TAQA books Pioneering Spirit for North Sea Brae Alpha platform removal

TAQA UK has asked Allseas to decommission the Brae Alpha platform topsides and jacket in the UK central North Sea.

According to TAQA’s news release of September 18, Allseas will start work on the engineering, preparation, removal and disposal contract later this year.

Its heavy-lift vessel Pioneering Spirit will remove the 33,000-metric ton topside and 12,000-mt upper jacket in two separate campaigns. The company was already managing the EPRD decommissioning program for four of TAQA UK’s northern North Sea facilities, the North Cormorant, Tern, Eider and Cormorant Alpha platforms that were original installed by Shell.

All reached cessation of production in 2024, with TAQA’s East Brae platform in the central UK sector also ending operations earlier this year.

Brae Alpha, under original developer Marathon Oil’s stewardship, started production in 198.3.

The platform, situated 170 mi north-east of Aberdeen, has produced over 636 MMboe. TAQA is targeting re-use and recycling of at least 95% of the recovered topside material and equipment.