A pair of disused gas installations in Morecambe Bay are to be removed by the largest vessel in the world this year.
Final preparations for Spirit Energy’s DP3 and DP4 installations to be lifted from the East Irish Sea are underway, with Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit booked in to carry out the work.
The two 11,000-tonne platforms form part of Spirit Energy’s eight installations in Morecambe Bay, which have bene producing since 1985.
However, as the field has matured, the reserves the installations previously tapped into have been produced by the larger, manned Central Morecambe platform nearby.
The area continues to produce enough gas to heat one million UK homes every day.
The 12 wells which were connected to the DP3 and DP4 platforms have already been plugged and abandoned.
Allseas’ 382-metre Pioneering Spirit will lift both the DP3 and DP4 platforms – well within its limits of lifting 48,000-tonne topsides – and take them back to shore.
Donald Martin, project manager at Spirit Energy, said: “After two years of preparing the DP3 and DP4 installations for removal, we’re now looking forward to one of the most significant milestones in the project with the removal of both platforms.
“Seeing the Pioneering Spirit in the East Irish Sea will be an impressive sight – its capacity and single-lift methodology made it a good fit to safely execute this project.”
Recommended for you
