Heerema vessel removes Gulf of Mexico platform for Eni – gallery

Last month, Heerema Marine Contractors’ deepwater construction vessel (DCV) Balder completed the offshore removal of the Morpeth tension leg platform (TLP), located in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, on behalf of Eni.

The 1978-built Balder vessel mobilized to the Morpeth deepwater field in mid-April to begin executing the TLP removal in a campaign that involved the engineering, preparation, removal, and disposal of the offshore infrastructure, Heerema said in a statement on Monday.

The removal consisted of the 2650 short-ton topside, 2500 short-ton hull, and 1300 short-tons of tendons and piles.

Following the successful removal of the components, the topside was transported by barge, the tendons and piles on supply vessels, and the hull wet towed for recycling at MARS (Modern American Recycling Services) facilities at various U.S. locations.

The company noted that this project was the first TLP removal campaign for the company, adding another successful decommissioning project to its portfolio.

This follows a record-breaking 2020 for Heerema that saw the company remove 85,277 metric tons of decommissioned structures in one year.

The Balder vessel was used last year for the installation of the Yaxche-C jacket and topside for Pemex in waters offshore Mexico.  The jacket weighed 700 tonnes, the four skirt piles 125 tonnes each, and the topside 850 tonnes.

In related news, oil and gas company TAQA last week started the first major asset removal project and one of the largest topside removal projects of its kind in the North Sea.

The Brae Bravo platform, first commissioned in 1988, is being removed over three separate phases in 2021 and 2022, using two of the world’s largest semi-submersible crane vessels (SSCVs), Heerema’s Thialf and Sleipnir.