Pioneering Spirit vessel delivers Valhall jacket for decom

Allseas and its giant heavy lift vessel Pioneering Spirit have delivered Aker BP’s Valhall QP jacket to a yard in Norway for decommissioning.

Allseas said on Monday that the Valhall QP jacket had been delivered to Aker Solutions’ decommissioning facilities at Eldøyane in Stord, Norway.

The upper and lower sections were crane-lifted onto the quayside in the early hours of Saturday morning. After dismantling, 100 per cent of the material will be recycled primarily into steel.

In June 2019, the topside of the original accommodation platform at Valhall (QP) was also 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.

Aker BP awarded a call-off for the removal and disposal of multiple installations in the Valhall area in the North Sea to Allseas back in April 2020.

The contract was for the removal and disposal of Valhall DP- PCP- and Hod topsides and jackets. Aker BP also 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.

Following the award of contract for the removal of Valhall installations, Allseas in June 2020 awarded a contract to Kvaerner to dismantle and recycle three large topsides, three jackets, and four bridges from Aker BP’s Valhall and Hod fields.

Kvaerner merged with Aker Solutions in November 2020 and was dissolved. Aker Solutions is now working to merge its existing offshore decommissioning operations with AF Gruppen’s into a 50/50 owned company with the goal of creating a global player for the recycling of offshore assets.

The Pioneering Spirit has also recently removed the DP3 and DP4 platforms from Spirit Energy’s Morecambe Bay development in the East Irish Sea and delivered to the Energy Park Fife Facility for decommissioning.