INDUSTRY REVIEWOIL & GAS
Yarmouth facility wins decommissioning contract
A partnership between Paris based Veolia and Netherlands based logistics firm Peterson has been awarded two platform decommissioning contracts for recycling at their facility in Great Yarmouth, UK (pictured). With an aim of reaching a 96 percent recycling
rate, the work to recycle materials and assets is expected to begin in spring 2017 when the platforms arrive onshore. The contracts include the onshore receipt and
disposal of offshore materials and several assets for a major gas producer. The partnership’s aim is to establish Great
Yarmouth as the centre for decommissioning, and to further expand the facilities to meet the growing need for this type of decommissioning.
Cautious outlook on decommissioning
Phil Hastings investigates the conflicting opinions over whether the decommissioning of ageing oil and gas platforms will provide significant levels of new work.
decommission and relocate equipment. To confuse the picture, though, not all
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companies take that view. A senior manager at one heavy lift carrier, for example, suggested the oil and gas industry is still in two minds over decommissioning, while a major logistics group executive reported that the company was currently “not aware” of any such business opportunities.
Possible developments On the decommissioning front, much of the discussion to date has focused on possible developments in older offshore production regions, notably the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico, although the recent industry downturn has reportedly also led to increased activity in certain newer locations such as Brazil. Commenting on the general issue of
decommissioning, a spokesman for SAL Heavy Lift went so far as to suggest that where potential oil and gas industry project
www.heavyliftpfi.com
n an otherwise flat overall worldwide oil and gas project market, one developing source of business, report some logistics providers, is the industry’s growing need to
business is concerned, “that is perhaps the area where the biggest opportunities rest currently”. He added: “Especially in the North Sea
and Scandinavian waters, there are a great deal of old structures that are up for decommissioning which could be very interesting for our type of vessel. So it is certainly a business area we are looking into.” However, Maximilian Harmstorf,
director project management for Hansa Heavy Lift (HHL), said the oil and gas industry still appears to “be in two minds” over the subject of decommissioning. “While one side is recommending ‘getting off the decom bandwagon’, others are actively preparing their structures for abandonment,” he stated.
Retention of labour Expanding on some of the other issues surrounding decommissioning, HHL’s Harmstorf said regulatory bodies and governmental authorities are strict when it comes to the disposal of items, especially once they cross borders. One of the drivers behind decommissioning is the retention of labour and promotion of local content in the country
where the structure is to be removed. “From that perspective, I would foresee
removal, disposal or safe abandonment of units in proximity to their location, if not in the same country, by the installation vessel itself. Certain topsides can get recycled and there have been cases where platforms were refurbished. That, though, is rare,” said Harmstorf.
Brazil market While logistics providers are divided over the general international potential of such work, Giovanni Baggio, managing partner of Baggio Shipping & Chartering in Brazil, claimed the Brazilian energy industry’s increasing need to decommission and relocate equipment is already creating additional business opportunities in that country. “We have seen and worked on a lot of
those projects in Brazil over the past two years,” he said. “The offshore/onshore drilling entities are adapting to the market challenges and that is triggering a lot of shipments of dismantled onshore rigs, risers, reels, thrusters and other parts and pieces related to drilling activity.” Cyro Paulo Flores, project business
developer for Fox Brasil, highlighted a trend for equipment to be relocated out of Brazil. “We have seen FPSOs and offshore vessels being relocated from various parts of Brazil to Chinese shipyards for finishing work,” he said. He explained that a lot of new oil and gas industry equipment parts, which were originally sent to Brazil to construct plant and vessels for drilling work, are now being sent back “and the ships which are built from them will probably operate somewhere else”.
January/February 2017
HLPFI 55
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