A maiden decommissioning contract for Middle East firm Gulf Marine Services (GMS) spells the end for oil and gas assets in the southern North Sea.
The assets were not named by GMS and the Abu Dhabi-based firm would not say who its revised contract is with, but it is thought the work involves a jack-up accommodation barge – the GMS Endurance – currently on hire to US company ConocoPhillips.
Houston-based ConocoPhillips did not respond to inquiries yesterday.
GMS said one of its large class advanced self-propelled self-elevating support vessels (SESVs) was moving from well service and maintenance work to support decommissioning this summer.
It has been under contract to the client for southern North Sea work since the third quarter of 2012.
The sudden switch to decommissioning activity cuts short well service and maintenance work that was expected to continue to at least the first quarter of next year.
Announcing the change, GMS said: “The revised contract has a committed term through to Q1 2016 and an option period that has been extended from six to 12 months.
“The vessel will proceed directly from the current project this summer to the decommissioning work.”
GMS chief executive Duncan Anderson added: “We have been targeting decommissioning work for some time and are pleased that this new project has now given GMS our first foothold in this area.
“The fact that we will be moving directly from one type of work to another for the same client also demonstrates the flexibility of our vessels and their value to our clients.
“Our ability to tailor our fleet to our clients’ evolving needs, while also offering competitive solutions, is especially helpful in the current low oil price environment.”
The company has two large class SESVs operating in the North Sea, with a further 10 working in the Middle East.
GMS Endurance arrived in the southern North Sea in 2012 to provide accommodation and support services for ConocoPhillips.
Built in 2012, the barge can accommodate 151 people. It was initially under contract for a period of two years, but this was later extended.
ConocoPhillips’ southern North Sea assets include a 54.5% operated stake in the Murdoch field and associated infrastructure linked to Theddlethorpe gas terminal on the Lincolnshire coast.
Other assets in which the US firm has a share include Saturn, the V-Fields, Victor, Viking and the Lincolnshire offshore gas gathering system.
A decommissioning programme to plug and abandon the Viking wells started last year.
ConoccoPhillips inked an agreement with the Department of Energy and Climate Change in 2013 for the first stage of a phased programme of southern North Sea decommissioning.
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