Tullow taps Petrofac for well decommissioning project

Petrofac has been appointed to provide outsourced well operator services on the next phase of Tullow Oil’s Thames decommissioning project in the Southern North Sea, following the award of a new multi-million dollar contract.

Under the terms of the award, Petrofac will provide well engineering project management services and fully execute plug and abandonment operations on seven of Tullow Oil’s subsea wells, Petrofac informed on Tuesday.

This will include detailed planning, direct procurement and management of all sub-contracted services, including provision of a jack-up rig. Petrofac has also been nominated as well operator for the project.

In 2016, Petrofac permanently abandoned two wells for Tullow Oil on its Horne & Wren asset, delivering cost savings of $2.5 million through its differentiated approach to decommissioning.

The second phase of the Horne & Wren decommissioning project was completed with the removal of the unmanned platform. This project is a part of a larger Thames are complex decommissioning program.

Alex Macdonald, Managing Director – Well Engineering, Petrofac Engineering and Production Services, said: “Having proven our integrated well engineering services capability and realized substantial cost savings for Tullow Oil, we are delighted to have an opportunity to further strengthen our relationship.”

Petrofac became the first outsourced well operator to execute fully integrated well operator services in 2016. The company’s well operator capability evolved from its outsourced Service Operator model and its track record in well project management.