DeepOcean completes North Sea subsea removal campaign

July 14, 2026, by Nadja Skopljak

DeepOcean has completed subsea removal activities at two North Sea fields operated by Spirit Energy, whose shareholders are Centrica (69%) and Stadtwerke München (31%).

DeepOcean reported today, July 14, that it had completed the recovery of the remaining subsea wellhead protection structure at the Seven Seas field, as well as the disconnection of subsea infrastructure at the nearby Grove West field in the southern North Sea.

The Seven Seas structure was located approximately 80 kilometers offshore the East Yorkshire coast in a water depth of around 33 meters, while the Grove West structure was located approximately 130 kilometers east of the UK coastline in a water depth of around 40 meters.

The project was managed and executed by DeepOcean’s Aberdeen-based operations, with the construction vessel Edda Freya deployed to retrieve the more than 100-ton wellhead protection structure, in addition to associated subsea infrastructure. All recovered materials have been transported for reuse, recycling or responsible disposal.

“The wellhead protection structure at Seven Seas has served the field since 2011 and remains in very good shape. The piles were cut three metres below the seabed and the subsequent retrieval of the structure was conducted,” said Robin Mawhinney, Executive Vice President for DeepOcean’s EMEA region.

The scope also included the disconnection of a spool from a subsea Christmas tree at Grove West, performed using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).

“At Grove West, we disconnected two subsea flanges using methodologies and proprietary tooling developed during the Gryphon Alpha FPSO removal project last year. This project adds to DeepOcean’s growing track record of meeting project objectives across subsea decommissioning campaigns,” said Øyvind Mikaelsen, Chief Executive Officer at DeepOcean.

This is part of Spirit’s wider decommissioning program for the two fields, with both scopes carried out in preparation for a rig campaign.

“We are committed to maximising material recovery and minimising waste throughout our decommissioning activities. By working closely with specialist contractors such as DeepOcean and leveraging the UK supply chain, we have safely recycled more than 95% of materials from decommissioned assets and infrastructure. This approach not only reduces environmental impact but also improves efficiency through streamlined logistics and the responsible reuse of valuable resources,” said Spirit Energy’s Decommissioning Manager, Ceri Wheaton.