VIDEO: Shell’s Brent Delta arrives at final destination

Able UK, a specialist for decommissioning and disposal of offshore oil and gas structures, has posted a video on its website showing the arrival of Shell’s Brent Delta platform to Quay 6 at Seaton Port on May 2, 2017.

The platform topside was removed on April 28 by Allseas-owned giant vessel Pioneering Spirit which was its heaviest lift so far, and according to Allseas, heaviest such lift ever.

After arriving off the North East coast, the topside was transferred to a 200 meter-long barge, the Iron Lady which was moored at Able’s specialist facility.

Able UK was awarded a contract for the disposal of four offshore structures from the Shell operated Brent field back in February 2014. The field comprises four large platforms: Alpha (a steel jacket), Bravo, Charlie, and Delta (concrete gravity-based structures).

To accommodate the arrival of single-piece large-scale elements of the contract, Able designed and constructed a new quay, investing around $36.1 million and 193,000 man hours in the new Quay 6 and associated developments.

The Shell-operated Brent field, located 115 miles north-east of the Shetland Islands, has produced around three billion barrels of oil equivalent since production started in 1976, which is almost 10% of UK production.

The Brent Delta topsides, located some 186 km off the north-east coast of Shetland, sat on a three-legged gravity-based structure which stands in 140 m of water.

Offshore Energy Today Staff


Learn the latest on decommissioning developments at Offshore Energy 2017 Exhibition & Conference during the Technical Breakfast Session ‘Decommissioning’. In 2016 EBN presented their “Netherlands Masterplan for decommissioning and re-use”, developed in cooperation with NOGEPA and IRO. In 2017 we will take stock of national plans for North Sea decommissioning and reuse and what that means for operators, the supply chain and North Sea stakeholders. The session will also present lessons learned from recent decommissioning projects. This Technical Session is organised together with, among others, Decom North Sea.