OMV Petrom to decommission Gloria platform
Romanian oil and gas firm OMV Petrom has decided to decommission of the Gloria offshore platform in the Black Sea.
The platform, which has reached the end of its economic lifetime limit after more than 40 years in service, will be removed by GSP Offshore.
“It is a complex process, which will be undertaken for the first time in Romania,” OMV Petrom said. GSP Offshore will be paid €5 million for the removal work.
Peter Zeilinger, member of OMV Petrom Executive Board responsible for Upstream said: “The Gloria platform has made its full contribution to ensuring Romania’s energy supply. Its cumulated production over the last 20 years is equivalent to over 20 million car refuels and the energy for heating 170.000 homes. However, the platform has reached the end of its economic lifetime and it needs to be decommissioned.
“We will make every effort to carry out this process efficiently and in a safe manner. The Gloria platform will remain in the history of the offshore industry in Romania. We will continue to operate the other six offshore production platforms, which provide over 16% of the group’s production.”
The decommissioning solution consists in reinstating the platform jacking system, positioning the Gloria platform on a cargo barge and transporting it to the shore.
The Gloria platform is the first offshore drilling platform in Romania.
It was commissioned in 1976 and was built based on a license from Offshore Company, USA.
In 1980, the Gloria platform completed drilling at Lebada 8 – which became the first commercial offshore hydrocarbon discovery in Romania.
Between 1976 and 1986, Gloria operated as a drilling rig, drilling 17 wells with a total accumulated length of approximately 50,000 metres.
Between 1987-1998, Gloria was used as a production platform for the first developed Romanian offshore field – Lebada East.
Since 1998, the Gloria platform has been in its current location, approximately 30 kilometres from the shore, in meters water depths of around 40 metres and was used as a production platform.
Current production is approximately 200 barrels per day, accounting for less than 0.15% of OMV Petrom’s total production.
Source: Offshore Energy Today