Mermaid scores North Sea decommissioning deal with Shell

Mermaid Subsea Services has landed a multi-year engineering, preparation, removal and disposal (EPRD) wellhead severance contract with Shell in the UK North Sea.

The decommissioning project will be carried out in three annual batches with the first one scheduled to begin later this year.

The initial campaign includes removing wellhead protection covers from the sea floor, before lifting them to the surface for transportation onshore. This will be followed by the retrieval of the wellhead flow base structures using specialist tooling, while the final campaign will cover wellhead severance and recovery operations, Mermaid explained, adding that all recovered materials will be managed to maximise the amount that can be reused or recycled.

“The North Sea is on the cusp of a multi-decade decommissioning boom and Mermaid plans to be front and centre of that with our bespoke solutions and leading expertise,” said Scott Cormack, regional director for Mermaid Subsea Services UK.