DOF to recycle Shell’s North Sea subsea infrastructure

DOF Group has secured a subsea engineering procurement removal and disposal (EPRD) contract with Norske Shell, a subsidiary of the UK-headquartered energy giant Shell, in the Atlantic region.

DOF will deliver an integrated solution of project management, engineering, design, analysis and survey for the Knarr and Gaupe fields in the North Sea.

The scope includes recovery and recycling of umbilicals, risers, rigid spools, manifolds and other subsea structures and infrastructure and will see Skandi Hera and Maersk Installer utilized over more than 100 combined days.

Preparations have commenced and the project will be run from DOF’s offices in Bergen and Aberdeen with offshore execution planned in Q2 and Q3 2025.

The company defined the contract as substantial, meaning it has a value of between NOK 250 million and NOK 500 million ($23.9 million to $47.8 million).

Mons S. Aase, CEO of DOF Group, said: “The award continues to demonstrate DOF’s inhouse capability of offering turnkey solutions to our existing and new customers, building on our established capability offering in the decommissioning market.”

Located in the northern part of the North Sea, 50 kilometers northeast of the Snorre field, the Knarr field comprises a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) and two subsea templates, including six wells for production and injection.

The field was discovered in 2008, while production started in 2015 and ceased in 2022. According to the formal removal resolution, decommissioning must be completed six years after the ceasing of production.

The Gaupe field, discovered in 1985, is located in the central part of the North Sea, about 35 kilometers south of the Sleipner Øst field. The development concept entailed two single horizontal subsea wells tied to the Armada installation on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

Production started in 2012 and ceased in 2018. According to the formal removal resolution, decommissioning must be completed by the end of 2026.