Heerema Marine Contractors has completed the removal of the Murchison platform in the UK North Sea.
The company was in 2014, together with AF Offshore Decom (AFOD), awarded the contract for the full engineering, preparation, removal, and disposal (EPRD) of the Murchison platform, comprising of a 24,000 tons topside and a 14,000 tons jacket.
The Murchison, one of the largest steel jacket platforms in the North Sea, was installed in 1980 and finally ceased production during March 2014.
The operator CNR International decided to remove the platform after nearly 30 years of operation in the Northern North Sea, as the field had reached the end of its production life.
According to Heerema, the company’s Heavy Lift Vessel Thialf late in June offloaded the lower section of the Murchison Jacket on the quay of AFOD’s Environmental Base in Vats, Norway, marking the completion of the offshore removal phase of the Murchison platform.
“The fixed price contract where the outcome was defined but the method and timing was at the consortium’s discretion enabled this phase of the overall Murchison decommissioning project to be completed two years ahead of its original schedule,” Heerema Marine Contractors said.
The original had contract assumed the offshore work would start in early 2016 with the removal and final disposal work continuing through until 2020.
Offshore Energy Today Staff