Shell’s Leman topside arrives ashore for recycling

The Veolia-Peterson joint venture company has accepted the first offshore structure into their Great Yarmouth decommissioning facility.

Namely, Shell’s Leman BH platform arrived into the harbor on July 11. The 50-meter high steel jacket structure that supported the topside is due to follow later in July.

The topside was previously used as living quarters for personnel working on the Leman BT and Leman BK platforms.

However, the living quarters became redundant following the decommissioning of the Leman BK platform in the mid-1990s. The remaining bridge-linked Leman BH and BT platforms became normally unattended installations (NUI). The functions of Leman BH were limited to providing power, helicopter access, and temporary overnight shelter for personnel visiting the BT platform.

The Leman BT platform provides pressure control for the produced gas flowing from the Leman B, C, D and E production platforms before it is transferred to Bacton via Leman A.

The contract for recycling of the Leman living quarters was awarded to the partnership by Boskalis who is responsible for offshore removal and transport operations. The set target for recycling and re-use rate is 97 percent.

The purpose built Great Yarmouth decommissioning facility will manage the deconstruction and recycling of both topsides and jacket structures that comprise of around 1,600 tonnes of materials and assets. The facility location enables managing projects from the Southern and Central North Sea.

Estelle Brachlianoff, senior executive vice president of Veolia UK and Ireland, said: “These are valuable assets in our seas and by decommissioning these platforms we can unlock resources to give them a second, third, or even fourth life. This latest project will continue to show how we can maximize the recycling of these platforms and drive sustainability in the industry.”

Peterson’s regional director Ron van der Laan added: “This project is a positive sign for Veolia-Peterson in Great Yarmouth, and follows the award of two contracts late last year. It will build on the successes achieved so far and represents a further step towards establishing Great Yarmouth as a center of excellence.”

Veolia-Peterson, a partnership formalized in 2015, is a joint venture that has been providing onshore decommissioning services for over ten years.