With the Charlie platform being the only installation still in the famous Brent field, Shell’s (LON: SHEL) decommissioning construction manager says, “the end of an era is now quickly approaching”.
Following the removal of the Brent Alpha, Bravo and Delta platforms, all that remains is the Charlie, Ross Wright reminded his LinkedIn connections.
“The Brent field after over 3 billion barrels of oil from the field itself, half a mllion a day to the UK alone, the prep work on Brent Charlie is near its end,” Mr Wright says.
He adds that “soon after” the preparations are complete, the platform will be “lifted in the heaviest single lift removal ever at sea.”
The Alpha, Bravo and Delta platforms were all lifted by Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit vessel in 2020, 2019 and 2017 respectively.
Following the departure of each platform, they were brought one by one to Able UK’s decommissioning yard in Teesside where they were “turned into tin cans” a fate that the Charlie shares, said Shell’s decommissioning construction manager.
Mr Wright continued: “It will then join the rest of its family, the Brent Delta, Bravo and Alpha in the graveyard and turned into tin cans to complete the field, thanks to the capabilities of the Pioneering Spirit.”
When asked about a timeline for Brent Charlie’s decommissioning, the London-listed supermajor declined to comment.
However, operations such as the lift of the Charlie topside need to be carried out within a weather window which is closing in 2023.
Questions around Brent legs
Last year questions were raised on whether Shell (LON: SHEL) will be allowed to leave the huge legs of the Brent field in the North Sea.
The industry has been awaiting a decision from the UK Government for years on whether it will indeed allow Shell to leave the Eiffel Tower-sized structures in place for the Brent Bravo, Charlie and Delta.
Though the platform legs are huge, environmental concerns are mainly centred on the impact of the thousands of tonnes of oil-sediment contents within them being released into the sea as they gradually degrade.
© Supplied by GreenpeaceMr Wright says he’s been involved in the “execution” of all of the Brent platforms and that Charlie has been “by far the most challenging”.
Plugging and abandonment, conductor removal campaigns and leg-cutting readiness are just a few of the “head-scratching exercises” the decommissioning team at Shell have tackled on the build-up to Brent Charlie’s removal.
Mr Wright concludes: “I’ve had the pleasure to work on many projects over the years but the camaraderie with the guys I’ve met on this decommissioning campaign has been outstanding, a real team bond of true professionals has been created.”
He wished the team “the very best for the future” as they “disperse to other ventures.”
The “camaraderie” of the Brent field that Mr Wright was shown in the comments of his now deleted LinkedIn post, with his connections sharing stories of their time on the various platforms over the decades.
Brent: End of an Era
In 2021 Shell produced a short film documenting the final days of production on the Brent Charlie platform.
The video tells the story of how the field came to be and how influential it’s production has been in the UK with input from industry experts such as Sir Ian Wood and former chief executive of Offshore Energies UK, Deirdre Michie.
Using archive footage, Shell tells the story of Brent from discovery to its last day.
Recommended for you
