Firm selected to decommission wells at North Sea field inaugurated in 1975

April 23, 2026, by Nadja Skopljak

Aberdeen-based decommissioning services provider Well-Safe Solutions has secured a multi-year contract with Apache North Sea Limited to decommission its platform wells and subsea wells in the Forties Field in the North Sea, inaugurated in 1975.

Well-Safe Solutions will lead the contract across all well-related project management, well and subsurface engineering, and offshore delivery of platform and subsea wells, with work to start this year.

The Forties oil field, located 110 miles east offshore Aberdeen, was inaugurated by the Queen in November 1975, after five years of exploration and construction. By 1978, the field was providing the UK with about a fifth of its annual oil needs, with production peaking at 500,000 barrels a day.

BP owned and ran the scheme until 2003, when it sold its 96% interest to the U.S.-based Apache Corporation for $812 million.

“This award is a defining moment for Well-Safe Solutions and a testament to the confidence Apache has in our team to deliver safe, efficient and technically robust decommissioning solutions at scale,” said Phil Milton, Chief Executive Officer at Well-Safe Solutions.

“This contract award is exciting news for our business and for the wider economy, sending a powerful signal to the supply chain and helping to secure critical talent and resources. Today’s announcement is undoubtably a huge moment for our business and our industry, however, it comes at a particularly difficult time for our sector when we are hopeful of retaining the talent and capability that we have in the North Sea.”

The contract follows Well-Safe’s recent campaigns with the Well-Safe Defender and Well-Safe Protector, as well as two recent major contract awards in the summer with other operators in the North Sea.