Decommissioning

North Sea Contracts Granted to European Companies Ardyne and Allseas

Ardyne’s North Sea long-term contracts were for 175 wells with possibly more to follow, while Allseas contract is for removal and disposal for the Valhall complex.

Ardyne worker
Getty Images

UK fishing, milling, and casing recovery provider Ardyne secured four long-term contracts for work on 175 wells, with potentially more to follow. The company won three contracts ranging from 3–5 years with major operators for fishing, plug and abandon (P&A), and inner-string conductor recovery on 103 wells in the UK and Norwegian sectors. The projects will begin in Q2 and Q3 of this year.

Ardyne also agreed to a contract with a Norwegian operator for fishing and slot recovery services for 72 wells; the work will begin in Q3 and continue for approximately 4 years.

Ardyne said the North Sea projects will involve the deployment of its TRIDENT single-trip casing retrieval solution, its TITAN single-trip casing-cutting hydraulic power system, and its downhole power tool.

Swiss-based Allseas was awarded a contract by Aker BP for the removal and disposal of multiple topsides and jackets from the Valhall area in the Norwegian North Sea. The contract is the latest from Aker BP under the terms of the frame agreement signed with Allseas in 2017 to provide transport, installation, and removal services for the Valhall oil field.

The work will be done by Allseas’ heavy-lift vessel Pioneering Spirt and comprises removal and disposal of the drilling platform’s 5,950-tonne topsides and 4,350-tonne jacket, and the production and compression platform’s 10,900-tonne topsides and 9,500-tonne jacket from the Valhall complex. It also includes the remotely operated Hod platform’s 1,100-tonne topsides and 3,500-tonne jacket from the connected Hod field, eight miles to the south.

Pioneering Spirit will execute the work between 2021 and 2026, with platform preparations scheduled to begin later this year.

In addition, Aker BP invoked the option for the removal and disposal of the Valhall quarters platform jacket and the 2/4-G jacket on the Ekofisk field, 15 miles north of the Valhall complex.