Group Removes 11,000-Tonne Jacket from Taqa-Operated Brae Oilfield
Offshore engineering specialist Heerema Marine Contractors and consortium partner AF Offshore Decom have successfully removed and transported more than 12,000 metric tonnes of steel structure for an oil decommissioning project in the UK’s North Sea.
Heerema said the consortium had removed the Brae Alpha West drilling rig and the Brae Bravo upper main jacket from the Brae oilfield, some 200 kilometres off the Scottish coast, for its client, the Abu Dhabi-based Taqa Group.
The Heerema-operated Sleipnir semi-submersible crane vessel was deployed to remove the 1,000-tonne Brae Alpha rig before moving on to Brae Bravo to work on the 11,000-tonne upper main jacket.
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The rig and jacket were then transported to AF Offshore Decom’s recycling facilities at Vats in Norway, where up to 95 percent of the recovered steel will be recycled and reused.
Brae Bravo’s topside modules were removed last summer – one of the largest such removals in the North Sea.
“Taqa’s extensive late-life portfolio positions us at the forefront of decommissioning in the UK,” said Donald Taylor, Taqa managing director for Europe.
“By adopting valuable lessons learned during last year’s successful Brae Bravo topside removal campaign, we are continuing to develop our skills and capabilities in supporting the transition from operations to removals and disposal. The coming years offer some of the most interesting challenges and opportunities for our workforce and the wider industry.”
The Brae field was discovered in the 1970s, and has been operated by Taqa since 2020. During its 33-year life, Brae Bravo produced more than 500 million barrels of crude.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, Heerema Marine Contractors transports, installs and removes all types of offshore facilities, including fixed and floating structures and subsea pipelines and infrastructures in shallow, deep, and ultra-deep waters.
Heerema operates three semi-submersible crane vessels – Sleipnir, Balder and Thialf. Each is equipped with equipped with ballasting systems that enable the contractor to work at shallow and deep-water depths and carry out very heavy lifts.
PHOTOS: Heerema semi-submersible crane vessel. CREDIT: Heerema Marine Contractors
