Marathon Oil has submitted a plan for decommissioning for the Brae Area to the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The Brae Area lies approximately 274 km north-east of Aberdeen in a water depth of approximately 110 meters.
The Area consists of three fixed jacket platforms, three Marathon Oil-operated subsea tie-backs and numerous pipelines and subsea components.
Brae Alpha started production in 1983, Brae Bravo in 1988 and East Brae in 1993. The Central and West Brae/Sedgwick subsea tie-backs to Brae Alpha began production in 1989 and 1997 respectively. The Braemar subsea tie-back to East Brae started in 2003.
Marathon Oil is said to have already extended the life of the Brae field beyond initial projections, and after the evaluation of hydrocarbon opportunities the company has decided to cease the production mainly because it will become sub-economical in the short term.
Cessation of Production (COP) of Brae Bravo is currently expected in 2018. COP of Brae Alpha, Central Brae, West Brae and Sedgwick will take after Brae Bravo and COP application will be submitted for these facilities at the appropriate time.
Before decommissioning work can proceed, the decommissioning programmes must be approved by the regulatory bodies.