Marine contractor Allseas has been selected by TAQA UK for the decommissioning, removal, and disposal of the Brae Alpha platform in the North Sea. According to the contractor, the scope of work includes removal of the structure’s 33,000-tonne topsides, 13,000-tonne jacket, and 34 conductors. The work is slated to begin in 2028 and conclude in 2032.
Brae Alpha is located 270 km northeast of Aberdeen, Scotland, and originally began producing oil and gas in 1983. The decommissioning campaign will be carried out by Allseas’ heavy-lift vessel Pioneering Spirit and construction vessel Oceanic. Allseas said at least 95% of recovered materials will be reused or recycled.
TAQA awarded Allseas a contract covering the removal of Elder Alpha, Tern Alpha, North Cormorant, and Cormorant Alpha platforms in 2022.
The Brae field was discovered in 1974. The Brae Alpha platform was installed in the spring of 1982. It was initially designed to produce about 100,000 B/D of oil and 12,000 B/D natural gas liquids.
Separately, Allseas green-lit the construction of a new purpose-built semisubmersible heavy-transport vessel. The contractor selected China’s Guangzhou Shipyard International to build the ship with delivery scheduled during the first quarter of 2028. The new vessel, to be named Grand Tour, will boast load capacity of 40,000 tonnes.
The Grand Tour will be designed to “fit” inside the bow slot of Pioneering Spirit — the contractor’s catamaran-style heavy-lift ship. Allseas said the vessel integration will streamline the offshore installation process. The new ship could also find a role in the decommissioning market, transporting dismantled platforms to shore.
Allseas said the new vessel’s semisubmersible hull will have a 180×57-m cargo deck, a 57-m beam for stability and shallow-draft access, a ballast system pumping 24,000 m3/hour, a methanol-ready 24-MW propulsion system with capability to transition to e-methanol, an air lubrication system under the hull, and podded propulsion to reduce drag and fuel use.
One of the Grand Tour’s first jobs will be in support of TenneT’s 2-GW offshore wind project. The vessel will transport converter stations from fabrication yards in Asia and Europe to installation sites in the North Sea. There, it will pass them off to the Pioneering Spirit for the installation work.