Shell to decommission part of Brent field in UK North Sea
Shell UK Ltd. announced an extended 60-day public consultation on recommendations to decommission certain platforms on Brent oil and gas field in the UK North Sea. Shell submitted a decommissioning program to the UK Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Brent field, 115 miles northeast of the Shetland Islands, has produced about 3 billion boe since 1976.
The decommissioning program recommends removal of Brent Alpha platform’s upper steel jacket along with the topsides of the four Brent platforms, seabed debris, and attic oil contained within the concrete storage cells of the gravity base structures.
Work preparing for Brent field decommissioning started in 2006. More than 300 expert studies were completed. Independent scientists analyzed and verified results of those studies.
Production from Brent Delta platform ceased in 2011 and from Brent Alpha platform and Brent Bravo platform in November 2014. Production from Brent field will continue, via Brent Charlie platform, for several years to come, Shell said.
Shell recommends the three gravity-base structures, Brent Alpha footings, the sediment contained within the concrete storage cells of the gravity-base structures, and the drill cuttings piles remain in place. The three gravity-base structures are Brent Bravo, Brent Charlie, and Brent Delta.
Recommendations require the support of the OSPAR Commission, set up by the OSPAR Convention to protect the marine environment (OGJ Online, Feb. 11, 2008). BEIS will consider the recommendations after the consultation period ends. BEIS will seek support from the OSPAR Commission on Shell’s behalf.
The decommissioning program outlines various options for 28 pipelines connected to Brent field.
“After an extensive and in-depth study period, the submission of Shell’s Brent decommissioning program marks another important milestone,” in the field’s history, said Duncan Manning, Brent decommissioning asset manager.
