Giant Pioneering Spirit vessel put in charge of removal and disposal at Valhall

Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP has awarded a call-off for removal and disposal of multiple installations in the Valhall area in the North Sea to Allseas.  

The work, which comprises the removal and disposal of Valhall DP- PCP- and Hod topsides and jackets, will be performed in the period from 2021 to 2026, Aker BP said on Wednesday.

Further, Aker BP has invoked the option for the removal and disposal of the Valhall QP jacket and the 2/4-G jacket on the Ekofisk field. This option was associated with the 2017 call-off for the removal and disposal of the QP topside.

All installations will be removed by the world’s largest heavy-lifting vessel, the Allseas-owned Pioneering Spirit.

The awarded call-offs relate to the long term (6 years + 2 + 2) frame agreement for transport, installation, and removal (T, I&R) executed by Aker BP and Allseas in 2017.

In June 2019, the topside of the original accommodation platform at Valhall (QP) was removed by Pioneering Spirit. This was the first of the three original structures (QP, PCP, DP) at Valhall to be removed as part of the modernization of the Valhall field centre.

Valhall and Hod have passed one billion barrels of oil equivalents (oil, gas, and NGL) produced, more than three times what was expected at the opening of the field in 1982.

SVP Projects in Aker BP, Knut Sandvik, said: “Aker BPs ambition is to revitalize the Valhall area and to produce another billion barrels from the area. A safe and efficient removal of the original structures will be an important milestone on this journey. The remaining installations at the Valhall field centre and the Flank platforms will continue to produce for many years to come”.