North Sea decommissioning activity accelerates through removals, P&A and new contracts
Key highlights:
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Spirit completes £40-million southern North Sea decommissioning campaign.
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Seventeen operators back NSTA charter to accelerate well decommissioning.
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Pioneering Spirit removes North Cormorant topsides in single-lift operation.
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Expro, Well-Safe, NMC and THREE60 secure new decommissioning work and partnerships.
As the UK North Sea faces a growing backlog of inactive wells and aging infrastructure, operators and service companies are stepping up decommissioning activity through major removal projects, plug-and-abandonment campaigns, new technology deployments and collaborative efforts designed to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Spirit completes southern North Sea decommissioning campaign
Spirit Energy has completed a £40-million decommissioning project covering the Seven Seas and Grove gas fields in the UK southern North Sea. The campaign included plugging and abandoning three subsea wells and removing more than 234 metric tons of subsea infrastructure, with support from DeepOcean and Well-Safe. Spirit said it intends to reuse or recycle all recovered materials and recently joined other operators backing the UK regulator's initiative to accelerate and reduce the cost of well decommissioning activities.
NSTA charter gains operator backing
Seventeen North Sea operators have signed the UK North Sea Transition Authority's (NSTA) new well decommissioning charter, committing to closer collaboration on subsea wellhead removals. The initiative encourages operators to share data, expertise, resources and vessel capacity to reduce costs, shorten project schedules and lower emissions. The NSTA estimates that greater use of vessels, rather than rigs, for subsea wellhead removals could cut remaining UK-sector removal costs by about 30%, or roughly £200 million. The effort comes as more than 500 inactive wells await final abandonment and over 1,000 additional UK wells are expected to require decommissioning within the next five years.
Allseas removes North Cormorant topsides
Allseas' heavy-lift vessel Pioneering Spirit removed the more than 17,000-metric-ton topsides from TAQA UK's North Cormorant platform in a single lift, delivering the structure to the Dales Voe decommissioning yard in Shetland. The platform produced first oil in 1982 and operated for more than four decades before production ceased in 2024. TAQA plans to recycle at least 97% of recovered materials as part of a broader northern North Sea decommissioning program involving more than 120,000 metric tons of offshore structures.
Expro secures North Sea abandonment contract
Expro has won a multi-million-pound contract from a UK operator to support a North Sea plug-and-abandonment program. The company will supply its 7⅜-in. large-bore Subsea Test Tree Assembly (SSTTA) safety system for six firm subsea wells, with options for six more. The equipment provides dual-barrier well control and disconnect capability during abandonment operations, helping maintain well integrity and reduce operational risks.
Well-Safe Solutions, NMC Energy form decommissioning partnership
Well-Safe Solutions has signed a strategic partnership agreement with NMC Energy to support offshore decommissioning projects, including the recently awarded Apache Beryl and Forties campaigns. The companies will jointly provide subsea and platform interface services, including pipeline and flowline flushing, engineering down and clean (EDC) activities, modular platform rig integration and topsides preparation for heavy-lift removals. The partners said the arrangement is designed to give operators a single-source solution for late-life and decommissioning work while reducing costs and schedules.
THREE60 Energy expands North Sea decommissioning program
THREE60 Energy has expanded its decommissioning contract with a major North Sea operator, adding three offshore assets to the original three-asset agreement and doubling the program's scope. The move extends the company's duty holder responsibilities across both installation and pipeline operator activities. The Aberdeen-based company said it has scaled up its technical, commercial and supply chain resources to support the additional work, bringing its operated UK Continental Shelf portfolio to six assets.
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About the Author
Jeremy Beckman
Staff Writer / Editor, Europe
Jeremy Beckman has been Editor Europe, Offshore since 1992. Prior to joining Offshore he was a freelance journalist for eight years, working for a variety of electronics, computing and scientific journals in the UK. He regularly writes news columns on trends and events both in the NW Europe offshore region and globally. He also writes features on developments and technology in exploration and production.
Ariana Hurtado
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With more than a decade of copy editing, project management and journalism experience, Ariana Hurtado is a seasoned managing editor born and raised in the energy capital of the world—Houston, Texas. She currently serves as editor-in-chief of Offshore, overseeing the editorial team, its content and the brand's growth from a digital perspective.
Utilizing her editorial expertise, she manages digital media for the Offshore team. She also helps create and oversee new special industry reports and revolutionizes existing supplements, while also contributing content to Offshore's magazine, newsletters and website as a copy editor and writer.
Prior to her current role, she served as Offshore's editor and director of special reports from April 2022 to December 2024. Before joining Offshore, she served as senior managing editor of publications with Hart Energy. Prior to her nearly nine years with Hart, she worked on the copy desk as a news editor at the Houston Chronicle.
She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Houston.