‘World’s largest’ jack-up starts first decom with Perenco post refurbishment

September 15, 2025, by Dragana Nikše

A heavy lift jack-up vessel owned by the Netherlands-based Petrodec has started decommissioning work with the UK subsidiary of Anglo-French oil and gas player Perenco in the Southern North Sea (SNS).

As disclosed by Perenco, jack-up Obana‘s first assignment is a topside and jacket removal at the Galahad platform in Block 48/12a. Next, the unit will move to the Amethyst field for the removal of the C1D, A2D, and B1D jackets.

The assignment is expected to be completed and offloaded in the Netherlands later this year. After that, the rig will move on to contracts with other operators.

“The deployment of the state-of-the-art Petrodec Obana heavy lift jack-up vessel to Galahad, and then to Amethyst, are further milestones in our ongoing decommissioning programme,” said Perenco’s UK SNS Managing Director, Jo White.

“Having already dismantled 26 offshore structures, we are committed to continuing our track record of effective and efficient decommissioning, exercising diligent stewardship of one of the largest networks of owned and operated gas assets in the UK North Sea.”

Perenco claims Obana is the world’s largest self-elevating, heavy lift jack-up vessel of its type. The six-legged unit comprises 85% recycled steel. It was created by merging two repurposed former drilling rigs, Brage and Gabrus, at Damen’s Shipyard, and adding a new mid-section built in Dubai.

Obana’s design was a collaboration between Petrodec and Seatrium Offshore Technology. The unit was built specifically to address complex and heavy decommissioning offshore work, in water depths of up to 65 meters.

With a size of 3,800 square meters and up to 12,000 tonnes of deck capacity, the unit is equipped with roller systems capable of rearranging components on deck. This way, multiple modules can be removed in a single campaign. It is also equipped with one 2,000-tonne crane, paired with two 60-tonne ones, manufactured by Liebherr.

Liebherr muscle to help Petrodec with heavy lifts in North Sea

Business Developments & Projects

In addition to decom work, Perenco has been keeping busy with new acquisitions. Last month, the company completed the acquisition of the Cherne and Bagre fields and two fixed platforms, PCH-1 and PCH-2, from Petrobras.

As originally announced last April, the two platforms were mothballed by the Brazilian giant in early 2020 and later scheduled for decommissioning. The new owner plans to revitalize the assets to achieve a production target of 15,000 barrels of oil per day.