A long-term deal has been signed that will create around 100 jobs in Inverclyde and see the giant Inchgreen Dry Dock become an export hub for the responsible decommissioning of global shipping fleets.

North-East England based ATLAS Decommissioning, which specialises in the end-of-life disposal of marine infrastructure, has contracts in place with “blue chip” container lines for multiple vessels that they are removing from their current trading fleet.

The contract is for the lease of the Inchgreen Dry Dock facility and adjacent land, which will become an export hub for recyclable metals.

A waste management licence has been granted by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) giving permission for the work to go ahead.

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Northern Irish engineering company DECOM Engineering has announced that it has secured a pipeline of multi-million pound global contracts.

The announcement comes after the business raised follow-on investment from Co Fund NI and HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network), which will fund operations over the course of the next 14 months, including projects in Thailand, Malaysia and Canada.

The company, which recently opened a base in Aberdeen, has developed world first technologies in pipe cutting and coating removal which provide greener, faster and safer solutions for decommissioning in the energy sector.

Decom Engineering has previously secured £2m of investment from Co Fund NI, HBAN and private investors. By investing over £700,000 in R&D, and with R&D support from Invest Northern Ireland, it has developed innovative new technologies and products to replace the traditional pipe cutting and coating removals processes, saving time and reducing waste and CO2 emissions during the decommissioning of old oil and gas plants and pipelines.

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John Lawrie Metals Ltd (JLM), of Aberdeen, is to build an oil and gas infrastructure decommissioning facility in Montrose.

Announcing a 12-year lease for the site, Montrose Port Authority (MPA) said the new operation on the harbour’s South Quay would help meet demand in the North Sea.

Waste management and environmental permits from The Scottish Government will allow the facility to handle and process all types of materials produced during decommissioning.

MPA highlighted direct quayside access, together with “ease of discharge and handover of client materials” as major selling points for the site.

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The TAQA Group has commenced work on one of the largest decommissioning project undertaken in the North Sea.

They will be removing the 1988 Brae Bravo platform, east of Sumburgh Head off Shetland. The topside platform weighs 36,000 tonnes, with a jacket substructure weighing 22,500 tonnes.

It will be removed in three separate phases in 2021 and 2022, using two of the world’s largest semi-submersible crane vessels (SSCVs).
It will be the first time these vessels have been used in the North Sea. The ships, named Heerema’s Thialf and Sleipnir, are each greater than 200 metres in length.

All waste materials will be transported to the AF Environmental Base in Vats, Norway for processing, aiming for a 95% recycling or reuse target.

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The Oil and Gas Authority published a new decommissioning strategy in which it warns that bills could spiral if action is not taken to improve commercial practices.

The OGA has set a target to reduce the expected costs of decommissioning by £20.7bn by 2022, from the £59.7bn total expected in 2017.

The regulator highlighted the problems caused by lack of collaboration in the North Sea, in which many firms have stakes in fields. These have been compounded by the swings in oil and gas prices triggered by the coronavirus crisis, which have made it harder for firms to develop long-term decommissioning strategies.

The strategy report found the expected cost of decommissioning assets included in the 2017 forecast had fallen to £48bn in 2020. When assets developed since 2017 were included the estimated cost increased to £51bn.

Royal Dutch Shell revealed last month that it was repaid $99 m by the UK Government last year. The costs of decommissioning the huge Brent field more than offset the profits the company made on its North Sea output.

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