Fairfield picks LOC as marine partner on Dunlin decommissioning

LOC (Aberdeen) Ltd, part of the marine and engineering consultancy LOC Group, has been appointed by Fairfield to provide marine assurance and marine warranty services for the decommissioning of the Greater Dunlin Area in the UK North Sea. 

The decommissioning program comprises of the Dunlin Alpha Platform and two subsea satellite fields Osprey and Merlin.

Fairfield submitted its draft decommissioning programs for the Dunlin, Merlin and Osprey field subsea installations and pipelines to the UK authorities in June this year.

LOC said on Friday that the project will stretch over several years and involves the removal of the platform topsides modules, modules support frame (MSF), conductors and the subsea infrastructure for the subsea fields.

The Dunlin Alpha platform was installed in 1977, comprising a concrete gravity base structure (CGBS), supporting a steel topsides deck and production facilities, with new subsea fields, Osprey and Merlin installed in the 1990s and tied back to the platform.

According to LOC, tis award follows the specialist support provided by the company on an option assessment study for the removal of the Dunlin Alpha marine conductors and builds upon LOC’s decommissioning experience in the North Sea region including the Quad 204 project, removal and replacement of the Schiehallion FPSO, the earlier Frigg and MCP01 removal and the recent Yme Platform removal, which was the first single lift undertaken by the Pioneering Spirit.

Andrew Pointing, Director of Marine Assurance and Risk, LOC’s project manager says: “Our team will be supporting Fairfield Energy as its marine partner on this complex project, LOC has considerable expertise in this field, and our team will evolve along the plan’s timeline, pulling in different specialists to provide the appropriate expertise and skills to assist with this significant ‘end of life’ project, as it progresses.”

LOC explained it is working with Fairfield Energy providing technical input to support the topsides removal workstream. The comapny will also be responsible for ensuring the appropriate marine processes and systems are in place to identify and manage risk for the operational activities.