Aberdeen’s Mermaid secures multi-year North Sea decom contract with Shell

Aberdeen’s Mermaid Subsea Services UK has secured a multi-year decommissioning contract with North Sea operator Shell.

Mermaid will deliver the contract, which covers engineering, preparation, removal and disposal and well head severance, across three years in “annual batches” of work.

The company did not disclose the value of the contract, or the Shell decommissioning project it relates to.

Mermaid Subsea Services UK regional director Scott Cormack said the Shell contract is a “milestone” for the company.

“The North Sea is on the cusp of a multi-decade decommissioning boom and Mermaid plans to be front and centre of that,” Mr Cormack said.

© Supplied by Port of Aberdeen

The first section of work will begin later this year, Mermaid said, with the initial campaign involving the removal of well head protection covers from the sea floor.

The company will then lift the covers to the surface for transportation onshore.

The second campaign will involve the retrieval of the well head flow base structures using “specialist tooling”.

Mermaid said the final works campaign will cover well head severance and recovery operations using “bespoke underwater cutting tooling and techniques”.

After each stage, the company will complete debris clearance as well as seabed and overtrawl “where necessary”.

Mermaid said it will manage all recovered materials from the structures to maximise the amount reuse and recycling.

Mermaid Subsea Services

The contract award comes as Mermaid continues plans to grow its headcount in Aberdeen.

Headquartered at Westhill, Aberdeenshire, the firm is currently comprised of around 15 staff, plus contractors brought in on a project basis – though its headcount could roughly double by the end of the year according to demand.

Speaking to Energy Voice earlier this year, the company also flagged plans to bring a ship of its own to the UK in 2024.

A subsidiary of Singapore-listed Mermaid Maritime (SGX: MMPC), the firm launched its North Sea arm in early 2020, targeting a gap for smaller and mid-level work scopes and dive operations that may be overlooked by larger contractors.