The UK’s offshore decommissioning regulator has approved Repsol Sinopec’s plans to decommission infrastructure around the Saltire area, with work set to begin later in the decade.
Repsol Sinopec Resources UK filed the latest revisions to its proposed decom programme with the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) in early 2022, covering the removal of the Saltire A topsides, alongside the removal of Satire and Chanter wellhead protection units and associated pipelines and infrastructure.
The Saltire platform jacket is subject to separate a separate decommissioning plan.
Lying around 125 miles north-east of Aberdeen in 145m of water, the Saltire area forms part of the Flotta Catchment Area (FCA) System, and links into the system through Piper Bravo.
First installed in 1992, the Area consists of the Saltire, Chanter and Iona fields, and associated infrastructure spanning block 15/17.
Production from all three fields was suspended in 2014 and followed by a formal cessation of production in 2016.
All told, just under 12,900 tonnes of materials are expected to be removed at the Saltire A topsides, alongside two 195-tonne wellhead protectors at Saltire and Chanter.
The topsides will be fully removed via a heavy lift vessel and returned to shore for recycling. However, Repsol Sinopec said a final decision on the exact decommissioning method still needs to be made following a commercial tendering process.
A further 8,700 tonnes of bundles, spools and mattresses/grout bags are also present, the bulk of which will be returned to shore – though some key umbilicals and flowlines will remain in situ.
The area hosts 10 platform wells and four subsea wells at Saltire, alongside two platform wells at Iona and two platform/three subsea wells at Chanter.
Outlining its plugging and abandonment (P&A) plans last year Repsol Sinopec decommissioning manager Teresa Munro said the group would look to fully abandon 140 wells by the end of 2025.
Proposals were at that time being sought for a campaign for an unspecified number of wells at the Tartan platform, with proposed method being a modular rig. The operator said ideally the same rig could then be used for a further 14 wells at the Saltire field.
The company has earmarked well abandonment work to begin from Q1 2026, followed by topsides preparations in mid-2027 and topsides removal some time beyond Q2 2028. Subsea removals are slated for mid-2029.
In filings detailing its full-year performance for 2021, Repsol Sinopec estimated it was likely to spend around $3.59bn (around £3bn) over the next 32 years on decommissioning, nearly $2.4bn (£2bn) of which will be incurred over the next ten years, as assets move towards the end of their life.
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