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ECONOMIC REPORT 2015
72
In cases such as these, theremay be no ideal solution and
no clear consensus among experts on the best solution.
The Oslo/Paris (OSPAR) Convention, which provides
the framework for protecting and conserving the
north east Atlantic (including the North Sea), recognises
that there are significant difficulties in removing huge
concrete installations such as GBS. In these instances,
operators can and have made a case for an exemption
from the general rule of complete removal, referred to
as a ‘derogation’. If Shell’s assessments conclude that
the safest and most responsible solution is to leave the
GBS structures in place, it will seek such a derogation.
Decommissioning is an intrinsic part of the life cycle
of any oil and gas field. For the Brent field, this is a
long-term project that is expected to take over a decade
to complete. It is likely to create and sustain thousands
of full-time UK jobs – many of which are highly skilled –
for years to come.
The field has a long history of providing employment
and supply chain opportunities to local people and
businesses. Several major contracts have already been
awarded to UK companies after a competitive tendering
process. The Brent Delta decommissioning services
contract was awarded in 2010 to Wood Group PSN, an
Aberdeen-based company that provides services to the
global oil and gas sector. The contract for recycling the
platforms’ topsides and the Brent Alpha steel jacket was
awarded in 2014 to Able UK Limited, in Seaton Port, near
Hartlepool. The target is for at least 97 per cent of the
facilities to be recycled. The work at Able to reinforce
the quay and dismantle and recycle the topside will
create and sustain around 100 jobs.
Hundreds of oil and gas installations in the North Sea
are scheduled for decommissioning by 2040 and some
470 installations will require decommissioning over
the next 30 to 40 years. This presents the UK with
a potential opportunity to become a global leader
in decommissioning skills – skills that could later be
deployed around the world.
As one of the first major fields to be decommissioned
in the North Sea, Brent will enable UK companies to
develop specialist skills and gain invaluable expertise,
just as they did when the platforms were being
installed and production offshore was starting. Sharing
knowledge and best practice is very important for the
development of the emerging decommissioning sector.
Shell works with other operators, regulators and the
supply chain – directly and through Decom North Sea
– and speaks at international conferences to ensure
this knowledge and experience will give the UK an
opportunity to become a leader in decommissioning
projects, both in the North Sea and worldwide.
Alistair Hope said: “There is a clear need to improve
decommissioning cost efficiencies and to develop a
collaborative approach across the industry, with a focus
on decreasing the time it takes to plug and make safe
the wells, which accounts for a high proportion of the
decommissioning costs.”
The recommendations for decommissioning the Brent
field are being submitted to the UK Government in two
phases. With DECC’s approval, Shell made the decision
to bring forward submission of a Decommissioning
Programme for the Brent Delta topside, ahead of a
programme for the remainder of the infrastructure.
This initial programme has been through the public
consultation phase and gained approval in July 2015.
Removal of the Brent Delta topside will involve using
a newly-designed heavy lift vessel, the Pioneering
Spirit, developed by Swiss-based specialists Allseas.
This game-changing new technology will use advanced
engineering techniques to remove the 24,200 tonne
topside structure in one lift. It will be the heaviest single
lift offshore ever. Shell’s structural engineers have been
strengthening the underside of Brent Delta’s topside,
as well as the drilling derrick and flare tower, to ensure
they can withstand the lift forces.
The Pioneering Spirit will have been through extensive
trials, including test lifts, ahead of the Brent Delta
topside operation. Once lifted, the structure will be
loaded onto a barge and moved to the Able yard for
recycling. The quay at this yard has required additional
strengthening to enable it to take the weight of the
Brent topsides’ skid.
The plan for decommissioning the remainder of the
Brent field will be submitted when Shell is confident
that the proposals are safe, technically achievable,
environmentally and socially sound, and financially
responsible. The approval process for the full plan is
expected to take more than a year, while the entire
Brent field decommissioning is expected to take more
than a decade to complete.