Heerema’s Thialf Vessel Removes Goldeneye Topside And Jacket
The giant semi-submersible crane vessel (SSCV) Thialf owned by Heerema Marine Contractors has removed Shell’s Goldeneye wellhead platform located in the UK North Sea.
The decommissioning programme for the field installations and pipelines to the UK authorities was submitted in November 2018. Approval of the plan was received next year.
As for the field, the Goldeneye field is a normal temperature, normal pressure gas condensate field located in blocks 14/28b, 14/29a, 20/3b, and 20/4b of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) in the central North Sea, some 160 miles north-east of St Fergus.
Heerema said that its giant SSCV removed the Goldeneye platform. The operations included removing the 1,280-ton topside and the 3,019-ton jacket before transportation to the AF Environmental Base in Norway for recycling and reuse.
The Goldeneye platform included five platform wells with a direct tie-back via the Goldeneye pipeline to the St Fergus onshore facility. It was operational as a gas-producing field from 2004, and cessation of production was granted in 2011.
The Goldeneye platform was removed using Heerema’s reverse installation method, starting with removing the 1,280-ton topside in a single lift. After removal, the topside was transferred to Thialf’s deck for transportation. It is worth reminding that the Goldeneye facilities were installed by the same vessel that removed them back in 2003.
The Goldeneye jacket involved cutting skirt piles using Deco Subsea’s internal abrasive water jet cutting techniques. After which, the jacket was removed and remained suspended in Thialf’s cranes for transportation to Norway.
The Goldeneye platform has been set down at the AF Environmental Base yard in Vats, Norway, to be dismantled for reuse and recycling. It is anticipated that over 97 percent of the material will be recycled.
Thialf will now undergo yard maintenance including modifications to the vessel’s A-Frame to enable it to expand its service area and deliver solutions in the Baltic and the Black Sea regions.
Source: Rigzone