Big oil rig scrapping job no trouble for Heerema

Dutch firm Heerema has safely removed the steel infrastructure of an end-of-life Shell oil platform, located in the North Sea. The dismantling job required some heavy lifting as the Brent Alpha jacket weighed more than 10 000 tonnes.

Shell’s scrap is currently being processed by a recycler in Vats, Norway. The decommissioning has set a new record for Heerema, as the company’s Sleipnir vessel previously removed and transported 8 100 tonnes worth of off-shore infrastructure. What’s more, the vessel has helped scrap almost 44 000 tonnes of metals this summer alone.

This project is Sleipnir’s fourth decommissioning job this season. The vessel will continue to operate in the North Sea the coming months. Heerema notes that most oil platforms have a life cycle of at least 40 years.

The dismantled Shell oil rig was one of a network of four, of which three sites have already been scrapped – the others being removed in 2019 and 2017, respectively.