescue facilityin Aberdeen and aims to provide people whomay be exposed to working in a confined space,the information that will enable their work to becarried out safely. Practical exercises using the RAT include a fullrescue scenario with the use of breathingapparatus, winches and rescue equipment. Theseexercises can be tailored to simulate specificworking environments.Susan Garvie, Managing Director at EvolveTraining, commented: "The Health and SafetyExecutive’s Approved Code of Practice forConfined Space Training states that ‘Rescuetechniques including regular and periodicexercises training should be realistic and not justdrill based’.“Having a mobile training unit will enable us toprovide that vital practical element on clients’premises in a controlled, realistic environment.Evolve has provided Confined Space Training for18 years in our training centre and this new unitwill ensure that we continue to provide what ourcustomers are requesting." �




Raise your profile within theoffshore decommissioningindustryADVERTISEIN THE NEXT ISSUEOF DECOM NEWS• Printed copies sent to all Decom North Sea members• Distributed at major UK and International exhibitions

and conferences• Electronic copies sent to a growing

database of over 500 key industrycontacts with an interest indecommissioning

• Available to be downloaded fromwww.decomnorthsea.com

Email SARAH HILLYEARfor rates and availability [email protected]



Developed in 1997, Dizzolve remainsthe most efficient product within

the offshore industry for its outstandingability to solubilise naturally occurringradioactivity (NORM) and Low SpecificActivity scale (LSA). A water-miscibleproduct designed for the removal of"difficult" scales, this product will alsotackle deposits that are commonlysulphates arising from formation water– typical cations involved are, Barium &Calcium but the radioactivity is deliveredby a whole collection of isotopesincluding Ac-228 Pb-212 Bi-212 Tl-208Ra-226 Pb-214 Bi-214 Pb-210.Apex Speciality Solutions LTD has data which notonly shows that Dizzolve can solubilise the bariumand calcium sulphates, but will also pro-ratasolubilise the Radium and Actinium isotopes. When it comes to the “daughter” elements, Apex’sextensive data suggests the dissolving rate isbetter than pro-rata – i.e. “washing-out” theradioactive daughters.Following treatment the resulting solution staysas a stable liquid. This allows several disposalroutes, the most popular being to pump back intoformation. Alternatively, the liquid can be used asthe make-up water for concrete blocks or there isthe option to boil off the water and leave a “crust”of dissolved salts behind. However, the latter is theleast favourable as (a) it needs lots of heat and(b) the process may cause the entrappedradioactive elements to be released as a dust.For further information, contact: Nicola Hodgson,Offshore Business Manager [email protected] �

The latest significant expansion of Lerwick Harbour’s already extensive deep-water infrastructure will further enhance facilities for vessels supporting

decommissioning projects. A £5.2million reclamation-and-construct projectby Lerwick Port Authority, due for completion around the turn of the year, willcreate 100-metre-plus of berthing at the south end of Greenhead Base.

Anew NORM decontamination facility which is being developed in Aberdeenis scheduled to be operational in around October this year.

The multi-million pound facility, which is being constructed on a large industrial site on Greenwell Road,East Tullos, Aberdeen, will trade as NORM Solutions Ltd and is a joint venture between scrap metal andsteel trading specialist John Lawrie Group, and leading waste management company Enviroco Ltd.The facility will receive NORM contaminated tubulars and equipment from oil and gas companies for

APEX’s Solutionto Solubilise NORM

New NORM Decontamination Facility in Aberdeen

descaling. The equipment will be decontaminatedutilising ultra high pressure (UHP) water jetting ina controlled environment. The waste water fromthe process will be collected, filtered and recycledon a continuous basis, with the removed NORMscale being treated and encapsulated withcement into drums for safe disposal to anauthorised and engineered landfill site.The entire process will be carried out in a closedloop system with no discharges to atmosphere orwater courses. The facility will have substantialstorage capacity to receive large parcels ofcontaminated equipment either from ongoingoffshore operational activity and workovers, ordecommissioning projects. Decontaminatedequipment will either be returned to customersfor reuse, or scrapped and recycled as appropriate.By utilising John Lawrie and Enviroco’s manyyears of expertise in servicing the oil and gasindustry, this new facility will provide a fullyintegrated and sustainable one stop service. NORM Solutions will be exhibiting at this year’sOffshore Europe exhibition on the Envirocostand, number 1B101, just inside Hall 1.For more information, contact Ray Grant,[email protected] �

Captain Calum Grains, the Port Authority’sHarbourmaster, said: “We are seeing increasingnumbers of large offshore construction anddiving support vessels using Lerwick. Byenhancing the ability to handle these shipsthrough extending berthing with nine metres’water depth, adding another heavy lift padand complementing existing laydown areas,the new quay will improve services for currentoperators and help generate further traffic.”The development, along with the deepeningof two existing berths, will extend continuousberthing with nine metres’ water at the Base to345 metres. The latest land reclamation adds to the major

dredging project completed in 2008 to deepenthe harbour and improve access.Lerwick is a leader in decommissioning - bothmarine support and in dismantling, recyclingand disposal of structures and equipmentonshore. Major projects have been carried outby PetersonSBS and Veolia EnvironmentalServices at the main Greenhead Base, while AFDecom Offshore UK is developing a deep-water decommissioning base at Dales Voe,following an agreement last year with the PortAuthority.All four are exhibiting on the Lerwick –Shetland stand (5D100) at Offshore Europein Aberdeen in September. �

Further Expansion of Lerwick Harbour’sDeep-waterInfrastructure

The reclaimed land and piling operations underway at the location for the new heavy lift padat the new berth at Greenhead Base.



Decommissioning can be a dauntingbusiness. There are miles of old

pipeline and out-of-date assets. Infor-mation is scattered across multiplecompanies and contractors. Just know-ing where to begin and how much it willcost is a project in itself. To get a clearpicture of their decommissioning optionsand costs of the Balmoral field in theNorth Sea, Premier Oil contracted subseaengineering specialists, Jee. “A cost estimate mechanism existed, but it wascomplex and tricky to manipulate,” said MikCrosby, Jee engineer. “We set about creating a liveworking document that would generate a costestimate for the assets associated with theBalmoral FPV. The model has an inbuilt logicbased on current legislation and will make anassumption of the likely decommissioning option

By adding top level decom-missioning specialist Stuart

Heggie (pictured above) to their team,Aberdeen-headquartered Optimushas signalled its intent to become aleading player in providingconsultancy in the decommissioningsector of the North Sea. Optimusrecently completed a review of 30offshore platforms for a major NorthSea operator identifying real timeliabilities as well as developing thebasis for a strategic planning tool indecommissioning.Although North Sea platform decommissioningdates have tended to shift to the right, the realityis that decommissioning is appearing on theradar for several North Sea fields. This moves theindustry into largely uncharted waters withoperators gearing up for their first decom-missioning project and the Department of Energyand Climate Change (DECC) about to enter an eraof multiple and overlapping decommissioningprogrammes. Stuart believes Optimus offer a service thatadopts innovative approaches to help operatorsunderstand their liabilities and manage them. Hesaid: “Risk management, decision making andnumeric modelling techniques are commonlyunderstood and used across the Oil & Gasindustry and we have been successfully applyingthese to decommissioning. At its heart, a liabilityreview is really about compiling and under-standing information and we are proving we havethe tools to do that.” He also feels that innovation is something thatmust be carried on throughout the project: “Oncethe liabilities are understood and can bequantified we are looking for new technologiesand approaches in the execution ofdecommissioning projects.” Optimus anticipate increasing opportunities towork with operators, contractors and theGovernment via the framework provided byDecom North Sea. Director Alasdair Reid framesthe opportunity: “There are great opportunitiesfor Government and operators to reduce cost byadopting a collaborative approach. Our skills andour innovative approach puts us in a leadingposition to assist this process.”For more information, contact Stuart Heggie,[email protected] �

Jee Designs ’Robust’ DecommissioningCost Model for Premier Oil

Optimus Lookingfor CollaborativeApproach toDecommissioning

Proserv Offshore provided all equipment,personnel and procedures to complete thecutting phases which resulted in a 100% successrate. The operations were carried out offshoreusing Seaway’s heavy lift vessel, Stanislav Yudin.The success of this project depended on thecutting equipment performing at critical times.Proserv Offshore delivered by ensuring allseverances were completed without downtimeand all platforms removed according to schedule.Customer Benefits• A wide range of topside and subsea solutions

according to the data in order to develop the costestimate. “We were pleased with our result, which was acost model that allows Premier Oil to manipulatethe cost estimate based on current market ratesand duration of activities,” said Mik. “This givesthem an accurate projection of costs.” Glyn Pritchard, Balmoral Area Projects Managerfor Premier Oil, said: "The thorough and robuststudy was conducted in a professional manner bya team of competent engineers. The deliverableand the supporting report met exactly thespecification defined in the original scope ofwork. I look forward to doing other business of asimilar nature in future." Jee Ltd is an independent company specialisingin pipeline engineering and training for the oiland gas industry. As well as developing a costmodel for Premier Oil, Jee has been involved indecommissioning projects of the Don, NorthWest Hutton, Miller and SNS fields. �

Proserv Offshore CompletesDecommissioning Cutting Contractfor Seaway Heavy Lifting

Proserv Offshore was contracted by Seaway Heavy Lifting to carry out cuttingoperations to assist with the removal of the Inde field platforms. The

platforms, of various structural designs, were situated in water depths of 30 metres,within the Southern North Sea sector. The work scope included the cutting of alljackets 3 metres below seabed level and hole cutting for the fitment of the liftingequipment. This specialist cutting was completed utilising Proserv Offshore’sproprietary high performance range of high pressure water abrasive cutting toolspowered by their in-house designed and manufactured 15,000psi Jetcut system.

for platform decommissioning.• Experienced personnel with an impressive track

record in decommissioning cutting projectsworldwide.

• Robust tooling for use in hazardous environ-ments.

• One of the safest cutting systems available andharmless to the marine environment.

• Internal and external cutting solutionsprovided.

For more information, visit www.proserv-offshore.com




Casing milling operations areassociated with either cutting a

‘window’ for well side-tracks and/orretrieving sections of casing during wellP+A campaigns and will generatesignificant levels of metal swarf cuttingsinto the fluids system. Great care is therefore required to ensure swarf isremoved in a safe and efficient manner at surfaceto avoid blockages i.e. ‘birds-nesting’ formingdown-hole as a consequence of inadequate swarfrecovery rates. As well as providing the right

processes to assist with oil & gas production, Romar International’s solutionsare ideal for the decommissioning sector where business will ramp up inthe near future. In terms of swarf recovery, handling and disposal there are HSE and economickey drivers associated with ‘getting it right’ when selecting the surface processand methodology. Manning the flow ditch with roustabouts armed with‘garden rakes’ to manually recover swarf cuttings is inefficient and alsointroduces unnecessary risk to people and process – and ought to beconsigned to bygone days within the global offshore oil and gas industry thatis focussed on innovation and the elimination of potential HSE issues at source.Romar International ensures adequate consideration is made for themobilisation of a bespoke swarf removal and disposal system to eliminatemanual intervention and mitigate operational constraints whilst adding furthervalue to milled casing activities. The risks associated with having inadequateswarf recovery processes in place can be significant and can possibly lead todown-hole tools becoming stuck causing unwelcome rig down-time.Optimising swarf recovery and disposal is an important area of drilling-related operations where PREVENTION is infinitely better than CURE. �

Surface Recovery ProcessesDuring Casing Milling

Wood Group PSN -a Leading Force in North SeaDecommissioning

SPEX ServicesCreates New‘Decom’ Division

In April this year, Wood Group PSN, formed by the mergingof Wood Group's Production Facilities business, with PSN,

became a leading force in North Sea decommissioning. The company's decommissioningexperience dates back to 1993 andreads like a history of the industry.Today's team is made up ofexperts that led the front end

engineering design and detailed engineering design and management for thedismantling and re-use of the Brent Spar. This project, involving many technicaland environmental firsts, was successfully carried out under the spotlight ofthe world's media. Almost ten years later, the team was instrumental indecommissioning the North West Hutton platform, which in 2005 was the UKNorth Sea's largest platform to be decommissioned. Wood Group PSN, as holders of the Decommissioning Services Contract with Shellfor the iconic Brent Field, intend to make the name associated with the price of crudeoil, also synonymous with setting the 'benchmark' for North Sea decommissioning.Being among the founder members of Decom North Sea has played a largepart in this success story and ensures that Wood Group PSN is at the fore oflearning about and shaping new developments in the decommissioningmarket. Taking a leading role in cross-industry bodies also strengthens thecompany's ability to understand and collaborate with the many specialist sub-contractors on which decommissioning projects depend. Looking to the future, Wood Group PSN continues to develop unique safetyprogrammes and invest in specialist training, building a responsible industry toattract the best employees and the best customers. �

Aberdeen-based specialist explosives service provider,SPEX Services, has launched a new company division,

SPEX Decom, to capitalise on the major opportunitiesavailable within the decommissioning and salvage sectors.The creation of the division enables SPEX to provide a total, one stop packageof products and services for clients operating within the oil and gas industry.Offering a full range of explosive and non-explosive cutting options, SPEXDecom’s extensive range of in-house capabilities include environmentalimpact assessments, computer simulation and comparative assessments ofpotential cutting technologies.Since SPEX was formed in May 2009, the expansion of its decommissioningcapabilities has been at the forefront of its growth plans.The company, which in the last 12 months has seen its staff numbers risefrom 25 to 42, hopes the forming of SPEX Decom will assist it in increasing itsturnover by £2.3million in the next financial year, from £3.9million – recordedin 2010 – to £6.2million. The firm already possessed an impressive trackrecord in the precision use of explosives – both above and below water –and, as part of a concerted effort, added diamond wire technologies, hydroabrasive cutting and mechanical systems to increase its product portfolio.Heading up the new division is Eddie Grant (pictured above), who has beenappointed Decommissioning Manager and who brings a wealth of experiencewith him to the position. He is also a board member of Decom North Sea.Throughout the 25 years he has worked within the oil and gasdecommissioning sector, Eddie has held a number of senior managementpositions with a host of major companies, including Weatherford andCutting Underwater Technologies (CUT UK). �



Spotlight on New Members

Abandonment & Cutting EnergyServices Ltd (ACES), an Edinburgh

based firm, which is a division of UKbased energy company Angus Energy,has facilities in Great Yarmouth and iscapable of delivering a project fromthe planning stages right through toimplementation, using the latesttechnological advancements in wellabandonment. Managing Director Stuart Kilnan said“Abandonment & Cutting Energy Services Ltd(ACES) has identified the obvious expansion indecommissioning activity over the next 30 yearsand has targeted well abandonment operationsand specifically the removal of multi-stringconductor. ACES dedicated team of highly skilledpersonnel coupled with high class equipment willensure project costs are kept to a minimum,whilst carrying out the Clients tailor made projectin a safe, but efficient manner.” ACES operations encompass various servicesincluding removal of conductor / multi-string,conductor slot recovery, rigless plug andabandonment of oil / gas wells, subsea cutting,subsea drill / pin and cold cutting services.Mr. Kilnan added “ACES offer a unique servicewhereby the dedicated team of highly skilled wellabandonment Engineers also comprises of SeniorDrilling Supervisors who have project managedwell abandonments of North Sea platforms. ACESfeel this experience and understanding from anOperators perspective will prove invaluable to theoverall running of operations.” For more information please contact [email protected] or telephone 07880927770. �

It is appropriate that after 30+ yearsof service, the decommissioning of

offshore platforms should benefitfrom the technologies developed inthat time, especially since they havethe industry’s demand for safety atheart. To the very last moments of the life of an offshorefacility, safety has the highest focus. This remainsthroughout the decommissioning process amid

With onshore disposal of offshorefacilities being a key element in

offshore decommissioning, thechallenge is in ensuring that this workis carried out safely, cost-effectivelyand within programme. For example, during the planning andprogramming for the decommissioning activities,it is essential that there is a robust supply chain inplace with the capacity to deal with the onshoredisposal.D3 Consulting is a professional services companythat is able to support offshore clients within thisfield, with a team with more than 20 yearsexperience of decommissioning, decontam-ination, dismantling and demolition.

A New Alternativeto the Removalof Multi-stringConductor

Focus on Safetyfor Quickflange

New Company Facilitates Safeand Cost-effective OnshoreDisposal for Offshore Platforms

Currently, D3 Consulting is CDM Coordinator forthe ongoing disposal of Shell’s INDE platforms byVeolia Limited taking place at the former SwanHunters yard in Newcastle. The company alsoprovides other services such as projectprogramming, planning and budgeting, wastecharacterisation and facility audits, complexdismantling activity engineering, environmentalmonitoring, and the overseeing of projects.Based in the UK, D3 Consulting is able to provideknowledgeable technical expertise that ensuresprojects are implemented and progressed withinlegislative compliance and supported through-out by its experienced engineers, projectmanagers and CDM Coordinators.For more information contact Martin Bjerregaard,[email protected] �

Topsides and jackets from Shell’s INDE field onshore at Veolia’s decommissioning yardin Newcastle in preparation for decontamination and dismantling.

wholesale cutting of pipes, breaking of joints, re-routing, blinding-off and securing old pipingsystems. The time proven, DNV-qualified Quickflangesystem delivers the most up-to-date safety-

focussed approach to pipe connection. Thissystem of installing standard flanges dispensescompletely with the gasses, ignition sources,flame and hot-work of welding, replacing it withthe safest, quickest mechanical connectionmethod available, whilst ensuring the joints areas good as a weld itself. Available in a widevariety of pipe materials, ratings, diameters andflange types, Quickflange is already used by mostNorth Sea operators for live pipe-work repair andmodification.Flanges and welding were used for many yearsbefore the start of the North Sea oil boom, andwill be around for many years into the future. Butimprovement of this proven combination,making it safer, faster and easier to use is a hugestep that the North Sea industry’s approach tosafety has catalysed more than any other sector. For more information contact John Spain, 01224722265 �


Full membership of Decom North Sea is open to any commercial organisation involved with decommissioning.Associate membership is open to non-commercial organisations and individuals who wish to be kept informed of DecomNorth Sea activity and attend networking events and conferences. For further information, visit www.decomnorthsea.com

Member Listing

Contact Decom North Sea, 33 Albyn Place, Aberdeen AB10 1YL, Scotland UKTel: +44 1224 452170 email: [email protected] www.decomnorthsea.com

Decom North Sea is jointly funded by Scottish Enterprise www.scottish-enterprise.com,Highlands & Islands Enterprise www.hie.co.uk

and the Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC) www.decc.gov.uk for the first two years of operation.

• 60 North Recycling Ltd• Abandonment & Cutting Energy Services Ltd

(ACES)• Aberdeenshire Council• Accenture• Advanced Underwater Surveys Ltd (ADUS)• AF Decom Offshore AS• AGR Subsea Ltd• AKD Engineering Ltd• Aker Qserv Ltd• Aker Solutions• AMEC • APEX Speciality Solutions Ltd• Applied Drilling Technology International• Aquatic Engineering & Construction • Arnlea Systems Limited• ASCO UK Ltd• Asset Development & Improvement Ltd

(ADIL)• Atlas Interactive Limited• Aubin Ltd• Avanteq Ltd• Babcock Marine Rosyth• Baker Hughes• BIS Salamis (M&I) Ltd• BJ Process & Pipeline Services• BMT Cordah Ltd• BONDS• BP• Brimmond Group• Cape Industrial Services Ltd• Champion Technologies• Claxton• CNR International (UK) Ltd• Codaoctopus Products Ltd• Contitech Beattie Ltd• Cortez Subsea Ltd• CSL• Cutting Underwater Technologies Ltd• D3 Consulting• Derrick Services (UK) Ltd• DNV• Douglas-Westwood• Dutton International Limited• E.M.W Consultancy Ltd• EAP ASSOCIATES LIMITED• EC Harris• Engineering Resource Solutions Group• Ethan Consultancy Ltd• Evolve Training• Expro North Sea Ltd• Falck Nutec• Genesis GmbH

• Geoprober Drilling• GP Decom Limited• Grup Servicii Petroliere• Gulfstream Services International UK Ltd• Halliburton• Hawk Enviro Ltd• Heavy Decom International• Heerema Marine Contractors • Hertel (UK) Ltd• Hess Ltd• Hilti• Infield Systems Limited• Interact Activity Management• J. Bryan (Victoria) Ltd• JEE Ltd• John Lawrie (Aberdeen) Ltd• KDC• Keltbray Group Holdings Ltd• Kishorn Port Limited• Ledingham Chalmers• Lerwick Port Authority• Lloyd's Register EMEA• M&E Global Resources• Maclay Murray & Spens• Maersk Oil UK Ltd• Mammoet Salvage BV• Marathon Oil U.K. LLC.• Marex Marine & Safety Services• McDermott Marine Construction Ltd• MSIS Group • Mwaves Ltd• Norisol• Norse Cutting & Abandonment Ltd• North West Trading Co Ltd• Nuvia Sita NORM Ltd• Oceaneering International• Offshore Installation Services Ltd (OIS)• Oil States MCS Ltd• Oilmac.com• Optimus Projects• Pangeo Subsea Scotland Ltd• PDL Solutions (Europe) Ltd• Pegasus International (UK) Ltd• people = positive• Perenco UK Ltd• Peterhead Decommissioning Limited • Peterson SBS• Petrofac• Port Services Group• Premier Oil Plc• Project Development International (Pdi) Ltd• Project, Time & Cost International Ltd• Proserv Offshore

• Quickflange UK LTD• RAM Tubulars Scotland Ltd• RBG Ltd• Red Stone Drilling Ltd• Romar International Ltd• Rotech Subsea• Royal Bank of Scotland• Sabre Safety Ltd• Scanmet A.S• Scanmudring • Scopus Engineering Ltd• Scotsafe Testing Ltd• Seajacks UK Ltd• Seal-Tite UK LLC• Shell UK Limited• Shepherd & Wedderburn• Silverdot Ltd• Simmons & Company International• Siskin Asset Management Ltd• SMD Robotics Ltd• Smit Marine Projects B.V.• SMRU Ltd• Spartan Solutions Ltd• SPEX Services Ltd• Squibb Group Ltd• Strategic Fit• Subsea Asset Location Technologies Ltd

(SALT)• Subsea Protection Systems Limited• Subspection Ltd• Superior - Wild Well Energy Services Ltd• Talisman Energy (UK) Limited• Technical Lifting Solutions• Tepa Oil & Gas BV• TETRA Technologies Ltd• Thinktank Maths Ltd• Titan Salvage c/o Titan Maritime (UK) Ltd• Tracerco Ltd• URS Corporation• Valuta Limited• Veolia Environmental Services• Wikborg Rein LLP• Wood Group PSN

Partners• Caithness Chamber of Commerce• Carbon Energy Club• Danish Marine and Offshore Group• East of England Energy Group (EEEGR)• IRO• NOF Energy• NSIG• Scottish Renewables

Members of Decom North Sea – as at 1st August 2011


Documents

Decom North Sea News 005